Casinos: The Importance of Compartmentalization for Player Experience

A Las Vegas casino floor is an interesting case study of psychology. It used to be the case that casino floors were haphazard and confusing, with the idea that patrons would stay longer and play the games instead of seeking a quick exit. That strategy belongs to the past, however, and the swanky casinos are now more likely to tantalize patrons with feng-shui-like surroundings, noting that a feeling of calm will encourage visitors to spend more.

Online casinos, of course, do not have floors. And, in fact, they have unlimited space, technically speaking. However, they are faced with a different set of problems. How, for example, do they organize the 100s – sometimes 1000s – of games so that it does not become overwhelming for players? And for iGaming developers, there is the question of how to get your games to stand out among the 100s of others on the platform.

Clever Compartmentalization Is Key

These questions are important for online casino platforms. Naturally, the answer lies in the idea of compartmentalization, i.e., the process of organizing and listing games in a clever manner so that it’s not going to feel all too much for players when they log-in to a site. Of course, this is important for UX (user experience), and it is the kind of thing that anyone launching a website must consider, but for casinos, it is crucial.

Certainly, you will see the platforms are already split into certain genres – Table Games, Live Games, Slots, Jackpots, and Arcade/Scratchcard Games are common tabs you will see. But there is a particular issue with slot games, as they will usually number in the 100s and 1000s on a modern casino site. Usually, slots are split into subsections, and this makes it easier for the players to discover what they are looking for. For experienced players, a search function is handy because they know exactly what they want. Being able to filter by game developer is also important. Some players enjoy the traits of NetEnt games, for instance, whereas others might like the high volatility of Pragmatic Play or No Limit Gaming slots.

Where to Place the Silent Samurai?

Increasingly, casino platforms have opted to compartmentalize slots based on theme. And this gives up some interesting choices. Consider a game like the Silent Samurai slot from Playtech. How would you characterize it by theme? There isa number of ways you can do it. For a start, Silent Samurai broadly has an adventure theme, and it also could be considered a Japanese or Asian-style slot. With 9 paylines, it could also be included in a section with 1-10 paylines. It comes in a jackpot version on some platforms, so you could add it to the Jackpot section. Finally, it was released in 2012 and has stood the test of time, so you could put it in the Classic Slots section.

The point is that there are numerous ways to categorize the games, and platforms must make smart decisions in order to organize the site in terms of UX. Silent Samurai is but one example of a slot that could be put in multiple sections. And it kind of defeats the purpose of compartmentalization if you were to put it in all relevant categories. Usually, the slot is placed in a couple of the most matchable categories, and the player can discover from there.

Of course, as slot games get more interesting and sophisticated, the casino platforms also change with the times. For example, you will now notice that many casinos have Megaways sections, which is understandable given the massive popularity of that slot genre in recent years. We can mention the expendable megaway slot, which can be placed into the action slot category. We can also cite games like Play N’ Go’s Reactoonz and Pragmatic’s Gates of Olympus, both of which fall into the category of Grid Games. Thematically, the former is an alien-themed slot, whereas the latter is clearly based on Greek myth.

Summing up

All of these ideas may seem trivial, but they are crucial to the experience of players on a casino platform. Otherwise, there would be just lists and lists of games. Still, we should finish by pointing out the most important category – the Most Popular section. This is data-reliant, and it allows new players to discover what experienced players enjoy. It means that you’ll see the likes of Starburst, Book of Dead, Big Bass Bonanza, Jammin’ Jars, Dead or a Wild, and others placed prominently at the top of casino sites today, but new games may grow organically in popularity to take their places in the future.