ZVKY, pronounced Zvee Kee, is a design studio specialising in online and mobile casino games, console gaming development and marketing materials, that’s based in Bangalore India. Opened in 2009, they create beautiful art and animations, while also providing game integration services for other developers. Their list of clients includes well-known companies like casino games developer, Aristocrat, Zynga Games and Ubisoft. They have designed or contributed to over 150 slot games so far and continue to service clients across the casino industry and also the gaming sector. They provide clients with state of the art illustrations, character design, marketing materials and also help with the enhancement of existing products.
For such a respected studio, with so many clients, the location of ZVKY is hardly glamourous, as their studios are above an electronics shop in the heart of Bangalore, a city of some 10 million in the south west of India. But Bangalore is also known as the Silicon Valley of India, with companies like Infosys, Wipro and HAL based there. ZVKY have drawn from the huge pool of talent in the city and assembled a small team of artists, software and marketing specialists at their studios.
Nearly a decade of experience has brought this small company to the attention of some major players in the gaming industry and thanks to the attention to detail, care and craftsmanship lavished on their products, ZVKY Design Studios look set to remain as a top outsourcing choice for developers worldwide.
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The process of concept to completion starts with initial contacts between ZVKY and clients leading to a project cost and schedule being drawn up. Once approved, ZVKY get to work and keep collaborating with their clients, providing daily updates and feedback to ensure that what’s delivered at the end is exactly what the client wants. There’s six months of free support if any bugs need fixing, and KVZY will assist in getting apps approved by the Appstore if needed.
What really sets this company apart for others, such as Lost World Games slots, or Onlyplay slots, for example, is the sheer detail of their work. They have the motto that ‘Every Pixel is Precious’, which may be pushing things a bit but perfectly expresses their attention to each image produced. A look at some of their portfolio reveals just how high they have set the bar, with lifelike animations, stunning illustrations and state of the art 3D graphics that make some of the end products look like Hollywood movies.
Concept art is at the heart of what ZVKY Design Studios do, creating characters, weapons, buildings and pretty much any other object you can think of. A wide range of design tools are used and their website details how each is applied to their products. Animations for example, are made using Flash, After Effects, Spine and Dragonbones, while 3D art is created with Maya 3D, ZBrush and 2Ds Max.
While ZVKY Design Studios are making virtual waves in the console gaming business, it’s their contribution to a wide range of slot machines that really excites us. They can create the whole range of symbols, background images, bonus game and free spins content, as well as the paytables and any animations that play out as a slot game is loading up. They also specialise in Hidden Object rounds, where players pick objects from a picture to collect bonus prizes or unlock new features.
The style is of course, led by the client, so the artists at ZVKY can design and develop simple cartoon characters, or use Shutterstock images as the basis of photo-realistic people or objects. The details extend to the framework surrounding the reels, the control panels, logos and whatever else the client requests, with regular contact maintained throughout the process to ensure that what ZVKY deliver is exactly what the developer wants.
Although ZVKY don’t design or develop the maths behind each slot game, they will test each before delivery to ensure that the image quality remains intact as they are played, or that animations, such as those that announce a win, are working perfectly. If a character becomes animated when they are part of a winning combination, that’s down to the ZVKY and their talented artists.
The Lost Princess showcases what the company is capable of, with highly realistic character symbols set against an intricately designed background. A Princess, dwarf, unicorn and butterfly are some of the images that appear across this five-reel, 26-line game. A second image of the Princess is a wild symbol, while a castle is the scatter icon, launching between five and 15 free spins of the reels, depending on how many appear at once. The symbols float down transparent reels, giving punters a good view of the forest setting of this slot game themed around magic, while the smooth action of the reels even includes a little bounce as they end each spin, adding to the overall realism.
Wicked Mad Hot Inferno has been developed for Eclipse Gaming and has a more traditional style, with playing card symbols 10 through to A across the five reels and 25 lines. Designed to look like it’s at a land-based casino, this game is nonetheless optimised for playing on desktop computers and mobile devices such as iPhones, iPads, Windows and Android powered smartphones and tablets. Animated flames can be seen behind the reels and there’s a subtle 3D effect to the game. It comes with wild symbols, free spins triggered by burning 7’s and win multipliers during the bonus rounds. Players who land a full line of the game logo symbols, when they have the maximum stakes on, will scoop a huge progressive jackpot.
The guys and girls at ZVKY Design Studios are a seriously talented bunch. They have produced photo-real graphics for a number of popular slot games, console games and marketing programmes. By working closely with their clients, they are able to deliver the right product first time around, which saves costs, time and effort, while encouraging long-term partnerships which will benefit both sides.
A look at a couple of their slot games confirms their claims, with stunning graphics when needed and simpler designs when it suits the brief. Although the slots we tried didn’t have particularly exciting bonus features, that’s not what ZVKY base their business on. They are there to provide what clients ask for, so it’s the appearance of the games that we are interested in, and on this basis, they have certainly delivered impressive results.