Hi, here's my first go at building a Construct 2 (hybrid game app creation program) memory match template. I decided that I wanted to create many different versions to see which topics get the most popular so that I would spend more time developing the popular ones. So, which theme do you like the most?
Please try them all and let me know what you think. Or, maybe just 1-3 of the most interesting ones to you.
- Memory Match 3
- Memory Match: Roman Numerals
- Memory Match: Color Names
- Memory Match: Colors
- Memory Match: Numbers
- Memory Match: Alphabet
- Memory Match: Letters
- Memory Match: Wildlife
- Memory Match: Cartoon Animals
Results so far:
- Wildlife theme has the highest amount of downloads.
- Colors theme has second highest amount of downloads.
- Color names theme has second lowest amount of downloads.
- Roman numerals theme has the lowest amount of downloads. (Sidenote: These cards took the longest to create also, so good thing I didn't make more)
- My favorite, "Memory Match 3", is getting close to 100 downloads
This information could be good for any of your app that you may want to theme. Seems like people prefer the basics of wildlife and colors, rather than things that require more thinking like color names and roman numerals.. And, I have about 10 different versions that I need to organize.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
Showing posts with label 8. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 8. Show all posts
2014-03-06
Published Two New Apps: Flappy Gravity and Gravity Runner
Using Construct 2, I've created two new HTML5 apps which run natively in Windows 8 and Windows Phone. I'd like to encourage you to try the apps. The links go to the store where you can see screenshots of the apps.
Gravity Runner
Gravity has gone crazy. There's only one hope... But, beware, the more times you change gravity, the more your power goes down.
- You are in control of gravity!
- Infinite, randomized levels
- Touch-enabled
Available now:
- Windows 8
- Windows Phone
Flappy Gravity
Gravity gone wrong! Change gravity with every tap! Avoid the obstacles.
Gravity Runner
Gravity has gone crazy. There's only one hope... But, beware, the more times you change gravity, the more your power goes down.
- You are in control of gravity!
- Infinite, randomized levels
- Touch-enabled
Available now:
- Windows 8
- Windows Phone
Flappy Gravity
Gravity gone wrong! Change gravity with every tap! Avoid the obstacles.
2014-02-22
Published New App: Wall Ball
I just created a new game using a concept that I haven't seen in any other game. It's almost like a single player pong game with different objectives.
Using the Construct 2 game engine, so that I only have to create the code base once, I've made the game available for Windows 8 and Windows Phone.
Try it out now:
- On Windows 8
- On Windows Phone
~ Danial Goodwin ~
Using the Construct 2 game engine, so that I only have to create the code base once, I've made the game available for Windows 8 and Windows Phone.
Try it out now:
- On Windows 8
- On Windows Phone
~ Danial Goodwin ~
2014-02-18
Published New App: One-Click Saga
Today (and yesterday), I created this "One-Click Saga" game using the Construct 2 game engine. C2 definitely allows great games to be created with ease.
Description:
Three games to master. Flappy's too tired to flap anymore, so he is taking a ride on different airborne vehicles. Rules are the same: tap to save the clone bird's life! But, in each game a tap does something different...
Available Now:
- Windows 8
- Windows Phone
- HTML5
~ Danial Goodwin ~
Description:
Three games to master. Flappy's too tired to flap anymore, so he is taking a ride on different airborne vehicles. Rules are the same: tap to save the clone bird's life! But, in each game a tap does something different...
Available Now:
- Windows 8
- Windows Phone
- HTML5
~ Danial Goodwin ~
2014-02-13
Published New App: Flappy Fishes
(YAFBC = Yet Another Flappy Bird Clone)
I really wasn't going to make a copy, but then I did.
Available for:
- Windows 8
- Windows Phone
- HTML5 (slightly older version)
~ Danial Goodwin ~
I really wasn't going to make a copy, but then I did.
Available for:
- Windows 8
- Windows Phone
- HTML5 (slightly older version)
~ Danial Goodwin ~
2014-02-07
Level Up - Windows 8: How to Copy/Move Files From Many Subfolders To Just One Folder
Long Title: How to Transfer Files From Many Subfolders To Just One Folder and Rename Them All Easily and Quickly.
