Unity and the Android Manifest file

Hey guys!

A few days ago I was finally able to port Unstoppaball DX and Vertical Void DX to Android. Reception has been good so far, and I'm glad it worked out :)

Porting and putting the games onto the GooglePlay-store was relatively straightforward. At least until I encountered this:

That is an all-encompassing list of ALL Android-devices (currently numbering 2414). Before publishing your app on the Store you have to manually check/uncheck whether each of these is supported or not. After all, any of these devices can access the GooglePlay-store (as far I can tell), and following that, any would be able to download your game.

Due to the sheer number of devices, testing all of them is ridiculously infeasible. Hell, even going through the list is infeasible. There MUST be a better way. Like "filter all devices without this feature". That sounds doable.

So while researching a workaround I stumbled upon the Android-Manifest-File. This magical document lets you specify certain requirements of your app, like "Only run of devices with a camera", or "only run on devices with an Accelerometer". That's sounds perfect.

...but unfortunately there was no documentation on how to use it with Unity. Where do I put that file? How does it look like? Where do I find it, assuming it is already present somewhere? No encompassing documentation is available for this problem. So I decided to write my own.

 

The AndroidManifest.xml-file

This "issue" pops up when you want to put your Unity-based Android-game onto the GooglePlay-store. I am assuming you have succeeded so far in building and testing your application, and just want to specify the store-requirements in the Manifest-file. Here's how it works:

• Build your application.

• Luckily Unity creates a Manifest-File automatically. Go to the folder YourUnityProject/Temp/StagingArea. You will a file named "AndroidManifest.xml". This is the one we are looking for.

• In the Asset-Folder of your project (YourUnityProject/Assets) create a folder called "Plugins". In that folder, create a folder called "Android". Copy the AndroidManifest-file in there. It should look like this:

• You can now modify the file from within Unity. If you open it, it looks something like this:

• Near the end of the file, after the /application-tag, are the lines that specify which features are required by the app. Find them.

• A typical line looks like this:
  < uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.sensor.accelerometer" />
  

• To make sure it works correctly, add the line
  android:required="true"

before the "/>" at the end. it should now look like this:

< uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.sensor.accelerometer"

android:required="true" />

• All the "hardware" features of your app are automatically listed in the manifest-file near the end. By adding android:required="true" you make sure that only devices with this features can download and install this app.

• If you add android:required="false" on the other hand, devices without said feature can access it anyway (but get a warning that the app would access it, if it could). This is useful for apps where motion-controls (for example) are available, but not required.

The full list of settings is on the Android-Developer-Site.

Q: What happens if I don't add "android:required="true"" to a specific line?
The GooglePlay-store will assume that that feature is required.

Q: So all this stuff happens on its own? I don't really have to do this entire procedure?
It appears so. The file is generated and included automatically.

Q: Then why are you writing this?
So all this information is in one place, which until now it wasn't. Also I'm a nice person.

-Matthias

eBook eBook eBook

The lovely Remy Unmensch just published here first book. It's now on Amazon, ready for your Kindle.

Check it out!

-Matthias

Now on Android!

Unstopaball DX and Vertical Void DX are now available on Android! You can grab them here and here respectively.

If you'd rather have the iOS-versions, they are here and here.

-Matthew

Greenlight-Protest

The game Paranautical Activity has been denied access to Steam for having the temerity of having a Greenlight-Page. Read the full story here.

As a result of this, several developers have decided to take their games off Greenlight in Protest.

I am joining the protest, and as of now Badass Locomotive is no longer on Greenlight.

This is no way to treat Developers, especially Indies. We should not be punished for engaging the Greenlight-Process, which Steam has been pushing exclusively on smaller developers. in the meantime big-money Publishers can bypass it and get their games on Steam birectly, without any assurance of Quality or fun (see the fiasco that is The War Z).

In the meantime, you can still get Badass Locomotive here.

-Matthew

Balls

This Ludum Dare the theme was "Minimalism." Finally, something feasible. Within the 48 hours I made the minimalistic and artsy Balls Balls Balls for it. And it's fun :D

In Balls Balls Balls you play Neon-Shockwave-Golf by creating tiny shockwaves. Levels start simple, but ramps up in difficulty and complexity.

Features!

• 30 unique and brain-bending level 
• Beautifully minimalistic artstyle
• Minimalistic yet deep gameplay, exploring all permutations of the present rules
• Automatic Saving, so you can return at any time to continue
• Organ-based soundtrack. Fuck yeah Organs.
• Highscore-Tracking, so you can see who is absurdly better than you
• Balls.
• Seriously, What more could you want

Go Play | Entry-Page

I also made a timelapse, as usual. See 48 hours of work concentrated into 2 ultra-efficient minutes:

Results are also quite positive. Remember, these are out of 2346 games in total.

