Beginning iOS Social Games

Beginning iOS Social Games

Released November 2013
Publisher(s): Apress
ISBN: 9781430249054

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Book description

It's certainly fun to build games that run on your iPhone and iPad. But, wouldn't it be more fun to create games that allow you to play with other gamers in your social network? There's a whole lot more things you can do. Most of the top best selling games around the world, like World of Warcraft, let you play with others online and share your experiences with your friends.

Beginning iOS Social Games is your concise introduction to iOS social and other networked gaming app development using iOS Game Center, Game Kit, Store Kit, AirPlay, iOS 7 Game Controllers, iTunes App Store and integrating with social networks/media like Facebook and Twitter.

Author Kyle Richter of Empirical Development is an expert game developer who guides you through the social game app development process step by step. This book may allow you to turn your already existing, created game into a well polished networkable and/or social media capable game app.

What you'll learn

  • Build socially integrated games on iOS for iPhone and iPad using Twitter and Facebook

  • Configure and begin using Game Center, Apple's social gaming platform

  • Work with the advanced features of Apple's Game Center using leaderboards, achievements, matchmaking, invitations, and multiplayer

  • Exchange data while dealing with errors, dropped connections and other hurdles

  • Create turned-based iOS games using Game Center

  • Implement other socially rich features like real time Voice Chat, In App Purchases with Store Kit, and displaying content on a TV using Airplay

  • Explore all these features and more while building a real iOS game, UFOs!

    • Who this book is for

    This book is for iPhone and iPad app developers looking to build iOS game apps that can network with other apps and social media like Facebook.

    Table of contents

    1. Title Page
    2. Dedication
    3. Contents at a Glance
    4. Contents
    5. About the Author
    6. About the Technical Reviewers
    7. Acknowledgments
    8. Foreword: Better With Friends
    9. Introduction
    10. Chapter 1: Getting Started with Social Gaming
      1. Game Kit: An Overview
      2. Sample Game: UFOs
      3. UFOs: Examining the Source Code
      4. Getting Started with iTunes Connect
      5. Summary
    11. Chapter 2: Game Center: Setting Up and Getting Started
      1. Testing for Game Center
      2. Authenticating with Game Center
      3. The Sandbox
      4. Watching for Status Changes
      5. Working with GKLocalPlayer
      6. Retrieving a Friends List
      7. Friend List Avatars
      8. Working with Players
      9. Summary
    12. Chapter 3: Leaderboards
      1. Why a Leaderboard?
      2. An Overview of Leaderboards in Game Center
      3. Configuring a Leaderboard in iTunes Connect
      4. Posting a Score
      5. Setting a Default Leaderboard
      6. Adding Score Posting to UFOs
      7. Handling Failures When Submitting a Score
      8. Presenting a Leaderboard
      9. Customizing the Leaderboard
      10. Mapping a Player ID
      11. Local Player Score
      12. A Better Approach
      13. Challenges
      14. GKLeaderboard Sets
      15. Summary
    13. Chapter 4: Achievements
      1. Why Achievements?
      2. An Overview of Achievements in Game Center
      3. Configuring Achievements in iTunes Connect
      4. Resetting Achievements
      5. Adding Achievement Hooks
      6. Achievement Challenges
      7. Summary
    14. Chapter 5: Matchmaking and Invitations
      1. Why Add Networking to Your App?
      2. Common Matchmaking Scenarios
      3. Creating a New Match Request
      4. Presenting a Match GUI
      5. Handling Incoming Invitations
      6. Auto-Matching
      7. Matching Programmatically
      8. Adding a Player to a Match
      9. Reinviting Players
      10. Player Groups
      11. Player Attributes
      12. Player Activity
      13. Using Your Own Server (Hosted Matches)
      14. Summary
    15. Chapter 6: The Peer Picker
      1. Benefits of the Peer Picker
      2. Real-World Examples
      3. Working with Sessions
      4. Presenting a Peer Picker
      5. Advanced GKSession Interaction
      6. The Peer Picker Delegate
      7. Summary
    16. Chapter 7: Network Design Overview
      1. Plan Ahead
      2. Three Types of Networks
      3. Less Common Network Types
      4. Reliable Data vs. Unreliable Data
      5. Sending Only What Is Needed
      6. Prediction and Extrapolation
      7. Formatting Messages
      8. Preventing Cheating and Preventing Timeout-Related Disconnections
      9. What to Do When All Else Fails
      10. Summary
    17. Chapter 8: Exchanging Data
      1. Modifying a Single-Player Game
      2. Setting Up Our Engine for Multiplayer
      3. Putting Everything Together
      4. Disconnections
      5. Summary
    18. Chapter 9: Turned-Based Gaming with Game Center
      1. A New Sample Project
      2. GKTurnedBasedMatchmakerViewController
      3. Starting a New Game
      4. Making the First Move
      5. Continuing a Game in Progress
      6. Ending a Match
      7. Quitting and Forfeiting
      8. Player Timeouts
      9. Player Exchanges
      10. Player Reminders
      11. Programmatic Matches
      12. GKTurnBasedEventHandler
      13. Summary
    19. Chapter 10: Voice Chat
      1. Voice Chat for Game Center
      2. Voice Chat for Game Kit
      3. Putting It Together
      4. Summary
    20. Chapter 11: In-App Purchase with StoreKit
      1. Setting Up Your App in iTunes Connect
      2. Adding Products to Your App
      3. Purchasing a Product
      4. Test Accounts and Testing Purchases
      5. Submitting a Purchase GUI Screenshot
      6. Developer Approval
      7. Receipts
      8. iOS 7 Local Receipt Validation
      9. Tying Everything Together in UFOs
      10. Summary
    21. Chapter 12: Twitter
      1. UFOs
      2. Twitter on iOS
      3. Tweet Composer
      4. Custom Tweets
      5. Going Further with Twitter
      6. Summary
    22. Chapter 13: Facebook
      1. UFOs
      2. Facebook on iOS
      3. Facebook Composer
      4. Facebook Apps
      5. Facebook Permissions
      6. Custom Facebook Posts
      7. Going Further with Facebook
      8. Summary
    23. Chapter 14: AirPlay
      1. AirPlay for Built-In Players
      2. Enabling AirPlay in an App
      3. AirPlay Mirroring
      4. AirPlay for a Second Screen
      5. Responding to Screen Notifications
      6. Summary
    24. Chapter 15: Game Controllers
      1. Types of Game Controllers
      2. Connecting to Game Controllers
      3. Reading Data Through Polling
      4. Data Callbacks
      5. Pausing
      6. Player Indicator Lights
      7. Snapshotting
      8. Summary
    25. Index

    Product information

    • Title: Beginning iOS Social Games
    • Author(s):
    • Release date: November 2013
    • Publisher(s): Apress
    • ISBN: 9781430249054