Google Play multiplayer services?

[netizen]

if Android Police's snooping around the Google Play Services component of the MyGlass app is any indication. A seemingly innocuous "games" folder includes what appears to be a Google Play Services gaming framework: achievements, in-game chats, rankings and invitation-capable multiplayer lurk inside. None of these are accessible to regular users, though, so it's unclear whether the references represent a glimpse into an upcoming gaming strategy or just an instance of developers leaving in code that's normally destined for the scrap heap.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/18/...rumors-of-a-game-framework/?utm_source=feedly

 

[netizen]

Synced Game Saves
...
Matchmaking And Invites
...
Achievements
...
Scoring and Leaderboards
...
The big question I have right now is, "is this all there is"? Will games handle all the client-side UI stuff that isn't here, or will we see a central game app come out of Google? A lot of stuff doesn't work right now, so we're definitely missing some pieces, I'm just not sure if that's a server thing somewhere, a central Play Games client, another Play Services update, or up to game developers. We'll have to see at I/O.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/0...oogle-io-hello-cloud-game-saves-apk-teardown/

 

[jaredmorgs]

Bye Bye Farsight Leaderboards. Hello Google Play Games...

So Ryan, this should take about 6-8 weeks to implement. Right

Imagine the power of this for tournaments, friend tracking, the list goes on.

And, really, everyone with an Android device already has Google+ "installed" due to the Play Store requiring a G+ account to contribute reviews. What excellent integration to control how you share your achievements. For me, I'll be going public all the way...

 

[netizen]

not just Farsight leader boards, but bye bye swarm, bye bye com2us etc and all those 3rd party other ad pushers?

It is an interesting development, but who will implement it and cut their own cross platform interactivity?

 

[jaredmorgs]

not just Farsight leader boards, but bye bye swarm, bye bye com2us etc and all those 3rd party other ad pushers?

It is an interesting development, but who will implement it and cut their own cross platform interactivity?

Well there's already Game Center on iOS and the PS3 thing, so there is already fragmentation.

And I have seen the other games that Swarm has on Android. Basically the only good ones I've seen so far are Zen Pinball. Aaaaand, Zen Pinball.

 

[Carl Spiby]

About sodding time is all I can say.

 

[grashopper]

Just saw this today on the Google Play store... Guessing it's related.
For a game called Wind-up knight
WIND-UP KNIGHT v2.0! Feature-tastic update! - Added support for Google Play game services achievements! School your friends!

So it must have started already.

 

[jaredmorgs]

About sodding time is all I can say.

I'd love to see Farsight be one of the first pinball games to implement it.

 

[Jan Duin]

It's been implemented with a couple of games I already owned. Achievements, online play with friends, works great! Does anybody know whether you can check your achievements and friends online?

 

[BryceS]

That's what was puzzling me. After the announcement at I/O on Wednesday, I noticed a few games update the same evening. But what I was really expecting was some sort of app, or extension to the Google+ app that would allow me to view the information from all my games (Achievements, etc.) in one place, compare with friends, find new games with G+ support, etc. Essentially something like the XBox dashboard.

 

[silverjaguar7]

Also hoping this will happen.

 

[jaredmorgs]

Ryan confirmed in the 1.14 beta thread that this will be implemented after the ouya release (timing-wise, that is as precise as we get at this stage).

Ryan can confirm timings closer to implementation.

 

[Jan Duin]

Good news! The current setup just doesn't do the job.

 

[jaredmorgs]

Google have since released the Google Play Games app.

This will be a great companion app for Pinball Arcade when Ryan gets a chance to implement the framework into the game.

The single biggest thing I hope for is that the in-game wizard achievements per table will be in a flat structure (standard and wizard goals achievable at any stage, not once all standard goals are unlocked).

Adding friends to compete against in the app will be such a blast. Can't wait.

 

[Carl Spiby]

Still waiting for this, no way to compare my scores against friends...

 

[jaredmorgs]

Scores, leaderboards, and cloud saves. That would be what needs to happen when Ryan had the time to implement this. Hopefully soon.

 

[PALADiN]

I also want this to happen.

On an unrelated note, I noticed that the Play Store now has a "Redeem code" feature. Currently this is used for Google Play credit but I'm wondering if Google are going to expand this functionality to include full apps and/or IAPs for specific apps.

 

[jaredmorgs]

In case folks aren't following the "Controller Support for Android" thread, @Ryan_Routon has confirmed that GPG support may finally see the light of day.

http://digitalpinballfans.com/showthread.php?p=115819

For the short term however, it will be cloud back-up only. Achievements, maybe. Leaderboards, maybe. Multiplayer, definitely not (must be managed using farsight tech so it is cross-platform)

 

[jaredmorgs]

http://digitalpinballfans.com/showthread.php?t=8344 is the new place to discuss Google Play Games framework support.