Game development is an increasingly popular career path to go down, and for good reason. It offers excellent prospects for employability, and competitive remuneration, at a time when not every industry is as buoyant or in-demand.
If you’ve got a penchant for playing casino games, and you are thinking of becoming a developer yourself, keep reading to get the inside scoop on what you’ll need to do to achieve your aims.
Get to know the market
Having a foundational understanding of how online casinos work is important as a starting point. For one thing, most sites don’t develop games in-house, but instead use white label software providers to handle this for them.
So what is white label online casino software? It’s essentially a type of product which is created by development studios and then licensed by casino site operators. That’s why you’ll see names like Wazdan, SoftSwiss, and Pragmatic Solutions cropping up so often across web-based gambling solutions.
Get a degree in game design
While you can teach yourself the skills you need to design and develop games and apps, most newcomers entering the field today tend to have full-blown degrees in related subjects.
There are a ton of excellent courses out there, and whichever you choose, you’ll get the guidance and advice you need to eventually take your first steps into the industry once you’ve graduated.
Consider the types of roles available
While those with a degree in game design might want to get to grips with the process of programming casino experiences from the ground up, this is only one example of the types of roles that exist in this industry.
Another option is to join a QA department and participate in game testing, eventually progressing to the point of being senior enough to oversee entire projects and sign off on games before they are released to the general public.
You could even become a community manager or a social media marketer for a casino game development studio, letting your creative energies flow into something other than simply building interactive experiences.
Then there are spaces for graphic designers and artists, as well as musicians and composers, along with a laundry list of other roles associated with casino game development.
Look for available positions
An all-purpose job listing site is a great starting point for anyone who has qualified in a particular field and is now hoping to find work in their industry of choice.
There are also platforms which are focused on just one industry, including game development, which will help you to narrow down the options and even find opportunities that aren’t advertised elsewhere.
Put together a portfolio and get your name out there
As well as applying for jobs in casino game development, it’s a good idea to go the extra mile to make yourself attractive to prospective employers, rather than just relying on your qualifications to get you over the threshold.
For example, if you’ve got a portfolio of previous projects that you’ve worked on available to view online, this will be a great calling card to coax development studios to consider hiring you.
Likewise you’ll need a presence on social media which has been put together with your professional ambitions in mind. If you can’t be easily found, it could make you harder to pin down, and you could even miss out on offers of work.
The bottom line
Becoming a casino game developer takes time, and the industry is broad enough to encompass people with all sorts of skills. Thus with patience and persistence, you can make a career in this space even if you’re not a natural coder.
