From jonah at fugazo.com Thu Mar 5 15:23:07 2009 From: jonah at fugazo.com (Jonah Cohen) Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 12:23:07 -0800 Subject: [casual_games] Creating custom screensavers Message-ID: <110273260903051223h465fdd2fw2955b7c80c1ab1a0@mail.gmail.com> Does anyone know of any good resources that explain how to create custom screensavers for games? For example, the way Fishdom lets you choose any one of your fish tanks to be your screensaver. I'm not having any trouble getting my game to launch in "screensaver mode", where it just goes to an idle screen until the mouse moves, but I'm not sure how to actually install the screensaver in Windows (without copying it to c:\windows\system32, which in Vista requires administrator privilege), and I also haven't found much useful info on handling the preview window and settings box and accommodating passwords and so forth. For what it's worth, I'm using a DirectX 9 derivative of the PopCap framework if that's at all relevant. Jonah Cohen From brian at tegarttech.com Thu Mar 5 18:40:04 2009 From: brian at tegarttech.com (Brian Tegart) Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 16:40:04 -0700 Subject: [casual_games] Creating custom screensavers In-Reply-To: <110273260903051223h465fdd2fw2955b7c80c1ab1a0@mail.gmail.com> References: <110273260903051223h465fdd2fw2955b7c80c1ab1a0@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <001b01c99deb$b5a1b940$20e52bc0$@com> Hi Jonah, I have written a few screen savers, and even successfully sold one as shareware. As you mentioned, normally screen savers go in c:\windows\system32 or c:\windows (don't hard-code those paths, use the %SystemRoot% variable to determine where the root Windows folder is because Windows might be installed somewhere else). However, you can put them anywhere you want, with a two caveats: - First, you have to change a registry setting: Change the "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\SCRNSAVE.EXE" value's data. For example, it might be "C:\WINDOWS\system32\ssstars.scr" for the star field saver. You can change that to wherever your saver lives. However, changing this registry setting might require Admin privileges anyway, so that may not help much. - Second, when a user goes into their display settings, and then the screen saver tab, the savers it lists in the drop down menu are all the .scr files that the system can find in %SystemRoot%, %SystemRoot%\system32, plus the entry from the registry key above if it's not in the two %SystemRoot% locations. The problem if your screen saver lives elsewhere: once the user changes from your screen saver to another one, the registry key is updated to the selected saver and your saver will thus never show up in the list again, i.e. the user can never switch back to your saver (at least not without your app resetting the registry key or something). Given those two facts, it's really just better to install it where savers normally go. If you have a formal installer for your app (which should be installed to %ProgramFiles%), that's when the saver should be installed as well (to %SystemRoot%\system32) for your installer will be able to write to Admin-protected areas anyway for the main app (I can provide some information about this as well, if you need it). A couple other things to be aware of: - screen savers should have the .scr extension (so the Display settings can find them and add them to the list). They are really just .exes though. - your saver should (but doesn't have to) support the following command-line parameters, which will be passed to you by Windows: /c (or -c) or nothing = start the screen saver in "Configure" mode. In other words, display the dialog box to let the user change settings, etc. /s (or -s) = start the screen saver in normal "Start" mode (i.e. running full screen) /p (or /l or -p or -l) = start the screen saver in "Preview" mode, meaning running normally but not in full screen, but rather in the preview window of the Desktop Settings dialog you open when you want to change/configure screen savers. In addition to the /p argument, Windows will also give you the window handle of the window to draw in as the second argument. If you don't support this parameter, the preview window will just remain black. /a (or -a) = Obsolete. Used on Win95/98 to tell your saver to put up UI to let the user change the screen saver password. More recent versions of Windows handle locking passwords for you. Let me know if you have questions. Brian Tegart http://www.tegarttech.com -----Original Message----- From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Jonah Cohen Sent: Thursday, March 05, 2009 1:23 PM To: casual_games at igda.org Subject: [casual_games] Creating custom screensavers Does anyone know of any good resources that explain how to create custom screensavers for games? For example, the way Fishdom lets you choose any one of your fish tanks to be your screensaver. I'm not having any trouble getting my game to launch in "screensaver mode", where it just goes to an idle screen until the mouse moves, but I'm not sure how to actually install the screensaver in Windows (without copying it to c:\windows\system32, which in Vista requires administrator privilege), and I also haven't found much useful info on handling the preview window and settings box and accommodating passwords and so forth. For what it's worth, I'm using a DirectX 9 derivative of the PopCap framework if that's at all relevant. Jonah Cohen _______________________________________________ Casual_Games mailing list Casual_Games at igda.org http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.0.237 / Virus Database: 270.11.8/1985 - Release Date: 03/05/09 07:54:00 From matthew at fordfam.com Fri Mar 6 00:48:01 2009 From: matthew at fordfam.com (Matthew Ford) Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 15:48:01 +1000 Subject: [casual_games] Current advice on SWF encryption? Message-ID: <027f01c99e1f$1d754810$585fd830$@com> Hello all-been on the list for years and I think this may be my 4th post as I am mostly an absorber of advice, not an emitter yet. I am an indie developer, ex-game-industry designer and producer. See more at http://www.digitalcream.com.au/blog/ , http://twitter.com/MatthewMFord, etc. I am very soon going to be opening up private alpha testing of my Flash game, Taboo Snaps, and it's time to look at SWF encryption. I had heard on this list that www.amayeta.com was good but elsewhere I read that it has been cracked. So I'd appreciate any advice on the current best encryption software and advice for keeping it hard to crack. I am currently sitelocking the game (swf checks it own loaderInfo.url and dies if it's not my home domain) but eventually I will want the swf to be spread far and wide-it has imbedded ads and will revert to a demo mode if not on a blessed domain. So though sitelocking is some protection, of course if it is decrypted that sitelock can be taken out. I also have the game load XML files from my home domain and do sitelocking for that with my crossdomain.xml, but again, it can be got around once decrypted. Please catch me up on the latest greatest advice on encryption software and techniques, and of course let me know if any of the above is nonsensical! Kind regards, Matthew Ford Matthew at fordfam dot com http://www.digitalcream.com.au/blog/ http://twitter.com/DCgames http://twitter.com/MatthewMFord