Thursday, February 16, 2017
Announcing the 2016 Android Experiments I O Challenge!
Announcing the 2016 Android Experiments I O Challenge!
Posted by Roman Nurik, Senior Interactive Designer, and Richard The, Google Creative Lab
Last summer we launched Android Experiments: a showcase of creative Android projects, and an open invitation for all developers to submit their own experiments to the gallery. So far we’ve seen some amazing work from the developer community - from live wallpaper, to watch faces, to interesting hacks of the IOIO board - and we want to see more.
Today we announce the Android Experiments I/O Challenge: a chance for your experiment (and you) to go to I/O 2016!
From now through April 13, you can enter by submitting your experiments to the gallery. The top three winners of the contest will receive a trip to this year’s Google I/O, and the five runner-ups will get the new Nexus 6P.
So what makes a good Android Experiment? It’s a project that utilizes the unique capabilities of the Android platform in an innovative way. Here are a few suggestions:
- Creative uses of Android’s new or distinctive features
- Projects that explore how we interact with our devices, in small and big ways
- Unique visual aesthetics
- Open source projects that inspire other developers
- Surprise us - we want to see the amazing things you’re cooking up
All projects on Android Experiments are open source. If you’re not sure where to start take a look on the site gallery, dig in and get inspired.
We can’t wait to see how you’re combining code and creativity! Enter on androidexperiments.com/challenge today.
Available link for download
Friday, January 27, 2017
Android Experiments A celebration of creativity and code
Android Experiments A celebration of creativity and code
Posted by Roman Nurik, Design Advocate, and Richard The, Google Creative Lab
Android was created as an open and flexible platform, giving people more ways to come together to imagine and create. This spirit of invention has allowed developers to push the boundaries of mobile development and has helped make Android the go-to platform for creative projects in more places—from phones, to tablets, to watches, and beyond. We set out to find a way to celebrate the creative, experimental Android work of developers everywhere and inspire more developers to get creative with technology and code.
Today, we’re excited to launch Android Experiments: a showcase of inspiring projects on Android and an open invitation for all developers to submit their own experiments to the gallery.
The 20 initial experiments show a broad range of creative work–from camera experiments to innovative Android Wear apps to hardware hacks to cutting edge OpenGL demos. All are built using platforms such as the Android SDK and NDK, Android Wear, the IOIO board, Cinder, Processing, OpenFrameworks and Unity. Each project creatively examines in small and big ways how we think of the devices we interact with every day.
Today is just the beginning as we’re opening up experiment submissions to creators everywhere. Whether you’re a student just starting out, or you’ve been at it for a while, and no matter the framework it uses or the device it runs on, Android Experiments is open to everybody.
Check out Android Experiments to view the completed projects, or to submit one of your own. While we can’t post every submission, we’d love to see what you’ve created.
Follow along to see what others build at AndroidExperiments.com.
Available link for download
Sunday, January 1, 2017
Learn top tips from Kongregate to achieve success with Store Listing Experiments
Learn top tips from Kongregate to achieve success with Store Listing Experiments
Posted by Lily Sheringham, Developer Marketing at Google Play
Editor’s note: This is another post in our series featuring tips from developers finding success on Google Play. We recently spoke to games developer Kongregate, to find out how they use Store Listing Experiments successfully. - Ed.
With Store Listing Experiments in the Google Play Developer Console, you can conduct A/B tests on the content of your store listing pages. Test versions of the text and graphics to see which ones perform best, based on install data.
Kongregate increases installs by 45 percent with Store Listing Experiments
Founded in 2006 by brother and sister Jim and Emily Greer, Kongregate is a leading mobile games publisher specializing in free to play games. Kongregate used Store Listing Experiments to test new content for the Global Assault listing page on Google Play. By testing with different audience sizes, they found a new icon that drove 92 percent more installs, while variant screenshots achieved an impressive 14 percent improvement. By picking the icons, screenshots, and text descriptions that were the most sticky with users, Kongregate saw installs increase by 45 percent on the improved page.
Kongregate’s Mike Gordon, VP of Publishing; Peter Eykemans, Senior Producer; and Tammy Levy, Director of Product for Mobile Games, talk about how to successfully optimise mobile game listings with Store Listing Experiments.
Kongregate’s tips for success with Store Listing Experiments
Jeff Gurian, Sr. Director of Marketing at Kongregate also shares his do’s and don’ts on how to use experiments to convert more of your visitors, thereby increasing installs. Check them out below:
| Do’s | Don’ts |
| Do start by testing your game’s icon. Icons can have the greatest impact (positive or negative) on installs — so test early! | Don’t test too many variables at once. It makes it harder to determine what drove results. The more variables you test, the more installs (and time) you’ll need to identify a winner. |
| Do have a question or objective in mind when designing an experiment. For example, does artwork visualizing gameplay drive more installs than artwork that doesn’t? | Don’t test artwork only. Also test screenshot ordering, videos, and text to find what combinations increase installs. |
| Do run experiments long enough to achieve statistical significance. How long it takes to get a result can vary due to changes in traffic sources, location of users, and other factors during testing. | Don’t target too small an audience with your experiment variants. The more users you expose to your variants, the more data you collect, the faster you get results! |
| Do pay attention to the banner, which tells you if your experiment is still “in progress.” When it has collected enough data, the banner will clearly tell you which variant won or if it was a tie. | Don’t interpret a test where the control attribute performs better than variants as a waste. You can still learn valuable lessons from what “didn’t work.” Iterate and try again! |
Learn more about how Kongregate optimized their Play Store listing with Store Listing Experiments. Learn more about Google Play products and best practices to help you grow your business globally.
Available link for download
Friday, October 14, 2016
Android Developer Story SGN game ‘Cookie Jam’ increases user conversions with Store Listing Experiments
Android Developer Story SGN game ‘Cookie Jam’ increases user conversions with Store Listing Experiments
Posted by Lily Sheringham, Google Play team
Founded in 2010, SGN is a Los Angeles based mobile game developer with hit titles including Cookie Jam, Panda Pop, Juice Jam and Book of Life: Sugar Smash. They now have more than 200 employees and are one of the fastest growing cross-platform gaming developers.
SGN used Store Listing experiments to test multiple variants across their portfolio of games. For Cookie Jam, they saw an 8 percent increase in conversions simply by changing the background color of their app icon. They also saw increased installs following tests with the Panda Pop app icon and by changing the character in their Book of Life: Sugar Smash app icon.
Watch Josh Yguado, Co-founder and President of SGN, and Matthew Casertano, SVP of Game Operations, talk about how using Store Listing Experiments helped SGN improve their ROI, conversion rates and gamer retention.
Find out more about how to run tests on your Store Listing to increase installs and achieve success with the new guide to ‘Secrets to App Success on Google Play’.
Available link for download