Candy Kid is Live

Retro Candy Kid is live! The game is currently available on the iOS App Store and Android Google Play.
Additional platforms include: Amazon for Android/Kindle, Amazon for PC, itch.io for PC and Indie City. Click here for more information on Candy Kid "How to Play" which includes secrets, hints, tips n' tricks!

Here is a complete list of all links to download and install Retro Candy Kid (includes free version)

Platform	Device	Link	Link (FREE)
Apple	iOS	Retro Candy Kid	Retro Candy Kid FREE
Google	Android	Retro Candy Kid	Retro Candy Kid FREE
Amazon	Android / Kindle	Retro Candy Kid	Retro Candy Kid FREE
Amazon	PC	Retro Candy Kid	Retro Candy Kid FREE
itch.io	PC	Retro Candy Kid	Retro Candy Kid FREE

Builds
Previous posts on Candy Kid port to iOS / Android platforms assumed pre-requisite bundle identifier, certificates and provisioning profiles setup. However, here are couple additional build settings to add:

Android Settings
In Xamarin Studio, right click project. Choose Options | Android Build | Advanced tab. Ensure all 5x Supported ABIs are checked from list to support: armeabi, armeabi-v7a, x86, arm64-v8a, x86_64:
UPDATE: Android OS 6.0.1 release seems to cause an issue with 64-bit architectures ABIs + may throw FATAL UNHANDLED EXCEPTION: NoAudioHardwareException: OpenAL drivers could not be found.

If this is the case then ensure the following 3x Supported ABIs are checked: armeabi, armeabi-v7a, x86:

iOS Settings
In Xamarin Studio, right click project. Choose Options | iOS Build. Ensure all 3x Supported architectures are checked: ARMv7 + ARMv7s + ARM64. Also, configure correct distribution signing identity + profile.

Uploading
Previous posts on Candy Kid port to iOS / Android end with deployment process: Archive for Publishing. Let's complete the deployment process: document signing the application and publishing to the stores.

Android References: Signing the Android Application package and Publishing Application to Google Play.
iOS Reference: Publishing to the App Store. Includes information to create and install Distribution Profile.

Publishing
Choose a unique game title, short description and bullet points to be applied consistently across stores.

Title	Retro Candy Kid
Short description	Super cool 80s retro arcade simple maze chase video game
Keywords	80s, retro, arcade, video, game
Full description	* Eat all candy in maze to pass each level.  * Eat bonus optional but increases score.  * Avoid 3x Candy Mamas who chase you.  * Avoid trees (Death trees kill on contact).  * Simple! Addictive! Fun!

Price Point
Should you publish your game as paid version or free? If paid then choose the price point; e.g. Tier 1:

USD   $0.99 CAD   $1.19

GBP   £0.79 EUR   €0.99

NZD   $1.29 AUD   $1.49

JPY    ¥120 CNY   ¥6.00

Images
Check out each platform: different resolutions for box art images, promotional screen shots, icons etc.
Google Play Store

Hi-res icon	512 x 512 32-bit PNG (with alpha)
Feature Graphic	1024 w x 500 h JPG or 24-bit PNG (no alpha)
Promo Graphic	180 w x 120 h JPG or 24-bit PNG (no alpha)
TV Banner	320 w x 180 h JPG or 24-bit PNG (no alpha)

iOS App Store

4.7-inch  1334 x 750  5.5-inch  1920 x 1080  4-inch  1136 x 640

3.5-inch  960 x 640  iPad  1200 x 900  iPad Pro  1200 x 900

Amazon App Store

Small icon  114 x 114  Large icon  512 x 512  Screenshots  1280 x 800

Amazon Fire TV Screenshots  1280 x 800  Promotional image  1024 x 500

Videos
If you develop on Windows then most platforms accept MP4 videos that can be uploaded to You Tube. Good idea to crop the window borders especially on Apple otherwise you may be Metadata Rejected!

iOS App Store
Videos on App Store must be between 15-30s. Also, Apple has very strict video codec that must be set. The following assumes promotional video created using Camtasia with the same iOS resolutions (above)

Camtasia
Record 30s MP4 video for e.g. 4-inch iOS Device. Launch Camtasia | Drag MP4 file into Clip Bin twice.
Project Settings | Recording Dimensions | 1136x640 | Ok. Produce video: Custom Settings 1136x640.

VIDEO  Format  MP4 (recommended)  MP4 Frame rate  30 fps  Encoding mode  Bitrate  Bitrate  1500 Kbps

AUDIO  Encode audio  CHECKED  Bitrate  48 KBPS

Bigasoft
Finally, use Bigasoft Total Converter to crop Windows borders. If you download and install this as trial software then you can only save half the output. Hence reason to double the saved MP4 video (above)

4.7-inch	1334 x 750	Left: 16	Top: 42	Right: 10	Bottom: 10
5.5-inch	1920 x 1080	Left: 24	Top: 58	Right: 24	Bottom: 17
4-inch	1136 x 640	Left: 14	Top: 36	Right: 13	Bottom: 10
iPad	1200 x 900	Left: 17	Top: 51	Right: 15	Bottom: 14

iTunes Connect
Most platforms such as Google Play Developer Console allow you to enter the Developer name, i.e.
Name other than your legal birth name to represent your Indie Game Studio e.g. StevePro Studios.