http://www.fordfam.com/matthew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From olive at globz.com Fri Mar 6 14:15:56 2009 From: olive at globz.com (Olivier Besson) Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:15:56 +0100 Subject: [casual_games] Current advice on SWF encryption? In-Reply-To: <027f01c99e1f$1d754810$585fd830$@com> References: <027f01c99e1f$1d754810$585fd830$@com> Message-ID: <49B1766C.7030504@globz.com> Amayeta cracked? Didn't heard about this.. Do you have a link about that? Regards, Olivier Matthew Ford a ?crit : > > Hello all?been on the list for years and I think this may be my 4^th > post as I am mostly an absorber of advice, not an emitter yet. I am an > indie developer, ex-game-industry designer and producer. See more at > http://www.digitalcream.com.au/blog/ , > http://twitter.com/MatthewMFord, etc. > > I am very soon going to be opening up private alpha testing of my > Flash game, Taboo Snaps, and it?s time to look at SWF encryption. I > had heard on this list that www.amayeta.com > was good but elsewhere I read that it has been cracked. So I?d > appreciate any advice on the current best encryption software and > advice for keeping it hard to crack. > > I am currently sitelocking the game (swf checks it own loaderInfo.url > and dies if it?s not my home domain) but eventually I will want the > swf to be spread far and wide?it has imbedded ads and will revert to a > demo mode if not on a blessed domain. So though sitelocking is some > protection, of course if it is decrypted that sitelock can be taken out. > > I also have the game load XML files from my home domain and do > sitelocking for that with my crossdomain.xml, but again, it can be got > around once decrypted. > > Please catch me up on the latest greatest advice on encryption > software and techniques, and of course let me know if any of the above > is nonsensical! > > Kind regards, > > Matthew Ford > > Matthew at fordfam dot com > > http://www.digitalcream.com.au/blog/ > > http://twitter.com/DCgames > > http://twitter.com/MatthewMFord > > http://www.fordfam.com/matthew > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ > From matthew at fordfam.com Sun Mar 8 03:13:44 2009 From: matthew at fordfam.com (Matthew Ford) Date: Sun, 8 Mar 2009 17:13:44 +1000 Subject: [casual_games] Current advice on SWF encryption? Message-ID: <030d01c99fbd$6c1bb400$44531c00$@com> *crickets* Sorry to repeat my question but there must be somebody who has a bit of advice to give on SWF decryption? There are many packages to choose from and I can't tell which ones are good, so any testimonials from hands-on experience would be helpful. Again, apologies for the repeat, but this list is my best resource for this kind of question. From: Matthew Ford [mailto:matthew at fordfam.com] Sent: Friday, 6 March 2009 3:48 PM To: (casual_games at igda.org) Subject: Current advice on SWF encryption? Hello all-been on the list for years and I think this may be my 4th post as I am mostly an absorber of advice, not an emitter yet. I am an indie developer, ex-game-industry designer and producer. See more at http://www.digitalcream.com.au/blog/ , http://twitter.com/MatthewMFord, etc. I am very soon going to be opening up private alpha testing of my Flash game, Taboo Snaps, and it's time to look at SWF encryption. I had heard on this list that www.amayeta.com was good but elsewhere I read that it has been cracked. So I'd appreciate any advice on the current best encryption software and advice for keeping it hard to crack. I am currently sitelocking the game (swf checks it own loaderInfo.url and dies if it's not my home domain) but eventually I will want the swf to be spread far and wide-it has imbedded ads and will revert to a demo mode if not on a blessed domain. So though sitelocking is some protection, of course if it is decrypted that sitelock can be taken out. I also have the game load XML files from my home domain and do sitelocking for that with my crossdomain.xml, but again, it can be got around once decrypted. Please catch me up on the latest greatest advice on encryption software and techniques, and of course let me know if any of the above is nonsensical! Kind regards, Matthew Ford Matthew at fordfam dot com http://www.digitalcream.com.au/blog/ http://twitter.com/DCgames http://twitter.com/MatthewMFord http://www.fordfam.com/matthew -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From austin at pettomato.com Sun Mar 8 10:14:08 2009 From: austin at pettomato.com (Austin Haas) Date: Sun, 8 Mar 2009 10:14:08 -0400 Subject: [casual_games] Current advice on SWF encryption? In-Reply-To: <030d01c99fbd$6c1bb400$44531c00$@com> References: <030d01c99fbd$6c1bb400$44531c00$@com> Message-ID: <20090308141407.GA25776@bean.chicago> It might help if you said what your goals were. For instance, 1. Are you trying to keep someone from stealing your game and hosting it on their site? 2. Do you want to prevent someone from using your source code? 3. Do you want to prevent people from cheating in a multiplayer game? 4. Are you trying to protect some secret embedded in the source code? Those problems may have different solutions. FWIW, you can never fully protect an online playable swf from decompilation/dissassembly. -austin -- Austin Haas Pet Tomato, Inc. http://pettomato.com On Sun Mar 08 17:13 , Matthew Ford wrote: > *crickets* > > > > Sorry to repeat my question but there must be somebody who has a bit of > advice to give on SWF decryption? There are many packages to choose from and > I can't tell which ones are good, so any testimonials from hands-on > experience would be helpful. Again, apologies for the repeat, but this list > is my best resource for this kind of question. > > > > From: Matthew Ford [mailto:matthew at fordfam.com] > Sent: Friday, 6 March 2009 3:48 PM > To: (casual_games at igda.org) > Subject: Current advice on SWF encryption? > > > > Hello all-been on the list for years and I think this may be my 4th post as > I am mostly an absorber of advice, not an emitter yet. I am an indie > developer, ex-game-industry designer and producer. See more at > http://www.digitalcream.com.au/blog/ , http://twitter.com/MatthewMFord, etc. > > > > I am very soon going to be opening up private alpha testing of my Flash > game, Taboo Snaps, and it's time to look at SWF encryption. I had heard on > this list that www.amayeta.com was good but elsewhere I read that it has > been cracked. So I'd appreciate any advice on the current best encryption > software and advice for keeping it hard to crack. > > > > I am currently sitelocking the game (swf checks it own loaderInfo.url and > dies if it's not my home domain) but eventually I will want the swf to be > spread far and wide-it has imbedded ads and will revert to a demo mode if > not on a blessed domain. So though sitelocking is some protection, of course > if it is decrypted that sitelock can be taken out. > > > > I also have the game load XML files from my home domain and do sitelocking > for that with my crossdomain.xml, but again, it can be got around once > decrypted. > > > > Please catch me up on the latest greatest advice on encryption software and > techniques, and of course let me know if any of the above is nonsensical! > > > > Kind regards, > > Matthew Ford > > Matthew at fordfam dot com > > http://www.digitalcream.com.au/blog/ > > http://twitter.com/DCgames > > http://twitter.com/MatthewMFord > > http://www.fordfam.com/matthew > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ From matthew at fordfam.com Sun Mar 8 18:56:09 2009 From: matthew at fordfam.com (Matthew Ford) Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2009 08:56:09 +1000 Subject: [casual_games] Current advice on SWF encryption? In-Reply-To: <20090308141407.GA25776@bean.chicago> References: <030d01c99fbd$6c1bb400$44531c00$@com> <20090308141407.GA25776@bean.chicago> Message-ID: <032c01c9a041$1398f700$3acae500$@com> Thanks Austin, those are good questions. 