From sneaking spins to professional design

We recently sat down with Alex Phelan, who joined the Slot Gods team in 2022 as a designer. We wanted to get his personal scoop on the state of the industry. 

We delved into his experience and tastes, explored his uniquely artistic perspective on slot design, and got his thoughts on bonus buys, responsible gaming features and max wins. Here’s how his journey went from sneaking spins as a kid to becoming a fully-fledged Slot God!

Set the scene. Tell us about your earliest gambling experiences.

I’d never really had much gambling experience growing up – though one memory as a kid was going to the local bingo hall with my grandmother and cousin and sneaking on a small fruity and spinning a few times before being caught. 

What about your later experiences of gambling, prior to joining Slot Gods?

I had minimal exposure to gambling, much like a lot of people. I thought of sports betting as a thing sports fans will do for big games and matches for a bit of fun, and slots were just fruit machines in pubs and casinos. Maybe around 2020 I started to see slots and online casinos blow up on streaming platforms like Twitch, seeing a lot of big name streamers win huge amounts, that was probably my first introduction to real gambling. Fast forward a little, I then started at Slot Gods and have since got to really know the ins and outs of the online gambling scene.

How was that, playing online slots as a beginner?

Since I’ve always been an online gamer, online slots came naturally to me when I was introduced to it. It felt familiar, but also introduced a new world of online gaming. 

Do you remember playing online the first time?

Yes, my first slot would have been Xibalba by Peter & Sons. It was the first slot review that I worked on. Quite a nice introduction to the slot world, seeing as though my preconceptions about online slots were that they all just resembled fruit machines. Peter & Sons are one of the studios that have an outstanding art department, so they really opened my eyes to the potential that slots can have. 

What do you think are the advantages of online games?

The biggest advantage is the ease of access. They can be played on any smart device with internet access from wherever you are. I also think, due to the landscape of the internet, the developers are pushed to compete a lot more than they are with land-based slots. There’s also a lot more room for vocal enthusiasts to speak up.

What themes do you like?

I’m not bothered by themes as such, as long as the game is executed well and isn’t just a reskin of others in the same theme. For example, there are a lot of Japanese and samurai themed games but Play’n GO did a really good job in elevating the theme and creating an interesting story behind the game Ronin’s Honour, or like Nolimit City with Ugliest Catch. Fishing is probably the most overdone theme in gambling, however, Nolimit managed to do something with it and make an interesting yet familiar game without it feeling like a reskin of Big Bass or Fishin’ Frenzy.

What are your current favourites and why?

Giving favourite games is difficult, especially with how frequently studios are delivering hits. I’ve managed to scrape together a top five, but there are so many contenders.

Jeff & Skully

I think this is the first game in a while where a studio really pushed the pay-line mechanics and created something innovative and just fun. The area wins mechanic really brings good replay value to the game. The theme and design is really fun as well with good sound design. 

Name:

Jeff & Scully

Developer:

ELK Studios

RTP:

94.00%

Max payout:

10,000x stake

Volatility:

Medium-High

Theme:

Adventure

Release date:

24th Oct 2023

Play Jeff & Scully here:

Le Bandit

A classic Hacksaw game with huge win potential. The design is fun, the features are entertaining – it’s a fun game with a lot of replay value which is important to me. 

Name:

Le Bandit

Developer:

Hacksaw Gaming

RTP:

96.34%

Max payout:

10,000x stake

Volatility:

Medium

Theme:

Animal, Crime

Release date:

24th Aug 2023

Play Le Bandit here:

Vending Machine

Maybe a bit of sentimental value for me, this one, I used to be a big listener of lo-fi music on YouTube where there was a channel that had a very specific art style which this slot has definitely paid homage to. 

Name:

Vending Machine

Developer:

Hacksaw Gaming

RTP:

96.28%

Max payout:

5,000x stake

Volatility:

Medium

Reels:

5

Win lines:

35

Theme:

Retro

Release date:

13th Jul 2023

Play Vending Machine here:

Remember Gulag

A classic from Nolimit City, back when they were all about being edgy and controversial. I thought the game was really well executed with great, comical art, bringing a touch of light-heartedness to a very sensitive time in history. 

Name:

Remember Gulag

Developer:

Nolimit City

RTP:

96.08%

Max payout:

30,000x stake

Volatility:

High

Reels:

6

Win lines:

614,656

Theme:

Action, WTF

Release date:

19th Apr 2022

Play Remember Gulag here:

Big Bass Amazon

Whilst this theme and series is very overdone, I really enjoyed this game, so much so that I’ve revisited it quite a bit. The powerups you can achieve for the bonus round was a nice touch, as well as the scatter respins in the base game if you are just 1 scatter away from FS.

Name:

Big Bass Amazon Xtreme

Developer:

Pragmatic Play

RTP:

96.07%

Max payout:

10,000x stake

Volatility:

High

Reels:

5

Win lines:

10

Theme:

Fishing

Release date:

19th Jun 2023

Play Big Bass Amazon Xtreme here:

What would you like to see developers do in the future?

Experiment with themes a lot more, similar to how Print (Darkness, Pine of Plinko, Shinobi Spirit, Holy Hand Grenade, etc.) are doing, but also to try to bring more replay value to the base game, as some developers solely focus on the bonus features, which can kinda kill the fun early on if they’re hard to hit, which is usually the case.

What trends have you observed recently? How do they impact players and the industry as a whole?

There’ve been lots of trends in the online slots world over the years, right? Some are great but some… not so much. And then there are some that are just natural progressions, take slots optimised for mobile phones for example.

I think one movement that led to several trends is responsible/safer gambling. Whilst these trends come from good intentions, at least I hope, personally, I think the execution is off. The removal of auto spin and quick spins is an example of this, seeing as though having to click your mouse every 2.5 seconds just for another dead spin can feel rather tedious. Perhaps rather than targeting the gameplay, they could look more into stake limits and scammy retention tactics. 

Here's a big one – the whole explosion of slot streamers and games that are all about those bonus buys. Once game developers saw the crowds these streamers were pulling, they kinda shifted gears. They started making these games that look insane and have crazy high win potentials. Thing is, the real action's in the bonus buys, which can cost a small fortune, like 500 times your bet. It's like they're designing these games with streamers in mind, you know, to make everything look super flashy and exciting.

Here’s a big trend actually – the explosion of slot streaming. Slot streamers really started to take off around 2020 I believe, playing games with huge win potential and placing silly sized bets. As a result, there’d be hundreds of clips floating around social media of XQC or Trainwrecks pulling some insane $1m wins and totally disregarding the millions they’d be losing chasing those wins. Developers obviously jumped on this and started to cater to this crowd, focusing more on ‘bonus buy’ games and forgetting about the base games of the slots.

What we learnt from Alex...

Following our talk with Alex, we mulled over his likes and dislikes. Talking with a designer is a great way to get a fresh perspective on industry trends, as well as an idea of which game designs appeal most to the pros!

It’s certainly true that responsible gambling has driven a number of changes in the world of slot game development, perhaps not all for the better. It’s great to have highlighted some of the more experimental and adventurous developers out there, recognising those who are pushing boundaries and doing the most interesting, avant-garde work, especially with regard to theme and aesthetics.