Example: I had about 100 images that were all neatly organized into 100 different subfolders. I wanted to put them in just five different subfolder as painless as possible. Manually moving each image one-by-one was not ideal, so here's what I did, using the Windows Command Prompt and a Batch file:
1. Create a BAT file.
2. Add the following code:
FOR /L %%i IN (0,1,19) DO (
copy %cd%\ic_launcher(%%i)\res\drawable-mdpi\ic_launcher.png %cd%\_mdpi\data_cycle_%%i.png
copy %cd%\ic_launcher(%%i)\res\drawable-hdpi\ic_launcher.png %cd%\_hdpi\data_cycle_%%i.png
copy %cd%\ic_launcher(%%i)\res\drawable-xhdpi\ic_launcher.png %cd%\_xhdpi\data_cycle_%%i.png
copy %cd%\ic_launcher(%%i)\res\drawable-xxhdpi\ic_launcher.png %cd%\_xxhdpi\data_cycle_%%i.png
copy %cd%\ic_launcher(%%i)\res\drawable-xxxhdpi\ic_launcher.png %cd%\_xxxhdpi\data_cycle_%%i.png
)
3. Run the BAT by double-clicking the file (or right-click->Open) (or run via command prompt).
Note:
- The parenthesis after "DO" must go on the same line. Putting it on the next line will cause the file to not work properly.
- If you want to move files rather than copy, then change "copy" to "move".
- If you want to keep the same file names, then you don't have to specify the file name on the second parameter.
Now in a simpler English, what this batch file does:
- There are five "copy" commands with a source and destination.
- These commands are each ran 20 times because of the "FOR" command.
- The "FOR" line says do the following commands within the parentheses 20 times. The first time will have the variable "%%i" equal to 0. The second run will have "%%i" equal to 1. The variable will keep incrementing until "%%i" is equal to 19. This behavior is defined at "%%i IN (0,1,19)", where 0 is the starting number, 19 is the ending number, and 1 is the increment number (which could also be negative).
For more information about for-loops, then type "for /?" into the command prompt.
Here's some more commands that you can try: Windows Command Prompt Cheat Sheet
~ Danial Goodwin ~
Example: I had about 100 images that were all neatly organized into 100 different subfolders. I wanted to put them in just five different subfolder as painless as possible. Manually moving each image one-by-one was not ideal, so here's what I did, using the Windows Command Prompt and a Batch file:
1. Create a BAT file.
2. Add the following code:
FOR /L %%i IN (0,1,19) DO (
copy %cd%\ic_launcher(%%i)\res\drawable-mdpi\ic_launcher.png %cd%\_mdpi\data_cycle_%%i.png
copy %cd%\ic_launcher(%%i)\res\drawable-hdpi\ic_launcher.png %cd%\_hdpi\data_cycle_%%i.png
copy %cd%\ic_launcher(%%i)\res\drawable-xhdpi\ic_launcher.png %cd%\_xhdpi\data_cycle_%%i.png
copy %cd%\ic_launcher(%%i)\res\drawable-xxhdpi\ic_launcher.png %cd%\_xxhdpi\data_cycle_%%i.png
copy %cd%\ic_launcher(%%i)\res\drawable-xxxhdpi\ic_launcher.png %cd%\_xxxhdpi\data_cycle_%%i.png
)
3. Run the BAT by double-clicking the file (or right-click->Open) (or run via command prompt).
Note:
- The parenthesis after "DO" must go on the same line. Putting it on the next line will cause the file to not work properly.
- If you want to move files rather than copy, then change "copy" to "move".
- If you want to keep the same file names, then you don't have to specify the file name on the second parameter.
Now in a simpler English, what this batch file does:
- There are five "copy" commands with a source and destination.
- These commands are each ran 20 times because of the "FOR" command.
- The "FOR" line says do the following commands within the parentheses 20 times. The first time will have the variable "%%i" equal to 0. The second run will have "%%i" equal to 1. The variable will keep incrementing until "%%i" is equal to 19. This behavior is defined at "%%i IN (0,1,19)", where 0 is the starting number, 19 is the ending number, and 1 is the increment number (which could also be negative).
For more information about for-loops, then type "for /?" into the command prompt.
Here's some more commands that you can try: Windows Command Prompt Cheat Sheet
~ Danial Goodwin ~
2014-02-02
Level Up - Windows 8: How to Create a Batch File
Batch (*.bat) files are useful because they allow you to save and reuse commands for the command prompt (or CLI, command-line interface). Also, it is easier to send multiple commands at once, fix typos, and edit the commands.
Batch files are available for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1. Any command that you can put in the CLI, you should be able to put into the BAT file.
Method 1:
- Right-click on your desktop (or in File Explorer), and select New->Text Document. Now, rename the file to something ending with .bat.
Method 2:
- Open Notepad, then when you save the file, make sure to end it with ".bat".
Test the Batch file:
Now that you have the BAT file, you can easily test that it works by putting in the following code, then double-click to run the file.
Here's some more things you can try out: Windows Command Prompt Cheat Sheet
Note: If method 1 didn't work for you, then try method 2.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
Batch files are available for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1. Any command that you can put in the CLI, you should be able to put into the BAT file.
Method 1:
- Right-click on your desktop (or in File Explorer), and select New->Text Document. Now, rename the file to something ending with .bat.
