IGT for decades has commanded the attention of casino guests around the world with eye-catching, immersive, and entertaining games, including Wheel of Fortune and Game King, plus new sensations Tiger and Dragon, Prosperity Link, and Magic Treasures.
The reputation and brand recognition forged among the multitude of players who choose IGT games and ask for them by name is undeniably apparent through the headlines they generate in the media and industry performance charts.
What players don’t see, however, are the names and faces of the diverse studio talent who create the games themselves through a rarified collaboration of knowledge, experience, passion, creativity, and imagination.
As a people-first company with numerous gaming industry awards through the years – such as “Best Place to Work” in multiple categories – IGT has created an inviting environment in which game designers, producers, artists, mathematicians, and more are encouraged to apply their talents to maximize the player experience.
CDC Gaming had a unique opportunity to speak with Dubravka Burda, IGT SVP Global Studios, to learn more about IGT’s approach to attracting and retaining top studio talent, and for an insightful perspective of the company’s approach to managing its nine global game studios.
“IGT as a company is very focused on nurturing diversity and in cherishing the talent of people,” Burda explained. “Our numerous awards in the ‘Best Places to Work’ category in different countries attests to this. It is about having respect for people, a collaboration among the teams, and a great culture that makes people stay.
“We have employees who have been with IGT for 10, 20, 30 years, and these great people are not only a valuable asset, but also a tribute to IGT for its commitment to respecting, cherishing, and nourishing its employees.”
IGT’s family of nine global studios includes Core Studio, Vibe Studio, Lighthouse Studio, Spielo Belgrade, Spielo Moncton, Spielo Graz, the new Vienna Studio, Barcelona Studio, and Manchester Studio.
Burda, whose affiliation with IGT goes back many years, is based in Graz, Austria, which helps facilitate her communication and interactions among the company’s nine global game studios. She maintains that having a global presence is important because gaming is a global industry.
“We have a culture of collaboration among our studios,” she continued. “At least once a year we have global gaming summits. People working on different product segments will come together and discuss their ideas, talk about industry trends, share information, and spend time abroad.
“Doors are opened to see more of the world, meet people from other countries, and experience working with people from different cultures and backgrounds.”
The creative juices that are a necessary component of game research and development continue to generate success for IGT through such new releases as Tiger and Dragon, in addition to Rising Rockets and the new Whitney Houston slots.
Burda expressed no surprise for the global popularity of the games, saying “We know that all games will not be equally successful, but with certain games like Whitney Houston slots we try to put our best talent into the games, knowing that the brand needs to be cherished.
“You have to possess a genuine interest for the person, for the singer, and for the license, and have the ability to transport your own love for the game to the player,” she added. “We wouldn’t design or give somebody a game to design if the people are not genuinely excited about the game.
“You must remember that games such as Whitney Houston slots are developed from scratch with ideas that people have in this area. All IGT games are made by great people. Without this, there is no success in the market.”
With the vast resources that IGT has invested in its studios and the depth of talent it has nurtured to create new products, there must be at some point a determination to decide what studios will work on which products.
The decision making, Burda explained, revolves around just how the resources will be divided, but number one would be experience.
“We leverage the studios that have achieved the most success, understand the product in and out, and measure the success over the years in this product segment,” she said. “For Eastern Europe, as an example, we will leverage more European studios because of their presence in the market.”
Career opportunities abound within the gaming industry, particularly so at IGT which places a premium on attracting the best talent, with an emphasis on diversity and inclusion to ensure the very best people from all walks of life have the chance to contribute.
“For a person interested in game development, for example, we definitely want somebody who likes to play games,” Burda said. “Playing games, appreciating what you see and how the dynamics of different games work. That is definitely what we are looking for.
“We also look for people who possess honesty and integrity, which is key to putting together as diverse a team as we possibly can and what ultimately makes us all work better together. If a person is creative and wishes to be a part of the creativity during the development process, I would say this is the best job in the world because it is a really fun industry.”
Because of Burda’s vast experience in game development and collaborating with studios, she knows that the vital creativity factor plays a very important role.
“If you give the same description of a game to three different teams, for example, I think it will result in three completely different games,” she says. “Everybody involved in the process is extremely valuable with their input and ideas, how things can be made better, how to create better animations, make things faster, or use the hardware in the best possible way.”
As she peers into the future, Burda embraces combining the successes the studios have had with exploring the formulation of new hardware and thinking about how to leverage the hardware in the best possible manner for players to experience something new – and for IGT’s casino customers to marvel in innovation.
“We are always working on new ways of doing things, new systems, new ideas,” she said. “We never stop brainstorming and thinking about, okay, how do we take this next step forward? That is life in this industry, definitely, and what makes it so exciting. It is never boring.”