However for Apple, if you are an independent (or sole trader) then you must use your legal name;
This is what appears on iTunes; to change this as Company name then you need D-U-N-S Number.

Finally, Apple will not publish your game until you have completed "Agreements, Tax, and Banking". Entering Contact and Bank Info is clear but Tax Info may be more challenging for non-U.S. citizens!

Under Tax Info | U.S Tax Forms, there is option to enter US Tax ID. Non-U.S. citizens may apply for an ITIN if their country has a tax treaty with the U.S. thus in order to claim a reduction in U.S. income tax.
Link to complete Part II "Claim of Tax Treaty Benefits". Answers very similar to Microsoft "XNA and Tax"
The beneficial owner is claiming the provisions of Article 12 of the treaty identified on line 9a above to claim a 0% rate of withholding on (specify type of income): Royalties.
Explain the reason the beneficial owner meets the terms of the treaty article:
I am a XXXX citizen and resident of XXXX receiving royalties from U.S. source.

Amazon AppStore
Also, if you do apply for an ITIN (above) then you can re-use if/when you publish to Amazon AppStore!

Summary
Please show your support for Retro Games and buy Candy Kid today! Now available on iOS and Android.

Candy Kid How to Play

Candy Kid is a simple maze chase video game originally programmed in 1984. Re-written in XNA and ported to iOS / Android using MonoGame, the Pacman clone has more features that can be found here.

In the old days of retro gaming, cartridge-based video games had very few instructions in game. The game would be distributed with "How to Play" instruction manual. This post attempts to replicate that.

Let's check it out!
Goal
The goal of Candy Kid is very simple: eat all the candy to pass each level! Here are some more tips:

Eat all candy in maze to pass each level	Avoid the 3x Candy Mamas who chase you
Eat bonus optional but scores more points	Avoid trees (death trees kill on contact!)

Note: eat all candy + all bonus rewards extra 5,000 pts. Every fifth perfect level rewards 10,000pts.

Characters
Here are the characters. There are basically 2x types: Candy Kid (you) and Candy Mama (enemy)

	"Kid"	Candy Kid. You must eat all the candy to pass each level.  Simple!
	"Pro"	Candy Mama #1. Super aggressive. High attack range.  Favorite direction: Horizontal (will go side-to-side first).
	"Adi"	Candy Mama #2. Aggressive / passive. Medium attack.  Favorite direction: Vertical (will go up-and-down first).
	"Suz"	Candy Mama #3. Super passive. Low attack range.  Favorite direction: Random (will go anywhere first).

Note: if Candy Mama can manoeuvre either horizontal or vertical then choose favorite direction first.

Navigation
During any non-game screen, tap current screen to progress to next screen; e.g. tap Title Screen to navigate to Main Menu screen. Also, hit back button to navigate back to previous screen at any time.

However, on iOS devices there is no back button! Therefore, touch the left or right of the border trees;
this action will navigate back to previous screen. See below, tap in either white rectangle to go back:
During game play, tap in the middle of maze to pause game. See below, tap in white rectangle to pause:
Options
Most options in Candy Kid are self-explanatory, e.g. Music On / Off, Sound On / Off, Continues On / Off.
Listed below are some interesting options. Tap "Game Options" from Main Menu to get to Options menu.

General Info
Tap "Instructions". Tap either "Kid", "Adi", "Suz" or "Pro" to select alternate color sprite (in rectangles):

General Game
Tap "Avoid Trees" to alternate "Avoid Trees" that block and "Death Trees" that kill player on contact:
Tap "Exits Public" to alternate "Exits Public" to wrap around tunnels and "Exits Closed" to close them:

Gamer Option
Gamer can have 4x speeds: Slower, Medium, Faster, Insane. Gamer fast and enemy slow or vice versa!
Tap "Arrows: 4Way" for "one thumb" player navigation. Otherwise use "UDLR" = Up, Down, Left, Right:

Enemy Option
Tap "Enemy Attack" to alternate "Attack" when the Candy Mamas kill you and "Docile" when they don't.
Tap "Enemy Resets" to alternate enemy "Resets" back to base when Kid dies and "Cont's" to continue.
Enemy can have 4x speeds: Slower, Medium, Faster, Insane. Enemy fast and gamer slow or vice versa!
Finally, cycle through "Adi", "Suz", "Pro" to enable Candy Mama to chase; "No" means they're disabled.

Tips n' Tricks
Candy Kid is a tile-based game thus once direction is chosen then it is not possible to change mid-tile. Therefore, when confronted by Candy Mama, wait 'til they choose their move direction and then move.

Watch out for "Suz": she is super passive and usually evades Kid; you may collide with her more often.
Make good use of tunnels when enabled, especially for faster speeds. Eat candy in the dead-ends last!

Secrets
During game play, tap on "giant" white candy to get free man! See below, white candy is in rectangle: Note: "giant" white candy will only ever be found at Candy Kid or Candy Mama starting position (base).
Important: every fifth level there is 50-50 chance of "giant" white candy so be on lookout these levels!