Method 2:
- Open Notepad, then when you save the file, make sure to end it with ".bat".
 |
| Saving a Batch file requires a .bat ending. |
Now that you have the BAT file, you can easily test that it works by putting in the following code, then double-click to run the file.
echo Hello, World!
Here's some more things you can try out: Windows Command Prompt Cheat Sheet
Note: If method 1 didn't work for you, then try method 2.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
2014-01-22
Construct 2 Bug Export To Windows 8: Too many characters in description.
Here's the full error message in Visual Studio:
"The 'Description' attribute is invalid - The value '' is invalid according to its datatype 'http://WPTokens:ST_String' - The actual length is greater than the MaxLength value"
Basically, this error says that your description is too long.
Through trial and error, I've found out that the max allowable length of the Windows 8 app description in WMAppManifest.xml is 256 characters. So, in order to fix this problem, all you have to do open "WMAppManifest.xml", which can be found in the Properties folder of your app's project. Then, edit your description so that it is not as long. I used Notepad++ to count the number of characters in the description.
I spent a few minutes looking for the official documentation for this file, but didn't find it. I found many official resources for Windows 8 that was close, but weren't for the exact file WMAppManifest.xml. Here's one of the links that is something that I'm looking for <link>.
If you know where the official page for this documentation of max length of 256 characters for the description, then please let me know. This bug still hasn't been reported to the developers of Construct 2 yet, because I think there will be other areas around this spot that also has bugs, and I would like to report them all in one go. This will make things much easier for the developer also. And, it's always good to source fixes.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
"The 'Description' attribute is invalid - The value '
Basically, this error says that your description is too long.
Through trial and error, I've found out that the max allowable length of the Windows 8 app description in WMAppManifest.xml is 256 characters. So, in order to fix this problem, all you have to do open "WMAppManifest.xml", which can be found in the Properties folder of your app's project. Then, edit your description so that it is not as long. I used Notepad++ to count the number of characters in the description.
I spent a few minutes looking for the official documentation for this file, but didn't find it. I found many official resources for Windows 8 that was close, but weren't for the exact file WMAppManifest.xml. Here's one of the links that is something that I'm looking for <link>.
If you know where the official page for this documentation of max length of 256 characters for the description, then please let me know. This bug still hasn't been reported to the developers of Construct 2 yet, because I think there will be other areas around this spot that also has bugs, and I would like to report them all in one go. This will make things much easier for the developer also. And, it's always good to source fixes.
 |
| A picture of the error message. |
~ Danial Goodwin ~
2014-01-14
Level Up: Paint.NET: Create Large Image From Small Image Source
In trying to create a logo for my newest game, I had a few images that were 32x32 pixels. So, my first thought for the logo was just a mash up with all of them. And, that looked something horrific, like:
And, if that were scaled up to the size I needed, it would be even more pixelated, which I did not want for this game. So, I thought for a few seconds to determine what I were to do if I weren't lazy. Using my design background and my like for being minimal, I've decided to just create an image of my own that wouldn't be pixelated. If I were to just blow up an 32x32 image to 1000x1000, here's what it would look like:
Solution, in order to capture the essence of the game in just a single simple icon, I determined that the bomb disguised as a coin would best represent most of the game. Hopefully, it would also provide a little bit of intrigue to get users to click on it.
Final image, using only my own circles, lines, and rounded rectangles. Oh, and the practical use of Gaussian Blur for the level up! =]
Btw, you can play the free beta version at Simply Advanced Games. Coinqueror is coming soon for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
 |
| A mashup of small pixelated icons |
 |
| This is worse than pixelation |
Final image, using only my own circles, lines, and rounded rectangles. Oh, and the practical use of Gaussian Blur for the level up! =]
Btw, you can play the free beta version at Simply Advanced Games. Coinqueror is coming soon for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
2014-01-11
Construct 2: Reporting Bugs for Windows Phone 8
For the past few WP8 apps I've been creating using Construct 2, I've been manually making the necessary bug fixes myself. Today I've decided to properly report three of these bugs to the developers of Construct 2. My last bug report that I sent to them a few weeks ago was fixed. And, I expect the same with these bugs, especially, since I described them almost like I fixed it for them. ;)
The three errors reported:
- WP8 Export: Fullscreen not being set
- WP8 Export: App title not carrying over to WP8
- Windows Phone 8 Export, no apostrophes allowed
In the meantime, until these errors are fixed, you can visit the links to see how I solved the problems manually. If the links don't work, then that most likely means that the bug has been fixed and the bug report post has moved to a different place.
UPDATE: Each of these reported bugs have now been fixed! Construct 2, release 157
~ Danial Goodwin ~
The three errors reported:
- WP8 Export: Fullscreen not being set
- WP8 Export: App title not carrying over to WP8
- Windows Phone 8 Export, no apostrophes allowed
In the meantime, until these errors are fixed, you can visit the links to see how I solved the problems manually. If the links don't work, then that most likely means that the bug has been fixed and the bug report post has moved to a different place.
