MetaGU Games
A brief look a some of their online slots reveals a company that crafts games with great care and attention to detail. Taking a couple of examples, Spirits of Zen is an anime-style slot with an Asian theme that features 5 reels and a 243 Ways to Win format. In this game, players will see a combination of traditional Japanese characters mixing with a Wild Hopper symbol that comes in the form of a robotic frog.
It can hop around the game turning other symbols into extra wilds, plus there’s a Heli-Flipper robot that creates guaranteed winning combinations and a Respin character that ensures further win-lines are completed. Add in some free spins where multipliers are applied for any consecutive wins and we have an attractive slot game that comes with plenty of unusual design features as well as innovative bonus rounds.
Another popular game from their range is Candy Spins, which has vividly-coloured symbols of sweets, love hearts and high card symbols on the 5 reels. Played over 20 paylines, these eye-catching icons can be replaced by a pink and white wild symbol, while some in-game reel modifiers can lead to extra prizes being awarded.
These include a Super Wild symbol that turns entire reels into wilds, a Candy Girl who stands to the sides of the reels, occasionally throwing purple bombs which transform other symbols into guaranteed win-lines and a free spins round where any wild symbols will stay stuck in place until the feature is over. It’s a distinctive slot machine that carries several popular features and has the wide bet ranges that make MetaGU games suitable for casual players and high rollers alike.
Cargo Software
To produce these games, both for themselves and third-party clients, MetaGU uses the Cargo software system. It’s a meta-generator that actually produces game development systems, and the patented software allows MetaGU to create games from scratch, or to amend existing titles in record time. This reduces costs for the clients and makes the resulting games compatible with multiple platforms while requiring the minimum amount of coding.
An easy to use interface means that developers will see their games created graphically and uses interactive menus to add features or functions to each title. It’s estimated that using this system, development time is cut by up to 70%, dramatically speeding up the requirement capture, design review, coding and QA testing of a game. Each slot can be tailored to match regulatory requirements for many jurisdictions, and produced in a range of languages, currencies, math models and return to player percentages.
In real terms, this can lead to a game progressing from first concept to completion in as little as 6 weeks, although this doesn’t include compliance, which relies on the speed of the relevant licensing authority. MetaGU will often take on games that are part way through the development process and will adapt them to work across more gaming platforms, while the software can also be used to develop Apps for iOS, Android and Windows powered mobile devices. Multiple games can even be developed at the same time, so a customer who wants a themed range for example, will be able to use the services of MetaGU and have a whole selection ready for their players in double-quick time.
Although MetaGU will develop games on behalf of their clients, the Cargo system has been made available as a stand-alone product, allowing other companies to bring their own ranges to the market at reduced costs and timescales.
Working for MetaGU
The studios of MetaGU are located in the trendy Shoreditch area of London, which is a hub of innovative companies and where the talent pool is extensive. The Mission Statement of the company declares that they want to have fun in their work, and to create a great working atmosphere, which is a refreshing thing to read. Of course, they also state that they want to make a good living along the way, and who can blame them?
It’s still a relatively small business, but they are always advertising for new staff, such as designers, artists and game developers, so it’s going in the right directions. By developing their own range and partnering with other casinos and developers to bring games to players in as little time as possible, MetaGU are a company that’s quick to respond to the requirements of their clients and the casino markets.
They seem to have the right attitude towards the business and it looks like it could be a great place to work, but of course it’s the end results that are important to us players and from what we’ve seen of their range, they certainly know how to create exciting games that are both visually appealing and come with enough bonus features to keep the punters entertained.