1. This is my chief concern: I want to avoid someone from stealing my game, pulling out my imbedded ads, perhaps putting in their own, and hosting it or posting it on some other game portal. 2. I'm only mildly concerned about my source code being used for any other purpose-- I don't write very good code yet. :) 3. I'm not concerned about multiplayer cheating. 4. I'm not concerned about exposure of any trade secrets in the source. True enough, nothing can be fully protected. I just hope to become a tougher target than seems worth the effort to crack. Thanks for any help! * * * Matthew Ford - matthew at fordfam dot com - http://www.fordfam.com/matthew -----Original Message----- From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Austin Haas Sent: Monday, 9 March 2009 12:14 AM To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [casual_games] Current advice on SWF encryption? It might help if you said what your goals were. For instance, 1. Are you trying to keep someone from stealing your game and hosting it on their site? 2. Do you want to prevent someone from using your source code? 3. Do you want to prevent people from cheating in a multiplayer game? 4. Are you trying to protect some secret embedded in the source code? Those problems may have different solutions. FWIW, you can never fully protect an online playable swf from decompilation/dissassembly. -austin -- Austin Haas Pet Tomato, Inc. http://pettomato.com On Sun Mar 08 17:13 , Matthew Ford wrote: > *crickets* > > > > Sorry to repeat my question but there must be somebody who has a bit of > advice to give on SWF decryption? There are many packages to choose from and > I can't tell which ones are good, so any testimonials from hands-on > experience would be helpful. Again, apologies for the repeat, but this list > is my best resource for this kind of question. > > > > From: Matthew Ford [mailto:matthew at fordfam.com] > Sent: Friday, 6 March 2009 3:48 PM > To: (casual_games at igda.org) > Subject: Current advice on SWF encryption? > > > > Hello all-been on the list for years and I think this may be my 4th post as > I am mostly an absorber of advice, not an emitter yet. I am an indie > developer, ex-game-industry designer and producer. See more at > http://www.digitalcream.com.au/blog/ , http://twitter.com/MatthewMFord, etc. > > > > I am very soon going to be opening up private alpha testing of my Flash > game, Taboo Snaps, and it's time to look at SWF encryption. I had heard on > this list that www.amayeta.com was good but elsewhere I read that it has > been cracked. So I'd appreciate any advice on the current best encryption > software and advice for keeping it hard to crack. > > > > I am currently sitelocking the game (swf checks it own loaderInfo.url and > dies if it's not my home domain) but eventually I will want the swf to be > spread far and wide-it has imbedded ads and will revert to a demo mode if > not on a blessed domain. So though sitelocking is some protection, of course > if it is decrypted that sitelock can be taken out. > > > > I also have the game load XML files from my home domain and do sitelocking > for that with my crossdomain.xml, but again, it can be got around once > decrypted. > > > > Please catch me up on the latest greatest advice on encryption software and > techniques, and of course let me know if any of the above is nonsensical! > > > > Kind regards, > > Matthew Ford > > Matthew at fordfam dot com > > http://www.digitalcream.com.au/blog/ > > http://twitter.com/DCgames > > http://twitter.com/MatthewMFord > > http://www.fordfam.com/matthew > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ _______________________________________________ Casual_Games mailing list Casual_Games at igda.org http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.0.237 / Virus Database: 270.11.3/1974 - Release Date: 03/06/09 19:17:00 From austin at pettomato.com Sun Mar 8 20:47:50 2009 From: austin at pettomato.com (Austin Haas) Date: Sun, 8 Mar 2009 20:47:50 -0400 Subject: [casual_games] Current advice on SWF encryption? In-Reply-To: <032c01c9a041$1398f700$3acae500$@com> References: <030d01c99fbd$6c1bb400$44531c00$@com> <20090308141407.GA25776@bean.chicago> <032c01c9a041$1398f700$3acae500$@com> Message-ID: <20090309004749.GA18802@bean.chicago> I haven't used any commercial swf tools, so I can't comment on any specifically, but I have written a swf decompiler and obfuscator, so I am somewhat familiar with the issues. The only game that I have released independently (i.e., not work-for-hire) also used Mochi Media's protection system, which comes free with using their ad system. The best I can offer is some notes: In my experience, if you put a Flash game online, several dozen sites will immediately cherry-pick it and put it on their site. I did the site-locking thing, but made the game revert to a demo mode when used off of one of my sites. To my knowledge, everyone who has stolen the game has been content enough with the demo mode. I think there are so many Flash games out there that most sites will just take whatever they can get easily. But, maybe some people have been foiled by the Mochi system as well; I don't know. If you've created the next Bejeweled, then you might have more to worry about. But, in that case, your first mistake was using Flash. Even if your swf could be fully encrypted, pirate sites will work around it by placing an ad on a layer above your game while your game's ad is hidden underneath, or at least, just before your game starts. However, ads on pages pay a lot more than in-game ads these days, so many sites are more than willing to let your ads run in the game, so long as they have new content on their site. I think the best protection systems are probably the ones that work like the Mochi system. They encrypt the swf and then use a second host swf to decrypt it on the fly. Of course, someone can decompile the host swf, figure out the encryption method, etc., but that's a lot more work than just using an off-the-shelf tool to replace a string (e.g., your url to the ad server) in the string table. Methods that call back to a server can also help. For instance, your game could call back to the server when it loads to see if it's being played on an allowed domain. Circumventing that might require the pirate to recode portions of the game or try to mirror the functionality on their server, which could be a major pain. The word "encrypt" is often abused by swf protection vendors. Most often they are selling obfuscators. Some are designed to prevent disassembly of the swf into source code, but that isn't necessarily going to do anything to prevent the much simpler task of changing a url in the swf string table. I'm guessing that you either want a tool that can do the full swf encryption with the separate host decrypter, or you want something that can encrypt the strings (I believe I've seen that advertised) and then also do the obfuscation features