UPDATE: Each of these reported bugs have now been fixed! Construct 2, release 157
~ Danial Goodwin ~
2013-12-24
Terrible User Experience - There's Only One Major Application I Know That Does This
Perhaps the most terrible example of all user experience (UX) an application/program can give to users, is to shut down the program when the user is in the middle of working. Case study: Windows. I just got auto-updated.
In Windows 7, there is a small window that pops up that says the computer will restart in 15 minutes, in order to install updates. After that message is postponed, it doesn't pop up in the front any more. In my multiple monitor setup, I don't always pay attention to all of them. There is just typically one main monitor I work with. My current work involved having about 20 tabs in a browser open and a few more large RAM-hungry application, so I didn't want to have to re-setup my workspace. So, I was able to postpone the auto-update a few times. But, when I was really into my work on one monitor, the auto-shut-down prompt I assume was ominously counting down on my other monitor, behind everything. In the middle of typing, sudden the document disappears. There goes all the work (if I was working in a program without autosave).
I am a UX designer and have many recommendations to improve this "feature" in Windows 7. I'm glad my biggest recommendation is taken care of in Windows 8: Make the death prompt more visible. Just having that one change would save me from more trouble.
I understand where Microsoft and other companies are coming from. They want to make sure that updates are installed so that users are protected from even worse virus/malware attacks. I'm sure they've done their research to learn that many people unfortunately don't install the updates in a timely manner, if at all. So, in order to protect users from worse troubles, Microsoft has by default decided to be more aggressive in getting the updates installed.
I had to throw in that "by default" in the last sentence because I know there is the option to disable all automatic updates. But, good UX and good customer service wouldn't put the blame on the user/customer. If the user does something "wrong", then it is only because the application allowed the user to do so.
Bonus: Here's a copywriting tip: Never have long chunks of words/paragraphs.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
In Windows 7, there is a small window that pops up that says the computer will restart in 15 minutes, in order to install updates. After that message is postponed, it doesn't pop up in the front any more. In my multiple monitor setup, I don't always pay attention to all of them. There is just typically one main monitor I work with. My current work involved having about 20 tabs in a browser open and a few more large RAM-hungry application, so I didn't want to have to re-setup my workspace. So, I was able to postpone the auto-update a few times. But, when I was really into my work on one monitor, the auto-shut-down prompt I assume was ominously counting down on my other monitor, behind everything. In the middle of typing, sudden the document disappears. There goes all the work (if I was working in a program without autosave).
I am a UX designer and have many recommendations to improve this "feature" in Windows 7. I'm glad my biggest recommendation is taken care of in Windows 8: Make the death prompt more visible. Just having that one change would save me from more trouble.
I understand where Microsoft and other companies are coming from. They want to make sure that updates are installed so that users are protected from even worse virus/malware attacks. I'm sure they've done their research to learn that many people unfortunately don't install the updates in a timely manner, if at all. So, in order to protect users from worse troubles, Microsoft has by default decided to be more aggressive in getting the updates installed.
I had to throw in that "by default" in the last sentence because I know there is the option to disable all automatic updates. But, good UX and good customer service wouldn't put the blame on the user/customer. If the user does something "wrong", then it is only because the application allowed the user to do so.
Bonus: Here's a copywriting tip: Never have long chunks of words/paragraphs.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
2013-12-19
Construct 2: Landscape Bug Fixed for Windows Phone 8 Export
A few days ago, I submitted a thorough bug report for Windows Phone 8 apps made from Construct 2 not going to landscape mode when it's supposed to. But, thanks to the great developers of C2, this bug has now been quickly fixed for the current beta release r155. So, this saves you C2 developers an extra step.
Get Construct 2
~ Danial Goodwin ~
Get Construct 2
~ Danial Goodwin ~
2013-12-12
Creating Windows Apps With Construct 2
Intro:
I plan on creating 100 games with Construct 2. I'll be writing about all/most of my experiences of using the program. Originally, I was thinking about creating a separate blog for just this endeavor, but I already have too many blog concurrently. So, posts in this blog with be tagged "construct 2" and "c2" when they are related to this.
Goals for each game:
- I must learn something for every game I create.
- I must feel reasonably good about them. Though, they also may not be my best work.
- These games should be publishable.
- At first, the games will only be published to the Windows 8 Store and Windows Phone Store.
Why only Windows?
