Early last month, AvatarUX and Yggdrasil collaborated to release the newest title in the PopWin series and the latest game to be produced through Yggdrasil’s YG Masters program.
CherryPop, which claimed our Slot of the Week, is a 5×3 title that uses AvatarUX’s PopWin mechanic. This pays both ways with winning spins expanding the reels up to a full 5×9 reel, with each winning symbol popping to reveal two more in a tumbling win.
SlotBeats managed to catch up with Marcus Honney, managing director at AvatarUX, to talk about the collaboration, the initial thought process behind its PopWin series and if game series are becoming more common in the market.
SlotBeats: How was the collaboration working together and embracing the GATI technology?
Marcus Honney: The GATI technology collaboration is an ongoing one! It is certainly a great opportunity for a studio like ourselves to be enabled by such a framework by Yggdrasil. We believe that as the system evolves we will be able to push more and more content out in a much more streamlined and efficient manner.
This is important for us because efficiencies like these allow us to focus more on our game titles, our own mechanics and what we love doing, which is ultimately producing amazing slots titles.
SB: This is the third title in your Popwin™series, what was your initial thought process behind the series and why do you think it’s gained such popularity?
MH: CherryPop is indeed the third game in the Popwin series and the Popwin mechanic is the fundamental element of all our games released in 2020.
With the Popwin mechanic we wanted something snappy and in your face! In the sense that we didn’t want to tuck away all the excitement in free spins, bonus rounds or multipliers. The action happens immediately, in the reel interface, when the matching symbols pop and duplicate.
Obviously, the mechanic has depth as well with our mystery wheel multipliers, buy bonuses and free spin gamble options, but we wanted something up front, easy to understand, not too many clicks away.
With any game mechanics, it is something a player becomes accustomed to, it becomes part of their game experience, our players know that as soon as they see a POP in a title, there is a silver thread linking each and every game that we are launching. Our players also know by now, that with every release we are bringing ‘just a bit more’ to each game and evolving that mechanic.
SB: We’re seeing more developers create a series of games more than just standalone titles, why is there more of an increase in series?
MH: It’s the silver thread, any user experience expert knows that when it comes to great user experience one of the key things is making the customer feel familiar. Juxtaposing a player with multiple experiences triggers a certain feeling of uncertainty. With a series approach we embark on a player experience that the player is familiar with. So, the customer’s logic in a lobby would be ‘hey that’s a Popwin game, I know and like that mechanic, let me play that game’. Familiarity works.
SB: What were the main differences you experienced through working with Yggdrasil on CherryPop than to your previous PopWin titles?
MH: I would say that our relationship with Yggdrasil has been very consistent! Their team are wonderful and this ranges across departments. They lean and make us feel very much a part of the YG Masters family.
SB: Can we expect any more WinPop titles through the YG Masters program?
MH: Absolutely and you don’t need to hold your breath too long! Our next and fourth title, BountyPop is due to Pop on the 30th of November!