	Coolness	100%
#133	Fun	3.57
#167	Overall	3.64
#191	Audio	3.32
#296	Innovation	3.45
#309	Mood	3.19
#354	Theme	3.75
#427	Graphics	3.22
#702	Humor	2.04

167th overall is quite good, as is the 133rd rank in fun.

Best part: Reviews :D

• IndieStatik 
• 50 awesome LD-Games over at GameNacho 
• FactorNews, in French
• Codexus' Ld48-Compilation

-Matthias

The Two Kinds of Proficiency in Games, and the Two Kinds of Criticism

I'm going to introduce two concepts here. I haven't seen them mentioned anywhere else, and thus have decided to call them "Structural Proficiency" and "Thematic Proficiency"

Structural Proficiency . It talks about how technically proficient a game is. Do the graphics work? Is the game stable? Do horrendous bugs appear throughout, shattering the illusion? Is it even playable?

Then there is Thematic Proficiency. Is the gameplay fun? Well balanced? How does the narrative reflect the gameplay? Does the game have anything to say? Are the set-pieces interesting and varied?

I recently sat in a presentation of student-games (I love those).

Game Alpha was a solid Jump'n'Run. You could jump, shoot and duck. You progressed until the end, where you encountered a boss, which had unique attacks. There was interesting work with the color-palette, and some nice humorous bits that made me applaud (after which the rest of the class joined me).

Game Bravo was supposed to be a puzzler. I think. I say "I think", because it barely worked. The level presented consisted of 3 grey boxes against the standard-blue background of Unity. The main character was a cube, and couldn't actually move. The one action that was supposed to happen didn't. It was a complete and utter failure on every level.

Yet when both games were critiqued, it took about the same time. The things I just mentioned were discussed, which, despite the huge gap in quality, took the same amount of time to talk about.

What happened was, that the Critique of Game Alpha (the good one) centered on its Thematic Proficiency. It already was Structurally Proficient, so there was no need discussing that.

Game Bravo (the crap one) didn't even reach the Thematic level. It was stuck on the Structural Level, never moving beyond it. And was then taken apart for it.

 Colonial Marines fails on a Structural Level. Without this, talking about the Thematic Proficiency is difficult, at best.

The conclusion I took away from this is: You have to EARN a Thematic Critique. Your game has to prove to be Structurally Proficient, before it can be seriously discussed on a Thematic level.

Which brings me to the infamous 1-10 scale.

Now please bear with me, because this argument will come out In Favor of the current use of the 1-10 scale (I know, right? I was surprised too). Or at least it might explain how it works, and how it has reached the state it is currently in.

The majority of game-journals (be they online or print) rate games on a scale ranging from 1 to 10 (or 1 to 100%). A neutral, unknown observer might think "Surely, a 5 would be mediocre," Only the actual grades given range from 7-9, and maybe a 1 or 2 fro truly horrendous ones. The grades 4-6 are barely ever awarded. It is jokingly called the "7 to 9 Scale", because 95% of games reviewed get one of these three grades.

Which, if you look at the grades and the idea behind them, is LITERALLY INSANE.

But if we take a look at Thematic and Structural Proficiencies, and we can maybe conclude how this scale came to be.

A review, of course, takes both Proficiencies into account.

When a review for a game is given, the score for "Structural Proficiency" and "Thematic Proficiency" are combined. If a game works structurally, it already deserves at least half the grade. Hence most games are never lower than 6, as they are "working games". A Structurally Proficient game also usually has the basics of Theme down, so the score goes up to 7.

A bunch of games group around the 1-2 mark, because if a game is structurally not proficient – as in, it fails on a basic level and barely works – it usually fails thematically to.

 Zoo Tycoon 2, a perfect example for a Structurally sound, yet Thematically mediocre game. Its Structure is similar to the RollerCoaster Tycoon-games, yet Zoo Tycoon doesn't reach the levels of fun of RCT.

Of course I would like to suggest a "better" method of criticizing games in journals, but it already exists. Site that eschew scores, like Rock Paper Shotgun or IndieStatik barely even talk about the structural thing. That's what it is to those caring about story, gameplay and art: The Structure beneath it. The canvas it was painted on. They care about gameplay, story and theme, and the reviews are more interesting for it.

Some other sites, like Eurogamer, despite having a score at the end, barely even need it. The interesting stuff is there, inside the body of the review, taking apart the narrative of a game.

And that is what a review should be, after all. An interesting take on a title. The number at the end is ridiculous, and can't possibly work in being a general indicator of a game's greatness (which is another discussion in itself).

