“By creating a variety of products we get unique expertise” – ATMOSFERA Studio Director Arsen Barsegyan on Bringing Live Casino Games to Life

• You were also introduced to us as one of the company’s ambassadors. How would you pitch ATMOSFERA to our readers? What do your games offer that the competition doesn’t?

This is my first experience as an ambassador. As part of ATMOSFERA we made the decision to pass our values not only through products, but also through people who love and appreciate the project. There is a big competition for a person in the market, so my task as an ambassador is to create a reputation as a professional market participant and attract new professionals with the same values & vibe to us. We build quality studios, their quality speaks for itself. We have a great team, many advantages in our work. It’s easy to be an ambassador with what we have in our arsenal. Our CEO Yury Ermantraut told you a lot about our games, for more details you can refer to his interviews with LiveCasino.com.

• We would say that style is one of the main ways in which ATMOSFERA strives to stand out from the crowd – striking studio design, intricate camera work, and an attractive presentation are all key components here. From your perspective, what would you say are the most important factors for making a live casino game look and feel memorable?

Thank you very much for such nice words. Basically you answered the question. We use some television technology to create the studio infrastructure that is really eye noticeable. To feel memorable, evaluate the whole product correctly. This is the studio, the game interface and the professional work of our game presenters. That is excellent performance of all components. For example, even those presenters who work in live games studios, regularly visit training. We are very strict on details such as eye contact, player engagement and retention.

• How important would you say the user experience is for the success of the product? Was the signature ATMOSFERA look a part of the initial pitch for the company?

Undoubtedly, a convenient, easy, simple way for the user to meet and interact with the product leads to success.

The signature ATMOSFERA is catching attention, yes. But do not look for abstruse meanings in writing. We as a top management have defined this visualization style for the world. But I am more than sure that the ATMOSFERA signature influenced the company’s success.

• ATMOSFERA offers both classic casino games like Roulette and unique offers such as Battleship. Which of these would you say was harder to create for a Studio Director? Is it more challenging to stand out in a well-established market such as live roulette or to create something from scratch?

By creating a variety of products we get unique expertise. The principles adopted in the creation of any studio are generally identical. From the moment a game goes live, we should provide quality not only in content, but also in the data flow. The studio is an inseparable part of the final product. It will be correct to understand that its visual component is formed together with the concept of the game, it is an organic product. Doing well-established games such as roulette is equally interesting because we all put everything through our individual perspective.

• Speaking of which, Battleship isn’t presented by a real dealer, as far as we know. Would you say that’s an advantage or a disadvantage? What are the key differences between directing a game with a dealer compared to a fully automated one?            

A product such as Battleship is mostly geared towards one big partner. During the operation of the studio and products, we collect various analytics in ATMOSFERA. Based on the analytics of some products, we concluded that the presence of game presenters doesn’t give a tangible increase in indicators such as the presence of players and their retention, so we decided to optimize the product component and work without them. Of course, in my subjective opinion, the game presenters can always complete the product, but in ATMOSFERA we rely on many other factors in making decisions.

• Are you a player yourself? If so, would you say you personally prefer one type of game over another? Does your experience as a player influence your work?

I’m not a pro gambler, but of course, I play casino games to shape my personal user experience. This is one of the basics that we take into account in our product and studio standards, so I have no doubts that experience influences the work. We use it, but this is not the last instance of course.

• Do you have a favorite title in the current ATMOSFERA portfolio? Are you particularly proud of how any of them turned out, or do you like them all equally?

There’s a common saying that for a child every new toy is special. So now the product Music Wheel fills me with the greatest inspiration. We were able to upgrade ourselves to the next level, which we are very proud of. But if we look back, we experienced similar emotions from each product created within the ATMOSFERA studio. You’ve already appreciated our studios for products such as keno and bingo – this is the highest level design. Live Roulette is especially close to me as our first casino product. For this reason, as a parent of my studios, I love them all.

• ATMOSFERA is still relatively young, but it’s already clear that the future is quite exciting. What can we expect from your studio in the future?

I think it’s no secret to say that now we are thinking about creating a BlackJack studio, we are also planning to update the Live Roulette studio. We’ve already accumulated enough ideas on how to make a level up. We are  also working on our first exclusive partner studio. Ask me about special surprises in six months. ATMOSFERA always keeps some secrets to surprise our audience and partners in the future.

• That covers pretty much everything we wanted to ask. Would you like to add something before we wrap up? If you have anything left to say to us or our readers, here’s your chance! 

It’s a pity that the interview is coming to an end. You gave me the opportunity to pass various interesting questions through myself, to feel the warmth, to understand once again why I am doing this and why I love my job so much. You are very cool guys, this is one of the most interesting interviews I’ve had. When I read the questions for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised how well you prepared. Now the time has come when I can say with a smile on my face – we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

We would like to thank Arsen for his time, fascinating responses, and kind words. For more information on ATMOSFERA and their products, check out this page. More reviews and information are on their way, so stay tuned!