Mainly because it's currently the best platform to publish to. The Windows platforms may not have the largest market share, but they still do have millions upon millions of users. Soon, just about ever computer will be running Windows 8, and they will need apps to download, my apps. ;)
After goals:
After accumulating all the knowledge that comes from creating 100 different games. I mostly likely will update the most popular ones with more levels/features. Then, we'll see. =]
~ Danial Goodwin ~
I plan on creating 100 games with Construct 2. I'll be writing about all/most of my experiences of using the program. Originally, I was thinking about creating a separate blog for just this endeavor, but I already have too many blog concurrently. So, posts in this blog with be tagged "construct 2" and "c2" when they are related to this.
Goals for each game:
- I must learn something for every game I create.
- I must feel reasonably good about them. Though, they also may not be my best work.
- These games should be publishable.
- At first, the games will only be published to the Windows 8 Store and Windows Phone Store.
Why only Windows?
Mainly because it's currently the best platform to publish to. The Windows platforms may not have the largest market share, but they still do have millions upon millions of users. Soon, just about ever computer will be running Windows 8, and they will need apps to download, my apps. ;)
After goals:
After accumulating all the knowledge that comes from creating 100 different games. I mostly likely will update the most popular ones with more levels/features. Then, we'll see. =]
~ Danial Goodwin ~
2013-11-24
History of Chess Notations
(This post is for those chess players out there.)
I just came across a Wikipedia page explaining the history of chess notations and there is some amusing stuff there.
These days, chess notation usually looks something like e2-e3 (long form) which stands for a pawn move in column e, from row 2 to row 3. For those that don't know, some chess players write down chess moves in order to help remember how the game progressed.
But,
In 1946, the standard was N-KB3
In 1848, the standard was K. Kt. to B's 3rd.
In 1750, they used K. knight to His Bishop's 3d.
In 1614, The white king commands his owne knight into the third house before his owne bishop.
Find out more information from my source, Wikipedia: <link>
~ Danial Goodwin ~
ps - For those that don't know, every chess board nowadays has each of the squares labeled alpha-numerically using A-H and 1-8.
I just came across a Wikipedia page explaining the history of chess notations and there is some amusing stuff there.
These days, chess notation usually looks something like e2-e3 (long form) which stands for a pawn move in column e, from row 2 to row 3. For those that don't know, some chess players write down chess moves in order to help remember how the game progressed.
But,
How did history write chess notations?
Imagine that you want to take note that a Knight moved to F3. Today, you would just write Nf3 and be done. Here's how they did it throughout history:In 1946, the standard was N-KB3
In 1848, the standard was K. Kt. to B's 3rd.
In 1750, they used K. knight to His Bishop's 3d.
In 1614, The white king commands his owne knight into the third house before his owne bishop.
Find out more information from my source, Wikipedia: <link>
~ Danial Goodwin ~
ps - For those that don't know, every chess board nowadays has each of the squares labeled alpha-numerically using A-H and 1-8.
2013-09-22
Microsoft's App Studio
Today, I wrote two blog posts regarding a new product from Microsoft that allows anybody to easily and quickly create and publish Windows Phone apps.
Learn about it: What Is Microsoft’s App Studio?
Learn more about it: How To Edit App Studio Code
~ Simply Advanced ~
Learn about it: What Is Microsoft’s App Studio?
~ Simply Advanced ~
2013-03-23
How To Publish a Windows 8 App Using GameMaker: Studio
This post is going to be one of my longer ones, but no worries. It still contains only the minimum amount of work needed to get done before you have the ability to publish. Here's the official YoYo Games' GameMaker Setup walkthrough. http://help.yoyogames.com/entries/22361996-Setup-GameMaker-Studio-for-Windows-8
It has some good stuff, but not good enough. You'll be back here in order to successfully publish the Windows 8 app.
So, in this walkthrough, I will show you how to properly create the Windows 8 application for upload, using GameMaker: Studio.
I'll assume you already have:
1. First of all, make sure you have the proper GameMaker program. There are mainly two different ones to choose from. Choose one from http://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker/studio and you must pay at least the $49.99 in order to publish to Windows 8. You must also have Microsoft Visual Studios 2012 installed.
2. The second biggest problem is not choosing the right target platform. Currently, you must choose "Windows 8 (Javascript)" option from the Target menu near the top (see pic below). Note: If you are using GameMaker in Windows 8, then choosing this method is the only way to save the project too. Having a target of regular Windows causes an error.
3. Third, from the menu up top, choose File->Preferences->Windows 8. You should see something that looks like the following screen.
All this was setup for me automatically because I have created a Windows 8 app before. If these fields are not inputted, then please read http://help.yoyogames.com/entries/22361996-Setup-GameMaker-Studio-for-Windows-8. I can't describe the Preferences screen better than that (towards the bottom of the link).
