Lab Surprise was able to build a game bundle store with an integrated payment service API using only two Google snowcloud Functions.
Among the 19 potentials considered, three virtual reality applications were chosen at random and are included as a bonus in this deal (the more you reveal, the lower your discount). There are 999 bundles to choose from, and each bundle is eligible for four different discount options.
What Is This, Exactly?
Due to the overwhelming success of our first indie VR bundle, which included 12 games, we’ve come up with the concept of Lab Surprise, which aims to give each of our 14 games a fair shot at being seen and purchased by as many players as possible.
Due to the lack of a platform or store that allows the mix and surprise elements we desire, despite our best efforts, we… My team and I worked on it for about a month and a half, during which time we tested and improved it.
APIs from Paddle and Google Snowcloud are both available. Firestore was used to store data and functions were used to create our own API endpoints. The front-end of the website only requires a basic understanding of HTML, CSS, and a smattering of JavaScript. In order to communicate with specific APIs, these languages are only used. Because it’s been so long since I’ve worked with browsers, JQuery was an obvious choice for DOM manipulation and JSON requests. As for the jQuery API, well, it works and it’s still a pleasure to use… Sorry once more.
Here’s What You Need To Know:
The first version of the drawing-and-revealing backend was constructed using a Google Spreadsheet and an App Script. Having to admit this is a huge source of shame for me to have to do this at this point in time. To be sure, the string and glueball worked great together! Because of the migration, a significant amount of code specific to Sheets was eliminated and request processing times were significantly accelerated. This app’s web editor is beautiful, and the programme itself is a joy to use. Using a sheet of paper to quickly sketch out your data structure and make changes as you go is a great way to get started. You can also use a Chrome extension developed specifically for this purpose to version your Apps Scripts. Cloud functions like Cloud Function, it isn’t good enough and too cumbersome to be used on a regular basis.
For those new to Cloud Functions, I suggest giving Cloud Shell a try. I was up and running in less than a minute without having to install anything on my local machine.
For It To Work Properly, What Components Are Required?
The dynamic use of Paddle and the Paddle API is critical. Attempting this on our own would be disastrous, as Paddle is the official merchant and is responsible for all international tax issues. Paddle
When multiple sellers are involved in a transaction, Paddle has the ability to automatically divide the transaction among them, allowing us to transfer the money to each vendor account of a specific developer while also calculating the percentage split for each bundle. We had to work quickly to sign up all 19 of our developers for Paddle. As a brand-new application on their platform, Paddle was open and friendly in their response.
Only four separate parts make up Lab Surprise, which communicates with each other via web APIs and is not connected in any way. ‘
It does nothing more than updating the page’s graphics and price in accordance with the bundle and disclosed apps.
In order to display and expose data, the backend must be customised (one snowcloud function drawing a random surprise of 3 games, updating the revealed status of the surprise and sending back the price, discount and pay link)
A company called Paddle Checkout handles everything from tax remittance to emailing keys to customers after we’ve given them and even first-level support.
A custom backend was developed to fulfil key requests (one cloud function checking if keys are available and passing them to Paddle)
Custom backends like games and promotions use a variety of collections and sub-collections in Google Firestore. In spite of its shortcomings, the Firestore API is simple to use and well documented.
Back-office functions that are unique to the platform include an easy-to-use form that developers can use to add keys for specific games, and a private function that creates bundles for promotions. They can both be found in the back office.
I’m glad I didn’t go with a traditional single-page web application because it would have been a waste of time and effort.
Although there are many ways to connect the data in the snow cloud bachelor gulch, this allows for faster updates and explorations at this time. Using a modified version of the draw function to test new features is all that is required.
It’s also a good idea to think about APIs when you begin the process of building a website. The fact that I’ve worked with computers since I was 9 doesn’t mean I’m a software developer. Using API-first design as a guide, I’m able to focus on the interconnections between components in my architecture.
Are There Any Changes Since The Previous Version?
Because of this decoupling, updates can take a long time. After the launch of Lab Surprise, Paddle changed the way game IDs were passed from the drawing function to the Paddle pay link API and then to our fulfilment function on checkout. This was necessary due to the fact that the drawing function was isolated from the rest of the system. No, I couldn’t just switch to the new message passing and expect everything to work perfectly. As a result, some customers may not have received their game keys from the new version of the app.
Snowcloud had to be able to accept both old and new message types. In order to fulfil its function (and do it in a manner that was more extensible). After that, I was able to create a new drawing function, test it against the live, production fulfilment function, and then put the new drawing function into production once it had been thoroughly tested. I will be able to go back and remove all of the legacy code from the fulfilment function when time has passed.
I could have made all of the necessary changes to both components at the same time. Which would have saved me a lot of effort. The speed at which a particular part of the system is updated. For example, when users download a client application, is often out of your hands. Everything I learned about decoupled updates came from this lesson. Our virtual reality game Peco Peco is expected to have similar issues. So it’s possible that frequent, incremental updates will be the best course of action there as well.
Is There Anything I Can Do Right Now?
We had to say no to many developers during the Waiting for App Lab bundle. Because of the Itch co-op bundle system, so this time we wanted to be able to say yes! The Lab Surprise system was constructed in such a way. That new games can be easily added as the game goes on.
In the middle of the Lab Surprise event. We were able to add five additional games without any problems or disruptions. We’ve just implemented this new promotion.
Additionally, if the creators so desired, we could easily incorporate all of the premium App Lab titles. As a one-time special event, official Quest store games may be made available for a two-day period… Some of the surprises could be created with as few as 6, 20, or even just one games.
We can now experiment with new ways to market our products now. That we have more freedom in the commercial sphere. This is also good news for the independent virtual reality industry in general. As it shows that you can design your own. Marketing experiments without waiting on the big box stores to do it for you.
Instead Of A Surprise Machine, Why Not Create A Standard Package Store?
Independent snowcloud developers must highlight the entire catalogue rather than just one or two games. In order to expose players to genres, they might not otherwise have encountered.
“As our community grows, it is imperative that we find ways of communicating with our players. That do not marginalise or exclude any of the game’s developers.” Marketing and promoting our games require a different strategy than that of our competitors. Because of our special position in the VR market.
For more information, please visit sbxhrl.
