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When it comes to casino games, success is easier to explain than failure. People explain success by saying that the idea was good, the execution worked, and players got it. However, it is harder to pinpoint the exact cause of a failed game. It could be a clever idea that got in the way of the general gameplay. Sometimes even combining two good ideas can result in a miss. Overall, a game that looks great can come out as too complicated for players.
“No one has more live game flops than us. And no one has more than hits,” said Todd Haushalter, the Chief Product Officer at Evolution.
Indeed, Haushalter has seen enough to understand the distinction between success and failure. He notes that success and failure go hand-in-hand, as there is a higher likelihood of making mistakes when you develop as many games as Evolution does, especially new games. Ultimately, what you do next is what matters the most.
Gonzo’s Treasure Hunt – a sophisticated miss
There’s a lesson to be learnt from Gonzo’s Treasure Hunt. The game is sophisticated by all measures, described by Evolution as the first online live game show with VR. It mixed live play with slots plus a virtual reality mode, with an augmented-reality Gonzo. Notably, its main feature was a large wall of 70 stones standing between players and the hidden treasure.
However, the cutting-edge technology and futuristic look, the game’s perceived selling points, were its downfall. “I’d say Gonzo’s Treasure Hut failed probably because the entire premise was too technologically advanced,” says Haushalter.
Initially, the team behind the game suspected that the lack of a bonus round was the reason behind its poor reception, so Evolution added one. However, that didn’t change the game’s poor reception by much.
Haushalter blames the game’s failure on the advanced technology and the 70-stone wall. “No one cared. I think just having a form factor of a giant wall turned players off. You can get too technologically advanced. Think about good-old-fashioned Coin Flip. It still works,” he says.
The lesson for developers: while technology can fix tough problems for engineers, it can fail to entertain players – indeed, a game can be fun to build but not fun to play. Moreover, new features aren’t always better.
Competing for attention
Lightning Blackjack and Gold Bar Roulette also demonstrate why new features aren’t always better, plus one more lesson – games are competing for increasingly limited attention. Gold Bar Roulette, launched in 2022, featured Gold Bars that served as multipliers, with players being able to store and retain them for later rounds, choose where to deploy them, and stack several on the same number. However, while it gave players more control than traditional roulette, it also demanded more attention.
“We thought they were simple and quick. Players begged to differ,” says Haushalter. He further explains that it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep players’ attention, which is often split between the games, Netflix, YouTube, and short videos, noting that players even use multiple screens simultaneously.
“People are watching something on Netflix while playing our games and flipping between TikTok and our games. The player is distracted. If you make a game too complex, they’re just not going to give you the time of day,” he explains.
However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that games should be too simple, as Evolution has many complex games that are quite popular. The lesson is that the games must be interesting enough to retain players’ attention despite the complexities. Ideally, players shouldn’t have to try to figure out how a game works before they can enjoy it.
Reward vs. entertainment
While some games fail right away after launching, others take longer. In the latter case, the problem isn’t always the looks or theme – a game can look good and have exciting bonuses, but players still leave after some time. The problem is usually the math.
While two games can pay out about the same amount over time, the regularity of payouts may differ. One game can deliver small, steady payouts, while the other can deliver huge but few payouts. To this end, Haushalter explains that while looks and features can sustain early enthusiasm, “the match is just chewing away the likeability of the game as time ticks on.” He explains, “The truth is that some players just don’t get to experience that win.”
Indeed, players play one round at a time, and an average payout isn’t the same as what a player experiences. Unfortunately, developers only realize that something is wrong when players stop coming back. Even then, it is easier to identify the problem than to fix it.
Knowing when to walk away
“When do you fix, wait, or walk away from a failing game? Oh, it’s so hard. And we’re terrible at it,” says Haushalter while laughing at Evolution’s record. “There’s no magic bullet. There’s no formula. It’s like writing a song. How do you know when it’s done?”
Changing up a game doesn’t always turn it around. It didn’t work when Evolution reworked Gonzo’s Treasure Quest into Gonzo’s Treasure Map. It also didn’t work for Deal or No Deal.
However, it works great in some cases. For example, it worked when Evolution reworked Gold Bar Roulette to Gold Vault Roulette. It also worked for Red Door Roulette.
Changing one thing can fix a game, while changing something else without properly identifying the problem may just be a waste of time. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to identify the problem.
Notably, it’s harder to give up on a game after spending a lot of resources on it. It is a case of chasing losses – the more you invest, the more you want to save it, which is how sunk costs may lead you to keep going.
Good chemistry, bad chemistry
Combining two features that players like doesn’t always make a better game, as demonstrated by Lightning Bac Bo. The game launched in 2020 following Lightning Roulette’s success. Evolution simply took the Lightning concept and added it to Bac Bo, one of the oldest casino games.
It seemed a logical idea at the time. “Bac Bo does amazing. Lightning does amazing. We thought for sure once we do Lightning Bac Bo, it’s going to smash. Well, it didn’t,” says Haushalter.
Notably, the result did not show why the mix failed, which matters. While failure shows what did not work, it doesn’t always show why. Knowing why matters – if Evolution decided never to combine the Lightning mechanic with another game, that wouldn’t be the right lesson.
Mega Ball and MONOPOLY Big Baller reveal a different lesson. While Mega Ball, Evolution’s first bouncing-ball game, has lots of players, it enjoys rather modest traction. The game is inspired by bingo and lotteries, with players buying cards and watching as the numbers fill them. Notably, the game started off with lots of cards – more cards seemed better, promising more chances and more action. However, they also made the game harder to follow, leaving players unable to see what was happening on each card.
Evolution learnt its lesson and applied it to MONOPOLY Big Baller, which came with a limit of four cards. The developer retained the idea but got rid of the clutter, letting players see how close they come to winning, thus boosting the excitement of waiting for one more number. According to Haushalter, this is a small design change with a big lesson: more choice doesn’t always mean more engagement, but rather just more things to ignore.
Once bitten…
The risk in focusing too much on failure is that developers can get scared of repeating mistakes. “When you fail, you tend to want to steer clear of the things that were in the failed game. And that can be a big problem,” says Haushalter. However, doing the opposite – sticking with an idea just because you believe in it – can also be just as risky. Ultimately, good game development lies somewhere in between the two forces.
At Evolution, the developers try to find out what did not work. They also check new ideas against old mistakes. Notably, most ideas don’t materialize into games, with Haushalter estimating that only about one in ten ideas make it through the pipeline. Ultimately, he says that enthusiasm for the next game is the secret to keeping going. “Excitement about the next new game pushes you through and protects you from caution,” he says.
