This is not a mandatory item, but it is better to make a website where the news of your project will be posted, as well as the privacy policy and other materials for review. It turns out that in 2021 it is quite simple to make an easy and simple website. With templates for website development in Word Press, without hesitation, I stop at it. The site requires hosting and its own domain. Having weighed all the pros and cons, I decided to spend a couple of thousand rubles on its rent, for a period of 48 months and not to “sweat”. There are a huge number of offers on the web, so there were no problems with this either. It takes a couple of hours to set it up, and another couple of hours to fill it with content. And now there is already your own website for the game!
Tip: To get the coveted tick in the OAuth Access Request Window tab in Google Cloud Platforms, having a game website and your domain where the privacy policy will also be posted is a must!
OAuth Client ID
If you have a system of achievements in the game, a rating from Google, or you at least save game data in the cloud from Google, then it is necessary that the user goes through the authorization process using a Google account, which means that he provides some permissions to manage his data. Now in order. When setting up game services in Google Play Console, you need to: create an application for user authorization in Google Cloud Platforms, configure credentials for the OAuth client ID and the OAuth Access Request window. Perhaps this is the main “pitfall”.
The difficulty lies not in its initial configuration so that the services work properly, but in the fact that the application is published and has no restrictions on the number of users. If you intend to create a large-budget project that will attract thousands of players, then you will definitely have to go through this stage.
The Council: Also, if you use ads from Google Admob, then the site is also necessary. A file is added to the root folder of your site app-ads.txt . This allows advertisers to understand which ad sources have the right to sell advertising inventory. If you do not pass authorization, then advertising revenue will be greatly reduced!
GDPR
Another bureaucratic hurdle remains, on the way to publication. If your app has ads, then it can be personalized, which means your app collects user data to successfully serve ads. GDPR – (General Data Protection Regulation) is a law passed by the European Parliament that describes data protection rules for EU citizens. This means that in order to show personal advertising, it is necessary before the first launch of your game, the user must accept the agreement that he is familiar with the privacy policy of your application, as well as read for what purposes his personal data will be used and give consent/refuse to process them. Of course, this applies to residents from EU countries.
After completing all the above points, my application has been successfully published in the Google Play Market and does not know any problems.
A brief squeeze of tips
Study the market and decide on the direction and genre of the game. The main thing is not to build “Napoleonic” plans at the beginning, which may not be realized!
Write down the action plan and try to follow it clearly, making small edits along the way. Try to keep within the deadlines set by the plan.
Be sure to ask your family and friends for their opinion about your game throughout the development.
Feel free to purchase resources to accelerate the development and improve the quality of your project.
Try to write program code that is as clear to you and other people as possible, so that it can be read after months of development and understand its meaning.
Learn basic image and sound editing skills.
Build yourself a pool of useful bookmarks in the browser with a library of various resources, having quick access to them.
Learn how to use Git at a basic level. An indispensable assistant in the development of the game to control the changes made.
The last and probably the most important. Never give up, believe in yourself, work hard and sooner or later, but you will definitely succeed! If it worked for me and millions of other novice developers of this craft, then why shouldn’t it work for you!?
Conclusion
I am very grateful to you that you have read this long article to the end! I hope that those who are just trying themselves as a developer will pick up some useful things for themselves and get a boost of motivation, and the “experienced” will find this story at least not boring.
I don’t know who said that game development is a fun activity. This is never a fun activity that requires increased concentration, responsibility for details, a high level of self-discipline and perseverance. Is it interesting?! Of course yes, otherwise I wouldn’t have started this way. Playing games and doing them are completely different things. But in any case, it’s insanely interesting! The choice I made once at uni completely turned my thinking and my whole life around. Don’t be afraid and dare!
If I made a mistake somewhere and was wrong, I will be glad to have edits and suggestions in the comments. I am ready to answer any questions on this topic.
So that there are no misunderstandings about the release date.
The game was first published on December 2, 2019, and it was 10 months of development. After that, I was forced to repay my debt to my homeland. I served in the army until December 2, 2020. After demobilization, I immediately continued development. And on February 4, 2021, after “12 months” of development, I released the project.
If you are interested to see the result of my work, then you can find it in the Google Play Market.