Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter
15
Publishing Your Game
The last step in becoming an Android game developer is getting your game to your players.
There are two possible routes:
bin/
folder, put it on the Web, and tell
your friends to download it and install it on their devices.
ï?®
Take the APK file from your project's
ï?®
Publish your application on Google Play, like a real pro.
The first option is a great way to let other people test your application before you throw it on the
Google Play store. All they need to do is get a hold of the APK file and install it on their devices.
The real fun starts once your game is ready for prime time.
A Word on Testing
As we've seen in the previous chapters, there are various differences among devices. Before you
publish your application, make sure it runs well on a couple of common devices and different
Android versions. There are a few ways to approach this problem. You can either purchase an
array of devices with different hardware capabilities running different versions of Android and
test in-house, or you can pay for any one of the new Android testing services. We are lucky
enough to have several phones and tablets, covering different device classes and generations,
for testing. Depending on your budget, though, neither of these approaches might be an option.
You might have to rely on the emulator (but not too much, as it is indeed unreliable) or preferably
on a couple of friends to help you out.
Another way to test your application is to put a beta version on the Google Play store. You
can clearly mark your application as beta in its title so that users know what to expect. Some
users, of course, will gladly ignore all the warnings and still complain about the quality of your
potentially unfinished application. That's just how life is, and you'll probably have to deal with
negative and possibly unjustified comments. Remember, though: Your users are king. Don't get
angry at them—try to figure out how to improve your application instead.
659
