Online slots are undoubtedly popular nowadays. Among the most prominent reasons these games are so popular today is that they are very straightforward and easy to play. There are few rules to get started, and present around is a wide range of games of this kind available. Plus, you’ll find more game choices at online casinos than at brick-and-mortar casinos.
Slot machines form the majority of games available around. However, online slots are more proliferate. Online slot games mimic the slot machines in land-based casinos. Moreover, they come in various themes and captivating visual effects, including 3D animations and beautiful graphics. Not only those, but many online slot games are also now playable on mobile, so you can jump into the game while on a cab home or catching a train.
To further immerse into the experience with online slots, isn’t it great to learn what happens behind the scenes? Yes, in the process of making the games you play. So in this article, we’ll discover the key factors and steps that drive the design of these online slot games. We are just as excited and thrilled as you are, so read on.
The Development Process
Know that the development of your favorite online slot games does not happen overnight. The process is composed of laborious research and a substantial understanding of programming languages to bring the game to your screen.
The following list is generally what the process is about:
- Mission and goals
- Research
- Planning and creation
- Final design
However, in between those phases, more things happen. Professionals that include statisticians, mathematicians, server developers, front- and back-end developers, creative teams, project managers, and game testers all work together to develop the games you play.
Join us as we take a closer and more in-depth look at these processes.
A Closer Look At Online Slot Game Design: The Steps
First Phases
The first step in online slot game design is all about thorough market research. The team behind the game design finds out which features are in demand. They also identify the key market segment. After those, proposals are drafted to transform these concepts into something concrete. Then, the plans are passed to the creative department.
The Creative Process
In this step, the creative department compares the pre-conceived designs with the current slot game designs. This comparative stage is crucial to create the game.
From the unique concept that the team has come up with, they identify a suitable theme. Yes, you are familiar with these themes on the front-end. They could be fantasy, historical, mythological, space, thriller, romance, and so much more.
After thinking about the theme, the team ponders on this next step, the game’s mood. Examples are cartoon-centric animation or reality-like game experiences with stunning graphics. Here, they also conceptualize the color combinations, background audios, font styles, and the like. This stage is also all about incorporating the bonuses in-game and welcome features.
The User Experience
From the perspective of the online slots players, you will see that, as you begin playing, the game’s design may be borrowed from a popular movie, TV show, or novel, among others. The game developers also consider these allusions to introduce a venerable user experience.
In online slot game development, just like other game developments, user experience is essential. It constitutes their interaction with the game. Developers consider things like gamification, animations, incorporating celebrities, and optimizations. However, note that this stage can get tricky since the team must refer to researched-backed data. These data help identify the game’s characters and how they connect to the players
The Random Number Generator
Online slot engines are running on a random number generator (RNG). This ensures fairness as it guarantees the game’s outcome will be purely random. RNGs have built-in proprietary algorithms that select numbers corresponding to the symbols in the game. Developers protect these RNG designs well, so hackers cannot meddle and modify them to their advantage.
The Preliminary Version
Also vital in online slot game development is the preliminary version. This phase involves crafting a skeletal outline to test the software’s compatibility and accuracy and minimize errors. What they produce is the primary version of the entire project.
Determining The Ideal Market Fit
The next step in the development of casino games, such as online slots, is finding out the ideal market fit. Game designers seek to solve the problems of players. With these in mind, they determine the market fit. It helps identify the market that will guarantee the break-even of the game in terms of size. Here, the market potential and the gaming gaps that the game will bridge are also assessed.
Testing The Game
Testing the game is the final phase of the entire process. Here, game testers work to measure the game’s performance and quality. They ensure there are no bugs in the system, and the software upgrade makes the game interactive for the players.
There are various game testing methods here, such as:
- Combinatorial testing – Casino game developers use this method to enhance efficiency, quality, and cost, among others.
- Clean room testing – This method helps ascertain how reliable the software is. This test utilizes mathematical deduction and statistical-based reasoning to minimize mistakes and errors.
- Functionality testing – On the other hand, this method determines the slot machine’s software functions according to the rendered specifications. Particularly, this test seeks to find out errors that may compromise the user experience.
- Compatibility testing – This method is at the tail end of the whole development process. This type of testing helps map out errors concerning the product’s functionality, which constitute the hardware, software, and graphics. This test also involves validating whether the online slot game is ready for mobile and desktop platforms.
Takeaway
Learning those, you can realize that the development process of the online slots you play is very rigorous, demanding, and sensitive. The developers consider a wide array of factors, from conceptualization to the final product. What emerges as the actual game you play is a product of collaborative efforts between software engineers, designers, project managers, front-end developers, configurators, and game testers. Together, they ensure that online slot games will be the best experience for the players.
