Interview Spotlight: Andy Sekula, Head of Games at Kalamba Games

Hi Andy, thanks for taking the time to chat with us. Could you introduce yourself and Kalamba Games to our readers?

I have worked as a game designer and a product specialist for the last 10 years, but I’ve played games ever since I can remember. I have worked within social casino and mobile games for most of my career and joined Kalamba Games in 2019. In just a comparatively short time, I can already say that I genuinely love working on video slots! That’s mainly because they combine elements of ‘regular’ mobile games, plus they have relatively short production timelines, meaning we get more creative content work, more often.

In your opinion, what are the reasons behind your company’s success?

 

There are few reasons for Kalamba success as I see it. We’ve got a very efficient production process supported by a talented Kalamba Team, that delivers high quality games within a relatively short timeline.

The fact that Steve and Alex– the company founders, knew the industry pretty well already and had a clear vision of where we want to go, was also very helpful. Moreover, Alex is an excellent game mathematician and his math models always deliver a fresh and exciting experience. This is also one of the foundations of Kalamba’s success.

How is the corporate culture at Kalamba Games?

We’re a fun-loving team and we always want to use the best technologies coupled with market and product insights that increase our partners’ player engagement and revenues. As part of this we’re building close relationships with key platforms and operators to help us do this.

Could you brief us on your upcoming titles?

We feel we’re getting better with each release - the next few games we’re releasing is SkyHunters in May, followed by Firedrake’s Fortune and Griffin’s Quest in June.

Each title has a unique combination of features such as Lucky Loops, Expanding Wilds, Split Symbols, Progressive Free Spins, Bonus Wheel coupled with universal themes that should appeal to a wide demographic. It’s a large and ever expanding ‘tool box’ - and we’re really excited about how these titles are going to perform.

What is your favourite production already released and why?

Miami Bonus Wheel is my favorite as it nicely blends more advanced features with classic reels layout. Mechanics like bonus wheel, progressive free spins or sticky multiplier wilds take the classic 3-reel slot game to a new level. The game resonated well not only with our European audience, but also with our Asian players. According to SlotCatalog Miami Bonus Wheel was among the top 10 slot games in China and Korea, which also provides us some valuable lessons here.

What is the most important aspect of the game from your perspective?

 

Ultimately, the game’s success is determined by the overall experience it provides - a mixture of emotions and their intensity.

There are many aspects of the game and it’s hard to pick one that would be a single point of success. In most cases the performance of the game is a result of a combination of things, but if I were to point to the most impactful combination of aspects, then I would say it’s about matching the math profile and players’ tastes.

With the large number of releases these days, why should players play your games?

We get inspired a lot by many slot games in terms of both the math and the artwork and we’re always trying to raise the bar. One of the main things we do differently right now is give players the ability to engage with games on their own terms, which accommodates varying play styles for different segments. For example, we allow to adjust their preferred volatility profile via HyperBet, but we are also adding innovative meta layers to our games that allow players to build up to a big potential win; such as jackpots, missions and random walking wilds, all of which put the player experience front and center. We think all this gives us a pretty distinctive offering in the market.

We’re always interested in predictions regarding the future of the iGaming industry, could you share yours?

I think that in the future, many suppliers and operators will make use of all the cool things that machine learning offers. Similar to a shopping experience with Amazon, you can get suggestions for gaming content based on your previous actions. The technology could also be used to flag potential problem gamblers which will significantly help the industry from a responsible gambling point of view, which will be a major step as the industry matures further.

Is there anything you would like to say before we say goodbye?

To our fans: I am very grateful there so many of you appreciate the gaming experience Kalamba delivers. Thanks to your feedback our games are becoming better and better with every new release.

To potential colleagues: If you enjoy making games, are willing to provide superb experience to our customers and would like to work in a learning-based, constantly evolving environment, then you most likely value the principles we do and should seriously consider joining us - visit kalambagames.com/career :)