SimplePlay, the producer behind hits like Sparta’s Honor and Zeus, excels at leveraging simplicity and engaging strategies, depending on the need. As the Chief Strategy Officer, Osman Walker is central to this approach, showcasing his expertise in developing user experiences and overseeing game production.
In this exclusive interview, we discuss with him how each title that they launch is a new opportunity for the producer to establish themselves in their target market sector.
1. Rolling 7 was your most recent publicly announced mini-game. When the analytics team sifted through “hundreds of millions of spins,” what single stat convinced you that a dice-based quick-win format could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with a traditional 5×3 slot?
It is the rise in the number of casual players that have attracted us to develop dice games, for they are generally more intuitive than 5×3 slots. Casual players are drawn to games that are intuitive and easy to understand. The game results of dice games are much easier to catch – just sum them up.
Traditional slots are getting more complicated now: with all fancy free game features and various ways to win, it can sometimes be difficult to fully understand how the games work for casual players, and even for seasoned ones.
Rolling 7 is one of the simplest dice games out there. It is a highly intuitive game as only the sum of two dice is involved. Players can bet on two ranges of points: 2-6 and 8-12 points, or on individual points. Every player can grasp the essence quickly. With more casual players roaming in the game lobby, dice-based games with quick wins are going to gain popularity.
2. Lustrous Ocean adds stage bosses and branching story-lines to your fishing line-up. What’s the one gameplay tweak that made retention jump in internal tests and where will players actually see it on screen?
Lustrous Ocean is definitely a SimplePlay-ish title. The stage system gives a powerful drive as players in most fishing games drop out when they get bored. Lustrous Ocean gives clear goals to progress. Other than the Bonus Stage, which appears at the very end of the game, fish with greater payout shows up in later stages. Players can view their progress by checking out the gauges on the top. One gauge indicates the amount of fish caught, while the other shows the winnings won in this stage. Players proceed to the next stage when either of the gauges are full. This motivates players to hold on a little longer if they are close to proceed to the next stage.
3. LatAm is crowded and culturally diverse. Beyond translating text, what localisation lever, RTP tier, bonus-buy price, or reel speed, proved most critical in your first soft- launch there?
During the preparation, we believe that LatAm players have their own focus on cultural relevance of the game content. For games with similar mechanics, we found that among our portfolio, football-related themes and games with vivid colours perform better in LatAm. It seems to us that appeal of football and vibrant aesthetics are playing a crucial localisation lever in the market.
4. Among your own campaigns, real-time leaderboards, mystery drops and stage-clear bonuses, which delivers the highest re-activation rate after 7 days of player inactivity?
As a B2B provider, measuring the direct effectiveness of our features can be difficult as it depends heavily on how operators communicate to players via social media channels or other means of communications.
However, one of the recent mystery drops that came in the format of free spin giveaway performed outstandingly. Players have the chance to win free spins as long as they play SimplePlay’s slots. Operators reported a rise in dormant players who returned in action. This is certainly one of the most attractive ways possible as it aligns with the core belief of most players: we play to win something. A mystery drop is still a win, despite not being directly convertible to something that goes into their wallets.
5. Bomb Adventure targets “fun-first” casuals. How do you stop that lighter tone from alienating high-volatility slot fans who chase 1,000×+ hits?
Bomb Adventure takes an approach that appeals to both casual players who look for fun first, as well as those high-volatility fans. With an ultra-high volatility of over 10,000x, we believe that thrill seekers are not going to miss this important message. While visual elements of the game may bring a light tone, the thrill built upon the rising multipliers as they reveal more tiles. We are confident that the “fun-first” presentation will not weaken the high volatility game mechanics.
6. You mention crypto adds both anonymity and new play styles. Which SimplePlay title will be the first to launch with crypto-exclusive side bets or jackpots, and what business question are you testing?
Indeed, cryptocurrencies add a layer of anonymity and introduce new play styles that can enhance gaming experiences. For crypto-exclusive side bets or jackpots, however, we currently do not have plans on developing exclusive products and features for cryptos. At present, our crypto strategy is to focus on including major types of cryptos among the currencies. We are testing how cryptocurrencies are received among players, and how they actually impact on the gaming experience.
7. And to wrap up: which fresh slot, platform upgrade, or promo feature should SimplePlay fans keep an eye out for over the next six months?
We are having an exciting upcoming queue! With a new game launched every month, we will have some highly anticipated crash games, which have been a really popular game type recently. In early Q4, we will be introducing a classic Vietnamese dice game, which we are proud to present it in its original format. As the year-end approaches, fans can also expect a thrilling slot game featuring a famous Chinese mythical figure! At SimplePlay, we promise a unique and engaging experience. Please stay tuned!