4. Now that the GameMaker Preferences are set up, it is time to setup you project's Global Game Settings.
This is where all other GameMaker to Windows 8 tutorials get messed up. What you need to do is open up Visual Studios 2012 and create a new basic Javascript project. It doesn't matter what you name it (for this tutorial let's call it GameMakerTest). Now, you need to reserve your app name (to ensure that it is available), associate the app with the store to get the package name, and create an app package to get the needed certificate. Where to find these options depends on if you have Visual Studios Express or Full.
4.1. To reserve your app name:
Express: In the menu bar up top: Store->Reserve App Name
Full: In the menu bar up top: Project->Store->Reserve App Name
(A new tab in your browser will open, titled "Submit an app")
Click on "App Name", which should be highlighted in blue in the middle of the screen. Then name your app. Your first choice may be taken already, so choose again. Remember this name because you will use it later back in GameMaker. Don't close this screen because you will use it again after inputting the details into GameMaker.
4.2. To associate app with the Windows Store and get the package name.
Express: In the menu bar up top: Store->Associate app with store
Full: In the menu bar up top: Project->Store->Associate app with store
Sign in with your Microsoft account. Navigate the screens and choose the one that app name that you just reserved for your GameMaker game. (Tip: The last screen shows some helpful information, like your publisher display name, if you don't remember it. You'll need to type that into GameMaker in step 5.)
4.3. To compile app and get a Windows 8 app certificate (to be used later in GameMaker):
Express: In the menu bar up top: Store->Create App Packages
Full: In the menu bar up top: Project->Store->Create App Packages
Sign in with your Microsoft account. You should see the app name that you just resevered, if not, then check the only checkbox that is there. You will need to know both the App Name and Package Identity in the Store. For this tutorial, I'm just going to say copy this information in your favorite text editor for now.
Highlight your app name that you want to submit. Click Next. Click Create. Click on the output location link so that the file explorer opens. Navigate one level up by clicking the up button. (You don't need to run the certification kit. It wouldn't work for you at this juncture anyways.)
The file you need here for GameMaker will be called_StoreKey.pfx (Ex: GameMakerTest_StoreKey.pfx). Keep this file explorer open so that you know where to find this file later in GameMaker.
5. Bring your project in GameMaker to the front again. You should still have Global Game Settings open on the Windows 8 tab. I will now walk you through what should go in each of the options.
Display Name - Put in the App Name that your reserved using Visual Studios
Package Name - Use the "Package Identity in the Store" value here. I told you to write this in your favorite text editor.
Package Display Name - Basically, the short name for your Display Name. It can be the same or a condensed version of it.
Publisher Display Name - What is your publisher display name when you created your Windows 8 Developer account? (It probably cost $49, or free if you are a student)
Version - Doesn't really matter. Just make sure it is higher than your last submission.
Each of the images that you see on this screen should be updated before publishing to Windows 8. So, go ahead and do that now. Don't close this screen yet. Come back here after you finish.
Currently, you should be in the General tab of the Windows8 tab in the Global Game Settings. On the left side, click the Installation tab. This is where you need to navigate to the PFX file (Ex: GameMakerTest_StoreKey.pfx). After you do that, click Install. Windows PowerShell will pop up and things will start to look very technical. Just read the options and continue moving forward. Close the Global Game Settings when you are done.
6. All the hard steps are finished. Now it's time to go to the menu bar, File->Create Application. Save it to your location of choice.
Navigate to the location you created the application. Click on the folder, then AppPackages. The *.appxupload is the file you will submit on the Windows website that you should still have open in your browser if you followed this walkthrough word for word.
UPDATE: After running through it again, I found out that you don't need to do step 4.3 if you do step 4.2. Associating the app with the store creates the certificate key. But, I'm leaving step 4.3 in just because it is easier to navigate to the file that way. Just know that next time you do this, you can remember where you save the project to and skip a step.
Please let me know if this walkthrough helped at all or if I should put in any more information. I spent about an hour creating this... after first learning how it do it myself which took much longer. =]
~ Simply Advanced ~
It has some good stuff, but not good enough. You'll be back here in order to successfully publish the Windows 8 app.
So, in this walkthrough, I will show you how to properly create the Windows 8 application for upload, using GameMaker: Studio.
I'll assume you already have:
- Windows 8 compatible version of GameMaker: Studio (
$49.99$0 from http://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker/studio) - Windows 8 (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/download-shop)
- Microsoft Visual Studios 2012 for Windows 8 (http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/eng/products/visual-studio-express-for-windows-8#product-express-windows)
- A Windows Store account (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/br229512.aspx)
- Windows Developer Licence (just create a new Windows 8 project in Visual Studios and a prompt will appear to get one)
1. First of all, make sure you have the proper GameMaker program. There are mainly two different ones to choose from. Choose one from http://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker/studio and you must pay at least the $49.99 in order to publish to Windows 8. You must also have Microsoft Visual Studios 2012 installed.
