We are pleased to announce that our Social SDK 1.80 is ready for integration into your game!

Download it now and check out its latest features:

• New User Interface
• SNS entrance improvements: Papaya logo, social feed bar and notifications.
• Improvements to the Friends APIs
• Registration process improved
• Modified Google in-app billing mechanism
• Removed SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOWS permission

We have released the Unity version of our acclaimed Social SDK. Now developers familar with Unity can get all the benefts of the latest Papaya social features for their game.

What’s new??

1. Integrated Google In-app Billing
2. New payment flow
3. Supported Unity 3.5
4. Friends APIs

Developers can get excited as the latest version of Papaya’s Social SDK has been released. Download it now to achieve true virality!

What’s New?

1. Integrated Google In-app Billing
2. New payment flow
3. Added API to post images to the photo album
4. Support for GuangDong-China Telecom Billing on the Chinese server

Since the creation of social gaming, a cloud of controversy has always surrounded it. Far from what you and I would deem a traditional game, social games take on a whole different realm of the gaming sphere. Is this kind of gaming here to stay?

Papaya’s evangelist, Oscar Clark, explores the question into depth.

This week we are getting ready for the Game Developers Conference 2012 in San Francisco, California. Papaya’s favorite evangelist Oscar Clark will be sharing the secrets of making a successful social mobile game Tuesday from 12:30- 1:30 Room 130, North Hall.

We hope to see you all there!

This product will allow any Facebook or Google+ developer to port their Flash or HTML5 game into a fully functioning Android app without having to learn a new coding language. Essentially, Social Splash is a wrapper for HTML5 and Flash games which uses the Android Flash plugin and the latest web kit engine to render the game. The compilation is done entirely in the cloud and developers will not need to install anything on their machine and/or know anything about Android to use it. For games using Adobe Air, Papaya is also developing a native extension to help connect all the social features.

Games converted using Social Splash will be able to incorporate all of Papaya’s social features via a simple JavaScrpt API including newsfeeds, notifications, leaderboards, achievements, friend lists, avatars, check in, private messaging, and more. Additionally, developers can add monetization channels to their games using Papaya’s virtual currency and billing system to start generating revenue the moment it launches on the Android Market.

For more information on the Social Splash Process, Click Here!

Before we can begin we must ensure your Flash or HTML 5 game can run on Android

• Create a developer account and proceed to the next step.
• Generate your APK in Debug Mode.
• Check the features of your game according to the checklist below
• Fix any issues or bugs found using the Social Splash Checklist.
• Repeat the steps above until your game is bug free.

Social Splash Process

1. Setup your application and integrate the Social Features as described in the Social Splash Integration Guide.
2. Generate your APK in Release Mode, ensuring that Social Features are working correctly.
3. Follow the approval process found in the developer login section. When Papaya approves your game, it will be released on the Papaya Network.

Special Note

Because of technical issues with Flash and HTML5, some games will not perform as well on Android as they do in a standard Web Browser. We highly recommend generating your APK in Debug Mode and checking it vigorously against the Social Splash Checklist. The Debug Mode generates an APK of your game with a list of possible bugs and issues. After fixing any issues found in the debugging process (Step 1), you will be able to setup your application and integrate Papaya Social Features with the best possible results.

Social Splash Checklist

Follow this checklist to ensure your game runs correctly on Android.

• Check that your phone can install non-market applications by doing the following: Settings -> Applications -> Allow Unknown Sources
• Install your game.
• Check that your game runs smoothly. If the lag is present, experiment with reducing number of objects on screen. Particle and transparency effects are particularly resource intensive.
• Check that the game is resized properly on different resolutions. Do not use fixed dimensions.
• Check that text is readable.
• Check that buttons are big enough and responsive when tapped.
• Check that your game can be played fully with the touchscreen. In a standard web browser this means the game can be played fully using a mouse and clicks. If gameplay control requires a keyboard, you will need to map these functions to touch screen controls such as in game buttons.
• Every time you reinstall your game, make sure to clear the applications cache: Settings->Applications->Manage Applications->Your Application->Clear Cache

For Flash only

• Check that your game doesn’t link to external URLs, or if it does, check that it will go back to full-screen mode automatically when users return to your game.
• Make sure that users don’t have to type directly in your game, and that all user input uses the askUserInput API

F.A.Q.