This can work, because it already does. Look at other media, like books of Film, where there is NO Structural criticism. This seems only to exist in games.

If you read a review of novel, the author won't discuss whether the book is falling apart or the font is readable. It already Structurally Proficient, and this part can be ignored outright. Hence she concentrates on the Thematic Proficiency, taking the setting, characters and plot apart.

If a movie is discussed, people do not concentrate on whether it is visible or not. Cinema-technology has changed relatively little in the last 90 years, and if a review-score is given, it is given on Thematic Proficiency alone.

...but not quite. Recently some experimental changes in the film-format have been added to movies, like 3D or the 48fps-experiment. And suddenly the Structural Proficiency is discussed again, influencing the overall verdict.

The Hobbit doubled the framerate it was recorded in, thus justifying talking about the Structural Aspects. As a result the overall scores and verdicts were skewed.

Arguing about how a game succeeds or fails thematically is the interesting stuff. This is why we play games, after all. It has gotten better recently, with the advent of low-fi Indie-Games and the gradual slowing of the hunt for more pixels.

Because a game being Structurally better will only result in a mediocre game at best. Making it Thematically better is the only way to greatness.

-Matthias

Quest Complete!

My latest game is finally done. I humbly present "Quest Complete! - A Progress-Bar Porn".

It's a detailed no-player simulation of the typical RPG-Experience, complete with

• Creating a unique character 
• Chosing a class
• Completing quests
• Collecting/trading items
• Progress Bars

Features:

• 55000 Classes (OMG)
• 50000 Items
• 9000 different Monsters
• 5 million unique character-names 
• INFINITE Stories, in a unique and procedurally generated experience

Go Play

-Matthias

Cards

Here is the current version (I think it's the 4th) of my Extra Large Octangular Business-cards.

  

They are approximately 1.5 times the length of an ordinary card, and easily twice the surface-size. The idea is for them to stick out and not just disappear within a card-holder.

For comparison, here is the first version from ~1.5 years ago

This is the first time I've seen them side-by-side, actually. I like how they've gotten more stream-lined, but still follow the original idea :)

-Matthias

Fireball Muffin Pony Adventure

I made a game about Ponies.

Took me about 9 hours. 

Go Play

-Matthias

Brass Monkey

Unstoppaball has just been released on Brass Monkey, a relatively new gaming-portal with a neat twist.

On Brass Monkey you connect your Android- or iPhone via wi-fi, and can then use the phone as controller. In the case of Unstoppaball, you control the Ball by tilting the phone.

Check it out!

(It's based on the free web-version, not the iOS-version, which you can still get here)

-Matthias

The Color of Games

A thought occurred to me: Can games have a certain "Color"? Not that they contain colors (everything does, after all), but that some games have a certain color that describes it, and between which you make a connection, as in "This game is red!"

I will try to attempt an experiment to convey my point. All the images and screenshots in this article have been blurred, in order to reduce them to a simple "blob" of colors.

I've noticed there are 3 broad categories of colorfulness.

1. Games with a certain color (or color-scheme) woven through them

A good example is Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which is gold. There are no other games who do this, and Human Revolution practically owns it.

The combination of Gold and Black is woven into the fabric of the game, from menus to architecture. Not every level is gold, of course, but it persists and appears in a lot of different ways.

Here is a packshot from Human Revolution, which has been blurred.

And here is an in-game-scene.

Note how the color persists.

Are there more? Well of course!

In Saints Row: The Third, Like in the aforementioned Human Revolution, one color is woven throughout the entire game, seen in menus, architecture, clothing, and other misceallanoues stuff. Unlike Deus Ex, it's not gold, but violet/purple.

Here's Mirror's Edge. It has a unique combination of white and light-blue

This is always recognizable as belonging to Mirror's Edge.

Color is such a basic element, you can structure an entire game around it. Let's take a look at the recent Hotline Miami.

Look at the neon-pink and neon-cyan. What do these colors tell us? The contrast tells us this game is set at night (probably, mostly). It being set a night we can infer it is probably not a happy-go-lucky mario-esque-platformer. These neon colors are rarely used in children's entertainment, underlying the adult themes, perhaps also reminding us of nightclubs. I thought back to 1988-1993, when pink and cyan were en vogue. This could mean the game is either set in that period, or alludes to it, and will probably not feature post-2000-technology.

All this information. Gained from a single composition of colors. These colors are unique. They belong to the game, and its aesthetic.

Well, not completely unique. There is this crappy movie from 1987, whose poster I think was a deliberate basis for Hotline Miami.

2. Packshots/Titles-Images of games with a unique color

Here's the packshot of Left 4 Dead.

