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Google Play launches game services for mobile, social, cloud gaming
Google is kicking off games services on its Play Store that allows developers to add achievements, social and public leaderboards, cloud saving, and real-time multiplayer. The games service goes live today and works completely on Android, and mostly on iOS or other "connected devices" – that second batch won't support multiplayer. Google Play's games services differs from Apple's Game Center in that it offers backend support, rather than a standalone application. Anyone making a game with Google Play has access to its developer services. A handful of games already have these services incorporated: World of Goo, Super Stickman Golf 2, Beach Buggy Blitz, Kingdom Rush, Eternity Warriors 2 and Osmos. "We won't make it a mandatory exercise, or have any certification process around it," Google lead product manager Greg Hartrell told Engadget. "We create fantastic services that allow developers to create these great game experiences, and help promote their discovery, help retain their users and keep them engaged." Check out the games services on Google's developer site.
Google plans unified gaming hub for Play, cross-platform titles a possibility
In other non-spotlight stealing tech news, Google's set to chop off some of its gaming arms in favor of a sole download hub as early as next year. Plans for this streamlined service were announced by Punit Soni, group product manager for Google+, at this year's Game Developer's Conference. According to VentureBeat, the company's virtual storefronts, which encompass the likes of Chrome, Android and Google+, will all be tied into a single Google Play-hosted destination that should ease game development, potentially making titles accessible cross-platform. In addition to the creation of this one-stop shop, features such as Native Client, Hangouts and a simplified payment system will also reportedly be integrated into the unnamed site. No immediate changes are on deck for this service overhaul, so it'll be a bit before we can see how this "One Google" vision pans out.
Games mentioned in Google Plus source code
As if you needed more evidence that Google was planning a games service than the recent job listing -- and the fact that, as something you do on your computer, it falls into the category of things Google would want to own -- Engadget found a hint in some Google+ source code. Unused code somewhere within Google's social networking service reads "... have sent you Game invites and more from Google+ Games," suggesting a Facebook-like functionality allowing users to play games socially through the service at some point in the future. It stands to reason that the Big G will probably wait until more people have Google+ and, perhaps more importantly, know how to use Google+. We know plenty of developers are relieved they didn't put too much effort into Google Buzz-based games.
Google+ code reveals intent to unleash Games and Questions to the social world
Having a difficult time getting your honeydew list checked off because you're trying to level up in Mafia Wars? You may want to just chuck the whole sheet of paper in the trash. Buried deep in Google Plus' source code are a few curious references to at least two new services that may very well be destined for the invite-only social networking suite. The first is Google Games, the tech giant's first venture into the world of social gaming. While this isn't a big stunner -- recent job postings insinuated that this feature would come around sooner or later -- it makes perfect sense for it to be included as part of the Google+ experience to help strengthen Mountain View's bid against the likes of Facebook. Also on the company's white board is Questions, a likely love child of Google's $50 million acquisition of Aardvark. When the source code offers up hints like "you might try rephrasing or tagging your question to make it easier for someone to answer," along with the utterance of sharing questions with others and commenting on answers, nothing could be more indicative of a social service. There still isn't a strong indication that we'll see these two features pop up anytime soon, but the hamster wheels are definitely turning right now, and we're piecing the clues together. At the rate things are going, these services may easily be ready before we all get invites. [Thanks, Ian]
Games at Google service revealed in job listing
Search engine giant Google is apparently looking to get even further into the gaming market, according to a job listing on its corporate site. The prospective employee would serve as a Product Manager for Games at Google, and "design strategies for game distribution and discovery, player identity, game mechanics, and more" as well as "initiate and prioritize projects within engineering, assist in determining the best technical implementation methods, track product development, and develop product launch plans." Unfortunately, there's not much to go on so far -- the listing does refer to a "gaming platform" at Google, as well as "developer relations," so in between the lines here there's the idea of some service that would involve other developers in some way. But whether that means games actually developed and released by Google or just a portal to games online, we'll have to wait and see.
