Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 7-10. The front page of the Windows Store has a dedicated Games section with features, top
paid, top free, and new releases.
Being featured will help drive sales of your game up dramatically. Windows also categorizes
games as free and paid. Trials fall into the latter, so remember that your game will be com-
peting with the paid category, which usually contains higher profile games, such as Xbox
Live titles, which could make it hard to gain ranking. If you only have ads in your game that
you disable once a trial has been paid for, you will have a harder time climbing to the top of
the charts, so be careful.
Finally, the best thing you can do to help promote your game is to simply have compelling
screenshots, icons, and a description. Be clear about what your game does and why people
would want to play it. Your app icon and screenshots are the first thing people see, so make
them count. And, expect people to only make it through the first two or three screenshots, so
put the most compelling ones first.
