GMBLRS kicks off a series of select interviews where the most exciting game studios step under the spotlight to talk about what makes them tick and why GMBLRS believe they are the ones to watch in 2022.
For our first, we welcome Hubert Spala, Game Producer from AvatarUX, to tell us more about the team at AvatarUX and the evolution of their innovative and hypnotising slot mechanic, PopWins™.
‘We always aim to have that great user experience on our mind, so we like to offer things that just feel… grand.’ – Hubert Spala, Game Producer, AvatarUX.
GMBLRS: Hi Hubert, thank you for taking the time to talk about AvatarUX and the success of the increasingly popular and dynamic PopWins™ series. I’m personally a big fan of PopWins™, and many of your titles are on my go-to list of regular slots to play.
Could you start by telling our readers a bit about yourself, your colleagues and where you came from to form AvatarUX?
Hubert: My name is Hubert and I am a Game Producer at AvatarUX. In my role, I make sure that we deliver slot games offering a unique experience to players.
At AvatarUX, we are a team of many nationalities and experiences. Many of my colleagues come with vast experience in the industry, so it is a pleasure to work with such knowledgeable people towards our common goal – make awesome games with the best User Experience on the market.
GMBLRS: Talk us through the game design process at Avatar UX, from concept to finish?
Hubert: It all usually starts with a brainstorming around how to best address known existing limitations in games. This can be math, user experience, design or any other kind of game element that can interfere with a smooth player experience.
In short, we focus on coming up with ideas that enhance the gameplay and make it enjoyable. We then decide on a fitting theme, add all other known elements such as animations, sound etc, and voilà – an entertaining and engaging game is formed.
GMBLRS: Tell our audience about the birth of the original PopWins™ idea. What happened? over coffee during a meeting? should we be crediting one person for the idea?
Hubert: The PopWins™ mechanics were created with the aim to highlight and enhance the most important moment for the player during gameplay, i.e. the win. We all know how thrilling and full of suspense that moment is and the feeling it brings, so we simply wanted to make this moment last. PopWins™ is, basically, enhancing the win potential by transforming wins into more wins, keeping the players entertained at all times.
GMBLRS: For those players yet to experience PopWins™ for the first time, summarise the mechanic and how it works?
Hubert: It’s fairly simple-as, I believe, all good mechanics should be. Every time you land a win, it doesn’t end there, but instead, each win transforms, via expansion of the reels and adding of symbols, into more wins. And guess what, if the new symbols land a win, the whole process repeats, giving yet another chance; every win opening a chance to another in a fun chase. When you add this to the fact that usually, our games hand out additional rewards for reaching the max height of our reels via this cascade of wins, it just gets better and better.
GMBLRS: How has the series evolved?
Hubert: We progressed with each title. At the core, we always kept our PopWins™ mechanics, and we added and tweaked various game mechanics surrounding it. We always aim to have that great user experience on our mind, so we like to offer things that just feel… grand, like the Unlimited Multiplier feature that can grow and grow. Or, like in PapayaPop™ or PiggyPop™, the Unlimited Free Spins that, with a stroke of luck, can keep going for a long time and offer great experience. We are also looking into completely new mechanics for the future to be able to offer new ways to experience our games.
Where To Play PopWins™
GMBLRS: We’ve seen eight games of PopWins™ evolution, from PopRocks™ to PiggyPop™, with Lollipop™ on the way, paint your perfect future for the dynamic game mechanic?
Hubert: Branching into new variants is our next step, as I mentioned before. For instance, we want a thrilling game with a jackpot. We want a PopWins™ game with sticky wins that stay on board. We want to try PopWins™ with the cluster pays instead of regular win-lines, so plenty to look for in the future. Ultimately, we want to release games with new, exciting ideas that will catch the eye and heart of our players.
GMBLRS: Can you see yourselves making games without PopWins™ and a possible return to a traditional format like with Lillith’s Inferno?
Hubert: For sure! PopWins™ is our success story, but we also want to be innovative and offer new interesting things to players. Actually, as I mentioned before, we are even looking at building on the PopWins™ and we are working on various iterations of our core game mechanic, marrying it to other interesting gameplay options – StickyPops™, ClusterPops™, JackPop™ and more – plenty of undiscovered potential there to uncover.
GMBLRS: What challenges lay ahead for PopWins™ and Avatar UX?
Hubert: I would say that the biggest challenge for us, and probably for other studios too, is to continue innovating and finding the right balance of game elements that make our games exciting. And, of course, deliver more games as we grow.
GMBLRS: What can players expect from AvatarUX in the near future?
Hubert: We have very ambitious plans. We want to release more games with new interesting features. For instance, our next release MonkeyLaundering™ will include Scatter collection – something we have not offered previously in our portfolio. On top of that, we are planning to further enhance the player experience by offering other player engaging products, so stay tuned – plenty of cool things coming!
GMBLRS: Thank you for giving our readers insight into Avatar UX and PopWins™. Lastly, we like to finish with some quickfire questions, mostly for fun:
Have you always wanted to be a game producer, or was there something else you aspired to be?
Hubert: I’ve always wanted to be a game producer. Or, really, always engaged in making games. I made and published a couple of board games and previously worked in the PC and mobile gaming space as well. Games are fun, and making them is even better.
GMBLRS: With no boundaries, what would your dream theme be for game development?
Hubert: Easy – Lovecraftian Horror. I’m a huge fan of the cosmic monsters and terrifying, unknowable madness that lurks at the edges of the cosmos! Dark, spooky, and eerie. It might be a perfect Halloween game!
GMBLRS: Who from the competition do you admire and for what?
Hubert: There are many talented studios out there- big and small. I don’t have a favourite one in particular. I admire any studio bringing innovation, new fresh designs and ideas. However, Nolimit City’s boldness with themes and Peter & Sons deeply unique art direction are worthy of at least an honourable mention!
GMBLRS: Which PopWins™ game is your personal favourite, and why?
Hubert: I’m hugely fond of PapayaPop™. It might be pure nostalgia, as it was the first game I was fully involved in from start to finish, but I think the appeal is in its absolute simplicity – it is focused hard on Unlimited free spins and just goes there, giving you that thrill of having spin after spin after spin. Sometimes truly going to outrageous lengths… and rewards.
If you like to be engaged in thrilling and lengthy win sequences that continue to pop with expanding ways, try one of the many PopWins™ video slots from AvatarUX.
LolliPop PopWins™ is on global release on 7th April 2022, and MonkeyLaundering PopWins™ will hit online casinos on 12th May 2022.
Let’s Play!
Team GMBLRS