2. The second biggest problem is not choosing the right target platform. Currently, you must choose "Windows 8 (Javascript)" option from the Target menu near the top (see pic below). Note: If you are using GameMaker in Windows 8, then choosing this method is the only way to save the project too. Having a target of regular Windows causes an error.
 |
| Platform target menu circled in red |
3. Third, from the menu up top, choose File->Preferences->Windows 8. You should see something that looks like the following screen.
All this was setup for me automatically because I have created a Windows 8 app before. If these fields are not inputted, then please read http://help.yoyogames.com/entries/22361996-Setup-GameMaker-Studio-for-Windows-8. I can't describe the Preferences screen better than that (towards the bottom of the link).
4. Now that the GameMaker Preferences are set up, it is time to setup you project's Global Game Settings.
 |
| Double-click to open the Global Game Settings |
This is where all other GameMaker to Windows 8 tutorials get messed up. What you need to do is open up Visual Studios 2012 and create a new basic Javascript project. It doesn't matter what you name it (for this tutorial let's call it GameMakerTest). Now, you need to reserve your app name (to ensure that it is available), associate the app with the store to get the package name, and create an app package to get the needed certificate. Where to find these options depends on if you have Visual Studios Express or Full.
4.1. To reserve your app name:
Express: In the menu bar up top: Store->Reserve App Name
Full: In the menu bar up top: Project->Store->Reserve App Name
(A new tab in your browser will open, titled "Submit an app")
Click on "App Name", which should be highlighted in blue in the middle of the screen. Then name your app. Your first choice may be taken already, so choose again. Remember this name because you will use it later back in GameMaker. Don't close this screen because you will use it again after inputting the details into GameMaker.
4.2. To associate app with the Windows Store and get the package name.
Express: In the menu bar up top: Store->Associate app with store
Full: In the menu bar up top: Project->Store->Associate app with store
Sign in with your Microsoft account. Navigate the screens and choose the one that app name that you just reserved for your GameMaker game. (Tip: The last screen shows some helpful information, like your publisher display name, if you don't remember it. You'll need to type that into GameMaker in step 5.)
4.3. To compile app and get a Windows 8 app certificate (to be used later in GameMaker):
Express: In the menu bar up top: Store->Create App Packages
Full: In the menu bar up top: Project->Store->Create App Packages
Sign in with your Microsoft account. You should see the app name that you just resevered, if not, then check the only checkbox that is there. You will need to know both the App Name and Package Identity in the Store. For this tutorial, I'm just going to say copy this information in your favorite text editor for now.
 |
| Your names and identities will be different than mine. |
The file you need here for GameMaker will be called
5. Bring your project in GameMaker to the front again. You should still have Global Game Settings open on the Windows 8 tab. I will now walk you through what should go in each of the options.
Display Name - Put in the App Name that your reserved using Visual Studios
Package Name - Use the "Package Identity in the Store" value here. I told you to write this in your favorite text editor.
Package Display Name - Basically, the short name for your Display Name. It can be the same or a condensed version of it.
Publisher Display Name - What is your publisher display name when you created your Windows 8 Developer account? (It probably cost $49, or free if you are a student)
Version - Doesn't really matter. Just make sure it is higher than your last submission.
Each of the images that you see on this screen should be updated before publishing to Windows 8. So, go ahead and do that now. Don't close this screen yet. Come back here after you finish.
Currently, you should be in the General tab of the Windows8 tab in the Global Game Settings. On the left side, click the Installation tab. This is where you need to navigate to the PFX file (Ex: GameMakerTest_StoreKey.pfx). After you do that, click Install. Windows PowerShell will pop up and things will start to look very technical. Just read the options and continue moving forward. Close the Global Game Settings when you are done.
6. All the hard steps are finished. Now it's time to go to the menu bar, File->Create Application. Save it to your location of choice.
Navigate to the location you created the application. Click on the folder, then AppPackages. The *.appxupload is the file you will submit on the Windows website that you should still have open in your browser if you followed this walkthrough word for word.
UPDATE: After running through it again, I found out that you don't need to do step 4.3 if you do step 4.2. Associating the app with the store creates the certificate key. But, I'm leaving step 4.3 in just because it is easier to navigate to the file that way. Just know that next time you do this, you can remember where you save the project to and skip a step.
Please let me know if this walkthrough helped at all or if I should put in any more information. I spent about an hour creating this... after first learning how it do it myself which took much longer. =]
~ Simply Advanced ~
2013-01-28
Windows 8 Power Users
There is going to be a new paradigm with Windows 8. I'm not just talking about the Modern UI (also was known as Metro UI).
Microsoft provides users many advanced mouse functionalities that hasn't been natively including in an operating system.
