How can I connect with Slot Machine Game Designer companies and Slot Programmers?

Hi, I do animation and game design. I am asking advice on how to become a graphic designer for slot machines, like the high end ones at casinos like Hard Rock, etc. Are there forums or other websites specifically for that? Is there a book or video? Are they Linux machines? Can I be a vendor to these companies, selling graphics (and hopefully getting a percentage) instead of working as an employee??

We use UDK and Unity for ipad and android games, and do 3d and 2d animation and sound design. We have 3d game graphics that easily can convert to content for a next-gen video slot machine, and my team could easily create graphics/animation/sound designed packages for 3 or more Slot Machine games. Do the slot machines out there use a common game engine or interface, or is it all from scratch C ++ that runs on Linux machines, or is it some hardware unit like a Playstation these days, or what?? Anyone know anything about these, the ones like IGT slots, etc.

I am interested in finding partnerships with a) Slot Machine Programmers b) a company with multiple slot machines that wants custom content.

I don't know a lot about gambling, but I do know a lot about graphics and design, and when I recently went into Hard Rock, I knew that I could design the graphics for any of the games I saw, and make many of them much better.

Thanks in advance for helpful advice. Feel free to PM me if its not okay to post other forums or websites that you are trying to share with me, or if you want to see samples.

Thanks,
Anthony

I don't think you'll find any websites or books with answers to your questions. You best bet is finding someone to talk to.

I'd suggest LinkedIn to get in contact with industry people. Lots of them are there, and there's groups specific to various interests.

The G2E gaming show in Las Vegas every year, around the end of September, is well worth going to. The next big one is ICE in London, but I guess that's a bit out of your way. "Everyone" goes to these.

It's going to be pretty hard breaking in though - you'll need to be pretty good on the business side.

Hi, Unreal! (and welcome back, Robert; thanks for the good advice!)

Unreal;

I would suggest you take a few hours and read through the Game Inventor's Corner (under Gaming Business, scroll down the forum page not quite halfway) where a lot of the designers and inventors discuss their projects, along with software engineers, distributors, and mathematicians. You'll find some good leads there, and maybe more importantly, people working in the business in direct or complimentary positions. I would suggest you see who's who and perhaps Private Message one or two. In fact, I'm going to move this thread there because the industry people you're trying to reach will see it there (more likely, anyway).

Not in the industry. Many slot and other gaming machines, like ATMs and POS devices, run on Windows (Embedded). Some may run on Linux (there are reports of it at least. I have never seen it. You can see underlying OS when systems go down or are reset.) I doubt that the game software is standard.

If you just want to do design, you would need the requisite skill set (Illustrator, After Effects, Lightwave 3d, etc), probably some programming knowledge, and a portfolio. It is like any other design job. Every major game maker has a career page with available openings. Check out this opening for a graphic artist for Aristocrat at the Las Vegas office. Pretty standard stuff for a design position.

IGT, Ainsworth, Bally, Konami, and other game makers will have similar requirements for applicants.

You also need to be aware that a Unity 5 license is crazy for real money gaming. You would need to use an older version of Unity with a less restrictive license or switch to something else.