SPONSORED EDITORIAL
ODOBO
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
The changing face of content
Ashley Lang of Odobo explains why the future for game development is HTML5
Odobo launched in November 2012 as the new HTML5 game development platform and marketplace for the regulated gambling industry. The developer program models have proven successful for Apple, Android and Facebook, while the creativity and innovation brought to these platforms by new developers has ultimately driven engagement and sales for the host. Odobo aims to drive player engagement with gaming operators by enabling a wider group of top-tier game developers to participate in this highly lucrative industry. Today’s players are spoilt for choice with digital entertainment from non-gambling channels, so gaming operators want a steady stream of new games in their portfolios to compete for time and budget. With the popularity of casino-themed games, social and casual game developers want to push the envelope on creative game ideas and access higher player values from the regulated gambling industry. To open the game development opportunity for regulated gambling to a wider group of game developers, a number of things needed to happen. Commoditise core technologies Core ‘commodity’ technologies, which are not speci?c to any game concept, yet are required in the provision of every game, need to be standardised and provided to the developer at the platform level. These include a random number generator (RNG), network communications handling, localisation handling (currency and language), persistence (state handling), authentication and player account communications. It is expensive and inefficient for game developers to need to invest in core distribution technologies when they are not speci?c to their game concept. Odobo standardises these components in the Odobo Games Development Kit (GDK) and allows developers to use their creativity in the game concept and client-side development, producing content leveraging a multi-million pound technology platform. Standardise the presentation and (non-game) UI Without standardisation, game content produced from a wider group of developers is difficult for operators to curate and for pla