CHATTING WITH ALEX BOWN – DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY AT FOUR LEAF GAMING

Last Updated: May 8, 2025

Written by Iain Fenton

The SlotsHawk news team are absolutely delighted to welcome you to our first ever ”chat’ session. You are in for a real treat today too, as we are talking with Alex Bown who is the Director of Technology at Four Leaf Gaming. This is the company behind one of the best slots of the year so far, Wild Buccaneers Triple Treasure!

We dive into Alex’s vast knowledge of slots development work as he tells us the ins and outs of what it takes to develop a modern online slot machine from the initial designs up to when it lands into the players hands. Like with all SlotsHawk interviews though, we will begin with Alex explaining to us his day-to-day roles as Director of Technology.

SlotsHawk – Hi Alex! Great to speak with you. First of all, could you tell us and our readers a little more on your day-to-day roles and tasks as the Director of Technology at Four Leaf Gaming?

Alex – Hi! Sure thing — because we’re still a relatively small company, I’m very hands-on with a lot of our development work. I maintain and improve major parts of our codebase, work on enhancing the UI, and implement new game features. I also lead our core development team of client and engine developers. That involves performing code reviews, mentoring the team, and helping shape how we craft each of our games, making sure the team has everything they need to succeed.

Beyond development, I work closely with our fantastic games team, planning the roadmap for upcoming titles, finding technical solutions to bring their ideas to life, ensuring deadlines are met, and shaping the wider technology roadmap to allow us to create innovative features and develop more efficiently. It’s a very dynamic role, and that’s part of what makes it so exciting.

SLOT MECHANICS AND DETAILS

SlotsHawk – Could you explain to us the process of how a modern slot game in 2025 is developed from beginning to end?

Alex – The process starts with a concept — choosing a theme, a few key mechanics, and ideally something innovative to build around. Once we’re happy with the direction, it goes to our mathematicians. They take the core ideas, refine the rules, and build a maths model that brings the gameplay to life in a balanced and engaging way.

Next, we move into concept art — this is where we start locking in the visual theme and layout. Once that’s nailed down, full production of the artwork begins, followed by animation. While all that’s happening, we kick off the front-end development — which is my specialty. That’s where we bring together the math’s, the art, the animations, and the gameplay ideas into a fully playable experience, constantly refining the visual flow to keep it engaging for players.

As the game comes together, we iterate heavily — tweaking features, refining animations, and improving gameplay elements that aren’t quite hitting the mark. Once we’re happy, we enter the QA phase to make sure everything is solid and bug-free, ensuring a smooth launch. And finally, once everything’s polished and ready, we launch the game and get it into players’ hands — which is always a really exciting moment for the whole team.

SlotsHawk – The team here at SlotsHawk loved playing Wild Buccaneers Triple Treasure, especially due to the four bonus games available. Was it always your intention to create a slot with numerous different bonus games?

Alex – Yes this was absolutely our intention, we have been driving an initiative called “bringing the game to the player”, we recognise that a ton of game development time can be spent on the best parts of the game, but then these are rarely seen – we craft our games with a data driven approach and user friendly math’s that truly enables players to explore all of the features we design.

SlotsHawk – Is it difficult to find the right balance between a rewarding base game and bonus game? We have played plenty of slots where the base game offers almost nothing in comparison with the bonus. For us, it is important for a base game to contribute to the excitement of a slot.

Alex – It’s absolutely a key driver in our maths and mechanics designs, following on from the previous point, we need players to also have the balance to get to see the features. At their core our base games should be an action-packed vehicle to the features.

Take Wild Buccaneers: Triple Treasure as an example, we have a base feature that’s super achievable and an awesome balance booster for players in cannonball cash, without modifiers, players see this on average every 100 spins so not only does every player see this (on average) but it provides extra chances for them to trigger the bigger bonuses by way of a nice balance injection.

SlotsHawk – Would you agree that where modern slot games are concerned, slot features are of greater importance than anything else?

Alex – Absolutely — a slot without features can feel like nothing is really happening. With the technology we have today, there are so many ways to innovate and turn a game into a truly interactive experience. Features are what keep players engaged, create those memorable moments, and set great slots apart from the rest.

SlotsHawk – Are RTP’s and max payouts so important to players or not, in your opinion?

Alex – From my personal point of view — I do think a slots RTP is important. I like to feel like I’m getting value for money when I play. Max payouts can sound exciting, but realistically only a tiny fraction of players will ever hit them — and with my luck, it’s not going to be me! So for me, a solid RTP carries more weight.

SlotsHawk – Can you tell us something interesting or insightful which is common knowledge for slots developers but not something which is known by the average slots player?

Alex – I think something interesting to address is a common misconception that’s often seen on streams – when you’re playing, the result really are random, and totally independent. I’ll often hear things like “the game knows I was awarded this quickly, it won’t be good”, or “this bonus took forever to get, so it’ll pay out” – whether it’s your first spin or your 1000th, there is no bias in the results.

THE FUTURE OF SLOT GAMES

SlotsHawk – From a tech perspective, do you see any pioneering changes around the corner? I recall several years ago when the Megaways mechanic was first developed, that was a bit of a game changer for many developers.

Alex – Nothing has landed quite like Megaways did in terms of mechanics lately — that really was a defining shift, and it’s still shaping the industry today. But from a tech perspective, we’re on the edge of some big changes. AI is going to touch every part of development — from speeding up asset creation to dynamic balancing and even helping us test smarter.

One of the most exciting changes, though, is the emergence of WebGPU. It’s a major leap forward from WebGL, giving us direct access to the GPU with much more efficiency. That unlocks the potential for higher fidelity graphics, smoother performance, and even opens the door to more immersive, interactive slots — all running seamlessly across devices. It’s going to change what’s possible for browser-based games.

SlotsHawk – Would you be able to give us any sneak peaks or previews into any upcoming slots or new mechanics from Four Leaf Gaming?

Alex – We’ve got a really exciting roadmap of games lined up this year — Our next release is called Golden Gumballs and is something totally different from anything you’ve seen before. It’s also our debut game for our new partnership with Bragg and will be available to US operators. It’s not your average slot — there’s a lot to unwrap, and we think players will enjoy every bite.

CONTRIBUTORS

Greetings, I’m Iain Fenton

Iain has worked within the iGaming industry for over eight years and is an NCTJ accredited journalist. Iain brings with him a wealth of knowledge and comes from a writing and journalistic background. Iain is a graduate of Leeds Trinity University and now spends his time between England and France.