Developper Diary #10: My GooglePlay experience

Yep, so I ported Heavy Metal Death Pirate on Android. It seemed to me like a daunting task at first and I was really scared I couldn't make it. But, now that it's over, it was actually quite simple and hassle-free. Game Maker handles everything perfectly and all you have to do is pure programming, no conversion or authorizing crap stuff.

The most difficult part was the controls. It took me a lot of time to create the screen pad and make it so that it feels simple yet intuitive to play. The rest of my time was made of converting graphics and other little things.

Then comes the time to create a Google Developper account and upload the game. I did it one month before the actual release. The fist thing to do is to create an expansion for the game. Yes, Google doesn't allow app bigger than 50 Mb. You have to split your game into a little 50 Mb app and then add a download for an expansion which contains the rest of your game (in my case, 450 Mb of graphics and sound mostly). It's really easy to do with Game Maker.

Then I created my account and you enter the Android Developper Console. Everything is shiny and beautiful and easy to configure, very "Google Style". In no time, I could upload my game, put all the needed info and assets, configure the prices and create leaderboards and trophies. I was amazed at how easy it was. Since you can't put a release date, I didn't publish the game and let it rest until the fateful day. I was relieved and happy.

A few days before, I noticed a forum post where people were complaining about Expansions not downloading well on GooglePlay. It was strongly advised to test your download before the release date. Wow! I panicked as I didn't worry about this at all! I rushed to my Google Developper Console and quickly realized things were not that easy...

First, if you don't want your game to be release officially but still you want to test the download, you have to upload in the alpha channel and PUBLISH it. Then you create a googlegroup where the testers will be able to download the game through the alpha channel. I thought at first that the publish button was for the official release, silly me (=one workday wasted).

Then, the game is uploaded in the alpha channel. Since I'm the only tester, I joined my own group and try to download. Failure. The thing to know is that it might take one to two days before the app is available for download (=two workdays wasted).

Four days later, I still couldn't download the game to test it. I emailed the Google Developper support. They couldn't understand what I was asking for. In the end, they didn't answer my question and told me to check the help section (which didn't help me) (=two workdays wasted).

The release date arrived and my game wasn't available. As you've seen it, I had to announce the game would be late (a big shame for me). I was at a loss, I couldn't find the solution. Then my girlfriend suggested me: "Maybe you can't download your own app...?". WHAT?!!! She joind the googlegroup, became a tester and try the download link on her smartphone......................AND IT WORKED!!!

So yeah, with GooglePlay, YOU CAN'T DOWNLOAD YOUR OWN GAME AS A TESTER TO TEST IT! This important fact is nowhere to be seen in the Google Help center, DAMMIT!!!

In the end, I created a new google account and I could test the download. It works. But the trophies do not show up.......... * sigh* Anyway, I might be able to release the game in a few days, so stay in touch!