Q: How do I debug my Javascript?

A: All the JS calls intercepted and sent by Social Splash are recorded in the Logcat. To view this log, download any Logcat application (like Catlog). All entries related to Social Splash use the tag “SocialSplash”

Q: My game works fine when compiled with the Global SNS, but Challenges, and Achievements don’t work when compiled with the Chinese one

A: The Challenge and Achievements id are different on the Global and Chinese SNS. Don’t forget to make two versions of the game to avoid this problem.

Q: I can’t install my game!

A: Make sure your device is an Android phone with a version of Android higher than Android 2.2 and lower than android 3.0 Settings->About My Phone->Android Version.

Other Android based operating systems may work but have not been tested (For example Baidu or others). Also, check to make sure the game is not already installed.

Q: I am asked to install/upgrade Flash, but I can’t!

A: Go to the Android Market and download the latest version of the Flash player. If you can’t, your phone is probably incompatible with Flash.

Locally Stored Games

Make sure your game starts can run from your computer’s hard drive through a Web Browser.

If it doesn’t, you may need to fix the following

• Ensure your game isn’t server protected.
• Ensure your game does not try to access resources using a relative path.
• Ensure your game does not try to access Javascript functions usually contained in its HTML page, for example a game that tries to access some Facebook functions such as Facebook Javascript Bridge or the FlashVars.

Flash Only Questions

Check to make sure your device is compatible with Flash (see also: What should I do when I upload my game on the android market?).

Q: What should I do when I upload my game on the Android Market?

A: Once your game is ready, simply upload it to the android market like normal. You need to register at http://market.android.com/publish to begin the uploading process.

Q: Which handsets will not support my Flash game?

A: Armv6 processors are not supported by Flash, so be sure to manually filter the devices that can’t support it. Social Splash will automatically detect if the phone is not compatible but we recommend you manually filter out devices which are not compatible.

It is a difficult task, but forgetting to do so will result in bad comments and poor ratings from users who download your game, but can’t run it properly. This can affect your ranking.

Q: The background in my game is black/white, what can I do?

A: Change the Flash background setting in the Generate APK page.

Q: My Flash game won’t start!

A: Check that you have a working internet connection

Q: Are any devices incompatible?

A: Yes, see below

1. All Honeycomb devices, due to this issue:

https://bugbase.adobe.com/index.cfm?event=bug&id=2938069

2. ARMv6 devices. The list of ARMv6 devices is managed by Firefox, so you can see it here: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Mobile/Platforms/Android#System_Requirements

Note: There is no need to ban the devices that have incompatible software, only ban the devices that have an ARMv6 processor

3. The following devices:
Desire HD

EVO Shift 4G
Evo 4G
myTouch 3G
myTouch 3G Slide
myTouch 4G(glacier)

This year’s event will be taking place from February 7 to February 9, in Hamburg, Germany. Papaya’s very own Oscar Clark will be speaking on Day 2: Social and Mobile Trends.

Oscar’s will be touching on how social games have been following the industry trend of moving from the desktop to the palm of your hand. Social mobile games are the hottest new trend in gaming so please come and hear what Oscar has to say!

For more information check out the official website.

We are proud to announce that AbZorba Games, who recently debuted their first game, Live BlackJack 21 Pro, on Papaya, has recently placed second in the 2011 Best App Ever Awards category for Best Casino Game.

This is a great start for AbZorba Games and we are really excited to have them on board. A big congrats to them and all of the winners and nominees of the 2011 Best App Ever Awards.

Coming up on Wednesday, January 25th, at 10:00 am PST, CTO of Fingerprint, Brad Edelman and Mobile Strategy Consultant at Kontagent, Brett Seyler will be hosting a webinar that will focus on the important lessons learned in social games, and how mobile developers and marketers can use them to develop a more successful, profitable mobile application.

During this 45-minute live presentation, the expert panel will dig deep into the challenges and opportunities mobile developers and marketers face, including:

• Successfully transitioning from social to mobile platforms
• Challenges in discovery, acquisition and marketing attribution
• Comparisons between social vs mobile user behaviors
• Unique engineering challenges that didn’t exist in social
• Tips and tricks for monetizing in mobile

Space is limited, so reserve your place now.