From the outside looking in, online casino games are a convenient, quick case of firing up a slot or live dealer game and trying your hand. For most casino gamers, this is precisely how it operates; there’s no need to open the proverbial bonnet, so to speak, and explore the universal technology that helps to expedite the quality of these games.
However, for all you tech enthusiasts, the construction of these games and everything that buzzes beneath the surface of the colossal iGaming iceberg is a crucial piece of the puzzle and is what makes the sector so captivating.
Casinos Spearheading Innovation
Casino gaming has been at the forefront of technological change for over 30 years, particularly when discussing streaming live games online. You could make a strong case that it pioneered some of the most cutting-edge tech, which has helped online gaming become such a success story.
It’s grown to such an extent that the saturated market requires a nudge in the right direction from some of the brightest minds and those with the most significant experience in what constitutes a highly-rated casino. The reviewers at casinomeister.com rank the top casinos based on a range of criteria, calling on the opinions of people with decades of experience in casino gaming. The quality of gaming technology ranks high on the list of components they use to review sites—as well as the speed at which they can navigate between gaming titles.
Of course, it helped that there was such a massive shift in the number of casino gamers wanting to shift from land-based options to a new, digital frontier. With site security, gaming quality, and convenience all ensuring that the overall package was an upgrade on what they were used to, it meant that those game designers who could fuse developments like HTML5 into online casino gaming were onto a hugely profitable idea with a colossal, untapped audience.
A Brief History of Web Gaming
If we’re discussing web gaming, the first thing that comes to mind—especially if you’re in the millennial age bracket like I am—is the concept of Flash games. The switch to mobile gaming ushered in many changes, but for Flash, it signaled the top.
Flash does not render on mobile, meaning that game designers had to seek new avenues to upgrade the gaming experience. Given that casinos spearhead much of the profit and innovation within global gaming, designers racked their brains to develop ideas to pull the industry further forward.
While modern-day gaming monoliths Tencent are convinced there’s a future for retro games, those who have their eyes set on the gaming horizon of the future are not so sure and are putting their faith into HTML5 designs.
The Importance of Dual Desktop & Browser Capability
HTML5 streamlines high-quality mobile browser gaming, which has been the case since around 2018. Around this time, online casino game designers realized HTML5’s immense potential and how it expedited game design without sacrificing the quality of the final output—it was a game-changer.
A significant chunk of this has stemmed from the rise of APIs like WebGL, which have provided a foundation for desktop and mobile browsers to tap into the GPU and deliver the highest level of graphics and performance for gamers. Gaming communities like Two Worlds II underpin just how strong online gaming communities are, highlighting the need for all games, not just casino games, to tap into desktop and mobile browser capability to maximize their reach.
It’s often this passionate following and community strength that helps to inspire significant changes in gaming. Casino gaming is no different. HTML5 can facilitate game designs that bridge mobile and desktop gaming, making it the ideal candidate for casino designers looking to inject more quality into the sector.
Open-source Game Engine
By branching into so many areas of game design, casino game companies are not boxed in with one aspect of gaming. Updates and developments on HTML5 game designs are notoriously quick.
This means that if a casino game needs a quick update, whether it’s a change to a symbol in a slot game, graphics on a live roulette table, or a font update on a virtual poker machine, they do not need to spend copious amounts of time having to rewire specific coding and debugging.
It streamlines the entire process, which results in a much slower offline window. This means more game time for casino players and less time offline for the platform, a considerable productivity increase—which is the true definition of streamlining if you ask me.
Connection Speeds
In emerging markets with slower Internet speeds than some Western countries, HTML5 designs are a revelation. They offer flexibility for developers, and with each HTML5 game linked to a unique URL, the games can be hosted directly on a casino site but broadcast on their app or showcased on a third-party platform if needed.
While this isn’t always the primary use case or design purpose of a casino game, greater flexibility and a broader possible market, again, expand the possibilities and don’t limit gaming options.
Final Say
If we could earmark one component of HTML5 that has helped it rise to the top of the casino game design sector, it would be its ability to work so well cross-platform. Another angle to look at streamlining is to deconstruct it as a word that simply represents more convenient options for the end user.
Not only does HTML5 open up the possibility of playing casino games on a desktop and mobile browser, but it doesn’t have to sacrifice connection speeds. It is undoubtedly a better solution for designs that require a few tweaks, especially in comparison to other pieces of software and markup language used to design casino games in years gone by.