Trial Game
All the instructions above relate to the fully unlocked game. However, if you would like to try before you buy then there is a free version of the game. The following features are not available in the free version:

Free man	Disabled. Normally you get free man every 20,000 pts.
Level Select	Only small percentage of all levels are unlocked to play.
Instructions	Disabled. Not possible to select alternate color sprites.
Gamer Option	Unlimited continues disabled. Game over immediately.
Gamer Option	Num. lives feature is disabled. Only ever have 3x lives.
Enemy Option	Candy Mamas always attack! Kid invincibility disabled.
Enemy Option	"Adi", "Suz", "Pro" always enabled and chase all times.
Secrets	Disabled. There is no "giant" white candy for free man.

Of course you can unlock game at any time, especially when you exit free version there is upsell screen:
Please show your support for Retro Games and buy Candy Kid today! Now available on iOS and Android.

Candy Kid iOS Port

In the previous post, we introduced Candy Kid: a simple maze chase video game re-written in XNA 4.0.
We outlined the tasks to port Candy Kid to Android platform using MonoGame. Now we will focus on iOS.

Let's check it out!

Setup
This post assumes you have Mac OS/X and XCode installed. Also, that you have an Apple Developer account and relevant Certificate(s) and Provisioning Profiles installed to deploy code to iOS devices.

MonoGame
Download and install MonoGame for MacOS. Here is tutorial to create cross platform MonoGame.

Xamarin Studio
Download and install Xamarin Studio. Setup an account; a trial version can be used just to get started!
Launch Xamarin Studio | Click Login. Enter your email + password and click the "Create Account" link.

From here you will be prompted to create a Xamarin account: enter name, email address and password. Check "Start 30-day Xamarin trial immediately". Click Accept. Log in to Xamarin Studio to activate a/c.

Choose File menu | New | Solution. Expand Other | Miscellaneous | MonoGame iPhone/iPad Application.
Project Name: CandyKid.iOS. Choose project Location. Click Create button. Update changes to Main.cs

using System;
using Foundation;
using UIKit;

namespace WindowsGame
{
  [Register ("AppDelegate")]
  class Program : UIApplicationDelegate 
  {
    private WindowsGame.AnGame game;

    public override void FinishedLaunching (UIApplication app)
    {
      game = new WindowsGame.AnGame();
      game.Run();
    }

    static void Main (string [] args)
    {
      UIApplication.Main (args,null,"AppDelegate");
    }
  }
}

Before writing any new code or porting any existing, ensure the following tasks are completed:

• Rename Game1.cs to AnGame.cs
• Rename all references from Game1 to AnGame
• Use default root namespace of WindowsGame
• Delete Default.png and GameThumbnail.png

Build solution. Error: Entitlements.plist template 'Entitlements.plist' not found
Right click CandyKid.iOS project | Options | Build | iOS Bundle Signing. Remove "Entitlements.plist"
Build solution. Error: The minimum deployment for Unified application is 5.1.1, current target is '4.2'
Right click CandyKid.iOS project | Options | Build | iOS Application. Change Deployment Target to 5.2.
Rebuild solution fine. Attach iOS device. Click Play button. The default template code should deploy ok.

Libraries
Candy Kid references the following libraries: Ninject for IoC Container and Xml.Linq for Serialization.
Right click References | Edit References... "All" tab | Scroll to bottom. Check "System.Xml.Linq". OK.

Packages
Right click Packages folder. Right click "MonoGame.Framework.iOS" node. Choose Update as necessary.

Update: at the time of this writing the latest MonoGame.Framework.iOS package is version 3.4.0.459.
However, if you would like to target iOS 9.0 then you can manually download version 3.5.0.628 here.

Right click Packages folder | Add Packages... Enter "Portable Ninject" into Search bar on top right.
Select "Ninject for Portable Class Libraries" | Add Package. Portable Ninject reference also added.

Project Properties
Right click CandyKid.iOS project. Choose Options. Ensure the following options are set on sub tabs:

iOS Application

Application Name	Candy Kid
Bundle Identifier	Enter bundle identifier
Version	1.0.0
Build	1.0.0
Devices	Universal
Deployment Target	5.2
Device Orientation	Landscape Left | Landscape Right
Status Bar Style	Hide during application launch

Also, update AssemblyInfo.cs file under Properties folder. Synchronize "1.0.0" as the AssemblyVersion.

Compiler

Define Symbols

IOS

Repeat all settings for both Debug and Release build configurations!

