Paul Thurrott - Windows 8 Secrets

Figure 10-4:From Settings, you can access game permissions and ratings capabilities.

Finally, Metro-style games can utilize any common Metro-style user interfaces that are available to other apps, including edge-triggered app bars, file pickers, and the like. (That said, many games will choose to use more customized experiences, but that’s up to the developer.)

You can find and acquire Xbox Games through the Xbox Games app, too, but it is utilizing Windows Store on the back end.

• Acquiring and updating happens through the Windows Store:Like other Metro-style apps, Metro-style games can only be acquired from Windows Store, and that includes free games, trial games, full games, and Xbox LIVE games. Ditto for software updates: When a game needs to be updated, you’ll see an alert badge on the Windows Store live tile on the Start screen and a notice about pending updates inside the Store app. No Metro-style games can be offered elsewhere, for security and reliability reasons.

• Rights for up to five PCs and/or devices:One of the many upsides to Microsoft’s Windows Store requirements for Metro-style games is that you have the right to install a purchased game on as many as five Windows 8 PCs and/or devices, each of which needs to be associated with your Microsoft account. This is in sharp contrast to retail video games, which are almost always licensed for use on just one PC.

• Compatible with both Intel-compatible PCs and ARM-based devices:Most Metro-style games are designed to be compatible with both Intel-compatible PCs as well as ARM-based Windows RT devices. Not only that, but they are also engineered to perform similarly on both types of machines, regardless of the underlying architectural differences.

That said, you’ll want to be careful about choosing games that work on both, and as you can see in Figure 10-5, the Windows Store landing page for each game will describe which platforms are supported.

Figure 10-5:You can discover which platforms a game is compatible with in the Windows Store.

• In-app purchases:Metro-style games can provide in-app purchases, which can include new content or functionality, such as unlocking the next level of a game, a new weapon, or other trinket. In-app purchases have proven to be very popular on other casual game platforms like smartphones and, no doubt, will prove to be so in Windows 8 as well.

• Not just for simple games:While there is no shortage of simple, casual games like Checkers and Hangman, Windows 8 Metro-style games can be as photo realistic and exciting as anything on the Xbox 360 or other dedicated game platforms. The system supports advanced DirectX capabilities for both 2-D and 3-D experiences that take advantage of every ounce of processing muscle your PC can provide. Will there be a future version of Call of Duty or Halo in a Metro-style version? There’s no (technical) reason why not.

• Multiplayer online games:You’re not (necessarily) alone when you game on Windows 8. Metro-style games can support full multiplayer capabilities as well, letting you compete with others online in real time.

• Optional integration with Xbox LIVE:As noted earlier and described later in the chapter, developers can choose to release their games as is or integrate them into the Xbox LIVE service. This requires additional work on their part, but Xbox LIVE also provides additional capabilities as you’ll soon discover. Xbox LIVE games are also available separately through the Xbox Games app.

In Chapter 6, we discuss Windows Store, Microsoft’s new online marketplace for Metro-style apps. And as previously discussed, this is the place where you can discover, download, and purchase new Metro-style games as well. Given the popularity of games, especially casual games, it’s no surprise that this type of app is prominently offered in the Windows Store.

As you can see in Figure 10-6, the Games group is the first actual category of apps displayed in the main screen of the Windows Store.

Figure 10-6:The Games group figures prominently in the Windows Store.

Again, you can find Xbox LIVE games in the Xbox Games app.

Finding games in Windows Store is straightforward, and this process is documented elsewhere in the book. As a quick refresher, Windows Store is the only distribution point for (Metro-style) games, which can be offered in free, paid, and trial versions, with or without in-app purchasing and advertisements.

The Games group in the Windows Store supports more subcategories than any other category: Action, Adventure, Arcade, Card, Casino, Family, Kids, Music, Puzzle, Racing, Role Playing Shooter, Simulation, Sports, and Strategy. As you can see in Figure 10-7, filtering the view to show just a single subcategory really cleans up the display.

The landing page for an individual game features the same views provided for other apps including Overview, Details, and Reviews pages, which are generally stocked with information. Figure 10-8 shows a typical game landing page.

Figure 10-7:Filtering the Games category by subcategory

Figure 10-8:A game landing page in Windows Store

As with installation for other apps, game installation is nearly instantaneous and happens in the background; though if you’re quick enough, you can view the Installing apps page to view the install progress. Windows 8 will display a toast notification when the game is installed, and if you view the end (right side) of the Start screen, you’ll see that a single tile for the new game has been added, as shown in Figure 10-9.

Figure 10-9:A tile for a newly installed game is added to the end of the Start screen.

As with other Metro-style apps, Windows Store fully supports the Windows 8 Search contract, which means that you can search for individual game titles from within the store, or from anywhere in Windows 8. To do so, type Winkey + Q to display Search, or open the Charms bar and then select Search. If you are outside of Windows Store at the time, be sure to select Store from the list of apps in the Search pane when searching.

If the Windows Store has a problem, it’s that it gets overloaded pretty quickly. Curiously, it’s lacking a subcategory called Xbox LIVE, which would show both full-featured Xbox LIVE game titles as well as the smaller, indie-type Xbox LIVE Arcade games that many users are looking for. Fortunately, Windows 8 provides another sneaky way to peek into Windows Store and find only those types of games. We’ll discuss that in the next section after a brief explanation of the Xbox LIVE service and why it’s so important.