Fiona Leung: “Velvix will continue to impress and thrive in the coming years”

Fiona Leung, director of game design at Velvix spoke with Focus Gaming News about the growth of Velvix, and how the company is preparing for G2E 2022.

Exclusive interview.- Velvix is a relatively young company on the market. However, in a short time, it has managed to expand with an interesting catalogue of games.

Fiona Leung, director of game design at Velvix, granted Focus Gaming News an exclusive interview to share her views regarding the company, the market trends she has detected at NIGA and what can we expect from the company to showcase at G2E Las Vegas 2022.

Can you give us a short overview of yourself and your background, specifically as it relates to EGM game design?

I started my slot gaming journey as a game designer at Ainsworth Game Technology. Throughout my career, I’ve always found game design extremely rewarding. I am sure my fellow game designers will agree that it is truly flattering to create a game from scratch and see people enjoying it on the casino floor.

Throughout the last 2 and half years, I’ve been working closely with our R&D team to create innovative content for players. Being able to be a part of the initial development of Velvix has been very challenging yet exciting. My goal in game design at Velvix is to ensure not only our products look and play fantastic in all aspects, but also customers’ feedbacks are heard and reflected in future development. 

“Being able to be a part of the initial development of Velvix has been very challenging yet exciting.”

“Being able to be a part of the initial development of Velvix has been very challenging yet exciting.”

Velvix is a newcomer to the market but seems to have a sizeable catalogue of game titles. What is unique about what Velvix is doing from a design and game feature perspective?

We do have a sizable portfolio of games and we are very proud of that!

Our R&D team is comprised of experienced engineers and designers. We are all uniquely very passionate about what we do and strive to invent new ways to improve gameplay experience beyond the more standard bonuses and features that players have come to know over the past few decades. 

What is the flagship title you want every operator to be aware of? Can you explain the uniqueness of the game and its features?

Our premium link series, BaoBao King, has undoubtedly been the show stealer at NIGA 2022. The community feature between machines is one of the most distinct aspects of this link series. When a player triggers the Battle Feature in the base game, it will invite another player within the same bank of machines and challenge them to a battle. Since the creation of BaoBao King and receiving its initial feedback, we have another link series in development that also has a community feature which is much more engaging between players. When it gets closer to G2E 2022, you should be able to get a sneak peek of what we have been cooking up in the studio! 

What are some of the industry trends you see out on the floor today? What impressed you at NIGA and what do you see as the next big opportunity for game design?

New games out on the floor in the past few years have been getting a lot more innovative and inspiring. To me, the clock-driven frenzy modes developed by Everi have been the most impressive concept I have seen as of late. Seeing the popularity of this unique feature has opened a whole new door in slot game design. 

What do you see as some of the challenges facing the industry and game design as a whole?

To me, the arms race of premium games itself is both a challenge and a driver in the industry. There are lots of great ideas out there, and getting the game to be both noticed and making a good impression yet still appeal to long term players has always been a bit of a challenge. Velvix has been tackling this by focusing on the player experience, as well as keeping up with trends. 

What can we expect to see from Velvix in the coming year? What do you have planned to showcase at G2E 2022 in Las Vegas?

A lot! Our team has been hard at work to ensure that all our games will be successfully approved and released on time. After our official product launch, we will be unveiling brand new standalone titles at this coming G2E, and an exciting link series consisting of a unique community feature as mentioned before.

“We have a solid roadmap ahead of us this year, which includes new designs, fresh content and approvals.”

Fiona Leung, director of Game Design at Velvix.

We are also very excited to develop new relationships in various markets. I am positive that Velvix will continue to impress and thrive in the coming years.