Code
Import all C#/.NET code from original XNA 4.0 project. Here are some options to exit game on iOS:

// Option #1. P/Invoke exit().
#if IOS
  [DllImport("__Internal", EntryPoint = "exit")]
  public static extern void exit(int status);

  exit(0);
#endif

// Option #2. NSThread.exit().
#if IOS
  Foundation.NSThread.exit();
#endif

// Option #3. Throw an exception.
#if IOS
  throw new System.DivideByZeroException();
#endif

Also, if you'd like to upsell full version of your game to unlock then open the url in the native browser:

#if IOS
  string url = @"Enter URL to full version of game";
  UIKit.UIApplication.SharedApplication.OpenUrl(Foundation.NSUrl.FromString(url));
#endif

Content
MonoGame iPhone/iPad Application templates add a "Content" folder as default location for all Content.
Right click "Content" folder | Add New Folder. Candy Kid uses the 4x following subfolders (listed below):

Data
Contains flat TXT + XML data files to be consumed by the game. Do not need to be built as XNB files!
Right click each data file | Properties | Build action: Content | Copy to output directory: Copy if newer
Fonts
Font XNB files may need to be rebuilt for Mac OS/X using the MonoGame Pipeline; instructions below:
Right click each font file | Properties | Build action: Content | Copy to output directory: Copy if newer

Sound
Sound effect XNB files may need to be rebuilt for Mac OS/X using the MonoGame Pipeline; see below:
Right click sound effect | Properties | Build action: Content | Copy to output directory: Copy if newer

Song source MP3 files can usually be used as original format; should not need be rebuilt for Mac OS/X.
Right click song file | Properties | Build action: BundleResource | Copy to output directory: Do not copy
Note: there may be issues MP3 songs on low-end devices: MediaPlayer API may cause game to crash!
Also, it may be required to use alias with MediaPlayer API; for example, you may need to write code:

using Microsoft.Xna.Framework.Media;
using MediaPlayerX = Microsoft.Xna.Framework.Media.MediaPlayer;

public class SoundManager
{
  public void StartMusic()
  {
    if (MediaState.Playing != MediaPlayerX.State)
    {
      MediaPlayerX.Play(Assets.Song);
      MediaPlayerX.IsRepeating = true;
    }
  }
  public void PauseMusic()
  {
    if (MediaState.Playing == MediaPlayerX.State)
    {
      MediaPlayerX.Pause();
    }
  }
  public void ResumeMusic()
  {
    if (MediaState.Paused == MediaPlayerX.State)
    {
      MediaPlayerX.Resume();
    }
  }
  public void StopMusic()
  {
    if (MediaState.Playing == MediaPlayerX.State)
    {
      MediaPlayerX.Stop();
    }
  }
}

Finally, it has been noted that the MediaPlayer.Play(Song) API may cause delay when looping MP3 songs;
Alternative: replace MediaPlayer(Song) with SoundEffectInstance, however XNB file will be much larger!

Textures
Copy all source texture images, for example: BMP, JPG, PNG files from the original XNA game project.
Right click texture | Properties | Build action: BundleResource | Copy to output directory: Do not copy

Resources
Update all relevant Universal Icons, Launch Images and iTunes Artwork for iOS device compatibility.
Right click CandyKid.iOS project. Choose Options | iOS Application | Set all icons and images here:

App Icons

iPhone	iOS 5,6	57x57	Icon.png
iPhone @2x	iOS 5,6	114x114	Icon@2x.png
iPhone @2x	iOS 7	120x120	Icon-60@2x.png
iPad	iOS 5,6	72x72	Icon-72.png
iPad @2x	iOS 5,6	144x144	Icon-72@2x.png
iPad	iOS 7	76x76	Icon-76.png
iPad @2x	iOS 7	152x152	Icon-76@2x.png

Spotlight & Settings Icons

iPhone Spotlight	iOS 5,6	29x29	Icon-Small.png
iPhone Spotlight @2x	iOS 5,6	58x58	Icon-Small@2x.png
iPad Spotlight	iOS 5,6	50x50	Icon-Small-50.png
iPad Spotlight @2x	iOS 5,6	100x100	Icon-Small-50@2x.png
Spotlight	iOS 7	40x40	Icon-Small-40.png
Spotlight @2x	iOS 7	80x80	Icon-Small-40@2x.png

iPhone Launch Images

Standard	320x480	Default.png
Retina (3.5-inch)	640x960	Default.png
Retina (4.0-inch)	640x1136	Default-568h@2x.png

Important: if Retina (4.0-inch) launch image is not set then iPhone 5 resolution will not be supported!

iPad Launch Images

Portait	768x1024	Default-Portrait.png
Landscape	1024x768	Default-Landscape.png
Retina Portait	1536x2048	Default-Portrait@2x.png
Retina Landscape	2048x1536	Default-Landscape@2x.png

iTunes Artwork

Standard	512x512	iTunesArtwork.png
Retina	1024x1024	iTunesArtwork@2x.png

MonoGame Pipeline
If you require MonoGame to build platform specific XNB content files then use the MonoGame Pipeline
Choose Finder | Applications | Pipeline. MonoGame Pipeline launches. Choose File | New. Save project.

Right click project | Add | Existing Item. Add an existing content file e.g. Emulogic.spritefont | Open.
Right click file | Rebuild. An exception may be thrown but the XNB file is still available in bin folder.

Right click project | Add | Existing Item. Add an existing content file e.g. Celebrate.wav file | Open.
Right click file | Rebuild. Assuming Pipeline is installed correctly, the XNB file available in bin folder.

Access Denied
When using MonoGame Pipeline tool, you may receive Access Denied error, especially with MP3 files.
This may be because the ffmpeg binary (and ffprobe binary) needs executable permissions to be set.

