When creating a new game there is no certainty it will ever reach a point where it will get released. Author's often "through their hands up in despair" as spanners get thrown into the works and at the repeated testing and retesting in an attempt to evaluate all possible conditions.

Somehow some sanity remains and our treasured masterpiece of a game (by now a pain in the proverbial) remains not only undeleted but... we are actually quite proud of our achievement. In fact, we are getting quite smug because it looks and plays as good as many commercial games.

So what's the next step? Submitting for publication to one of the big games distributors maybe?

OK - easier said than done. If you want to play with the "big boys" you need to play by their rules:

In order to effectively promote and support your game they will require:

Final Build

Provide a full, unlocked version of the game delivered in a ZIP archive, not an installer.

Full Screen

The game must launch to full screen by default but should support both full screen and windowed mode, and have a registry or text file option to switch the default behavior. Game must support the option in game to change between full and windowed mode. External support is preferred, however not required.

In-Game Branding

For branding a dedicated Partner splash screen should be incorporated into your game. This screen should be an external resource and needs to able to be turned off, and provided to us in a layered PSD file.
If the game does not have a Splash Screen – one should be created. There are many cases where publishers will have branding requirements and this screen will credit to the publisher without cluttering the game interface. This screen should also be able to be turned off.

Game Loading Screen

For branding allow branding elements to be incorporated into your games and have the loading screen to be an external resource which is provided to us in a layered PSD file.

If the game does not have a Loading Screen – one should be created. There are many cases where publishers will have branding requirements and this screen will allow the publisher to gain credit without cluttering the game interface.

In-Game Main Menu Branding

For branding please incorporate partner branding into your Main Menu UI. We require this Main Menu branding to be an external resource, and provided to us in a layered PSD file. Having this screen externalized allows removal of partner-branding altogether if it is not required.

3rd party Registry References

During installation of your game, the installer will create certain registry settings to handle events and configurations requested by individual partners. Please add the reg settings we supply to your code.

Persistent Data

Persistent data (such as game options and high scores) should not be saved in the application folder. To allow the game to be run by users without admin privileges, we recommend using the registry for all persistent data.
* Please note, do not use case sensitive directories.

Link Removal

Please remove all in-game or in-doc links, including urls, hot or cold and email addresses.

Icons

Please ensure that the first icon provided in your EXE should be the main game icon that will use when displaying an icon of the game outside of our interface (i.e. start menu and in the tool tray). If a game doesn't have one, we need one to be created and have it associated with the exe (resource).

Art Assets

• The logo for your game in a layered PSD format.
• A layered PSD of your companies logo
• At least a 5 - 10 game element graphics. These include game characters, game pieces and other major components, which are part of your game. These elements will be used to create banners and other graphics to help promote your game.
• 8-10 screenshots for use in marketing that best portray the different levels/elements of your game

Documentation
1) Readme
The readme file will need to accompany the game detailing any idiosyncrasies regarding platform support, known issues, etc. We need it in RTF or TXT format. This document is also useful for our customer service representatives.

• System requirements (operating systems, ram, hard drive, video cards, dx versions)
• How to play
• Controls
• Power ups, etc…
• Customer Support URL to be included in the game readme
• Provide Install Instructions (system files, install-time reg keys, etc…)

2) Marketing

• 25 words, 100 words and 250 word description of your game if available. Not the instructions for how to play but a concise description of the type of game, major features and modes of the game, which will appeal to consumers.
• Include the number of modes of play, number of levels in each mode, number of power ups and descriptions.

3) EULA
If you have a EULA please include it.

Please supply…

Cheat codes
Description of any testing done
Detailed accounts of all known issues and solutions

If you read through these requirements carefully you will see there are several potential stumbling blocks which can easily prevent any game from being accepted no matter how good it is. You will be pleased to hear we have solutions to allow our games to comply with all these requirements however, some of these need to be in place (or allowed for) very early on in the design stage. Altering a room size to allow for a Full Screen and Windowed modes when items are created dynamically is almost like starting from scratch!

