“We are trying to look at igaming in a new way”

Following the launch of its latest title, Myths of Bastet, OnlyPlay discusses the game and its approach to the igaming segment.

Since 2020 – and even before – igaming has been taking over the gambling industry and new fun and more exciting ways to play are the top priority for operators. OnlyPlay has just released Myths of Bastet, a new Ancient Egypt-inspired title that’s set to make an impact on the space, as Christina Murkatina, CEO of the company, discusses the game and the online gaming vertical.

Tell us about the game Myths of Bastet, it’s not like classic slots, what is the name of this format?

This is a new game format we called Slottery.

The main difference between this format and the classic one is a simple playing field (usually 1×5 or 1×7), which allows you to allocate a large area of ​​the screen for an animated cartoon. This is where all the magic happens 🙂

In Myths of Bastet, we invite the player to interact with the animation using the game board. That is, most often the actions of the player or the dropped combination will affect the game’s animation part.

Myth of Bastet has already been launched in a simplified version to look at audience response. We saw the audience’s interest in the setting, so we decided to develop it and add social mechanics since the main task of our business is to provide the player with high-quality engaging content, with a sufficient game session and return mechanics.

What is its uniqueness? What makes it different from other similar games?

We have already talked about the uniqueness of the Slottery format. Myths of Bastet has 3 unique bonus games based on free spins mechanics: cobra, scorpion and crocodile.

When one of the combinations falls out, the player enters the corresponding progress bonus game. When one of the combinations falls out, the player enters the corresponding progress bonus game. A mirage appears on his screen with a dropped creature (cobra, scorpion or crocodile), which must reach the destination, after which the player falls into the long-awaited bonus game. While the player is spinning the slot, the creature moves towards the target.

This progress is saved and the player can return to the game and continue at any time, which is good for his retention. Also, the player always sees how much is left for him, and this is a positive motivation to still reach the goal.

Could you tell us more about the buy feature? What is its peculiarity?

In this game, we added a buy feature, as it fits perfectly into the setting. The player may not wait, but buy his favourite bonus game at any time. Interestingly, we don’t reset the player’s progress. Even if he was halfway to the desired bonus and bought it, then he’ll still have half the way to the next bonus game.

What makes each bonus combination unique?

We wanted to make a game with a variety of content, so that the player, in addition to big wins, would like to discover different bonus games. Also, we open all 7 cells in the bonus game, which gives a chance for even greater winnings.

As I said above, there are 3 of them: cobra, scorpion and crocodile.

When the player enters the cobra bonus game, all symbols are replaced with vases and the player has 3 lives. After stopping each spin, all the vases are broken and the player can get a win, a cobra or nothing. If a cobra is caught, the player loses one life. You never know in what kind of free spins a cobra will fall, therefore it creates a feeling of an unlimited number of free spins.

If a player gets into the bonus with a scorpion, then with each free spin, where a scorpion is found in the symbols, the player has a progress. Progress can reach a multiplier of x10 for total winnings and +30 free spins!

In the last bonus game, a crocodile crawls out onto the playing field. It takes two cells and moves with each free spin. If the symbols of the crocodile match its location, then these icons are replaced with 2 Wild symbols, which gives the player nice winnings.

We wanted to make a game with a variety of content, so that the player, in addition to big wins, would like to discover different bonus games.

Christina Murkatina, CEO of OnlyPlay

You mentioned the social mechanics of the game, they are more and more common in Onlyplays’ games, let’s dwell on them in more detail.

As I said, we are trying to look at iGaming in a new way. Even in our classic slots, you can see additional mechanics that are aimed at the modern young player.

We brought some experience from social gaming. In my opinion, the tools for retaining and engaging a player are stronger in social gaming due to the impossibility of receiving the main reward — monetary gain. Therefore, other methods of engagement are used there: meta games, achievements, daily tasks and much more.

To lengthen the session, the game needs to be worked out in depth. If everything is built only on core mechanics, the player will quickly lose his interest. Therefore, a modern slot machine or any other game is a set of engaging tools as a superstructure over the main core mechanics.

It’s hard enough to predict which game will “shoot”. It’s rather trial and error. Our strategy is to collect MVP projects, test them, bring them to the desired metrics, add social mechanics, and only then “package” them into the finished product.