We need to put more effort into making a proper introduction to the igaming market, admits Vasily Polynov, chief business development and communications officer at True Lab following the postponement/cancellation of event tracks due to COVID-19.
Information has been relatively quiet on latest slot news from True Lab with the company’s main focus pointing towards entering new regulated markets, highlighted by its recent deals with Yggdrasil and SoftSwiss, with its most recent title launch Startup Valley being released at the end of March, which claimed our Slot of the Week following its release.
Yet the cog is set to start moving again with True Lab set to unveil its latest slot title, Sun Strike, scheduled to be released soon. SlotBeats spoke to Polynov about its next-to-be-released slot, other future releases in store for the company and its approach on jackpots within its games.
SlotBeats: What future releases has True Lab got planned in the year ahead?
Vasily Polynov: The release schedule has been slightly affected by our latest partnership, as a few game titles will go live exclusively for Yggdrasil’s network. At the same time, we were lucky to welcome some very talented folks to our team. So this year at least five more titles are planned to add to our general suite.
The games are going to be very different from each other. These days we work on both a very clear concept based on promising math plus vivid art – and some really tough blockbusters packed with multiple locations and trendy bonus features. All in all we aim to deliver a varied portfolio with the main focus on bringing a better experience to the players.
“Eventually upon network launch we can give our partners a better idea of how they operate the game.”
SB: Can you use your online casino as a testing ground for new slots?
VP: Absolutely. All our games have been exclusive to Trueflip.io for one to two weeks prior to network launch.
Together with the obvious field tests, this gives a better idea of the game’s best performing markets, and also sorts out if the game’s features are clear and well adopted by players, or what promos better convert etc.
Eventually upon network launch we can give our partners a better idea of how they operate the game.
SB: Can you explain your approach on jackpots and how/if they differ from other companies?
VP: We don’t have this feature at the moment, but it’s in the roadmap. In general, we are not going to invent a bicycle, but just use best practice: a global accumulative Jack throughout our games, plus separate Jackpots in selected titles, and some in-session Jackpots on top, which will depend on the bet size. As I said, no magic here, except for those lucky winners.
“We hope this game will instantly gain some traction, and bring a good variety into our portfolio.”
SB: You’ve recently announced on Sunstrike, your next slot coming soon – can you tell me about the process of developing this game? How does it differ from other slot titles?
VP: Sunstrike development goes along with our standard production cycle, same as all the last games. Last year’s main challenge was putting True Lab on the track of well-established production processes.
With each game we automate more things in production, and this helps out a lot. We can now focus on new concepts and mechanics, while the general framework ensures predictability, which brings more value into True Lab as a partner.
As I said, the nowadays team behind our game provider is amazingly talented. Just take a look at these arts and animations, and try the math – you won’t believe a small studio is in charge for that.
As per the new slot, this one is really different from what we did lately. Sunstrike is a very simple game. With its classic 5×3 layout and a single location, Sunstrike is cool, because every spin here matters, covering huge wins.
We know that the most recent approach is making games way more complex, like multiple locations, different bonus mechanics merged etc. And we’ve been following these trends with our latest games.
But we also think that many players miss alternatives to the famous Starburst and games alike. When its math is special, a slot game can bring lots of fun just as is. And that’s the idea behind Sunstrike.
We hope this game will instantly gain some traction, and bring a good variety into our portfolio.
“We need to put more effort into making a proper introduction to the igaming market.”
SB: What are the aims for your company in the next year?
VP: We hope there are yet some goals to accomplish in 2020, despite all these stranger things happening around us.
This year we will have our initial portfolio complete with more competitive games, and therefore the plan is obvious – gain more high-level integrations, launch with the major affiliates, and get along with our most loved streamers.
We need to put more effort into making a proper introduction to the igaming market. Once the global problems ease we hope to get back on the events track and set up all those dozens of postponed meet-ups, as now we have much more to discuss.
Therefore, let’s all take care, and keep moving forward!
