Endorphina: From 10 Enthusiasts to 50+ Professionals

Looks like the year 2018 has been very productive for Endorphina. Not only were there several successful game releases, but you also received an MGA license, which is a big event. Talk to us about how it all started back in the day, and how complicated the path was from a beginner to a fully licensed brand joining top participants of the gaming industry?

We first started out as a company with less than 10 people, but everyone already had experience within the gambling industry. We started out by working in a rented apartment on the outskirts of Prague, but now, we’ve got 50+ employees in an office situated in the center of Prague. We’re a rapidly developing startup that’s becoming a mid-size enterprise, but still keeping the fresh spirit and spontaneity. We are aiming high and planning to expand our ideas worldwide and set our place among the top companies on the market.

We started out by working in a rented apartment on the outskirts of Prague, but now, we’ve got 50+ employees in an office situated in the center of Prague

For so long, Sweden and UK were the biggest hubs in terms of creating online gaming content, but it looks like that tendency is shifting. Please, introduce us to the team behind your brand. Is it international, or consists of professionals that you employ locally?

In general, Prague is a very international city, with one of the highest percentages of expats among its citizens. Therefore, we do have quite a mixed team inside our offices, which comes with everyone’s own different experiences which also becomes our advantage when it comes to creative process.

Everything we do is in-house, meaning that all the games are created on our own inside the walls of our office – so no outsourcing involved, although we did bring in people from all over the world to come and work with us. We have specific teams responsible for each step inside the process of creating the games and it is a very complex process.

We would also like to learn about your experience at the IGB Live in Amsterdam. How did it go for your company? Should we expect new, exciting partnerships and expansions to new markets?

For us, it went really well, as our stand was constantly busy and buzzing with both our existing and potential partners. We had a very interesting promo going on, where visitors had the possibility to shower themselves in real cash (US dollars). We had 3 boxes there, filled with random things including real cash. All the visitor had to do was to choose a box, stand under it and pull the string. Once the string was pulled, the items from the box would fall on the visitor. If they were lucky, they’d be showered in up to $200 USD. In this promo, we’ve distributed several thousands of dollars among the visitors attending iGB live 2018.

And as you've already mentioned, we've just obtained our MGA license. So for now, we’re concentrating on this market and we are slowly preparing to enter more regulated markets. This is a long and ongoing process so it´s hard to say when we will get a new license, but we would like to be able to present our games to as many players worldwide as possible.  

Congratulations on the release of the new slot, Kamchatka! Our team discussed the unique theme, and we all thought it is very refreshing. How did the idea about taking players to Kamchatka appear, and how long did it take to bring the slot from idea to the game?

Thank you very much, we are happy that you like it!

The idea of the Kamchatka slot came to our creative group because one of our members had the chance to visit this incredible place for themselves and saw all beauty with their own eyes.

To transform the slot from just an idea into the real game, can take anywhere from a few months to over a year, depending on various factors. In terms of our company, it is a completely creative process, and we can keep changing the game until we totally love it. I can even tell you about the cases when we were starting with one idea and half-way through, we realized we wanted to take a very different approach and it turned out to be a completely different idea from when we started.

The idea of the Kamchatka slot came to our creative group because one of our members had the chance to visit this incredible place for themselves and saw all beauty with their own eyes.

Here’s how the main process looks like:

First of all, before the “countdown” starts, the team already has a general understanding of what the thematic will be, as well with the design and mathematics of the slot. So it means that the decisions about the story, game play, the bonus and how to visualize it are already made. Basically, at the start, we already have a concept and vision.

After that, we create some 2D art and in case the slot requires the 3D models, we prepare them as well. While this is being done, everything then goes into the hands of the animation team and the audio team. The technical assembling is done when all arts and designs are ready. And this is usually the first time we can see the game “alive”.

At this point, plenty of comments, changes and markups can arise and some changes can be implemented. In this part of the process we spend the biggest amount of time. After that, we finalize the designs and sounds of the game.

Then it’s time to focus on the mathematics of the slot. The first perception of the exact game is forming during this stage. Here we can manage and correct some calculations and the volatility of the game.

When the team is satisfied with all that has been done, we pass it to the QA team, where the QA team should double check and confirm that all works like it is described in the documentation and in terms of functionality. All rules and texts are checked.

Finally, after all this, we can set a date for the release :-D

Out of all the slots you produced thus far, which turned out to be a biggest success among players?

I would like to highlight three different games, because each of them had a different impact on our players.

The first game I would like to mention is Satoshi´s Secret and it´s connection with the crypto market. This game really established our popularity amongst players in the crypto scene and who prefer sophisticated mathematics. Satoshi’s Secret is a unique game with 6 reels with a crypto theme, actually a first ever slot game created with this particular theme. At the time of its launch, it was so innovative that we’ve even won a prize for this slot game in categories: “Product of the year” and “Reader’s choice slot” within one big affiliate web page.

At the time of Satoshi’s Secret launch, it was so innovative that we’ve even won a prize for this slot game in categories: “Product of the year” and “Reader’s choice slot” within one big affiliate web page.

Another game to mention is Minotaurus – our most popular game amongst streamers. When the game was released, it was not so popular at first, but then when players began to understand the potential of the high wins and payouts, it became a booming success. The mechanics of the game was created by us and it can be a bit tricky to understand if you play for the first time. But if you stick around long enough, you’ll get the hang of it and can be greatly rewarded (also if luck is in your favor, of course). When the first streamers were caught on to the mechanics, they spread their positive reviews on our game and it became popular amongst even more streamers and players very soon.

Lastly, we must mention our game Voodoo, which currently sits at the top position in all markets. It’s a very hypnotizing game with mystical vibes, currently standing as one of my personal favorites. The slot game takes you to see the dark secrets of voodoo magic and practices. Among the symbols, you can see the sacral doll, the Voodoo sorcerer, a mighty Damballa, the serpent God, and other imaginary characters related to this theme. The most exciting aspect of this game is the expanding symbols during free games. If in winning combination, those symbols can expand to cover the entire reel — meaning that you can get the full screens of more symbols during one spin and we all know what it means ;-)

We are now seeing slots in your portfolio. Would you consider producing other types of games with time, e.g. table play, live?

We are seriously considering table games, like roulette, blackjack and video poker. Probably in 2019, one of those might be released from us ☺ However, our main focus right now is slots.

Last but not least – what are some of the upcoming games that Endorphina is getting ready to roll out for its fans? We always enjoy teasers from content creators!

As we’ve already announced on our social media, there will be a new game which celebrates the Day of the Dead, called “Dia De Los Muertos.” This game is based on the Mexican tradition and celebration. From the sneak peek you can already tell that this game will be amazing.

You can also expect to see more fruit games from us, because they are still insanely popular amongst our players who prefer the more classic style of games.

Also, you can keep your hopes up for Christmas time, as we may also prepare something special for our players for the holiday season :)