Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
•
16+
•
18+
While all content is checked, the 7+ and 3+ ratings both have extra checks because
of the extra requirements for those age ranges. The 3+ rating is especially restrictive
as apps submitted with that age limit may not contain features that could connect to
online services, collect personal information, or use the webcam or microphone. To
play it safe it's recommended the 12+ rating is chosen, and if you're still uncertain,
higher is safer.
GDF Certificates
The other entry required here if you have official ratings certificates is a
GDF
file.
This is a
Game Definition File
, which defines the different ratings in a single location
and provides the necessary information to display the rating and inform any parental
settings. To do this you need to use the
GDFMAKER.exe
utility that ships with the
Windows 8 SDK, and generate a GDF file that you can submit to the store. Along-
side that you need to create a DLL containing that file (as a resource) without any
entry point to include in the application package. For full details on how to create the
GDF as well as the DLL, view the following MSDN article:
The final section before you need to submit your compiled application package is the
cryptography declaration. For most games you should be able to declare that you
aren't using any cryptography within the game and quickly move through this step. If
you are using cryptography, including encrypting game saves or data files, you will
need to declare that here and follow the instructions to either complete the step or
provide an
Export Control Classification Number
(
ECCN
).
Now you need to upload the compiled app package before you can continue, so we'll
take a look at what it takes to do that before you continue.