that make it a hassle to recompile from source (e.g., replacing all identifiers with names that the Adobe compiler doesn't like). I hope that helps some. -austin -- Austin Haas Pet Tomato, Inc. http://pettomato.com On Mon Mar 09 08:56 , Matthew Ford wrote: > Thanks Austin, those are good questions. > > 1. This is my chief concern: I want to avoid someone from stealing my game, > pulling out my imbedded ads, perhaps putting in their own, and hosting it or > posting it on some other game portal. > > 2. I'm only mildly concerned about my source code being used for any other > purpose-- I don't write very good code yet. :) > > 3. I'm not concerned about multiplayer cheating. > > 4. I'm not concerned about exposure of any trade secrets in the source. > > True enough, nothing can be fully protected. I just hope to become a tougher > target than seems worth the effort to crack. > > Thanks for any help! > > * * * > Matthew Ford - matthew at fordfam dot com - http://www.fordfam.com/matthew > > > -----Original Message----- > From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] > On Behalf Of Austin Haas > Sent: Monday, 9 March 2009 12:14 AM > To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List > Subject: Re: [casual_games] Current advice on SWF encryption? > > > It might help if you said what your goals were. For instance, > > 1. Are you trying to keep someone from stealing your game and hosting it on > their site? > 2. Do you want to prevent someone from using your source code? > 3. Do you want to prevent people from cheating in a multiplayer game? > 4. Are you trying to protect some secret embedded in the source code? > > Those problems may have different solutions. > > FWIW, you can never fully protect an online playable swf from > decompilation/dissassembly. > > -austin > > -- > Austin Haas > Pet Tomato, Inc. > http://pettomato.com > > On Sun Mar 08 17:13 , Matthew Ford wrote: > > *crickets* > > > > > > > > Sorry to repeat my question but there must be somebody who has a bit of > > advice to give on SWF decryption? There are many packages to choose from > and > > I can't tell which ones are good, so any testimonials from hands-on > > experience would be helpful. Again, apologies for the repeat, but this > list > > is my best resource for this kind of question. > > > > > > > > From: Matthew Ford [mailto:matthew at fordfam.com] > > Sent: Friday, 6 March 2009 3:48 PM > > To: (casual_games at igda.org) > > Subject: Current advice on SWF encryption? > > > > > > > > Hello all-been on the list for years and I think this may be my 4th post > as > > I am mostly an absorber of advice, not an emitter yet. I am an indie > > developer, ex-game-industry designer and producer. See more at > > http://www.digitalcream.com.au/blog/ , http://twitter.com/MatthewMFord, > etc. > > > > > > > > I am very soon going to be opening up private alpha testing of my Flash > > game, Taboo Snaps, and it's time to look at SWF encryption. I had heard on > > this list that www.amayeta.com was good but elsewhere I read that it has > > been cracked. So I'd appreciate any advice on the current best encryption > > software and advice for keeping it hard to crack. > > > > > > > > I am currently sitelocking the game (swf checks it own loaderInfo.url and > > dies if it's not my home domain) but eventually I will want the swf to be > > spread far and wide-it has imbedded ads and will revert to a demo mode if > > not on a blessed domain. So though sitelocking is some protection, of > course > > if it is decrypted that sitelock can be taken out. > > > > > > > > I also have the game load XML files from my home domain and do sitelocking > > for that with my crossdomain.xml, but again, it can be got around once > > decrypted. > > > > > > > > Please catch me up on the latest greatest advice on encryption software > and > > techniques, and of course let me know if any of the above is nonsensical! > > > > > > > > Kind regards, > > > > Matthew Ford > > > > Matthew at fordfam dot com > > > > http://www.digitalcream.com.au/blog/ > > > > http://twitter.com/DCgames > > > > http://twitter.com/MatthewMFord > > > > http://www.fordfam.com/matthew > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Casual_Games mailing list > > Casual_Games at igda.org > > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > > Archive Search: > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > > List FAQ: > http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ > > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: > http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 8.0.237 / Virus Database: 270.11.3/1974 - Release Date: 03/06/09 > 19:17:00 > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ > From katelyn.friedson at flycell.com Tue Mar 10 18:26:48 2009 From: katelyn.friedson at flycell.com (Katelyn Friedson) Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 23:26:48 +0100 Subject: [casual_games] Casual Games compatibility_ Mobile Message-ID: <0BB3B653C564064E862739201885396F04AA7BF7@office01.office.itrm.acotel.com> Buona sera, Does anyone know where I can find a list of the top U.S (or worldwide) mobile handsets, and their compatibility with various content formats? Specifically, I'd like to know if the top 100 mobile handsets are compatible with video and/or mobile games (jar, jad, etc.) Any insight it much appreciated! -Katelyn http://www.linkedin.com/in/katelynfriedson Katelyn Friedson FLYCELL inc. Product Manager- Mobile Services 120 Broadway, 15th Floor New York, NY 10271 Phone: +1 (212) 400.1212 ext 478 | Fax: +1 (212) 714.0738 Mobile: +1 (339) 223.0596 Email: katelyn.friedson at flycell.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From matthew at fordfam.com Wed Mar 11 19:29:34 2009 From: matthew at fordfam.com (Matthew Ford) Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 09:29:34 +1000 Subject: [casual_games] Current advice on SWF encryption? In-Reply-To: <20090309004749.GA18802@bean.chicago> References: <030d01c99fbd$6c1bb400$44531c00$@com> <20090308141407.GA25776@bean.chicago> <032c01c9a041$1398f700$3acae500$@com> <20090309004749.GA18802@bean.chicago> Message-ID: <002e01c9a2a1$3e03a370$ba0aea50$@com> Thanks very much for your help, Austin! If anyone else has more advice, please let me know as I am about to take the plunge... * * * Matthew Ford - matthew at fordfam dot com - http://www.fordfam.com/matthew -----Original Message----- From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Austin Haas Sent: Monday, 9 March 2009 10:48 AM To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [casual_games] Current advice on SWF encryption? I haven't used any commercial swf tools, so I can't comment on any specifically, but I have written a swf decompiler and obfuscator, so I am somewhat familiar with the issues. The only game that I have released independently (i.e., not work-for-hire) also used Mochi Media's protection system, which comes free with using their ad system. The best I can offer is some notes: In my experience, if you put a Flash game online, several dozen sites will immediately cherry-pick it and put it on their site. I did the site-locking thing, but made the game revert to a demo mode when used off of one of my sites. To my knowledge, everyone who has stolen the game has been content enough with the demo mode. I think there are so many Flash games out there that most sites will just take whatever they can get easily. But, maybe some