You’re in the gaming industry and your systems are outdated. How can you stay ahead of the competition?

One of the greatest pitfalls in the gaming industry is that there is often a misconception that if you raise enough capital or investment that success is imminent. This is far from true. In the iGaming space, specifically, there has been a plethora of operators that have come and gone in the past few years. Many of these operators were extremely well funded however were trying to conduct business on antiquated platforms or with sub-par software. Ultimately the success of a gaming company will be determined by the acquisition and retention of their players. Without loyal players, success is all but impossible.

This is the key thing to invest in. The right base product will either make or break you. Too many platforms are dated now and don't combine the tools you need in 1 place. Saving money... sure. But spend to save. That platform that does it all in 1 space? 20 less hires needed. 4 less 3rd party tools. Invest in the base product not fancy add ons.

You should start by understanding your goals. The gaming industry is a high-win, high-risk business. It's hit-driven, meaning a small percentage of exceptionally successful games generate the majority of revenue, downloads, and users. The greater the success you aim for, the higher the risk you'll likely need to take (e.g., creating a game that significantly stands out from the competition). In such a case, it's important to choose an approach that works best for you. When looking at the situation of other companies or games, it's easy to see their successes and overlook the challenges they had to overcome to achieve them. As the saying goes, 'The grass is always greener on the neighbour's side.'

Be mindful not to treat tools as an end. They are a means to and end. Figure out your end first, then go find the right tool for the job.

- Understand and evaluate your goal(s) within the project - Evaluate your resources considering the projects needs, both from company and consumer perspectives - Prioritize adjustments/improvements on the most critical aspects of the project

Selecting the right tools and platforms is crucial. Consider adopting newer game engines, development tools, or platforms that offer better efficiency and advanced features. This may involve an initial investment but can lead to long-term gains in productivity and game quality.

In game development, choosing the right tools is pivotal. While advanced engines like Unreal Engine 4 or 5 offer cutting-edge features, considering hardware limitations opens diverse possibilities. Blitz3D showcases coding efficiency, illustrated in my MMO FPS about cubes. Older engines like Unreal Engine 3 or specific setups may warrant Unity or Godot. Pico-8 suits retro Gameboy Color-style games. Exploring retro development with valid licenses from the 90s or 2000s can be rewarding. The key is aligning choices with your vision, available resources, and ensuring technical support. The landscape is vast, ensuring that even outdated hardware doesn't limit creative endeavors. Find your favorite 3d/game dev software and get going.

After evaluating the current status of your project, it`s ideal to update your knowledge of the current tools available for any given task. This way, the professional will be able to gauge and choose the best options available.

As the industry has matured over the years, many gaming tools and platforms have become antiquated and are now essentially "legacy" products. I see it first hand in the payments space with several operators not taking advantage of the various payment tenders or latest risk and fraud tools that have emerged over the past few years.

It's important to make the distinction between "Open Market Gaming," or "Indian Country Gaming." In our case, (Indian Country) there will be a value set between the customer & the provider and this is the expectation. The expectation is closely related to the next gaming establishment. Proximity expectation dictates the whole ROI.

Optimizing your existing code and assets can significantly improve performance. This includes refactoring code for efficiency, compressing assets, and removing redundancies. Such optimizations can breathe new life into older systems, extending their usability while you plan for more extensive upgrades.

In the progression of game development, optimizing code and assets stands out as a crucial step. It's vital to ensure smooth and efficient gameplay, steering clear of issues like bugs, glitches, crashes, and lag. Streamlining file size and complexity is equally important, facilitating faster loading times and minimal resource consumption. Employing techniques like refactoring, debugging, testing, compression, and caching proves instrumental in achieving these optimization goals. This meticulous process enhances the overall performance of your games, delivering a more seamless and enjoyable user experience.

There is a balance between simplicity and ease of maintenance on the one hand and performance and future proofing on the other. We must be mindful of that balance. The ideal is to create the technologically simplest possible solutions that will support our project long term and hit our performance markers. Don't over complicate systems, even if its exciting to do so. We need to maintain these in the long run, and the more complex, the harder they are to support. Any code we write we own and have to maintain for the duration of the project. The best code I've ever written is the one I didn't write because I didn't have to maintain it.

If you want to stay ahead in the gaming industry using outdated systems, you can focus on optimization. By streamlining code and compressing assets, you can improve performance without investing in expensive hardware upgrades. Efficient use of resources enhances gameplay and allows for smoother integration of newer features. By optimizing your existing systems, you can deliver a more responsive and visually appealing experience, which will help you keep up with your competitors and minimize the strain on outdated infrastructure.

A well-optimized game at launch is crucial to avoid negative reviews and ensure a positive player experience. Efficient execution helps minimize issues like bugs and crashes, promoting a more professional image. Furthermore, smooth performance contributes to user satisfaction, encouraging positive reviews and increasing the likelihood of financial success. This is vital for covering development costs and enabling the continuation of the project and future stories.

