30 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 throughout the instant game-generation process, we created NextGen from the ground up to offer the industry an end-toend system that takes security beyond what was previously possible. We harnessed IGT’s investment in developing the advanced digital printing platform used to create our Infinity Instants™ games and went on to develop this new and superior gameprogramming platform and security process, which can be used for all instant tickets, not just Infinity games. In plain terms, our NextGen system unifies dissimilar aspects of the instant ticket game-generation process — including ticket artwork, game rules, and game prize structure — into a single coherent process that delivers more robust levels of security than are possible with one-dimensional legacy systems. Why do you call NextGen “database-centric?” Keith Cash: Because it’s the first and only instant ticket game generation system that stores all pertinent elements in a single, multidimensional database for each game. By linking every process in instant ticket development to a common, coherent database and an associated blockchain for each game, the system automatically logs every process in an instant ticket’s development. The blockchain associated with each instant game’s unique database protects not only the entire game development process, but also the reconstruction process (for details on the NextGen process and its use of blockchain, please see the related article, “A Leap Forward in Instant Ticket Security,” in PGRI March/April 2023). This process-oriented type of instant ticket security is unique to NextGen and is not readily adapted to legacy systems. It’s one of the reasons we received several United States patents for NextGen. NextGen can be used for all instant games, but how does it specifically come into play with Infinity Instants? The state-of-the-art quality of NextGen’s security features allows it to produce more complicated games with the confidence that complexity doesn’t add risk, only more enjoyment for the player. With the combined capabilities of our NextGen game-programming platform and Infinity Instants digital printing platform, we can provide players with new, highly engaging play mechanics that can’t be replicated with traditional printing technologies. In 2023, for example, we released the first Infinity Instants Crossword game, which adds a secondary level of play by placing colorful gems within the unoccupied spaces in the Crossword grid. In addition to offering traditional Crossword gameplay, a set of coordinates is also provided to players, allowing them to collect gems interspersed in the grid spaces that are typically left blank and receive bonus awards based on which gems have been collected. The combination of NextGen and Infinity Instants technologies increases the number and types of game symbols that can appear in a single Crossword game. It also allows for adding color to the Crossword symbols beneath the scratch-off coating – a key feature of Infinity Instants games. The shape and configuration of the Crossword grids can now feature unlimited variety, no longer constrained by the number of versions that could be represented using traditional flexographic plate technology. Another recent launch demonstrating how these combined technologies give us new means to innovate is Ghostbusters™ with Infinity Instants, developed by IGT specifically for the Michigan Lottery. This 12-scene game is the latest reimagining of a franchise with tremendous staying power over the past 30+ years. It features iconic graphics and full-color Infinity Instants enhancements to the play symbols and the uncovered art. When you factor together the 12 different scenes, the color underneath the coating, and the specific game rules, it requires a tremendous amount of computing power to calculate what each ticket is worth, shuffle them, float them, and match the background
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