Typically, when we think of power users, we think of experts at the keyboard that have memorized many shortcuts and snippets of code. But, the new paradigm shift from Windows 8 is going to provide people the ability to call themselves mouse power users. Perhaps more people will learn about mouse gestures because of this. I'd give it at least another two years before mouse gestures become more mainstream, not just the mouse device gestures.
Personally, I typically prefer the keyboard to mouse, so much so that I created a script that allows keyboards to perform a double-click. But, there are definitely some times that the mouse is faster. Also, for those who don't like to use the keyboard at all there are many programs that you can download to provide your mouse the ability to do pretty much anything.
- Just Gestures
- Mouse Gestures
Let me know your experiences with mouse gestures.
~ Simply Advanced ~
*I did not personally try out these programs
Microsoft provides users many advanced mouse functionalities that hasn't been natively including in an operating system.
Typically, when we think of power users, we think of experts at the keyboard that have memorized many shortcuts and snippets of code. But, the new paradigm shift from Windows 8 is going to provide people the ability to call themselves mouse power users. Perhaps more people will learn about mouse gestures because of this. I'd give it at least another two years before mouse gestures become more mainstream, not just the mouse device gestures.
Personally, I typically prefer the keyboard to mouse, so much so that I created a script that allows keyboards to perform a double-click. But, there are definitely some times that the mouse is faster. Also, for those who don't like to use the keyboard at all there are many programs that you can download to provide your mouse the ability to do pretty much anything.
- Just Gestures
- Mouse Gestures
Let me know your experiences with mouse gestures.
~ Simply Advanced ~
*I did not personally try out these programs
2012-12-16
Idea: Windows 8 Shutdown Tile App
At the time of this writing there are no shutdown tile apps in the Windows 8 Store. Window's shutdown.exe can be found in %windir%\System32\ (typically, C:\Windows\System32\). Double-clicking on that will start the shutdown process.
Or one workaround involves:
- Create a new shortcut on the desktop. Right Click -> New -> Shortcut
- Point it to "shutdown /a /t 00"
- Pin to the taskbar and/or the start menu for one-click access
~ Simply Advanced ~
2012-11-10
Windows 8 on a Mac
When people want Windows OS on a Mac they may think of dual booting or using a program like VMWare, VirtualBox, BootCamp, or Parallels to run the two simultaneously.
But, my roommate (Spence) and I experimented with another method to run Windows 7 and 8 on a Mac. We would replace the Mac's harddrive with the harddrive running Windows OS. Both were 2.5 inch.
What got us thinking on this track was that, first of all, the Mac wouldn't boot after being dropped. Us being computer savvy individuals, we didn't have another Mac lying around, but we did have an older Lenovo laptop that we thought we could possibly salvage parts from.
We took out the Mac harddrive, took out the Lenovo harddrive with Windows 7 and 8 dual booted, and swapped them. The process took less than ten minutes to figure out and complete.
The results?
Windows 8 runs beautifully on a 2009 aluminum uni-body Mac. Both Modern UI and desktop versions supported. And we were surprised that the Wi-Fi was easily connected to without installing any additional drivers.
The problems?
Initially, the trackpad only partially works (movement only, no clicking), but an external mouse does work flawlessly. Clicking and multitouch were added by installing the proper drivers for them. There may be a few more issues, but this is just a preliminary rundown of our experimental harddrive organ transplant.
If you also do a harddrive transplant, let us know! You can download some of Apple's drivers [at your own risk] from http://www.2shared.com/complete/J5_Inbmt/Apple_folder_from_Boot_Camp_Wi.html.
~ Simply Advanced ~
But, my roommate (Spence) and I experimented with another method to run Windows 7 and 8 on a Mac. We would replace the Mac's harddrive with the harddrive running Windows OS. Both were 2.5 inch.
What got us thinking on this track was that, first of all, the Mac wouldn't boot after being dropped. Us being computer savvy individuals, we didn't have another Mac lying around, but we did have an older Lenovo laptop that we thought we could possibly salvage parts from.
We took out the Mac harddrive, took out the Lenovo harddrive with Windows 7 and 8 dual booted, and swapped them. The process took less than ten minutes to figure out and complete.
The results?
Windows 8 runs beautifully on a 2009 aluminum uni-body Mac. Both Modern UI and desktop versions supported. And we were surprised that the Wi-Fi was easily connected to without installing any additional drivers.
The problems?
Initially, the trackpad only partially works (movement only, no clicking), but an external mouse does work flawlessly. Clicking and multitouch were added by installing the proper drivers for them. There may be a few more issues, but this is just a preliminary rundown of our experimental harddrive organ transplant.
If you also do a harddrive transplant, let us know! You can download some of Apple's drivers [at your own risk] from http://www.2shared.com/complete/J5_Inbmt/Apple_folder_from_Boot_Camp_Wi.html.
~ Simply Advanced ~
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