OUR CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER, MARIO BENITO, SPEAKS TO CASINOMENTOR ABOUT THE GAME DEVELOPMENT AT R. FRANCO DIGITAL

Casino Mentor sits down with Mario Benito, R. Franco Digital’s Chief Commercial Officer, to discuss the leading provider’s recent hit games whilst providing an insight into how they were developed.

Hi, Mario firstly thank you for providing this interview for our readers, for those who aren’t aware of R. Franco could you tell us more about yourselves?

With a rich history as a market leader in game development for over half a century, Spain’s R. Franco Group has amassed nearly a decade of unmatched experience in the design and development of online games across various platforms and formats. We have an extensive library of more than 250 titles and this extends through video poker, video bingo, roulette, B-machine (AWP), mini-games and more.

Throughout its history, R. Franco has published the most successful titles within the Spanish market including fan favourites like Gnomos Mix, África, Santa Fe, La Diligencia and many others. We continue to do this today, with some of our most commercially and critically acclaimed slots within the region being Neópolis, RF Angels and Reina Sherezade.

We are also seeing this success extend beyond our Spanish origins as we expand our reach in additional regulated markets around the world, aided by our acquisition of a Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) licence.

You recently released Vacuum Buster a title that provides both wild reels and moving reels whilst carrying a rather unique theme, what can players expect from this title?

R. Franco Digital’s recently released slot Vacuum Buster features 5×3 reels with medium volatility and an RTP of 92%. The game has stand-out sound effects and gameplay, along with its unique theme. We relish creating memorable gaming experiences and, in this example, the slot features a colourful design and fun gameplay made possible by the title’s protagonist, a cleaning lady and her powerful hoover weapon who face off against evil sofas and scary fluff.

Prizes are awarded from left to right across 20 paylines with a huge focus on our converted Attraction Feature, a mechanic that boosts potential prizes for players. For example, the Wild on the first reel being the cleaner is different from the Wild present on other reels which are portrayed by dirt monsters. The cleaner sucks these up with her hoover, adjusting the placement of the reels as she does so and awarding higher wins for players.

We also create all our slots with our vast and varied player base in mind, with Vacuum Buster’s bets ranging from a minimum of €0.20 to a maximum of €80, depending on the market.

What are your most popular titles? And are there any that you are particularly proud of?

All of our slots are developed to provide the best user experience to our clients and also to make sure that players enjoy themselves while exploring each new game. We are particularly proud of one of our recent releases, Gnomos Respin, which serves as a reimagining of our popular land-based casino franchise. It introduces many new features while paying homage to the much-loved original.

Picking some of our most beloved titles is a difficult task purely because of how large our portfolio of games is and with each offering players something different. However, some of our most recognisable games are Game Of Chronos, TimeLab, Red Mantis, and recent releases Witches North and Wako. 

How does creating games for the wider international market compare to creating games specifically for a Spanish audience?

We always make sure to analyse market trends along with current events that may go on to influence popular themes or designs during the production of our titles. With Spain and LatAm being intrinsic to our heritage, we are acutely aware of the preferences and tastes of the target audience in such regions and often make specific productions designed to appeal to these markets.

As we expand globally, we will increasingly focus on the raw data from previous releases and market research to influence our future decisions in the overall game production process. However, we are still always sure to let our own creative talent – the same teams that have brought us such great success to this point – take the lead in game production. Stats are useful as a guide towards influencing decision-making to ensure a title’s success, but the magic dust supplied by our developers isn’t as easily quantified.

You can see some of our games in the demo area of Casinomentor.