Interview

We're already using Game Center in eight online titles says Eurocenter's Stéphane Portha

Activity up threefold in Adrenaline Golf Online

We're already using Game Center in eight online titles says Eurocenter's Stéphane Portha
We've spoken with one developer - Pangea Software - which managed to update three of its games for the Game Center launch.

French studio Eurocenter, which focuses on online games, has gone even further, supporting the new functionality in eight of its games.

We caught up with manager Stéphane Portha to find out why it was so enthusiastic about the technology, and how it was integrating it, specifically in terms of its server-based games.

Pocket Gamer: When did you start working on multiplayer options/Game Center support?

Stéphane Portha: From day one of the App Store, we have focused on online multiplayer games. In almost all of our games we are adding online multiplayer gaming, so we had a head start when it comes to Game Center support.

Currently we support Game Center leaderboards and online multiplayer match-making in eight games and will extend it to more games and also add achievements.

How easy was Game Center to work with?

The Game Center API is relatively straight forward and easy to use. We had one particular issue which we quickly resolved by working together with Apple.

The Game Center is supporting both peer-to-peer and server-based match-making. It took about one week to implement Game Center functionality in our eight games, plus additional testing time.

Have you yet seen any uplift in sales from being a launch developer?

Several of our games are featured by Apple in their Game Center advertising in the App Store. We have seen an increase for most of our games although it's hard to know without exact numbers which we will receive tomorrow.

Our best selling Game Center games are currently Adrenaline Golf Online, which tripled its online player count compared to previous days, and GraalOnline Classic.

What issues do you have to think about when designing multiplayer modes for Game Center?

Game Center is providing the base functionality for match-making and establishing connections between players, but you still have to code the communication yourself and think about problems which can occur when a player is disconnecting.

Alternatively you can use Game Center just for match-making and use your own socket-based communication to a server.

Game Center can also used by developers for the identification of the player instead of relying on the device ID or on account and password creation, which is often seen as a hindrance, especially for free games where players just want to have quick fun.

How have you dealt with issues such as people dropping out, lost connections etc?

We are focusing on server-based online multiplayer games instead of using peer-to-peer communication - that's why we had little to no problems with communication errors.

Why do you think Game Center is important?

There were other gaming networks on iOS platforms but Game Center has a better integration into the OS and provides functionality for multiplayer games instead of just assembling achievements and scores. You can start games directly from Game Center too and so it's predictable that players will use it as a hub to launch games.

In the future we can see several improvements that could be made to Game Center, including chat between friends. It's hard to know at this time if Game Center will be as popular as other services such as Xbox Live but we are just at day two.

As a developer, how do you expect to make the most of the opportunity it provides?

The Game Center provides several ways to promote a game: it shows friends what games you have; what the game is about (leaderboards, achievements); and you can invite friends directly into the game with the option to buy the game.

That way you can reach players who have never seen the game, which is a big advantage over other gaming networks.

Thanks to Stéphane for his time.
Contributing Editor

A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.