> > So I am curious, what sort of features for a service like ScoreLoop are > sought after by developers? I mean, if a service offers a gamer profile > capability, is that somethng that a lot of game developers would make use > of, especially if the service works across different platforms that the game > developer may target? I would think the ability to have a user "log in" to a > profile that allows them to keep track of all games they play, scores, > achievements would be nice to have. With services like ScoreLoop and > OpenFeignt (although both target iPhone still, ScoreLoop has some sort of > SDK for Android but it's not readily accessible from their site like the > iPhone SDK is), why would you not use them, being free, over say rolling > your own? If they offer a simple "high scores", as well as a user > profile/gamer tag, and possibly things like downloadable content managment, > micro-transaction processing for in-game addons/goods, what deters a game > developer from using them? Is it the complexity of the API? Having to depend > on a SDK from the service provider?
I see it as a couple of things. Please note, there are pros/cons intermixed in my list... 1) Do you have the time to roll out your own? Is it worth the delayed release to roll your own as opposed to releasing earlier to build a user base (after having implemented something like ScoreLoop)? 2) Do you want to rely on a 3rd party SDK being stable? Do you think that the service will be around in 3 months, 6 months, 12 months? What could be the damaging effects of the service going away without a backup solution ready to go? 3) Do you want to make your users sign up for yet another services where they need to remember a username and password? Are you prepared to provide support to the user in the event that the service is screwing them over? (I know it's the services responsibility, but YOU will ultimately be blamed in the Market reviews) 4) Do you NEED everything that a service provides? Could you make do with a subset and rolling your own? My personal take on it is the following (keep in mind that this may be unique to my situation): For something like game functionality, I really don't want that in the hands of a 3rd party service or SDK. If anything goes wrong, it's on me and I may not be able to fix the problems if it's the services fault, thus my reviews go down. I would prefer to roll my own system, albeit not cross platform and probably not as full featured. That way I can own up to any problems that there may be and I am the one responsible for fixing them. That way I can create a much better relationship with my users, especially when problems do occur. You would not believe how grateful users are when you respond immediately to problems and have fixes shortly thereafter. Working with a service like those listed above, it could take weeks to get something resolved. Users would be very unhappy. Also, you aren't tying the user to yet another login service, one that they may not really trust (due to lack of understanding or service advertising). That being said....yes, it would be a lot of work to roll your own. I'm still waffling as to which way I'm going to go as I really don't have too much time on my hands right now to roll my own. Is it important to me to get these features added in? Yes! Would I rather roll my own? Yes! But time to develop and time to release is what I'm struggling with. I really don't want my users to be tied to a services. I also don't want to depend on a 3rd party service for how my game operates. I think a lot of indie developers feel the same way as I do. They don't want to relinquish control of their pride and joy. Justin -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Developers" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en To unsubscribe from this group, send email to android-developers+unsubscribegooglegroups.com or reply to this email with the words "REMOVE ME" as the subject.
