“For online we have developed games that can be experienced on a variety of devices - smartphones, tablets, desktops or laptops,” explains Sérgio Pascoal, Fabamaq's chief business officer. In Portugal, the best-known part of the games created in the company is in online games developed "exclusively" for the Solverde Group, says Sérgio Pascoal.
“The other products developed at Fabamaq are not played in Portugal”, targeting international markets such as the Philippines, Mexico, Spain, Ireland, Paraguay or Uruguay. Among the various markets, Fabamaq's manager points to the “more pronounced presence in the Asian market” of Fabamaq's gaming software.
But until the games get to casinos and online betting websites around the globe, there's a long production chain. Firstly, it must be defined the typology of the game. "Fabamaq receives the order and begins to study and analyze the market where the game will be operated, in most cases visiting the site for the collection of data with more precision."
From there, the project is opened internally and the teams needed to develop the game are defined. “We talk concretely about those responsible for product, project, sound, design, development, math…”, says Sérgio Pascoal. Even before reaching the customer, there are several tests involved. "Following are the internal (through testing) and external certification processes of the game and finally its delivery with the respective certificate to the customer."
In January 2018, the company gave in to customers' wishes and created an area dedicated specifically to online game development. Thus, it was born Obu Studios, which already has a dedicated team and its own space. “Like any company, Fabamaq is aware of the market and the opportunities that appear and can be enhanced,” explains Sérgio Pascoal, recalling the challenge of one of the customers.
Fabamaq's manager explains that the evolution of Obu Studios is on positive ground. “We have been getting positive feedback from our deliveries and the team is focused and working intensively on creating and developing new product lines.”
There are open positions
The saying “from 8 to 80” could almost be used to talk about the expansion of the Portuguese software company at the employee level. From 9 start-up workers, Fabamaq now has 160 employees, and it has no intention to stop here. By the end of this year, the company bets the chips in hiring, with the aim of increasing the team to 180 workers. Fabamaq currently has open positions for quality control, hardware and gaming systems.
If the 2019 recruitment objective is already set, there is a great deal of work involved in hiring in the competitive area of information technology. Fabamaq's recruiting strategy is diverse, blending online applications with visits to universities or game-focused events. But there are also other alternatives, such as an internal referral system, where workers themselves recommend candidates.
"The internal referral system is very rooted and involves each of our employees in detecting the best profile for the company's needs." Sérgio Pascoal explains that the firm is looking for a specific profile for its employees. “We are looking for technically capable profiles, but we also put a heavy weight on soft skills. We want to have people open to sharing and receiving knowledge and the flexibility to view change as part of the growth process.”
Fabamaq promises not to stop here when it comes to hiring. “The evolution of the operation has shown us that this team growth and expansion process should continue in the future.”
Source: GMB / dinheirovivo.pt