We tend to think of technology problems as if they exist in a vacuum. "oh no, our systems are outdated!". That comment only makes sense if what your selling are the systems. But that's not our business, we make games. And we don't sell tech advances, we sell fun and entertainment. Technology questions must always be evaluated against the needs of the project. Nobody cares what engine we used, or what version, if the game is fun. We should fix the problems we have, not imagine problems we don't have. We might need the latest technology for a reason, and if we do have a valid reason, then yes, let's invest and solve. But don't get lost in tech questions that only make us lose time.

Very well stated. Games are a medium for Playing. People around the world play games, it’s a basic common human activity. People play to experience joy and laughter, it’s called Fun.

Security is THE most important topic today as we have several aspects which need to be covered: 1. internal security to prevent any leaks of data, code or any kind of information --> this focuses mainly the "how we work together" and the security of the platforms and IT Systems itself 2. The security of the final product to ensure that hackers, cheaters etc. are minimized - best case avoided at all. To achieve this, both aspects need to be integrated and handled as separate topics with different solutions and teams. This ensures that both topics have the attention they need and no conflicts are created up front.

Within the gaming industry, addressing security is a paramount challenge. Safeguarding systems against hackers, cyberattacks, and unauthorized access is critical. Equally important is protecting data, intellectual property, player privacy, and safety. Implementing robust security measures, including encryption, authentication, authorization, firewalls, antivirus, and backup protocols, becomes imperative. Additionally, fostering a culture of security awareness is vital. Educating both staff and players on how to recognize, avoid, and report security breaches contributes significantly to fortifying the integrity of gaming ecosystems.

Security is one of the most crucial aspects when it comes to online gaming as attackers can easily track a given persons’ IP through a mod installed in the source file of the game. As recently seen in the case of Rockstar games, their most successful game of all time, GTA 5 online came out with a major security breach where attackers were able to scope out a given players address and also were able to crack through beyond the game and access the players local files on the computer. Hence an average gamer needs to be informed about and fortified with security means such as a Virtual Private Network (VPN) when launching an online game.

In the culmination of the development process, monitoring and measuring performance become pivotal to ensure systems deliver intended results. Collecting and analyzing data on user behavior, feedback, retention, revenue, and engagement is essential. Equally crucial is tracking and comparing performance against competitors and industry benchmarks. This ongoing process allows for the identification and resolution of issues, while also revealing new opportunities and strategies for game improvement. A proactive approach to performance monitoring ensures continuous refinement, enhancing the overall quality and success of gaming experiences.

Regularly monitoring and measuring your systems' performance helps in identifying bottlenecks and areas for improvement. Use analytics tools to track system performance, user engagement, and other key metrics. This data-driven approach allows you to make informed decisions about where to invest in upgrades.

Most of the modern software has a built in function for this tasks. The major problem is an accurate input of the data by the staff.

Regularly assessing key metrics is essential to identify bottlenecks and areas that require improvement. By implementing analytics tools to analyze user behavior within the project and gathering player feedback, it becomes easier to make informed updates. This data-driven approach ensures strategic enhancements, optimizes the player experience, and maintains competitiveness even with older systems.

One thing that I have found helpful is using a combination of proven third party tools as well as in-house solutions. At the end of the day in gaming, most decisions should be data driven decisions. And the only way to have that data is by relying on a robust data platform that can track performance, revenue, metrics and with the more recent emergence of advanced AI, help businesses increase revenue while decreasing operational costs.

To ensure your gaming company stays competitive in a constantly evolving market, it is essential to prioritize upgrading your core hardware components and investing in the latest game development tools. Additionally, leveraging cloud-based solutions can help improve scalability and performance. Encouraging collaboration among developers and designers can also enhance creativity and lead to better outcomes. It is also essential to stay up-to-date with industry trends and align your company with emerging technologies. Taking a proactive approach to modernization can help your gaming company thrive.

When we consider entering the games industry, we think about these major functions: Art, programming, and game development. It's the foundation of the industry, just like the Initials Pokemons to begin your career. If I could go back in time, I would tell myself that the game development world is vast and that you can accomplish so much more than these areas. If I had this counsel, I believe I would advance in management and business much more quickly. So, before you think about engines, consider the roles that exist in the business, seek for groups where specialists in this field lurk, and pursue the road of becoming a member of the games industry.

Consider embracing cloud technologies for scalability and efficiency. Cloud solutions can offer access to high-end computing resources without the need for significant hardware investments. Also, fostering a culture of continuous learning within your team ensures that your staff stays updated with the latest technological advancements, helping your company stay competitive.

First of all, you should define what "outdated" means in your case. You shouldn't consider "outdated" something that works and brings profit. If, indeed you're able to spot exact weak points connected to dated systems/software or hardware, then it makes sense to follow the steps described above in this article. PS - The "outdated" narrative often reminds me about the banking sector and tech/programming languages used there, some are literally from the 70s-80s of the previous century. The whole system works for more than 50 years now and will continue working same way for the next half century.

Data data data. Make sure your platform and systems can give you data. Deposit conversion rates. Game RTP. Profit and loss per provider for that sweet sweet negative GGR promotions opportunity. Market leading PSPs. Conversion rates. Data is king. The system we pay for is incredible. For 1.2k a month I can get anything I dream of. It helps.