It’s International Animation Day on Saturday 28th October, and to celebrate animation in gambling, OJO writer and podcast host Dan Grant caught up with Evgeny Vittman, Art Director at game studio Peter & Sons.
I’ve always been interested in the people behind the games, ever since I started playing online blackjack, then slots, then poker and now the likes of Crazy Time and Monopoly Live.
Who decides what slot to make? How many artists work on each slot? Which games are artists most proud of, and will AI kill off their craft, make them stronger?
Recently, I was lucky enough to meet Evgeny Vittman, the man behind some of the best looking slots of the online era. You’ll love what he has to say about slot machine graphics and the art of slots, and how he says it!
I’ve met hundreds of gaming industry people, and I can’t recall anyone as fun to speak to as Evgeny. He is a big personality, and he has inspired me to look closer at the games we play, and there’s no better time to start than International Animation Day!
I promise you, if you weren’t that interested in the backgrounds, characters and animations of the slots you play until now, you will be after you’ve watched this interview.
If you’d like to know more about Evgeny and his studio, read on. Otherwise, hit play and enjoy the show!
Meet Evgeny, artist extraordinaire!
Evgeny is a real character with an unusual journey from young graphic designer in Russia to slots artist. He has a Masters degree in Physics, he has worked for Disney and with some of the most iconic designers in the video games world. Now he’s kicking ass and taking names as Art Director at one of the most exciting new game studios around.
At Peter & Sons he leads a team of artists we can thank for games like Peter Hunter and Robin Sherwood Marauders, but he also keeps his own creative juices flowing with games like Xibalba. If you’re interested in design and slot machine graphics, check out Evgeny’s work on Behance, where you can see his passion for fun, quirky game design.
Who are Peter & Sons?
You may not recognise the name Peter & Sons, it’s not (yet) a household name, though many of the slots world’s best looking slots (and my favourites) have come from smaller game studios. They tend to be all about the quality rather than the quantity of games they release. And because of that, they pour huge amounts of time, care and love for their craft into every slot. Peter & Sons was born in 2019 and is now a team of world-class artists, animators, musicians, and mathematicians. If Evgeny is anything to go by, the whole team must be a riot, and I imagine working there is a ton of fun.
Peter & Sons slots you should try
If that’s whetted your whistle, go have a look at their most popular slot, Peter Hunter, plus Zombies at the Door and Thunder Hawk. Games like Book of Books, Barbarossa, Hammer of the Gods, John Legendarian and the Robin series are all available at PlayOJO too, though they came from Peter & Sons via Yggdrasil.
Better yet, watch my chat with Evgeny on YouTube and then play these games. You should have a new appreciation for art of a slots artist! Happy International Animation Day!
