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Henrik Sandin
Henrik Sandin
Interview by Ian Sherrington
I’ve known Henrik Sandin, 47, for many years. We first met at a beach bar in Antigua around 1998, possibly.
We recently had a long chat about the old days and about his role with one of the original software providers, Boss Media.
Before our chat, I had no idea just how clever a programmer he is and how he figured out how to create internet casino games from scratch.
He became an employee of Boss Media, at its inception in 1997. Boss Media grew rapidly and became one of the ‘big four’ of casino games suppliers.
Boss Media would meet a grim ending, unlike Henrik, who, despite a serious motorcycle accident, has stayed in the industry ever since.
Here’s his story…
Revision Note. After first publication of this interview, , Henrick felt his colleagues deserved a bit more of the credit for the success of Boss Media. So I’ve rewritten a few passages and fixed a few errors and omissions.
Page List
- Interview – Hendrik Sandin – Boss Media
- Interview – Henrik Sandin – Operations
- Interview – Henrick Sandin – Hurricane Georges
- Interview – Henrick Sandin – Norway
- Interview – Henrick Sandin – Norsk Tipping
- Interview – Henrick Sandin – Antigua Again
- Interview – Henrick Sandin – Boss Media’s Home Markets
- Interview – Henrick Sandin – Boss Media Devoured
- Interview – Henrick Sandin – After Boss Media
- Interview – Henrick Sandin – End
With my grateful thanks to:
Dr Aftab Rizvi
Ben Dalfen
David Vanrenen
Simon Noble
Henrik Sandin
And especially thank you Paul Cullen for the editing.
Early Days
In 1985, at 8 years old, Henrik started his programming career. Using a desktop 386 PC, he worked out how to alter game software so that it would run using the limited hardware of his PC. Hacked them basically.
This was no mean feat and started his path to becoming a programmer of exceptional talent; he went on to hacking game consoles and then created free software for the hacking community in general.
Joel Wikell
By the early 90’s, Henrik Henrik was hanging out with some fellow hackers who met a man Joel Wikell who was a Swedish magazine publisher, in Sweden. Joel asked Henrik if he could create make online casino games?
As every good programmer would say when challenged: “Of course we can make that.. 😊”
They agreed and the group began to work out how to create the required software. A nice part of this task was that they actually got paid.
Programming Is Challenging
Creating casino game software from scratch is pretty daunting. However, by using his extensive knowledge of the Assembly & C++ computer languages as well as researching through documentation that was available at that time (bulletin boards mainly), he worked out how to manipulate images on screen and the relevant game logic.
It was Joel, with his media background, who determined the layouts of the games. He was a perfectionist and strove to create an impressive, but intuitive, screen layout even with the limitation of the screen capabilities of that time.
“Joel was very specific about the size and placement of each button and feature”.
Henrik made the magic happen by writing the programming code needed. He used a combination of ASM and C++ and worked out how to manipulate the graphics in memory by using bitmaps to display the graphics.
“I spent countless hours working it out. I had dial-up internet and bulletin boards to locate information and the book ‘Programming Windows’ by Charles Petzold (a classic) for $30. “
Some of the biggest challenges he faced were to do with the timing of different CPU and GPU capabilities.
“I needed to provide the same gaming experience to users on different PCs. Slots should spin at the same speed for everyone.”
He also realized that the graphics and animations needed to be in 3D; giving the user a more realistic experience. So, he worked out the necessary algorithms to take flat images (for example: slot icons like a cherry) and to display them on the screen, with shadows and real-life movement with gravity and motion blur.
All clever stuff. And it worked! His co-workers had built a slots, roulette and blackjack and the first game he built using the co-workers framework was … Keno!