people have been foiled by the Mochi system as well; I don't know. If you've created the next Bejeweled, then you might have more to worry about. But, in that case, your first mistake was using Flash. Even if your swf could be fully encrypted, pirate sites will work around it by placing an ad on a layer above your game while your game's ad is hidden underneath, or at least, just before your game starts. However, ads on pages pay a lot more than in-game ads these days, so many sites are more than willing to let your ads run in the game, so long as they have new content on their site. I think the best protection systems are probably the ones that work like the Mochi system. They encrypt the swf and then use a second host swf to decrypt it on the fly. Of course, someone can decompile the host swf, figure out the encryption method, etc., but that's a lot more work than just using an off-the-shelf tool to replace a string (e.g., your url to the ad server) in the string table. Methods that call back to a server can also help. For instance, your game could call back to the server when it loads to see if it's being played on an allowed domain. Circumventing that might require the pirate to recode portions of the game or try to mirror the functionality on their server, which could be a major pain. The word "encrypt" is often abused by swf protection vendors. Most often they are selling obfuscators. Some are designed to prevent disassembly of the swf into source code, but that isn't necessarily going to do anything to prevent the much simpler task of changing a url in the swf string table. I'm guessing that you either want a tool that can do the full swf encryption with the separate host decrypter, or you want something that can encrypt the strings (I believe I've seen that advertised) and then also do the obfuscation features that make it a hassle to recompile from source (e.g., replacing all identifiers with names that the Adobe compiler doesn't like). I hope that helps some. -austin -- Austin Haas Pet Tomato, Inc. http://pettomato.com On Mon Mar 09 08:56 , Matthew Ford wrote: > Thanks Austin, those are good questions. > > 1. This is my chief concern: I want to avoid someone from stealing my game, > pulling out my imbedded ads, perhaps putting in their own, and hosting it or > posting it on some other game portal. > > 2. I'm only mildly concerned about my source code being used for any other > purpose-- I don't write very good code yet. :) > > 3. I'm not concerned about multiplayer cheating. > > 4. I'm not concerned about exposure of any trade secrets in the source. > > True enough, nothing can be fully protected. I just hope to become a tougher > target than seems worth the effort to crack. > > Thanks for any help! > > * * * > Matthew Ford - matthew at fordfam dot com - http://www.fordfam.com/matthew > > > -----Original Message----- > From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] > On Behalf Of Austin Haas > Sent: Monday, 9 March 2009 12:14 AM > To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List > Subject: Re: [casual_games] Current advice on SWF encryption? > > > It might help if you said what your goals were. For instance, > > 1. Are you trying to keep someone from stealing your game and hosting it on > their site? > 2. Do you want to prevent someone from using your source code? > 3. Do you want to prevent people from cheating in a multiplayer game? > 4. Are you trying to protect some secret embedded in the source code? > > Those problems may have different solutions. > > FWIW, you can never fully protect an online playable swf from > decompilation/dissassembly. > > -austin > > -- > Austin Haas > Pet Tomato, Inc. > http://pettomato.com > > On Sun Mar 08 17:13 , Matthew Ford wrote: > > *crickets* > > > > > > > > Sorry to repeat my question but there must be somebody who has a bit of > > advice to give on SWF decryption? There are many packages to choose from > and > > I can't tell which ones are good, so any testimonials from hands-on > > experience would be helpful. Again, apologies for the repeat, but this > list > > is my best resource for this kind of question. > > > > > > > > From: Matthew Ford [mailto:matthew at fordfam.com] > > Sent: Friday, 6 March 2009 3:48 PM > > To: (casual_games at igda.org) > > Subject: Current advice on SWF encryption? > > > > > > > > Hello all-been on the list for years and I think this may be my 4th post > as > > I am mostly an absorber of advice, not an emitter yet. I am an indie > > developer, ex-game-industry designer and producer. See more at > > http://www.digitalcream.com.au/blog/ , http://twitter.com/MatthewMFord, > etc. > > > > > > > > I am very soon going to be opening up private alpha testing of my Flash > > game, Taboo Snaps, and it's time to look at SWF encryption. I had heard on > > this list that www.amayeta.com was good but elsewhere I read that it has > > been cracked. So I'd appreciate any advice on the current best encryption > > software and advice for keeping it hard to crack. > > > > > > > > I am currently sitelocking the game (swf checks it own loaderInfo.url and > > dies if it's not my home domain) but eventually I will want the swf to be > > spread far and wide-it has imbedded ads and will revert to a demo mode if > > not on a blessed domain. So though sitelocking is some protection, of > course > > if it is decrypted that sitelock can be taken out. > > > > > > > > I also have the game load XML files from my home domain and do sitelocking > > for that with my crossdomain.xml, but again, it can be got around once > > decrypted. > > > > > > > > Please catch me up on the latest greatest advice on encryption software > and > > techniques, and of course let me know if any of the above is nonsensical! > > > > > > > > Kind regards, > > > > Matthew Ford > > > > Matthew at fordfam dot com > > > > http://www.digitalcream.com.au/blog/ > > > > http://twitter.com/DCgames > > > > http://twitter.com/MatthewMFord > > > > http://www.fordfam.com/matthew > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Casual_Games mailing list > > Casual_Games at igda.org > > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > > Archive Search: > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > > List FAQ: > http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ > > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: > http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 8.0.237 / Virus Database: 270.11.3/1974 - Release Date: 03/06/09 > 19:17:00 > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ > _______________________________________________ Casual_Games mailing list Casual_Games at igda.org http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.0.237 / Virus Database: 270.11.3/1974 - Release Date: 03/08/09 17:17:00 From scalis at tocali.com Wed Mar 11 20:00:38 2009 From: scalis at tocali.com (Sam Calis) Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:00:38 -0700 Subject: [casual_games] Current advice on SWF encryption? In-Reply-To: <002e01c9a2a1$3e03a370$ba0aea50$@com> References: <030d01c99fbd$6c1bb400$44531c00$@com> <20090308141407.GA25776@bean.chicago> <032c01c9a041$1398f700$3acae500$@com> <20090309004749.GA18802@bean.chicago> <002e01c9a2a1$3e03a370$ba0aea50$@com> Message-ID: <000e01c9a2a5$93d0ad80$bb720880$@com> Used this product: http://www.kindisoft.com/ Had good luck with it so far. -sam -----Original Message----- From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Matthew