We all know that people who engage in iGaming are extremely different and have even more diverse tastes. For that reason, casinos normally strive to publish and churn out large quantities of games – some of them cowboy-themed, some of them with story modes, some of them with Muslim symbology, some with lots of side quests, some with a huge jackpot, some with sky-high RTP. All in the hopes of tickling somebody’s pickle with at least one of their games.
The problem with that is, with so many games and endless releases in an effort to land the “next big hit”, many players are hitting a wall, rather than feeling spoiled for choice. Too many selections just blur together, and instead of it being fun, all of it just gets really exhausting. Many of them look exactly alike, even if they have innovated some fancy, one-of-a-kind gameplay.
Just recycling as many game facets as possible in as many games as possible isn’t going to cut it, though. What they want is innovation, not repetition – immersive gameplay, fair odds, craftier design, and a sense of discovery.
What is Game Fatigue?
There are so many titles coming out now, that people are getting overwhelmed trying to keep up with them. Before each individual game brought forth a totally new system, a very fresh visual theme, and brand-new ways to win. Now there’s so much quantity, but it all feels so stale, just like a bunch of noise.
Most casinos show thousands of slots and nonstop releases. But people just end up skimming them and bouncing around. And the paradox of abundance also is it leads to the inability to ever make a solid choice. Though people love getting a lot of choice, the endless search for the best one ends in shorter playing sessions and players leaving without ever betting oftentimes.
Slots Entering the Video Game World
Back in the day, much simpler slots were enough to wow players, but now the standards have risen – in quality. Before, just some flashy graphics and a catchy theme were enough, such as a mummy inside a pyramid. Sometimes they didn’t even think much about convenience and depth of the game. For instance, Odds96 slots have practically merged into the world of video games and are mixing adventure with high stakes, an enthralling combo of separate addicting experience – a powerful magnet. Far too many casinos use Vikings, ancient Egypt, fruit machines, Greek gods, and just repeat that over and over.
People really want to feel sucked into a virtual world that is nothing like going through the daily motions. What’s a must to that end is narrative. There needs to be a character or a world that resonates with the person, just like a video game.
The more facets to that game, the more addicting it’ll be. We’re talking about vividly drawn characters going out to complete missions with achievements and awards. People have a desire for accomplishment and competition, so having objectives in a game really hooks them and will keep them coming back to play that game specifically, not some game at another casino. And today, the types of achievements you come up with and the side quests available in games are what really thicken the plot. What you don’t want is repeating the exact same substance that every other game has but with a new cover.
Experimentation, Experimentation, Experimentation
Innovation doesn’t happen by playing it safe. Experimentation is no longer a luxury – it’s a requirement for studios and operators who want to stay relevant. People crave novelty, but that novelty needs to be legitimate, not just bound to the surface. That means very cunning storytelling with twists and turns people weren’t counting on. Bonuses should come out of nowhere. People need some sort of game input that they’d never experienced. That’s the market we’re living in, just like the market for ordinary apps. As the saying goes – “Fortune favors the bold”. But calculated boldness.
We’re talking about
- hybrid skill-chance models
- new volatility curves
- blended genres, such as the British slingo
- new elements incorporated from social networks
- cooperative games
- sessions that can be saved and continued next time
And the same thing applies to promotion. Try new lobby layouts and spotlighting experimental titles. To see if they work or not, it’s always a shrewd idea to play with MVPs and limited releases. Failing to try is trying to fail. Eventually some of them will resonate widely and will bring much more of an audience than a dozen identical games just renamed with new music and character skins.
Oft-Neglected Player Wishes
Too often caught up in the flurry of mass production, operators often neglect things that really matter to players. As for in-person casinos, studies have found that one area they often neglect is taking the time to conduct surveys to find out what visitors actually want. A big surprise was that cleanliness ranked number one there, as they fear the germs.
Here’s what else players want.
Fairness and Transparency
There were a lot of scams, especially in the 1990s, with casinos either rigging their games or escaping having to pay players their winnings. Nowadays, of course, there are agencies issuing licenses to separate legitimate, legal casinos from crooks. Players just need to check for the license issuer and number at the bottom of the website and check the resource to verify that they’re credible. However, players are concerned nonetheless, and scandals do break out.
Personalization
Loyalty banners, hundreds of letters in their inbox, and seeing 20 pop-ups isn’t what attracts players to return to online casinos. What does is smart suggestions molded to their tastes. That’s quality. That’s finding out what they like specifically and giving it to them. It’s the key that unlocks the lock. Because the vast majority of people are getting bombarded by ads from other operators as well. The more relevant and intuitive the experience, the longer they stay – not because they feel chased, but because they feel understood.
Anything that leaves an unclosed loop by the end of the person’s playing session will be a big money-maker. These give players an impetus to come back tomorrow. One of those things is seasonal updates and expansion-style content. If players can add more depth to their characters, this will also have them excited to keep beefing him up.
Social and Community-Driven Play
People are social animals by nature. So shared experiences, actually being able to include other people in your gambling session, is a huge appeal for the vast majority of gamers. That’s one of the reasons that crash games involving chats, card tables, and bingo are so big. People get to pursue the same objective, under the same game figures.
A great example of that is social casinos, which use a very cunning business model, and are now the 4th most profitable mobile genre. One social casino called MyPrize made 1.2 billion dollars in its first year. Now imagine actually adding gameplay to a social video game. If you could add multiplayer mode, a bunch of gamers could gain an unforgettable experience. Chats, meanwhile, are always a huge engagement booster, as are leader tables and games that create a sense of belonging.
The Future of iGaming Development
The big bangers of the future won’t be vast quantities of similar games. They will be few, rich, and memorable. Using artificial intelligence trackers to gather info on particular segments of players will help out by guiding a direction for new niches that knock people’s socks off who represent particular pockets of the gamblling population.
Of course, this kind of technology will make for smarter testing and balancing as well as adaptive game mechanics. Narratives will get even deeper, and games will be able to react even more to players.
