Todd Sumamno
The online casino industry is thriving, with research suggesting that it has grown by almost 70% in the last couple of years. With so many different online casino websites on the internet, competition is extremely high and operators must think carefully about how they can stand out from the crowd and attract new players. One of the most effective ways of doing this is through captivating casino design. Another way to attract users is to set a high bonus, such as a 300% bonus casino. Having a high bonus plus a good design is a sure fire way to attract the highest quality clientele.
A well designed casino will draw in players who have come across the site while looking through search engine results. It will then help players to completely immersive themselves in games. The best sites are those that are both visually pleasing and have a high degree of functionality.
While one may be put together by web designers and the other by architecture and interior designers, many of these factors apply to both online sites and land based casino venues. After all, their aims are the same, they both want to attract, keep and entertain players.
Here are some of the secrets kept by the best casino designers out there:
Customers aren’t all the same, you must consider their individual needs
Customers are all different and if you fail to recognize and act on this then you are going to fail to attract and maintain a substantial audience. Customer segmentation must be considered long before the wireframe for your online casino is created or before designs are drafted of a physical venue. Doing research at the early development stage will help you to avoid making costly and wasting time with errors in your design.
For many casinos, you may have the high rollers who are experienced players with money to spend and an interest in only high stakes games. You will also have the newbies, players logging on or entering casinos for the first time looking for fun and to try something new. There may also be those who did not have the intention of visiting a casino but were drawn in when passing by.
Map out possible customer journeys for each customer segment. This works for both online and land based casinos.
Online, it is important that players can find the games they want without having to search for them. For instance, a menu option for high stakes games will simplify the journey that high rollers need to make to find all of their favorite games. Menus with each of the different game categories often are the most simple and effective, options could include slots, poker, roulette and blackjack. Players can then choose subcategories, such as (American roulette or video poker) by hovering over or clicking a game type. Allowing website users to filter their options can prevent crowding the homepage and overwhelming new players.
In a land based venue, you may place the table games in the center of the casino floor, as this is where people tend to gather. Slot machines may work well placed near to the entrance as this will entice casual gamers inside.
Positive reinforcement through sound design and flashy animation sequences
It’s not just about how your casino looks, it’s also about how it sounds. Sound design is particularly important in online casinos as it can be used to help to replicate the buzzing, exciting atmosphere that you will find in a physical casino venue.
This is really relevant for online slots, they are a fast paced and thrilling game and need sounds to match. Online slots will often blast out a noise in celebration when the player wins. These noises act as a positive reinforcement, the sound effect plays no matter how big or small the win is to excite the player and encourage them to keep playing. A positive sound can encourage a player to keep playing even when their balance is depleting.
Animation sequences alongside sound effects can also act as positive reinforcement. A winner banner popping up can help amplify the excitement and thrill of the game.
Background noise can also really help to portray the slot game theme. Slots usually have themes such as popular movies, jewels, fruit, fantasy themes or ancient Egyptian or Greek themes. A soundtrack that complements themed graphics really does captivate and help immerse players.
Hostile design can encourage certain behaviors in land based casino venues
In a bricks and mortar casino, the concept of hostile design can be used to encourage players to stick around and spend a bit more money.
By purposely making a layout slightly inconvenient you can influence a customer’s behaviors and provoke a desired response. For instance, placing the bar area or bathrooms at the far end of the casino floor will force customers to walk through the venue rather than remaining at the gaming machines near the entrance, on their way past they may find new games to play.
Positioning the main attractions in the center of the casino floor can also help to make the venue seem busier than it is and help to maintain a lively and exciting atmosphere. Table games often work well in these locations.
There are also ways that you can lead players from one game to the next on online casinos. For instance, placing links for other games on the page of a game that the customer is already playing will help bring their attention to it. If they are playing a slot game they may be enticed by links or popups for other similarly themed slot games. When playing poker they may be interested by an ad for a newly released video poker game.
Make sure links appear natural, don’t overcrowd the page as this may have the opposite effect to what you intended.
And there we have it, these are just a few of the best kept secrets for designing a captivating casino. By following these, you will be able to attract, maintain and entertain your target audience.
Brittany
