Deploying the Game
I hope you’re satisfied with your game and confident that others will love it as well. This section covers how to work with Android App Market. You discover how applications are uploaded as well as the fundamentals of marketing and pricing. With this information, you can go back to making even more applications for sale.
To get started, look at Figure 10-5, which shows the homepage of the Android App Market at https://market.android.com/.
Figure 10-5. The Android App Market
On this page, owners of Android mobile devices as well as tablets can download and purchase apps. Of special note is the tab that says Featured Tablet Apps. Android is making a large push to attract buyers of tablets, so it separates the apps that are designed specifically for tablets from those for phones. This is fantastic news for you because you face much less competition.
There is a lot of freedom when it comes to how the programs are offered. You can set a price for your app for any amount between $1 and $200 or give it away for free. When a customer buys it, you pocket 70% of the sale; the rest goes to the cost of sending the app to the device. Google doesn’t take any portion of the proceeds, but the device makers and the online distributors are paid to handle the transaction much like a credit-card company charges a business for each transaction. iPhone and iPad apps give the developer only 60% of the revenue, so in this sense, Android has yet another advantage over the Apple App Store.
Fifty-seven percent of the apps on the Android market are free. Competing application stores have a much lower percentage of free apps. The implication for you is that you must be aware that programs that require users to pay must demonstrate superior quality and provide many hours of playing time.
You now know the basics of the market for apps. You must create an account with the Android App Market in order to see your own creations available. The next section covers how to make an account and upload your first app.
Opening a Google Developer Account
Nothing makes an application developer more pleased than to see their work in the hands of others. Here you create your Android App Market account and release your program to the world:
- Go to
https://market.android.com/. At the very bottom of the screen, click Developers.- Select the option to Publish Apps.
- Sign in to your Google Account, or create a new one. You should create a new account just for your app business, to separate it from your regular e-mail or Google+ activities.
- The next screen is shown in Figure 10-6. Fill it out with accurate and professional information. If you don’t have a web site, that’s okay, but you probably want one.
Figure 10-6. Creating your Android App Market Account
- You’re prompted to pay the registration fee. This is $25 and must be paid through Google Checkout.
When the registration is complete, you have a profile of sorts for your account. You can do a variety of things, from adding a Google Checkout account so you can get payments, to uploading an app.
Now you’re ready to upload your game to Google Market.
Uploading a Game to Google Market
Although most developers want to sell their apps, this section covers the way to upload your app to the public free of charge. If you want to receive payments and charge for your work, go to this amazing guide about the market: www.google.com/support/androidmarket/developer/bin/topic.py?topic=15866.
Before you can complete the simple process to upload your game, you must have several items ready, including the following:
- The APK file that contains the app
- Two nice screenshots of the app that highlight its features
- A high-resolution icon that users select to play your game
Uploading the game is a simple proposition. At your online Developer Console, click Upload App. Here you go through a wizard that asks for the items just listed. Locate the files in the directory where you stored them.
It’s critical to have an attractive screenshot and description as well as any additional diagrams that you would like to display; your success will be related to how much users are attracted to your game. The next section looks at how to prepare for the greatest possible success in the marketplace.