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Pitfalls in the release of the game on Google Play and the App Store



If you are developing a game for Android or iOS, sooner or later you will have to start preparing for publication on Google Play and the App Store. But if you have never released a mobile game, many things and rules can be an unpleasant surprise and greatly slow down the publishing process.


This article will help novice mobile game developers to prepare for publication in the stores and find out the answers to such questions as:



Introduction


The other day I released my mobile game Wizard Swipe on Google Play and the App Store . This is my second release in these sites, so I was already a bit prepared for publication, but still many things and rules were a surprise for me, which I would like to tell other game developers to make their lives easier.


I will not talk about trivial things like rules of rules (which can be easily found in the documentation), but I will try to highlight various unobvious moments and requirements that are better known in advance, which will save a lot of time and nerves in the future.


Both requirements are important.


Even if you plan to release the game in the App Store only six months after the release on Google Play, be sure to read all the requirements and nuances of both sites in advance.


Why? Because the requirements of the store can spoil your plans for the preparation of promotional materials for this platform. For example, you will make 8 screenshots for Google Play and will count on 8, and then find out that in the App Store the maximum number of screenshots is 5. You will have to choose which ones to get rid of. It is better to learn about these limitations in advance and make 5 universal screenshots.


Or you decided to release first in the App Store and prepared only a full description of the game. And then we learned that Google Play has a separate section for a short description (up to 80 characters). You will have to do additional texts, order translations, etc. Also, there is a separate section in the App Store for keywords (up to 100 characters, including separators), and there is no such field in Google Play.


Another good example is the game trailer. If you want to make a video trailer on Google Play, all you have to do is enter the URL of the video on youtube. No restrictions, only tips :


Videos should be short (from 30 seconds to 2 minutes) and demonstrate the most attractive features of the application.

In the App Store, the promo video is strictly limited in duration - from 15 to 30 seconds and should have the resolution of the device on which it plays (more on the limitations a little later). Hence the conclusion - the video should be done according to Apple's requirements, since they are more stringent, or make 2 separate videos (which is 2 times more work).


Media materials


Screenshots

With screenshots, not everything is as simple as it seems, especially in the App Store. You need to remember the rule "Screenshot of the game from the device ≠ Screenshot in the store . " You can not just take and make 5 screenshots from the device, and then use them as screenshots for the store. And the point here is not in the "marketing moves", but in the requirements of Google Play and the App Store.


Everything is easier on Google Play, so let's start with it. If you want your game to fully support tablets with higher resolution, you need to upload separate screenshots for 7 'and 10' screens (this is one of the conditions for displaying the inscription that your application is optimized for tablets). Hence the logic - we make the source of the screenshot as large as possible (for example, 10 '), and, if necessary, make smaller copies of screenshots for small devices.




With the App Store, everything is a lot more complicated. The fact is that the screenshots for this site should have strict dimensions (for each device from Apple), as if they were made directly from this device. At the moment, to put the game in the App Store you have to add from 1 to 5 screenshots for each screen resolution (actual requirements can be found on the Apple website ):



It is necessary not only to make 6 different sizes, but at the same time 3 different aspect ratios (9x16, 2x3, 3x4). That is, with a simple screenshot, you will have to do something in the editor (cut off pieces of the image or add new elements).


Everyone understands the problem of different screenshots permissions in their own way. I will tell you about the method that I applied myself. Instead of screenshots, I used images of devices with these screenshots, a neutral background and localized captions (official sources of images of devices for the App Store are here , for Google Play are here ). It turned out these sets of screenshots:



')

This version of the screenshots for the story makes it easy to adapt the image to different aspect ratios. For example, in my case, the background will just take up a bit more space on more “square” devices and the bottom of the smartphone will be slightly more cropped:




Video clip

In Google Play, the video is set to a link to youtube. Of the obvious drawbacks, I will say that vertical videos will be displayed with black bars on the sides, this spoils the impression of the video and does not allow watching the video on the device in an upright position. For horizontal video I do not see any minuses. Unless it is necessary to get the channel on youtube.


In the App Store video requirements are much stricter:



Unlike the screenshots, the promo video on the App Store requires only 4 screen resolutions (2 aspect ratios):





Compared to Google Play, App Store video is more convenient for users (you can watch video in native resolution and aspect ratio, there are no links to youtube), but more problematic for developers, which is why many simply don’t make a trailer for the App Store, even if He is in Google Play.


If you finally decided that your game should have a video in the App Store, here’s a little instruction on how to convert your video file to a file suitable for the App Store (found the solution on Stackoverflow ):





Icons and banners

The requirements for the icons in the stores are simple, but some nuances should be noted:



If you plan to make the same icons for both platforms, I advise you to immediately create the source of the icons in the size of 1024x1024 or more (for example, I made 2048x2048 just in case) without transparency. When the source is ready, you can make an icon for it from Android (for example, I made slightly rounded corners with an alpha channel), you also have to reduce the file to 512x512.


Icon for iOS is reduced to 1024x1024. It is not necessary to round corners in it, since the App Store itself cuts off the corners of a square icon.




In addition to the icons on Google Play, you need to add various promotional banners (for feature ). In the App Store, this is not required, because if you want to zachicherit, you will receive a separate letter from Apple, which will indicate the requirements for the materials of the trading .




Localization


If there is a localization in your game, then it should be in the description in the stores, so that people immediately understand what to expect from the game.


What is important to remember about localization:



Monetization: the price of the application and inapi


What you need to know about monetization through the stores:





And a few more facts.



Conclusion


Thank you for reading! If you have questions, ask in the comments - be sure to answer! If you find an error or inaccuracy, write to me in PM . All success in game development :)

Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/302486/

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