Client Fun Time

I'm working for a client who wants my game available as both a phone app (for which I have the iOS exporter) and as a downloadable file for playing on a Mac. I don't see any issues arising with the phone app downloads, but they are having issues with the .swf files - they're telling me it's difficult to download, and that flash players don't work on newer Macs (?!). Their website launches in two weeks so I'm a little under the gun here (or at least will feel like I am until I figure this out.) Could someone clarify or explain the best way to get .swf file available for download, or available in a more desktop-friendly format?

Also, if I register as an Apple developer, it says my app can go into the app store "if selected by Apple." Now the clients and I were planning on making the app downloadable through their website, is this not possible? Or does it have to go through the app store? Can the website have a link to the app store to get app that way? As you can see I'm new to the biz...

Another detail - they don't have the bandwidth to run the .swf embedded on the site, so that's why they want it to be downloadable. Anyone know about embedding download links so they can download the file itself to the desktop? Or would I have to use some kind of .ZIP file to contain it?

"if selected by Apple"
That just means that as long as it passes to get onto the app store. You can link to the game directly from the website from which it can be downloaded etc.

Why does the game have to be in an swf file? I believe there is the Mac exporter (anaconda?) or java.. but i havent used those.

You can't run an app legitimately unless it is downloaded through the appstore. Only jailbroken devices would be able to run an app file that came from another website directly.

As for running a swf on a Mac, that is up to the browser the user is running (they all support Flash) or if the user has the standalone Flash player installed. It shouldn't be an issue, unless Apple is trying to actively block the Flash platform, which seems ridiculous. My work Mac runs swf files fine and it is only a year old.

I am quite interested as to why they can't host the SWF? Surely for one, it can't be THAT big... and two, if it was a serious commercial project surely they could take the time to find £5 a month to host the thing...

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Originally Posted by DannyC

I am quite interested as to why they can't host the SWF? Surely for one, it can't be THAT big... and two, if it was a serious commercial project surely they could take the time to find £5 a month to host the thing...

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I don't understand it either, I'm trying to have them put me in touch with their web developer so I can get more specific details. It's not standard to download a flash file for use on the desktop when you could just play it online, right?

I can certainly look into Anaconda, but would that require the user to have to install a certain software, or does the Mac read that natively? And same question for .jar, I guess. I didn't see an .app output option, did I read correctly that .jar a container for .app (thus will open on a Mac as .exe does on a PC)?

Windows, Mac, and Linux will read Anaconda natively. .JAR requires Java to be installed.

FS - Indeed, if you're gonna just download it anyway might aswell be a native executable...

Anaconda seems like the way forward as Jacob pointed out. I know how difficult private clients can be trust me. I usually give them my professional opinion if they take it they do, if not just crack on with the project and leave them to their own devices.

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Originally Posted by DannyC

FS - Indeed, if you're gonna just download it anyway might aswell be a native executable...

Anaconda seems like the way forward as Jacob pointed out. I know how difficult private clients can be trust me. I usually give them my professional opinion if they take it they do, if not just crack on with the project and leave them to their own devices.

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Haha yeah glad to know I'm not the only one trying to teach Japanese to a monkey here. I'll look into Anaconda. Out of curiousity though, is there in fact a way to get .app files from MMF2?

Not directly, but you can put it into XCode and compile it into a .app through that (and that .app can be distributed to up to 100 devices that are authorized to run it...)

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Originally Posted by DavidN

Not directly, but you can put it into XCode and compile it into a .app through that (and that .app can be distributed to up to 100 devices that are authorized to run it...)

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What do you mean by "compile it"?

You can use the Adobe Flash Player Projector (http://www.adobe.com/support/flashplayer/downloads.html) to convert an SWF to an EXE in Windows, you can probably do something similar with the Mac version, but I don't know, I haven't tried.