GameDistribution SDK for Defold

The repository containing the GameDistribution SDK for Defold games. This allows you to display advertisements and other solutions available to games published within the GameDistribution network.

Registering as a developer

Before you can start using GameDistribution you need to register as a developer:

https://developer.gamedistribution.com/register/developer/

When you have registered as a developer you also need to register your game in the GameDistribution developer portal:

https://developer.gamedistribution.com/games

When you have registered the game head to the Upload tab and copy the Game ID:

Installation

Open the game.project file and in the Dependencies field in the Project section add:

https://github.com/GameDistribution/gd-defold/archive/main.zip

Open the game.project file using a text editor and add a new section with your Game ID:

[gamedistribution]
game_id = ADD YOUR GAME ID HERE

Usage

To use the GameDistribution SDK in a Defold game you need to first set up a listener function to receive events from the GameDistribution SDK. The listener function will receive events when an ad is shown and the game should be paused and when an ad is closed and the game should be resumed.

gdsdk.set_listener(function(self, event, message)
	print(event, message)
	if event == gdsdk.SDK_GAME_PAUSE then
		-- pause your game
	elseif event == gdsdk.SDK_GAME_START then
		-- resume your game
  	elseif event == gdsdk.SDK_REWARDED_WATCH_COMPLETE then
    		-- give reward to player (optional)
	end
end)

Once you have the listener functions set up you can start showing ads. The GameDistribution SDK supports Rewarded Ads, Interstitial Ads and Display Ads.

Showing a Rewarded ad

Use Rewarded Ads to give the user premium content, extra lives, in-game currency and so on. You show a Rewarded Ad like this:

gdsdk.show_rewarded_ad()

Showing an Interstitial Ad

Use Interstitial Ads during screen transitions, between sessions and in other situations where there is a natural pause in game play. You show an Interstitial Ad like this:

gdsdk.show_interstitial_ad()

Showing a Display Ad

Use Display Ads (also known as a banner ad) at your discretion but make sure to not cover any of your game content. You need to manually add a <div> where the Display Ad will be shown. Example:

<!-- center and anchor to bottom of page -->
<div style="position: absolute; bottom: 0px; left: 50%;">
	<div id="canvas-ad" style="width: 728px; height:90px; margin-left: -50%;"/>
</div>

Give the <div> a size that matches one of the supported display ad sizes.

You show and hide a Display Ad like this:

-- show it
gdsdk.show_display_ad("canvas-ad")

-- hide it
gdsdk.hide_display_ad("canvas-ad")

Send Game Event

Use SendEvent to show game score and level informations on top frame. You shor a Send Game Event like this:

const obj = {
    "eventName" : "game_event",
    "data" : {
        "level" : level,
        "score" : score
    }
}; 
gdsdk.sendEvent(obj)

Verify the SDK implementation

To verify your SDK implementation; make sure to completely view an advertisement, while viewing your game through an iframe launched from the Upload tab of the GameDistribution developer portal page for you game.

Best practices

Checklist

Make sure to test your game against the follow test checklist:

All menu options are working
- The game can be paused and resumes from where it was paused.
- The game supports targeted web and mobile operating systems.
- The page loading indicator works.
- All progress indicators within the game function correctly (Level, point, time etc.)
- Sound preferences are restored after restarting the game.
- Language preferences are restored after restarting the game.
- The game is running with stable speed and FPS.
- Game does not freeze or crash.
Control and buttons
- Controls are supported for both touch devices and mouse/keyboard devices and these must follow the design.
- Every button within the game function according to design.
Background Music and Sound Effects
- User is able to switch ON/OFF the background/SFX sound.
- Object/Character actions and audio are synchronized.
- Check for sounds that are not triggered or triggered wrong.
- Check for bad sounds, instruments, and music mix.
Screen
- Game works in both landscape and portrait mode.
- Objects/Characters do not move out of the screen/specified area.
- Game has no clipping, overlapping etc. issues.
- Any change in browsers (like Minimize, Restore Down, Maximize, Size Scaling or Other Interuptions) does not trigger any issues.
- Font family, typography, size, color and other visual effects are consistent
- Texts don't have any spelling errors.
Ads
- Ad does not interrupt game and cause game over.
- Game sound does not overlap with ad sound.
- Make sure the banner ad isn't covering any UI components. Test your game with different screen resolutions.

Localization

Make sure to translate your game. Focus on these languages:

German
Dutch
Spanish
Portuguese
French
Polish

Optionally Italian, Norwegian and Russian

GameDistribution / gd-defold