Launch Terminal window to manually change executable permissions. Type the following (as root):
cd /Applications/Pipeline.app/Contents/MonoBundle
chmod +x ffmpeg
chmod +x ffprobe

Deployment
Attach iOS device to Mac OS/X. Xamarin Studio, click arrow next to build configuration | Select device.
Click Play button. iOS device launches game as "Evaluation Software". Build will expire within 24 hours.

Alternative: right click CandyKid.iOS project | Archive for Publishing. Click Sign and Distribute button.
Select iOS Distribution Channel as "AdHoc" | Next. Select Signing Identity and Provisioning Profile.
Choose Next to Publish as Ad Hoc. Click Publish button. Choose Location | Save. Now reveal in Finder.
Double click IPA binary file. iTunes launches ok. Select device | Apps | Candy Kid. Click Install | Apply.
Summary
That concludes the Candy Kid port to iOS platform. Outstanding: Candy Kid published on iOS / Android!

Candy Kid Android Port

In the previous post, we introduced Candy Kid: a simple maze chase video game re-written in XNA 4.0.
The game targets WP7 by default but we would like to port to other mobile platforms e.g. iOS / Android.

MonoGame implements XNA 4.0 API and can be used to port C#/.NET code: On Windows PC, MonoGame integrates directly in Visual Studio 2012. On Mac OS/X, MonoGame integrates well with Xamarin Studio.

Machine	Platform	IDE	Framework	Language
Windows PC	WP7	Visual Studio 2010	XNA 4.0	C#/.NET
Windows PC	Android	Visual Studio 2012	MonoGame	C#/.NET
Mac OS/X	iOS	Xamarin Studio	MonoGame	C#/.NET

This post outlines the main tasks to port Candy Kid to Android platform; the next post will focus on iOS.

Let's check it out!

Setup
This post assumes you have the Android SDK installed and C:\Android\sdk\platform-tools\ added to the Windows PC Environment path. Also, all Android devices should be setup for USB Debugging enabled.

MonoGame
Download and install MonoGame for Visual Studio. Here is tutorial to create cross platform MonoGame.

Xamarin Studio
Download and install Xamarin Studio. Setup an account; a trial version can be used just to get started!
Launch Xamarin Studio | Click Login. Enter your email + password and click the "Create Account" link.

From here you will be prompted to create a Xamarin account: enter name, email address and password. Check "Start 30-day Xamarin trial immediately". Click Accept. Log in to Xamarin Studio to activate a/c.

Visual Studio
Launch Visual Studio 2012. File | New | Project. Expand Templates | Visual C# | MonoGame.
Choose MonoGame Android Project. Name: CandyKid.Android. Choose project Location. OK.
Build solution. Error: Your app is too large to be developed with Xamarin Android Starter edition.
Choose Begin a Trial from popup. Xamarin then activates the trial version. Rebuild solution fine.

Before writing any new code or porting any existing, ensure the following tasks are completed:

• Rename Game1.cs to AnGame.cs
• Rename all references from Game1 to AnGame
• Use default root namespace of WindowsGame
• Update Activity1.cs to construct new AnGame
• Update Activity attribute: set Label="Candy Kid"

Libraries
Candy Kid references the following libraries: Ninject for IoC Container and Xml.Linq for Serialization.
Note: MonoGame Android Project should automatically add reference to System.Xml.Linq by default.

In Visual Studio 2012, right click CandyKid.Android project References | Manage NuGet Packages
Enter "Portable Ninject" into Search bar top right | Select "Ninject for Portable Class Libraries"
Click Install button

Project Properties
Right click CandyKid.Android project. Choose Properties. Ensure the following options are set on tabs:

Application

Assembly Name	WindowsGame
Default namespace	WindowsGame
Compile using Android version	API Level 17 (Xamarin.Android v4.2 Support)
Minimum Android to target	Use Compile using SDK version
Target Android version	Use Compile using SDK version

Android Manifest

Application name	Candy Kid
Package name	Enter bundle identifier
Application icon	@drawable/Icon
Version number	1
Version name	1.0.0

Version number is the Version code on the Google Play Developer console. This value must be unique.
Version name is the build version. This value does not need to be unique but it's best practice to do so.

Why? Because Version name is visible on the Google Play Store whereas Version code is not (internal).
Also, update AssemblyInfo.cs file under Properties folder. Synchronize "1.0.0" as the AssemblyVersion.

Build

Conditional compilation symbmols

ANDROID

Repeat all settings for both Debug and Release build configurations!

Xamarin Studio
Note: if you are using Xamarin Studio to build and deploy then make subtle Project Properties changes:

Right click Project | Options | Build section | General | Set Target framework: Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean).
At the time of this writing, Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) is the lowest API version that will build and deploy.
Also, right click Project | Options | Build section | Android Application. Set the following Android versions:
Minimum: Android 2.3 (API level 10) and also Target: Automatic - use target framework version (API 17)

Code
Import all C#/.NET code from original XNA 4.0 project. When game exits, ensure this code is added:
Otherwise Android process will not be killed when you close the game and therefore cannot re-launch.

