Traditionally, the casino floor has been divided into 2 sorts of games. There are slot machines, where players dig their furrow, and then there are table games, such as poker, blackjack, and roulette, which all have a social component.
Internet gambling has always provided a platform for items that are difficult to manufacture physically. Few of these ideas have gotten as much attention as multiplayer slots.
The issue, according to Lloyd Purser, Funfair Technologies' chief operating officer, is that slots don't appeal to a large percentage of the gaming public. Operators think that adding a social component would offer the industry's most valuable commodity to a larger audience than ever before.
Multiplayer games include a wide range of genres. Just because a product has more than one participant does not mean it is necessarily the same.
Helen Walton, the founder of G.Games, has been known as a pioneer in the field with a number of multiplayer slots in development. She says that the solution is undoubtedly the spirit of the time, but no one agrees on what exactly it is.
According to Kevin Dale, CEO of eGaming Monitor, people's notions of multiplayer will have a significant impact on whether these solutions succeed. He said that multiplayer is a complicated field, which means there is a lot of room for creativity.
Community live play, which is most comparable to classic slots, is welcomed by big providers such as Playtech with titles like Buffalo Blitz Live. The gameplay is similar to that of a single-user slot, but participants watch a unified stream. It reminds live dealer table entertainment where several players view the same results and can win or lose together. Prizes are frequently pooled in these activities.
Many of those same elements have been used by certain providers to build community live games that are comparable to slots, but with something besides a fruit machine delivering the results.
The most noteworthy game is «Crash», which has inspired a slew of copycat titles, including ones from Purser's Funfair Technologies. Players are offered an ever-increasing line and multiplier in these games, with the option to cash out and earn their stake enlarged by the growing feature.
There are tournaments, in which participants simply play a slot machine as usual, but the one who wins the most money receives a reward. While the games are essentially single-player, they may radically alter the risk-reward ratio for customers.
Other titles are mostly made for one user but include some type of direct multiplayer, which Dale compares to bingo. The typical mechanic for these items is often similar to that of a single-player slot, but when extra features are activated, customers can enjoy them together. This enables true several-user moments without messing with the underlying mechanics of how a slot machine operates.
Peer-to-peer gaming, comparable to poker, is the highest level of multiplayer. Punters compete against one another, with one participant's actions having a direct influence on the results of another.
There appears to be one clear issue with applying this logic to slots: with the exception of a few extra features, a player's choices barely affect their outcomes. Allowing customers' actions to influence others necessitates a significant shift in the way slots operate.
One-armed bandits, according to Walton, are ideal in their current state, as they are essentially a non-social pastime.
Collaborative games, in which one player's actions may not directly affect the results of another, have worth as well, Dale says. He argues that for some people, the draw is attractive just because of having the group surrounding them while playing.
There are other obstacles that explain why such games may fail to gain traction.
According to Walton, the issues that emerge in poker are handled in multiplayer slots in the same ways. However, other obstacles may be more difficult to overcome.
Compliance, she says, would be an intriguing topic to watch. Regulators have progressed further down the road of setting rules for a pre-existing range of items as if innovation never occurs. Therefore, operators are grappling with how to advertise these games on a commercial level.
Multiplayer, in Dale's opinion, falls in between a fresh mechanism and a completely new product. It will be layered on top of current games rather than serving as a standalone experience. This may not fully transform entertainment in that function, but, in the end, it may not have to.
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