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Photo Play Update 2002 with Intelligent Games Operation
A new software update from Photoplay titled "I.GO" will give operators a new screen design, new games and an intelligent system operating in the background. I.GO will first be presented to the public during the Löwn-Days, which will take place from 23rd to 26th September in Mallorca. Sales will be launched during the trade fair in Madrid.
What is behind I.GO?
I.GO is the abbreviation for "Intelligent Games Operation" which consists of five steps:
1. New Games: The power pack will contain about eight new games, that will have been tested in a large-scale players' survey by the end of August.
2. New Screen Design: New surface, new games design! Here too, tests were carried out amongst players several times during the development phase.
3. Interactive Player Assistant: A new Photo Play mascot will assist especially newcomers to find their way through the compre-hensive selection of possibilities. The goal is to enable beginners to find their way to a top game in a category most interesting to them right from the start.
4. Interactive Demo Mode: This is a fundamental change during which the rigid system was opened up and extended by an interactive dimension. In future, a player can reach a chosen game directly from the teaser without having to go via the main menu. Specially designed comic strips allow for additional entertainment. Further, games' rules are now described through animation as well as in words. „This is the start of a whole variety of possibilities" as funworld-owner, Joseph Öhlinger points out.
5. Games Carousel: The top-9-button shows the nine games which are currently most popular on a particular Photo Play terminal. This list is updated on a fortnightly basis, allowing for regional peculiarities and playing habits at each respective operating location.
The New Games
The exact composition of games will take place once the market survey has been closed off at the end of August. According to Peter Berger: „ Two hits are apparent already: ‚Rumbling Marbles' and ‚Girls Only'."
„Rumbling Marbles" is one of those logic- and concentration games that one just can't get enough of, once one has begun. To score, it is necessary to bring marbles into a correct sequence. With a widened field of vision one will find quite a number of combinations. The choice of "playing pieces" is just as varied: Golfers, for example, can exchange their "marbles" for "golf balls".
In „Girls Only" completely new options were applied during the conception of the game. „Girls only" is based on a quiz of knowledge and was especially developed for the high share of female players (about 40%). For this reason, the job of writing questions was not outsourced as usual, but written by a funworld team consisting of female staff right through the various departments of the company. As soon as two questions of a particular category have been answered in the course of the game, an in-between game (skill/concentration/knowledge) appears on the screen. A player can score additional points by playing this in-between game.
An Autumn Full of Suspense
The power pack for the existing system is complete excepting a few final touches. There will however be yet another novelty in autumn. Currently a new operating system is being tested on the market. "The new product will come on the market as soon as international players' surveys have confirmed that players are really satisfied with it" informs funworld boss, Josef Öhlinger. First results of the market survey are expected at the beginning of September. „The actual operating system as such is insignificant to the end user and not really distinguishable at a first glance" states Josef Öhlinger. "This is why the intelligent system behind it is just as important. I.GO meets these prerequisites."
This innovation promises a better picture resolution, more animation possibilities and more elements guaranteeing long-term excitement for our players. First projects, like a built-in camera being integrated into the playing process, turning the Photo Play terminal into an interactive medium, are being worked out.
Several terminals of the Net-Generation (in other words: all terminals that were distributed since January 2001) are suitable for both systems and can be alternated with an easily applied kit. Masters will be available in a joint ranking list by the way.
So, funworld is promising an exciting "Photo Play autumn". Although no more will be given away about it at this stage, another activity being awaited in suspense is the "Thank-You" promotion for five years of loyalty….
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