#if ANDROID
  Android.OS.Process.KillProcess(Android.OS.Process.MyPid());
  System.Environment.Exit(0);
#endif

Also, if you'd like to upsell full version of your game to unlock then open the url in the native browser:

#if ANDROID
  string url = @"Enter URL to full version of game";
  var intent = new Android.Content.Intent(Android.Content.Intent.ActionView, Android.Net.Uri.Parse(url));

  intent.SetFlags(Android.Content.ActivityFlags.NewTask);
  Android.App.Application.Context.StartActivity(intent);
#endif

Finally, you may like to create a splash screen activity as the main launcher to override default activity.
The benefit of this is that as soon as the player taps the game icon, the splash launches immediately.

Therefore, add the following file: SplashActivity.cs:

[Android.App.Activity(
  Label = "Candy Kid",
  MainLauncher = true,
  NoHistory = true,
  Icon = "@drawable/icon",
  Theme = "@style/Theme.Splash",
  AlwaysRetainTaskState = true,
  LaunchMode = Android.Content.PM.LaunchMode.SingleInstance
)]
public class SplashActivity : Android.App.Activity
{
  protected override void OnCreate(Android.OS.Bundle bundle)
  {
    base.OnCreate(bundle);
    StartActivity(typeof(Activity1));
  }
}

Update the default Activity1.cs file accordingly:

[Android.App.Activity(
  Label = "Candy Kid",
  NoHistory = true,
  Icon = "@drawable/icon",
  Theme = "@style/Theme.Splash",
  AlwaysRetainTaskState = true,
  LaunchMode = Android.Content.PM.LaunchMode.SingleInstance,
  ScreenOrientation = Android.Content.PM.ScreenOrientation.SensorLandscape
)]
public class Activity1 : Microsoft.Xna.Framework.AndroidGameActivity
{
  protected override void OnCreate(Android.OS.Bundle bundle)
  {
    base.OnCreate(bundle);
    var g = new AnGame();
    SetContentView((Android.Views.View)g.Services.GetService(typeof(Android.Views.View)));
    g.Run();
  }
}

Content
MonoGame Android Project templates add both an "Assets" folder and a "Content" folder by default.
However, all Content must live in "Content" subfolder under "Assets" when RootDirectory="Content";

Right click "Assets" folder | Add New Folder | "Content". Candy Kid uses the 4x following subfolders:

Data
Contains flat TXT + XML data files to be consumed by the game. Do not need to be built as XNB files!
Right click data file | Properties | Build Action: AndroidAsset | Copy to Output Directory: Do not copy
Fonts
Copy output from content pipeline XNB file built from spritefont file in the original XNA game project.
Right click font file | Properties | Build Action: AndroidAsset | Copy to Output Directory: Do not copy

Sound
Copy source MP3 files for Songs and WAV files for Sound Effects from the original XNA game project.
Right click sound file | Properties | Build Action: AndroidAsset | Copy to Output Directory: Do not copy

Textures
Copy all source texture images, for example: BMP, JPG, PNG files from the original XNA game project.
Right click texture | Properties | Build Action: AndroidAsset | Copy to Output Directory: Do not copy

Resources
Replace default Icon and Splash images located in Resources / Drawable folder with custom images:

Icon.png	72x72
Splash.png	800x480

MonoGame Pipeline
If you require MonoGame to build platform specific XNB content files then use the MonoGame Pipeline:
Start | run | Type MonoGame Pipeline. MonoGame Pipeline launches. Choose File | New. Save project.

Right click project | Add | Existing Item. Add an existing content file e.g. Emulogic.spritefont | Open.
Choose "Copy the file to the directory" | OK. Right click file | Rebuild. XNB file available in bin folder!

Deployment
Attach Android device to Windows PC. Choose Start | Run | cmd. Type "adb devices" shows device listed.

In Visual Studio 2012, select Android device from drop down list next to "Play" button. Hit F5 to Start.
Android device launches game as Built with evaluation software (this build will only work for 24 hours)

Alternative: switch to Release build Configuration. Right click project | Export Android Package (.apk)
Start | run | cmd. Navigate to bin / Release folder. Type "adb install Package-Signed.apk" to install.

Note: install "standard" .apk file generates Failure [INSTALL_PARSE_FAILED_UNEXPECTED_EXCEPTION]

Deployment II
Attach Android device to Mac OS/X. Xamarin Studio, click arrow next to build configuration for device.
Click Play button. Android device launches game as "Evaluation Software". Build expires within 24hrs.

Alternative: right click CandyKid.Android project | Archive for Publishing. Click Sign + Distribute button.
Select Android Distribution Channel as "AdHoc" | Next. Create a New Key or Import an Existing Key.
Choose Next to Publish as Ad Hoc. Click Publish button. Choose Location | Save. Enter the key password.
Launch terminal window. Navigate to the saved folder. Type "adb install Package-Signed.apk" to install.

Summary
That concludes the Candy Kid port to Android platform. The next post will focus on Candy Kid port to iOS.

Candy Kid Programmer Art

In the previous post, we introduced Candy Kid: a simple maze chase video game written by Grandstand Leisure from New Zealand in September 1984 using BASIC programming language on the Sega SC-3000.

