The Peculiarities of Games Development in iGaming
The iGaming niche attracts more and more attention in the gaming industry, for two reasons – firstly, the number of players it attracts increases every year, and secondly, the technologies used for iGaming become more complicated and state-of-the-art. As a result, many new companies or wannabe-developers start wondering if they should try making games in the iGaming niche.
This is a totally reasonable question, because the demand for iGaming entertainment is on the rise, and it is not expected to decrease anytime soon. Searches for a no deposit online casinos in Canada increase every month, and the global trends are pretty much the same. So, creating an own games development studio is a potentially promising project. However, one needs to research and explore the market carefully, because iGaming products have their own peculiarities that must be considered from the very start.
The Key Nuances of iGaming
iGaming is a bit different from other sub niches in the gaming industry, for a bunch of reasons, but the main reason is users’ expectations. While today, iGaming borrows a lot from social games and also the leading video gaming products, some of the key requirements only evolve according to this narrow niche’s needs.
One of the things to always remember is the purpose of the player when they pay for an iGaming product, and ensuring that the game’s tech specs and features completely align with this purpose. Most often, the key purpose is to bet and win, while being entertained. However, there are several very down to earth practical aspects that should also be kept in mind.
Games Peculiarities to Consider
While iGaming products may look really beautiful, and offer some outstanding features, bonuses, and winning opportunities, the leading iGaming developers have already noticed (and followed) several crucial trends that seem to prevail at the moment.
The reason why these trends prevail, and at some point may become even more important than complicated gameplay or generous bonuses is because most of the gaming today happens on mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones. This mobile experience requires a very specific approach to user satisfaction.
Customizable Experience
The first thing to keep in mind when developing games for the iGaming niche is that people today want customizable stuff, starting from sound settings, to day/night mode, to volatility levels, to high/low risk settings, and so on. Generally, the more customizable the game can be, the more customizable it should be. This gives more choice and flexibility to the players, meets different needs of different players in one product, and thus increases the developer’s chance to enhance loyalty to their brand.
Left Hand Mode
This seems to be a small issue, but for left-handed players, this is not so small. In fact, even today, very few igaming developers already make products that can be customized for left-handed players. This is why companies which do make such games immediately receive a higher portion of attention from a certain population of players. Moreover, such developers immediately gain competitive advantage not only compared to other companies that have not yet introduced such a feature, but even compared to bigger companies that fail to follow newer trends as fast as small studios can.
One Finger To Rule Them All
Another even more rare feature for iGaming products that are available on mobile devices is the ability to play and also navigate through the settings, using only one finger. This is in fact a very unique feature that few developers consider, but for mobile games, having it gives a powerful advantage to the developer. The “one finger” approach makes the game really convenient to play, because we all know that most people only use one finger when scrolling and tapping on their phones.
Battery Saving Mode
This is a life-saving mode for people using their phone frequently for everything, from work tasks to gaming. This is why Battery saving mode is really crucial basically for all games that can be played on mobile devices. More and more developers start considering this feature, but the results of its implementation are not equal, so some studios can gain advantage simply by making this feature easy to use, and efficient.
Lite Mode
Lite mode of a game is used when the Internet connection is unstable, or the speed is not high enough. In this case, Lite mode allows the user to use a more “primitive” version of the game, removing certain elements of design, but at the same time, without decreasing the game’s speed, or quality of the visuals remaining. Lite mode slowly becomes a standard for many iGaming developers, but there is still a long way to go.
Final Thoughts
iGaming products development has many different nuances. To succeed in this highly competitive niche, one needs to always have their ear pressed to the ground, tracking the slightest changes and trends.