Games at Google revealed in job posting, takes a stab at social gaming
Well, one of the few remaining sectors that Google has yet to conquer, gaming, will be Big G free no longer. The tech giant is looking for a product manager to man a new property called Games at Google. Obviously, with just a job posting to work with, details are scant, but we can tell you that the gaming platform will boast some social features -- an area where the Goog has struggled mightily. What don't we know? Just about anything else. Will it be a Game Center-like feature for Android phones? Or, perhaps, a web-gaming outlet for Chrome built with help from the folks at Zynga, who Google quietly partnered with back in the summer of oh-ten. Regardless, we're waiting with bated breath to find out when and where we'll be able to order hits in Mafia Wars next.
Google game developer advocate leaves after four months
Mark Deloura was hired by Google in April to work with game developers on content for Google's browser-based app store. In a blog post, Deloura has announced that he left the company this week. "There are a lot of very interesting things going on at Google right now," Deloura said, "and I enjoyed working with many of the people there, but it was not the perfect fit for me." Deloura went on to talk at length about the importance of easy access to middleware and cross-platform development. The increasing use of web services can abstract away a lot of the need for platform-specific SDK features," he said, "but there's still a lot of work to do all around. Games aren't getting cheaper to make, that's for sure, and it's important that technically complex features are still easily available to independent developers working alone." During Deloura's tenure, Google announced its Chrome Web Store, purchased Slide, and -- in what may be Google's most successful browser gaming initiative yet -- made that neat Pac-Man logo game.
Report: Google buys casual dev Slide
TechCrunch brings news today of the latest kick from the gestating fetus that is "Google Games." The site reports that search giant Google spent $187 million to purchase Slide, developer of the SuperPoke series and other casual games the names of which are actually too sad to type. This comes after a rumored $100 million investment in 'Ville vets Zynga. This is the point where we'd typically talk about how we're eagerly anticipating the launch of or at least more details on Google Games. But it's becoming abundantly clear from these leaks that we're going to not care about it so hard that it may register on the Richter scale.
Rumor: Google invests $100+ million in Zynga, preparing to launch gaming platform
Google has "secretly" invested an undisclosed amount of money (estimated to be between $100 million and $200 million) in virtual Ville creator Zynga Games, TechCrunch claims. Why would one highly profitable company dump such a large amount of duckets into another successful company's coffers? TechCrunch believes that it's part of a strategy to partner with Zynga Games in the forthcoming launch of something called "Google Games." The service is said to use Google logins and will presumably run the Zynga titles popularized by Facebook, albeit with a different payment system (allegedly Google Checkout rather than PayPal). Though these claims are still unsubstantiated -- neither Google nor Zynga have officially confirmed the report -- a recent Google job listing for a "Project Management Leader, games" seems to lend the idea some credence.
Google hires Mark DeLoura as game 'developer advocate'
[DeLoura at Johnny Rockets, 2006; gamedev.net] Industry veteran Mark DeLoura begins his position as "developer advocate" of games at Google today, ending a 34-month stint as a game technology consultant. DeLoura has traded numerous jobs and advisory roles in the industry since beginning as a lead engineer for Nintendo in 1995. Having once served as manager of developer relations for Sony Computer Entertainment America, DeLoura becomes the second former SCEA man to be hired by Google within its lively loosely defined games division. Until April 2009, Bernie Stolar, the first executive VP of SCEA, was known as Google's "game evangelist" for two years. In his new role at Google, DeLoura will work with game developers, both "traditional" and "new," to provide support for and information about creating games for Google's various platforms, which could include Android, O3D (its open-source web API) and the in-progress Chrome OS. DeLoura described the developer advocate position as "both inward- and outward-facing" and suggested that he will seek to make it "easier for developers to express themselves and share the experiences they create" for Google. As for the Google mission, DeLoura said, "They seek to build platforms by working interactively with their partners, providing a big tent so everyone can get involved." Big tent, huh? Sounds like there's at least a free lunch in it for any developer open to taking a peek at what Google's offering.
