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Q & A with Gaming Corps – Piggy Smash

By Dave Sawyer Feb 16, 2024

We last sat down with Connor Blinman the Head of Games at Gaming Corps at the end of August last year, but on hearing news about their latest release Piggy Smash which came out yesterday and being provided the opportunity to quiz Connor about the game, we jumped at the chance.

Origins of Piggy Smash – Can you delve deeper into the initial discussions around the game mechanics? What were the key elements that led to the decision of using piggy banks as the central theme?

Piggy Smash was a core part of our 2024 strategy. We decided in mid-2023 that we wanted to create a type of game that hadn’t been seen before in the online casino space. This is how Smash4Cash™ came to life.

The mechanic came first of course, because we wanted to create a product that’s rooted in slot player behaviours while combining a more casual and arcade style of gameplay.

We immediately realised this mechanic needed to be paired with a nostalgic theme that players are familiar with.

It was clear that players would instantly recognise piggy banks as being something you need to smash to open for cash prizes, so we knew we had to use them for the game’s central theme.

Are there any specific childhood memories or experiences that inspired the incorporation of piggy banks into the game?

Our product team members grew up with piggy banks and collected small amounts of pocket money to stash away inside them. It wouldn’t be until you opened it up at the end of the year that you would realise how much you had collected.

This sort of premise is seen throughout the gameplay, where you don’t quite know what you will get until you smash open the piggy bank!

How do you maintain the balance between excitement and unpredictability throughout the gameplay? Are there specific design elements or strategies employed to keep players engaged?

We approached Piggy Smash in a similar way to how you would approach the creation of a slot game. It contains a lot of unpredictability which naturally creates excitement, but there are also a lot of things that players can learn and understand about the game as they play for longer periods.

For example, each wager has a random chance to smash open the piggy bank and each one has a chance to reward prizes or different features. It’s quite similar to a slot game in that sense. In addition, the player can see upcoming piggy banks and their different colours, which mean different prizes and winning potential. This keeps the players engaged for longer periods as they can anticipate upcoming events.

Can you elaborate on the decision-making process for the different features such as Multiplier, Rampage, and Jackpot? How do these features contribute to the overall thrill of the game?

Each of these features leads to a different level of excitement. The Multiplier feature is essentially a free guaranteed hit with a multiplier up to x10. This is straightforward and familiar, easy to understand and obtain.

The Rampage feature is rarer and acts like a Free Spins feature – giving the player the ability to break open up to ten piggy banks. Both of these features can also combine, giving the player big win potential. Then we have the fixed Jackpots, something that always pairs strongly in an instant prize game.

At any time, the player can win up to 1000x their total bet, which keeps the win potential high but achievable.

Piggy Smash is expected to appeal to a broad audience. Could you provide more details on the specific features or design choices that cater to both casual gamblers and high rollers?

The aim was to create a game that would appeal to multiple types of players and markets. It has a classic casino theme that has been popular for years. The feature selection has plenty to offer casual players who want frequent features, with the game being quite low-volatility overall.

But it also has appeal for the high rollers because the long-term aim of obtaining a Jackpot prize is something that appeals to them too.

Considering the arcade-style nature of the game, how do you plan to adapt or customise Piggy Smash for different markets, particularly LATAM, Africa, and Europe?

Great question. So for this, we will further develop our Smash4Cash™ mechanic across different types of themes and ensure that we create something different for specific markets.

Arcade-style games are popular in places like LATAM and Africa so it would make sense for us to target these markets more heavily. We will also look to develop the game further by testing out new features that we feel will pair nicely with the current gameplay elements.

The possibility of integrating Smash4Cash mechanics into slot games is intriguing. Can you share your thoughts on how this integration might enhance the gaming experience for players?

We’ve been thinking about this, but for now we’re continuing to build up our slot suite of games while creating Smash4Cash™ games alongside them. We might eventually look at combining both games, so do watch this space.

Are there any challenges or considerations when merging arcade-style mechanics with traditional video slot gameplay?

Yeah definitely! We previously created “Prospector’s Plinko” which was our slot product with a Plinko-style bonus game. There’s a much greater challenge with creating these sorts of products because we have to create both a slot game and a Plinko game in one, which raises the cost and time of development.

We have to ensure that we create games of the highest quality, so this is something to consider when we merge gameplay. The benefit from Gaming Corps’ point of view is that we create a lot of arcade games to go alongside our slot portfolio. This means that as we internally develop these games we can combine the two much more easily.

We also need to consider our target audience, because slot players know what they like, and innovation is a tricky thing to get right. Merging arcade-style mechanics with a slot is a delicate process but something that we are willing to challenge ourselves with.

Piggy Smash marks the beginning of the Smash4Cash series. Are there any teasers or hints you can provide about what players can expect in future games within this series?

We’ll be exploring different themes with this mechanic in future. We’ve also got “Rampage!” on the horizon, which will be an incredibly simplistic, light version of the core mechanic that will allow players to experience the cleanest of gameplays.

Players can also expect further iterations in the genre with new features, bet types and innovations that haven’t been seen before in the market.

Beyond the current series, are there any other innovative game concepts or mechanics that you are exploring for future releases?

We’re currently exploring a way to innovate on the Crash game genre in our upcoming title “Samba Soccer”. We’re always looking to try something new and innovative with our slots, and this year we are aiming to really push the boundaries compared to what we’ve been doing over the past releases.

Players should be excited and looking forward to our new titles as we attempt to create new experiences that have the same high production values they are used to finding with Gaming Corps products.

How important is player feedback in the ongoing development of Piggy Smash and future games? Are there specific channels or platforms where players can share their thoughts?

Player feedback is super important! We are always looking out for comments, reviews, streaming sessions and YouTube videos of our players playing our games. The Smash4Cash™ genre is completely new, so when it comes to Piggy Smash it’s even more important to have a great feedback loop with our players via these channels.

Are there plans for community engagement or events tied to Piggy Smash’s release to build a stronger connection with players?

We are introducing Free Rounds support as well as Tournament support on our Piggy Smash release and our future Smash4Cash™ games. We’ll also be partnering with casinos to run promotional events on these games while interacting with content creators to further push engagement with our new products.

Considering your unique position as developers working across various genres, what trends do you foresee in the iGaming industry for 2024? How is Gaming Corps positioning itself to stay ahead of these trends?

I foresee a lot of providers looking into arcade-style content to further boost their portfolios. As we have seen with the success of other providers, arcade-style content is here to stay.

Gaming Corps has been a frontrunner in this space for a few years now and we will continue to innovate and push new content such as Smash4Cash™ to appeal to a player base that is on the lookout for something more inventive.
That’s the beauty of Gaming Corps – we are players ourselves and we know what makes a game work.

Dave Sawyer

Dave has been involved in the Online Gambling industry for 20 odd years now. With experience working for an operator based in Gibraltar, where he headed up the IT team at Ladbrokes, to running his own iGaming affiliate websites until 2019.

Dave now writes for Casinomeister and sister site Casino Gazette. You may also see him on the forum from time to time, where he goes by the handle Webzcas.

Q & A with Gaming Corps – Piggy Smash

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