Recently, Candy Kid was re-written in XNA using C#/.NET. However, in order to keep the super cool 80s retro arcade video game look and feel, all original programmer art in Candy Kid was used for the sprites.

Let's check it out! Note: in order to follow the code along first ensure you have your PC setup for Sega BASIC programming.
All code listed inspired from Sega Computer magazine Sprites tutorial, also published in September 1984.

Sprites
Think of a sprite as piece of transparent film over your television screen. Each individual sprite is made up of group of 64 dots (8 by 8 pixel block). Each dot may be turned "on" (made visible) or "off" (not visible).

To instruct the computer what 64 sprite dots look like, use binary notation to define each pixel as either turned "on" (value=1) or "off" (value=0). Hexadecimal notation is then used to group 4x pixels at a time.

Example
As an example, here are 64 dots (8 by 8 pixel block) that define the original candy pattern in Candy Kid:
Launch Meka emulator. Main menu | Load ROM | Sega BASIC Level 3 ROM. Type in the following code:

NEW
10 SCREEN 2,2:CLS
20 PATTERN S#0,"C0C03C3C3C3C0303"
30 SPRITE 1,(128,96),0,7
40 GOTO 40
RUN

Press the "End" key to break.
Now, let's dissect the program:

LINE 10 Switch to graphics screen and clear
LINE 20 Define 8x8 candy sprite in Pattern #0 (there can be 256 total patterns from 0-255)
LINE 30 Display sprite on-screen. Priority: 1, (X,Y)=(128,96), Pattern: 0, Color: 7 (Cyan)
LINE 40 Loop forever to keep sprite on-screen

Magnification
Now that sprite has been constructed, we are able to magnify it. There are four magnifications (0-3):

Mag 0	Single 8x8 pixel sprite. This is used by default when no magnification is set
Mag 1	Group sprite that uses four 8x8 pixel sprites treated as one 16x16 pixel sprite
Mag 2	Exactly the same as Mag 0 except the sprite is twice the size i.e. 16x16 sprite
Mag 3	Exactly the same as Mag 1 except the sprite is twice the size i.e. 32x32 sprite

Candy Kid
All sprites in Candy Kid use Mag 1. Therefore, four patterns are used to generate each 16x16 pixel sprite.

Let's break down the four 8x8 pixel sprites to determine the patterns to be typed into the Sega SC-3000:

Launch Meka emulator. Main menu | Load ROM | Sega BASIC Level 3 ROM. Type in the following code:

NEW
100 SCREEN 2,2:CLS
110 MAG3
120 REM CANDY KID FOREGROUND
130 PATTERN S#0,"030F1F3F33616173"
140 PATTERN S#1,"7F33381C8F53A050"
150 PATTERN S#2,"C0F0F8FCCC8686CE"
160 PATTERN S#3,"FECC1C38F1CA050A"
120 REM CANDY KID BACKGROUND
120 PATTERN S#4,"00000000000C0C00"
130 PATTERN S#5,"000C070300804020"
140 PATTERN S#6,"0000000000303000"
150 PATTERN S#7,"0030E0C000010204"
160 SPRITE 3,(128,96),0,2
170 SPRITE 2,(128,96),4,11
180 GOTO 180
RUN

Note: original source code used MAG1 because the screen resolution on the Sega SC-3000 was 256x192.
However, as Candy Kid is being re-written for higher screen resolution, e.g. 800x480, use MAG3 instead!

After running the code (above), take screen shot i.e. press Print Screen button and save the BMP image.
Crop image to required dimensions i.e. 32x32 pixels using MS Paint. Re-save. Make image transparent...

Paint.NET

Download, install and launch Paint.NET. Open the original 32x32 Candy Kid BMP image saved and processed above. Choose Magic Wand. Click black image background. Press delete. This makes background transparent. Save new image as PNG file to include transparency.

Repeat process for the enemy sprite Candy Mama. Different colours could be used for multiple enemies:

NEW
100 SCREEN 2,2:CLS
110 MAG3
120 REM CANDY MAMA FOREGROUND
130 PATTERN S#8,"03070F1F193070F9"
140 PATTERN S#9,"FE9C0F0F0F3F7F73"
150 PATTERN S#10,"C0E0F0F8980C0E9F"
160 PATTERN S#11,"7F39F0F0F0FCFECE"
120 REM CANDY MAMA BACKGROUND
120 PATTERN S#12,"0000000000060600"
130 PATTERN S#13,"0003101010000000"
140 PATTERN S#14,"0000000000606000"
150 PATTERN S#15,"00C0080808000000"
160 SPRITE 1,(128,96),8,5
170 SPRITE 0,(128,96),12,6
180 GOTO 180
RUN

Animation
Duplicate sprites, tweak arms and/or legs and produce sprite sheets to be used for animation:
Summary
That concludes how the programmer art was created for the original title on Sega SC-3000 in BASIC and how the art has been re-used for an updated version; which has been re-written in XNA using C#/.NET.

However, ultimate goal would be to re-write Candy Kid in C / Z80 assembler for the Sega Master System!

The z88dk Programming Sample demonstrates how to convert the original 16x16 pixel sprites to a format the Sega Master System (SMS) understands. This includes the Palette, Tiles, Tilemap and the Sprite table.

