Developing Web-Based Games for MSN Games Rocco Crea Development Lead MSN Games
Who Is MSN Games? One of the largest gaming sites on the internet MSN s premier game channel Over 6 million unique users per month
Games on MSN Free Online Downloads Multiplayer Windows XP Web PC Subscriptions Skill-based Gaming
Key Features of MSN Games Seamless integration into MSN Games portal Game promotion across MSN network Custom MSN Badges Custom Content Articles Installer Support
Web Games Client Requirements Standard Game Resolution : 425 x 350 Game Maximum Resolution : 600 x 400 Client Requirements Pentium II 450 VGA 800x600 IE 6.0+, MSN Explorer 9+
Supported Client Technologies Flash 7+ Easier to implement Macromedia Flash engine already installed on most client boxes However, beware of heavy math operations ActiveX Allows fuller control and access to Win32 APIs However, harder to implement User needs elevated rights to install
What Is Our Framework? Game Player Script API Proxy Script API Game Client
Timeline Game Platform
Session What? SessionReady Game client tells the game player that it is ready to go SessionStart Game player tells the client to show any pregame branding Why? Allows developer to show any pregame animations and logos
Game On! GameReady Game tells framework I m ready to play a game GameStart Framework tells the game to start the game Why? Allows for a seamless startup gameplay
Score ScoreBroadcast Allows the user to quit the game and still receive a score or badge Can have custom information such as enemies killed or levels completed ScoreSubmit Submits the final score for the user s gameplay
Badges Badges Reward that users can chase Drives replay Not same as Achievements Achievements are skill-driven Badges are souvenirs 10 badge levels per game that are all customized Special promotional badges available
Break Time! GameBreak The game client tells the player that we are between levels or natural breaks in the game play, and that the gameplay is suspended GameContinue Framework tells the game client to continue playing
Game Over! GameEnd The game tells the player that the current game is over Why? Allows the player to show any badges that the user has won Presents the user with up-sells Allows the user to play again
Play It Again, Sam GameStart If the user decides to play the game again, the framework will call into the client with GameStart, which should restart the game What this means: Once the game has called GameEnd, it should reset itself so that its ready to start gameplay all over again
You Want to What? CustomEvent Call out from the game client to the player that something special has happened CustomReturn Return call from the player to the client acknowledging the event and that it has been processed
Pachinko! Integration Test Tool Allows developers to test that the MSN API is correctly implemented It does not: Verify client requirements Doesn't test gameplay
Gotcha! Sounds Don t play until SessionStart is called Suspend sound during: Replay GameBreak Pause GameEnd Mute Make sure that the game client is reset after GameEnd is called Resource Paths Do not assume resources are in the same directory as the page
Watch Out! Security Verify that the game plays under different IE security models Vista / IE7 Vista and IE7 have stricter security models, so be aware
Getting your Game on MSN Download games Distributed through Oberon Media Web games drive additional download sales Web game API available through Oberon developer program, or soon via Microsoft Subscription offering (GameSpring) Distributed through Real Networks Custom games Some games are special deals with Microsoft Casual Games Developer Inquiries Email : mcg@microsoft.com
DirectX Developer Center http://msdn.microsoft.com/directx Game Development MSDN Forums http://forums.microsoft.com/msdn Xbox 360 Central http://xds.xbox.com/ XNA Web site http://www.microsoft.com/xna 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This presentation is for informational purposes only. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, in this summary.