Reach a bigger audience with your Unity game

Now of days most game developers have started to realize how important it is to release on multiple platforms. By targeting as many platforms as possible with your game you can diversify and expand your audience. This is absolutely crucial for any indie game developer to succeed in todays crowded markets.

In the spirit of helping you expand your games audience I am happy to share my recent Microsoft Virtual Academy (MVA) course on Porting Unity Games to the Windows Phone and Windows Store. In this course @jaimerodriguez and I cover all the in’s and out’s of the porting process. We walk you through the steps from end to end while sharing some of our own porting experiences along the way. Below is a little break down of some of the key points we touch on.

Getting Started

In the first module we start with a look at prerequisites. We give a quick list of what’s needed to get started,. Then we do a nice walk through of the tools and a review of the project structure. We round this module out with a discussion on how to handle ongoing iterations when exporting Unity projects to the Windows platforms.

Porting Your Unity Game

With this module we explain the importance of feature detection for hardware and discuss design patterns for optimal UX. We talk about the run-time differences you might encounter and how to best setup your code for reuse.  This module is where we walk through the actual process of creating a Universal App project for your Unity game. 

Native Integration

In this module we discuss all the options available to you to include great platform features. We explain how to use features like Live Tiles and Toast notifications to light up your game and engage your audience. Including native platform features is an awesome way of making your game stand out from the masses.

Optimization

Optimizing your game is a key step in the development process. This becomes even more important when targeting mobile devices. In this module we talk about patterns and share tips to help squeeze out more performance from your code. We also explore ways to debug and analyze your project to see how well it is performing.

Monetization & Packaging

In order to keep building games full time at some point you need to make some money from your creations. So in this module we go through the options for monetizing your game, such as trials, ads, and in-app purchases. We share our views on selecting a monetization model based on hard data, that we share. Finally we end this module by touching on the review submission and certification procedures for the Windows stores.

Hopefully this MVA course will help get you started with porting your Unity game to the Windows platforms. Ultimately building a strong audience and fan base is key to the success of any game studio or developer. Bringing your game to new platforms is a great way for indies to accomplish this and the Windows Platforms with their growing numbers is a great place to start!

#GameDev w/ @ScruffyFurn

If you are interested in game development and are looking for a good place for info and advice check out my new web series #GameDev w/ @Scruffyfurn . In these monthly videos my goal is to share tips and tricks to help game developers find success in the game industry. Each month I rant about topics that plague us developers. Special guests join me to share the knowledge gained from their experiences in the game development trenches. So please check it out and join the conversation!