Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Certification kit
The next step is to make sure you aren't going to fail the automated tests during cer-
tification. Microsoft provides the same automated tests used when you submit your
app in the
Windows Application Certification Kit
(
WACK
).
Note
WACK is installed by default with Visual Studio 2012 or higher version.
There are two ways to run the test: after you build your application package, or by
running the kit directly against an installed app. We'll look at the latter first, as you
might want to run the test on your deployed test game well before you build anything
for the store. This is also the only way to run the WACK on a WinRT device, if you
want to cover all bases.
If you haven't already deployed or tested your app, deploy it using the
Build
menu in
Visual Studio and then search for the
Windows App Cert Kit
using the start menu
(just start typing). When you run this you will be given an option to choose which type
of application you want to validate. In this case we want to select the Windows Store
App option, which will then give you access to the list of apps installed on your ma-
chine. From there it's just a matter of selecting the app you want and starting the test.
At this point you will want to leave your machine alone until the automated tests are
complete. Any interference could lead to an incorrect failure of the certification tests.
The results will indicate ways you can fix any issues; however, you should be fine for
most of the tests. The biggest issues will arise from third party libraries that haven't
been developed or ported to Windows 8. In this case the only option is to fix them
yourself (if they're open source) or find an alternative.
Once you have the test passing, or you feel confident that it won't be an issue, you
need to create app packages that are compatible with the store. At this point your
game will be associated with the submission you have created in the Windows Store
dashboard so that it is prepared for upload.