No other packshot uses this color. And while the dark green is not prominent throughout the actual game, it does appear, and through the packshot/title a connection is instinctively establiched by the viewer.

Other memorable "Title-Colors" include the stark white-black of Arkham City

And, for a lack of better examples, Left 4 Dead 2

 

3. Games which fail to establish a color

Another experiment. What do you see?

Packshots of titles which are highly similar and lack any meaningful or unique identifiers. These games fail to establish a unique color. They do actually have some color, but it's mostly Gun-Metal-Grey and Dog-Shit-Brown.

(Clockwise: Call of Duty, Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warface, Medal of Honor 2010, Killzone, Gears of War 3)

If you look at these screenshots from afar, you couldn't tell which game they belong to.

Conclusion

Looking at the good examples, it is quite possible to see how a color can be the basis for a game. I keep thinking about centering a game around "yellow". I have no idea what could come out of it, but it probably would be interesting and unique.

Not every game has a color. Not every one has a unique one, which is truly its own. But the successes are recognizable from everywhere. This is an important advantage, and should not be unterestimated.

I'm going to start giving my games colors from now on. I mean more so than usual :P

-Matthias

Thoughts on The World is MINE!

Ugh. The World is MINE feels like it could've been so much better. More focussed.
Yet still people like it. Currently it's the 5^th most-played game this LD, which is awesome :D

What went wrong:

Graphics

The style is boring. I feel putting a water-shader might've been a mistake, and the entire thing could be more comic-y. The buildings are ugly, the result of me being swamped with other stuff. The textures are boring too.

 

Difficulty

The World Is MINE! suffers from the same problems it's spiritual predecessor My Little Planetoid (from the last LD) had. Namely, it is too easy. You can just wait until the resources pile up, and then do your thing.

On the other hand, city-building-games like Anno 2070 (or Anno 1404, etc) have the same "structure". In those you can wait too until you have anough material. I'll have to figure this one out.

The first draft also had Enemy Agents, who would undo your progress. The got cut in the stress.

 

Inefficient use of assets

The World is MINE! Has a lot of single-use-assets. The models are used for one purpose, and then never again. All the lines describing the buttons (the narrative, if you will) were time-intensive to write and make witty, and are only used once too. In the end this led to bad 3d-models.

 

Unclear Advanced rules

The simple rules – hire goons, take over cities – work just fine. The more advanced happenings, like control of missiles and assets are a bit more complicated, and only explained in a text-box.

 

The stupid text-bug

I wanted to have two things (among others) in this game: A text displaying the city-name, and a planet that isn't a sphere.

After some deliberation after the event I realized that these exclude each other. To make the text not clip through the mountains I'd have to place it very high, but that would make it look worse. In the end there is no elegant solution to this. Or I just haven't found it yet.

 

Timelapse

Somehow I recorded less images than in the last videos. To counteract this I slowed the framerate, resulting in this "slow" video. Yet somehow it works. Kind-of.

Meh, you decide :P

What went right!

 Music

Almost forgot this (as devs are wont to do). I composed the track in less than one hour 2 hours before the deadline. And it works. It's pompous, and grand, and the march fits the "Evil Mastermind" perfectly.


I should do more music.

 

Goons

I am SO GLAD I re-named them "Goons". "Henchmen" is so boring (and exluded women). The Goons are named procedurally, with every Goon receiving a unique name. The name shows up when you hire them, and again when you send them on a mission.

 

"Writing"

This game may have the biggest amount of "dialogue" I've put in a game (I usually try to avoid long texts). The text-button-descriptions are the dialogue of an unseen advisor, and I'm satisfied with the results (people agree). I also love the names of the Evil Vehicles you buy (Buttercup, Purplepants and DeathRigible).

 

Pacing

The game starts slowly, and then picks up in complexity. A lot of buttons appear later, and buying the DeathRigible-Blimp allows you to see more cities, ramping up the challenge.
I am very proud that few people seem to quit the game prematurely (so far I can gather), which means they are eased in well (Nice work me! *show off*)

 

The DeathLaser

Till the very last second possible I thought whether to make it an Orbital Laser or a Lunar Laser. In the end I felt satellites would be too much like My Little Planetoid, so I opted for the moon-base (which, funnily, also appeared in My Little Planetoid). Reaction to the DeathLaser has been 100% positive, so it was a good decision :)

 

The world changing

At the beginning, the world is blue, and only your evil hideout (on super-secret Doom Island) belongs to you. But the more you advance, the more the world changes in color. Your submarines patrol the sea, and cities switch over to you, while auxilliary bases appear around the globe.

 

The Ending

After the world has slowly changed to become yours, the games calls back to the beginning. I still laugh when I see the final screen.

Go check it out, you might like it :D

-Matthias