A menu screen which is loaded from an external graphic may sound bizarre and almost unheard of in the Game Maker community forums but it can be done with ease, as can complying with all the other requirements providing they are known about and allowed for even if not implemented.

If you are interested in computer game development you may be interested in joining our Development Team Community.

You can join us for free without any obligation even if you have no experience at all in any aspect of game development. We already have the expertise to be able to create addictive games, from graphics, coding and sounds to marketing and on-line distribution.

What's in it for us
Promotion may be on offer to those who join and bring a particular talent which shines however, we are a team who are willing to share our expertise in all areas of development. True you can learn everything yourself but we already know what works, what doesn't and many of the pitfalls to avoid.

When you join you can discover:

• How to create high quality graphics.
• How to keep loading times down.
• How to optimize with good code structure.
• How to choose a game type which is salable.
• How to market a game.

Creating any game is not the first step, nor is the game idea; it's completion is also not the end.

Before even starting out you need to do your market research to find out what people who actually purchase games want. It can take 12 - 18 months to produce a polished game of commercial quality and to spend that amount of time producing something people would only play for free is a real waste of time.

Want to learn any of this and more?
Why not Register Now to join - it is free and without obligation. We don't disclose your details to 3rd parties and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Note that registration to become a member of our Development Team Community is free. Members may participate in our forums and gain limited access to our Resource Center however acceptance to join the Development Team is by merit alone - you cannot buy your way in.

Software4me is a small company specializing in creating and marketing software on the Internet. We do this by doing our market research to locate software products which are in high demand but have a low supply rate and we emply the same techniques in our games.

Every day thousands of new software titles are released and the games market is no different. Gone are the days of simply creating a "really good game" and expecting people to "clamber" to play it first. If you want your game to get noticed you will need to know as much about the competition as you can, not just their game(s) but who they are and how they are marketing their game(s).

You cannot expect to use Game Maker® to compete against the likes of WOW - That is akin to going up against the mighty Microsoft Corporation; you won't win and unlikely to get listed or mentioned anywhere of note.

Fortunately there are ways to get new games a lot of exposure but much depends upon the game type and difficulty for a particular audience. We create games which include popular gaming elements whilst still being unique so if you are interested in becoming involved, simply click on the register link at the top of the page. Rest assured you will not be under any obligation to do anything and it most certainly won't cost you anything but your time.

At Software4me we are always on the lookout for new talent so if you think you have "something to offer" or just want to be part of a team with realistic prospects, click on the Register link at the top.

Doubloons Ahoy is a total re-write of a game we developed in March 2009. The initial reason for the update was to resolve Windows 7 compatibility problems however we got carried away and decided to take advantage of new techniques and graphic capabilities to increase the quality and extend the game.

The game remains true to the original concept but now contains many more challenging levels.

• Crate Sliding Puzzles
• Match 2 Puzzles
• Missing Object Puzzles
• 3D Maze adventure

The object is to start as a humble Cabin Boy and work your way up the ranks to become the Captain of your very own ship.

Note: There is no purchase option in this Beta version.

Doubloons Ahoy Download

[size=2]ShuffleBomb2 is now available for download as an RC1 release.

At just over 71Mb, ShuffleBomb2 Version 2.2.1 is not a small game. However, it contains over 1,000 ever challenging levels to give endless fun and we are offering it at no cost or obligation for trial evaluation.

ShuffleBomb2 Download

If you like the game you can purchase a full license and optional Extended Download warranty or even have a backup CD shipped to you.

Although the basic game play remains much the same, ShuffleBomb2 has undergone some remarkable changes, both visually and audibly.

Most of the graphic sets have now been completed and inserted into the game and other less noticeable changes made to give improved playability and smoother transitions.

All the music has been written for the game by "DJBonseye" from Cicada Music Inc. and this is now in place in this version.

(IMG:http://games.software4me.net/shuffleBomb/images/screenshot100.jpg)

Version 2.2.1 is packaged with its own installer and uninstaller. It is standard 2 button mouse controlled and compatible with the vast majority of Windows systems - no special hardware is required.