Create 16x16 source sprite (as above). Save source sprite as BMP (bitmap) file. Load image in MS Paint:

Note: sprite / tile data on the SMS must be max. 4bpp (bits per pixel). Save as type 16 Color Bitmap:
BMP2Tile
Download and launch BMP2Tile. Drag n' drop 16x16 pixel source sprite onto open "Source" tab.

Choose "Tiles" tab. Ensure that "Remove duplicates" and "Planar tile output" are both checked.
Set "Index of first tile" to 1. It seems best practice to leave empty background tile at index 0.

Choose "Tilemap" tab. Leave "Use sprite palette" and "In front of sprites" options unchecked.

Choose "Palette" tab. Leave the "Output hex (SMS)" option checked for Sega Master System.
Click Save button on "Tiles", "Tilemap", "Palette" tabs. All data here is used in the game code.

Sample
Finally, write small program similar to the Target Sprite program in z88dk Programming Sample to test.
First, create new directory: C:\CandyKid. Next, add the following 3x files here: test.s, linkfile and test.c.

test.s

.MEMORYMAP
SLOTSIZE $8000
DEFAULTSLOT 0
SLOT 0 $0000
SLOT 1 $8000
.ENDME

.ROMBANKMAP
BANKSTOTAL 1
BANKSIZE $8000
BANKS 1
.ENDRO

.SDSCTAG 1.0, "Candy Kid", "Candy Kid sprite test", "StevePro Studios"

.EMPTYFILL $C9                ;ret.
.COMPUTESMSCHECKSUM           ;compute sms checksum for this rom.

.BANK 0 SLOT 0
.ORG 0

.INCBIN "test.bin"

linkfile

[objects]
test.o

Launch Crimson IDE. File | New file. Save test.c. Next, type in the following source code: test.c.

test.c

#include <sms.h>

unsigned char pal1[] = {0x00, 0x02, 0x08, 0x0A, 0x20, 0x22, 0x28, 0x2A, 0x3F, 0x03, 0x0C, 0x0F, 0x30, 0x33, 0x3C, 0x3F};
unsigned char pal2[] = {0x00, 0x02, 0x08, 0x0A, 0x20, 0x22, 0x28, 0x2A, 0x3F, 0x03, 0x0C, 0x0F, 0x30, 0x33, 0x3C, 0x00};

unsigned char all_tiles[] =
{
  // blank tile.
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
 
  // target sprite.
  0x00, 0x03, 0x00, 0x03, 0x00, 0x0F, 0x00, 0x0F, 0x00, 0x1F, 0x00, 0x1F, 0x00, 0x3F, 0x00, 0x3F, 0x00, 0x33, 0x00, 0x33, 0x00, 0x61, 0x00, 0x6D, 0x00, 0x61, 0x00, 0x6D, 0x00, 0x73, 0x00, 0x73,
  0x00, 0xC0, 0x00, 0xC0, 0x00, 0xF0, 0x00, 0xF0, 0x00, 0xF8, 0x00, 0xF8, 0x00, 0xFC, 0x00, 0xFC, 0x00, 0xCC, 0x00, 0xCC, 0x00, 0x86, 0x00, 0xB6, 0x00, 0x86, 0x00, 0xB6, 0x00, 0xCE, 0x00, 0xCE,
  0x00, 0x7F, 0x00, 0x7F, 0x00, 0x33, 0x00, 0x3F, 0x00, 0x38, 0x00, 0x3F, 0x00, 0x1C, 0x00, 0x1F, 0x00, 0x8F, 0x00, 0x8F, 0x00, 0x53, 0x00, 0xD3, 0x00, 0xA0, 0x00, 0xE0, 0x00, 0x50, 0x00, 0x70,
  0x00, 0xFE, 0x00, 0xFE, 0x00, 0xCC, 0x00, 0xFC, 0x00, 0x1C, 0x00, 0xFC, 0x00, 0x38, 0x00, 0xF8, 0x00, 0xF1, 0x00, 0xF1, 0x00, 0xCA, 0x00, 0xCB, 0x00, 0x05, 0x00, 0x07, 0x00, 0x0A, 0x00, 0x0E,
};

void setSprite(int x, int y)
{
  // priority, x, y, tile.
  set_sprite(0, x+0, y+0, 1);
  set_sprite(1, x+8, y+0, 2);
  set_sprite(2, x+0, y+8, 3);
  set_sprite(3, x+8, y+8, 4); 
}

void main()
{
  int x, y; 
  set_vdp_reg(VDP_REG_FLAGS1, VDP_REG_FLAGS1_SCREEN);
 
  // array, start, count, bpp.
  load_tiles(all_tiles, 0, 5, 4);
 
  // array, start, count.
  load_palette(pal1,  0, 16);
  load_palette(pal2, 16, 16);
 
  x=120, y=88; 
  for (;;)
  {  
    setSprite(x, y);
  }
}
 

If you have C:\PerfomBuild.bat setup as per previous post then simply hit Ctrl+1 hot key to run the test. Outstanding: add remaining Candy Kid sprite graphics to program in order to complete SMS game code!