Turning an idea into a game in one day – the Koolbit way

Attendees at GiGse next month in San Francisco, California will be able to discover how an idea can be turned into a flagship game within a matter of hours in a vibrant and creative environment during a tour of Koolbit’s studios.

Koolbit is one of the most prolific and successful mobile and social casino game developers, having created 500 games, 100 math models and six new cross-platform apps over the past 15 months.

Koolbit chief executive Gerard Cunningham is keen to show GiGse attendees the benefits of nurturing a thriving workplace for ‘creatives’ and ‘leadership’ whilst offering the inside track on exactly how games such as the 1UpCasino app can be created.

To demonstrate the potential speed of game development, Koolbit’s team will transform an idea from one of the tour’s attendees into a game on the very same day at the company’s Mission Street studios.

Cunningham, who founded Koolbit in 2011, said: “We are inviting attendees to bring an idea for a perfect slot game.

“We will select one of the attendees to provide a theme from which we will make a slot on the day. If they want their own casino app they should just call me a day or two earlier!”

He added: “We have launched one new original slot machine every day for more than a year.

“Creating a game is a difficult process. It requires a great concept, supporting math, awesome art, exciting animations, engaging music.

“However, our engineers focus on enhancing our Universal Game Platform, allowing the artists and mathematicians to focus on letting creativity flow. Therefore Koolbit makes new slot machines in one per cent of the time and one per cent of the cost of any other player using our game and app production platform.

“This makes Koolbit the most prolific mobile and social casino game company in the world today.”

While the company seems to be getting the technology right, Cunningham also believes that the studio tour will show how his company has developed a creative environment in the workplace.
“The secret to that creative environment is focusing on constraints, feedback and schedule,” he added.

“Our creatives are used to the idea that a game is like a Haiku, a tiny story that when executed well can pull players in, and make them want to re-engage again and again. So when we start a new game we think about concept and mechanics.

“The creative team seeks clarity on what success looks like for them, and leadership are given enough space to add their own ideas. They must feel safe to fail, because leadership is willing to take risks and sign off on risky games.

“Finally, they require the ability get feedback immediately, and we have a measured schedule for creatives. A typical day is 9.30am to 5.30pm with plenty of food!”

GiGse (www.gigse.com) will run from April 20-22 at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco.

Register for GiGse now to secure a place at the tour. If you are already registered for GiGse, email hannah.gold@clarionevents.com to book a place on the tour. Please note that there is very limited availability to book a place on the tour.