Ford Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 4:30 PM To: 'IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List' Subject: Re: [casual_games] Current advice on SWF encryption? Thanks very much for your help, Austin! If anyone else has more advice, please let me know as I am about to take the plunge... * * * Matthew Ford - matthew at fordfam dot com - http://www.fordfam.com/matthew -----Original Message----- From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Austin Haas Sent: Monday, 9 March 2009 10:48 AM To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [casual_games] Current advice on SWF encryption? I haven't used any commercial swf tools, so I can't comment on any specifically, but I have written a swf decompiler and obfuscator, so I am somewhat familiar with the issues. The only game that I have released independently (i.e., not work-for-hire) also used Mochi Media's protection system, which comes free with using their ad system. The best I can offer is some notes: In my experience, if you put a Flash game online, several dozen sites will immediately cherry-pick it and put it on their site. I did the site-locking thing, but made the game revert to a demo mode when used off of one of my sites. To my knowledge, everyone who has stolen the game has been content enough with the demo mode. I think there are so many Flash games out there that most sites will just take whatever they can get easily. But, maybe some people have been foiled by the Mochi system as well; I don't know. If you've created the next Bejeweled, then you might have more to worry about. But, in that case, your first mistake was using Flash. Even if your swf could be fully encrypted, pirate sites will work around it by placing an ad on a layer above your game while your game's ad is hidden underneath, or at least, just before your game starts. However, ads on pages pay a lot more than in-game ads these days, so many sites are more than willing to let your ads run in the game, so long as they have new content on their site. I think the best protection systems are probably the ones that work like the Mochi system. They encrypt the swf and then use a second host swf to decrypt it on the fly. Of course, someone can decompile the host swf, figure out the encryption method, etc., but that's a lot more work than just using an off-the-shelf tool to replace a string (e.g., your url to the ad server) in the string table. Methods that call back to a server can also help. For instance, your game could call back to the server when it loads to see if it's being played on an allowed domain. Circumventing that might require the pirate to recode portions of the game or try to mirror the functionality on their server, which could be a major pain. The word "encrypt" is often abused by swf protection vendors. Most often they are selling obfuscators. Some are designed to prevent disassembly of the swf into source code, but that isn't necessarily going to do anything to prevent the much simpler task of changing a url in the swf string table. I'm guessing that you either want a tool that can do the full swf encryption with the separate host decrypter, or you want something that can encrypt the strings (I believe I've seen that advertised) and then also do the obfuscation features that make it a hassle to recompile from source (e.g., replacing all identifiers with names that the Adobe compiler doesn't like). I hope that helps some. -austin -- Austin Haas Pet Tomato, Inc. http://pettomato.com On Mon Mar 09 08:56 , Matthew Ford wrote: > Thanks Austin, those are good questions. > > 1. This is my chief concern: I want to avoid someone from stealing my game, > pulling out my imbedded ads, perhaps putting in their own, and hosting it or > posting it on some other game portal. > > 2. I'm only mildly concerned about my source code being used for any other > purpose-- I don't write very good code yet. :) > > 3. I'm not concerned about multiplayer cheating. > > 4. I'm not concerned about exposure of any trade secrets in the source. > > True enough, nothing can be fully protected. I just hope to become a tougher > target than seems worth the effort to crack. > > Thanks for any help! > > * * * > Matthew Ford - matthew at fordfam dot com - http://www.fordfam.com/matthew > > > -----Original Message----- > From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] > On Behalf Of Austin Haas > Sent: Monday, 9 March 2009 12:14 AM > To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List > Subject: Re: [casual_games] Current advice on SWF encryption? > > > It might help if you said what your goals were. For instance, > > 1. Are you trying to keep someone from stealing your game and hosting it on > their site? > 2. Do you want to prevent someone from using your source code? > 3. Do you want to prevent people from cheating in a multiplayer game? > 4. Are you trying to protect some secret embedded in the source code? > > Those problems may have different solutions. > > FWIW, you can never fully protect an online playable swf from > decompilation/dissassembly. > > -austin > > -- > Austin Haas > Pet Tomato, Inc. > http://pettomato.com > > On Sun Mar 08 17:13 , Matthew Ford wrote: > > *crickets* > > > > > > > > Sorry to repeat my question but there must be somebody who has a bit of > > advice to give on SWF decryption? There are many packages to choose from > and > > I can't tell which ones are good, so any testimonials from hands-on > > experience would be helpful. Again, apologies for the repeat, but this > list > > is my best resource for this kind of question. > > > > > > > > From: Matthew Ford [mailto:matthew at fordfam.com] > > Sent: Friday, 6 March 2009 3:48 PM > > To: (casual_games at igda.org) > > Subject: Current advice on SWF encryption? > > > > > > > > Hello all-been on the list for years and I think this may be my 4th post > as > > I am mostly an absorber of advice, not an emitter yet. I am an indie > > developer, ex-game-industry designer and producer. See more at > > http://www.digitalcream.com.au/blog/ , http://twitter.com/MatthewMFord, > etc. > > > > > > > > I am very soon going to be opening up private alpha testing of my Flash > > game, Taboo Snaps, and it's time to look at SWF encryption. I had heard on > > this list that www.amayeta.com was good but elsewhere I read that it has > > been cracked. So I'd appreciate any advice on the current best encryption > > software and advice for keeping it hard to crack. > > > > > > > > I am currently sitelocking the game (swf checks it own loaderInfo.url and > > dies if it's not my home domain) but eventually I will want the swf to be > > spread far and wide-it has imbedded ads and will revert to a demo mode if > > not on a blessed domain. So though sitelocking is some protection, of > course > > if it is decrypted that sitelock can be taken out. > > > > > > > > I also have the game load XML files from my home domain and do sitelocking > > for that with my crossdomain.xml, but again, it can be got around once > > decrypted. > > > > > > > > Please catch me up on the latest greatest advice on encryption software > and > > techniques, and of course let me know if any of the above is nonsensical! > > > > > > > > Kind regards, > > > > Matthew Ford > > > > Matthew at fordfam dot com > > > > http://www.digitalcream.com.au/blog/ > > > > http://twitter.com/DCgames > > > > http://twitter.com/MatthewMFord > > > > http://www.fordfam.com/matthew > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Casual_Games mailing list > > Casual_Games at igda.org > > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > > Archive Search: > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > > List FAQ: > http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ > > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: > http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 8.0.237 / Virus Database: 270.11.3/1974 - Release Date: 03/06/09 > 19:17:00 > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ > _______________________________________________ Casual_Games mailing list Casual_Games at igda.org http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.0.237 / Virus Database: 270.11.3/1974 - Release Date: 03/08/09 17:17:00 _______________________________________________ Casual_Games mailing list Casual_Games at igda.org http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ From matthew at fordfam.com Thu Mar 12 19:01:16 2009 From: matthew at fordfam.com (Matthew Ford) Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 09:01:16 +1000 Subject: [casual_games] Current advice on SWF encryption? In-Reply-To: <49B1766C.7030504@globz.com> References: <027f01c99e1f$1d754810$585fd830$@com> <49B1766C.7030504@globz.com> Message-ID: <04a401c9a366$7452e0b0$5cf8a210$@com> Sorry, I don't have that link, I read it ages ago and of course it may have been unsubstantiated boasting, so I should not have blithely repeated it. But that brings up an interesting question-- is there some way I can find someone with the skills to test out my security and tell me how easy it is to steal my game, without risk of them actually stealing it? I need to find a kind of white-hat SWF hacker who might be willing to give me advice on how well my protection worked. I think I will go with Kindisoft's secureSWF. Via this list and other channels I have heard the most good things about it. I'll report back on it once I see how it turned out. Thanks for the help! * * * Matthew Ford - matthew at fordfam dot com - http://www.fordfam.com/matthew -----Original Message----- From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Olivier Besson Sent: Saturday, 7 March 2009 5:16 AM To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [casual_games] Current advice on SWF encryption? Amayeta cracked? Didn't heard about this.. Do you have a link about that? Regards, Olivier Matthew Ford a ?crit : > > Hello all?been on the list for years and I think this may be my 4^th > post as I am mostly an absorber of advice, not an emitter yet. I am an > indie developer, ex-game-industry designer and producer. See more at > http://www.digitalcream.com.au/blog/ , > http://twitter.com/MatthewMFord, etc. > > I am very soon going to be opening up private alpha testing of my > Flash game, Taboo Snaps, and it?s time to look at SWF encryption. I > had heard on this list that www.amayeta.com > was good but elsewhere I read that it has been cracked. So I?d > appreciate any advice on the current best encryption software and > advice for keeping it hard to crack. > > I am currently sitelocking the game (swf checks it own loaderInfo.url > and dies if it?s not my home domain) but eventually I will want the > swf to be spread far and wide?it has imbedded ads and will revert to a > demo mode if not on a blessed domain. So though sitelocking is some > protection, of course if it is decrypted that sitelock can be taken out. > > I also have the game load XML files from my home domain and do > sitelocking for that with my crossdomain.xml, but again, it can be got > around once decrypted. > > Please catch me up on the latest greatest advice on encryption > software and techniques, and of course let me know if any of the above > is nonsensical! > > Kind regards, > > Matthew Ford > > Matthew at fordfam dot com > > http://www.digitalcream.com.au/blog/ > > http://twitter.com/DCgames > > http://twitter.com/MatthewMFord > > http://www.fordfam.com/matthew > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ > _______________________________________________ Casual_Games mailing list Casual_Games at igda.org http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.0.237 / Virus Database: 270.11.3/1974 - Release Date: 03/05/09 19:32:00 From austin at pettomato.com Thu Mar 12 19:22:24 2009 From: austin at pettomato.com (Austin Haas) Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:22:24 -0400 Subject: [casual_games] Current advice on SWF encryption? In-Reply-To: <04a401c9a366$7452e0b0$5cf8a210$@com> References: <027f01c99e1f$1d754810$585fd830$@com> <49B1766C.7030504@globz.com> <04a401c9a366$7452e0b0$5cf8a210$@com> Message-ID: <20090312232224.GA13632@bean.chicago> http://www.swftools.org/ swfdump can show you what information is readily available inside your swf. If you can see complete URLs as plain strings, then you might have a problem, for example. -austin -- Austin Haas Pet Tomato, Inc. http://pettomato.com On Fri Mar 13 09:01 , Matthew Ford wrote: > Sorry, I don't have that link, I read it ages ago and of course it may have > been unsubstantiated boasting, so I should not have blithely repeated it. > But that brings up an interesting question-- is there some way I can find > someone with the skills to test out my security and tell me how easy it is > to steal my game, without risk of them actually stealing it? I need to find > a kind of white-hat SWF hacker who might be willing to give me advice on how > well my protection worked. > > I think I will go with Kindisoft's secureSWF. Via this list and other > channels I have heard the most good things about it. I'll report back on it > once I see how it turned out. Thanks for the help! > > * * * > Matthew Ford - matthew at fordfam dot com - http://www.fordfam.com/matthew > > > -----Original Message----- > From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] > On Behalf Of Olivier Besson > Sent: Saturday, 7 March 2009 5:16 AM > To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List > Subject: Re: [casual_games] Current advice on SWF encryption? > > Amayeta cracked? Didn't heard about this.. > Do you have a link about that? > Regards, > Olivier > > Matthew Ford a ?crit : > > > > Hello all?been on the list for years and I think this may be my 4^th > > post as I am mostly an absorber of advice, not an emitter yet. I am an > > indie developer, ex-game-industry designer and producer. See more at > > http://www.digitalcream.com.au/blog/ , > > http://twitter.com/MatthewMFord, etc. > > > > I am very soon going to be opening up private alpha testing of my > > Flash game, Taboo Snaps, and it?s time to look at SWF encryption. I > > had heard on this list that www.amayeta.com > > was good but elsewhere I read that it has been cracked. So I?d > > appreciate any advice on the current best encryption software and > > advice for keeping it hard to crack. > > > > I am currently sitelocking the game (swf checks it own loaderInfo.url > > and dies if it?s not my home domain) but eventually I will want the > > swf to be spread far and wide?it has imbedded ads and will revert to a > > demo mode if not on a blessed domain. So though sitelocking is some > > protection, of course if it is decrypted that sitelock can be taken out. > > > > I also have the game load XML files from my home domain and do > > sitelocking for that with my crossdomain.xml, but again, it can be got > > around once decrypted. > > > > Please catch me up on the latest greatest advice on encryption > > software and techniques, and of course let me know if any of the above > > is nonsensical! > > > > Kind regards, > > > > Matthew Ford > > > > Matthew at fordfam dot com > > > > http://www.digitalcream.com.au/blog/ > > > > http://twitter.com/DCgames > > > > http://twitter.com/MatthewMFord > > > > http://www.fordfam.com/matthew > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Casual_Games mailing list > > Casual_Games at igda.org > > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > > Archive Search: > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > > List FAQ: > http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ > > > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: > http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 8.0.237 / Virus Database: 270.11.3/1974 - Release Date: 03/05/09 > 19:32:00 > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ > From juangril at jojugames.com Wed Mar 18 00:51:10 2009 From: juangril at jojugames.com (Juan Gril) Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:51:10 -0700 Subject: [casual_games] Games for Gamers Forum Message-ID: <86d373b40903172151i41f1c807ra3040b4dea725eda@mail.gmail.com> Hey everyone. I wanted to let everyone know about an event the Casual Games Association is planning during Casual Connect in Seattle. As you all probably know, the success of the Xbox Live Arcade, Steam and the Web Game Portals are opening new possibilities and new audiences for Casual Game Developers. If you have been following us for a while, you know that we have been banging the drum that Casual Games shouldn't be just for 35+ females. And finally, and thanks to emerging platforms, we are starting to see a potential audience which can support our development investments. XBLA hits are selling above half a million copies. There are 1.8 million concurrent users connected to Steam in peak hours. These are platforms which justify our attention. As an industry, we are starting to use terms to describe these games: some of them are called Indie Games, or Core-Casual, or Hard-Casual. They tend to describe types of games targeted towards ex-core gamers (people with little time in life to play MGS4 but would love to have a lightweight shooter), current gamers taking a break from AAA games sessions, connected Gen Y gamers, or in some cases people who are looking for new experiences in gaming. This spring, you will see an announcement for a "Games for Gamers Forum" as part of Casual Connect Seattle. It will be a 2 day event, occupying the lecture hall in The Triple Door (those in attendance last year will remember that it is across the Street from Benaroya Hall). The sessions we are planning to have are of the following types: * *The audience:* who are they and what genres of games are popular among them. * *Postmortems:* game developers talking about their games. * *Business Cases:* examples of financially successful games. * *Platform holders:* platform holders give their latest info. Why should you attend? If you are a developer interested in these games, we hope to provide you with as much information as possible about the current environment for Games for Gamers, and also allow you to network with peers who have the same interests. If you are Casual Game Publisher: did you realize that very little of the revenue generated by these games is flowing through your company? You are missing a huge part of the audience out there. We hope to provide you with enough business cases and facilitate the networking among game developers who can develop high-quality Games for Gamers for you. What's next? We are in the planning stages of the program, but we need your feedback! If you are interested, either as a participant or as an attendant, please let us know your thoughts. And we hope to see you at Casual Connect Seattle in July. Cheers, Juan Gril Program Advisor - Casual Games Association Jessica Tams Managing Director - Casual Games Association -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From james at reflexive.net Thu Mar 19 00:11:31 2009 From: james at reflexive.net (James C. Smith) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:11:31 -0700 Subject: [casual_games] Casual Games Quarterly Spring 09 Issue: Exclusivity roundtable, Bejeweled Twist Postmortem and more Message-ID: <029f01c9a848$c8f5e680$5ae1b380$@net> The Spring 2009 issue of the Casual Games Quarterly is now available. This is the most recent issue in a long running publication of IGDA's Casual Games SIG. This issue features: . Exclusivity Roundtable: A panel of eight industry veterans from portals, publisher and developers sound off in the issue of portal exclusivity for downloadable games. . Bejeweled Twist Postmortem: Jason Kapalka of PopCap reveals the long windy road that "Zongo" took during the development process to eventually earned the right to be part of the Bejeweled franchise. . Top 10 Data Review - Release Date Synchronization: James C. Smith uses data from CasualCharts.com to shows which download games were most popular in 2008 and which portals had them first. . IGDA Casual Games Whitepaper Announcement: Dave Rohrl announces the release of the 2008 addition the this masterpiece containing valuable information for developers, investors and anyone else wanting to learn more about web games, download games, microtransations, casual console games and every other kind of casual game. You can find this issue and all past issues of the Quarterly at http://www.igda.org/wiki/Casual_Games_SIG#IGDA_Casual_Games_Quarterly James C. Smith IGDA Casual Games SIG -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From james at reflexive.net Thu Mar 19 00:23:00 2009 From: james at reflexive.net (James C. Smith) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:23:00 -0700 Subject: [casual_games] Casual SIG Roundtable at GDC Message-ID: <02aa01c9a84a$637b21b0$2a716510$@net> Next week at GDC the IGDA Casual Same SIG will be leading a roundtable session. Please join us to discuss the Casual Game industry, learn about what the SIG has been doing, and discus what we can do as a group to improve our industry and the work of the developers in it. It's your SIG. Get involved. Share your experience. See what the community can do together. Thursday March 26th 9:00 - 10:00 AM North Hall - Room 112 Open to all GDC attendees From universedave at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 02:09:35 2009 From: universedave at gmail.com (Dave Rohrl) Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:09:35 -0700 Subject: [casual_games] 2008 White Paper is finally done (in 2009)! Message-ID: <91a814620903182309v2497cecbt5fc31070a9881f00@mail.gmail.com> Hey all, I'm super happy (not to mention rather relieved) to report that the 2008 IGDA Casual Games White Paper is finally complete and available for download. You can grab yourself a copy of the PDF at http://www.igda.org/casual/IGDA_Casual_Games_White_Paper_2008.pdf The white paper is a detailed and thorough overview of the state of casual games. It weighs in at over 200 pages and is the fruit of hundreds of hours of work from several dozen volunteer writers, editors, and project managers. It gives in-depth coverage on the basics of casual gaming from both business and creative perspectives. It has detailed insights not only on downloadable games, but also on ad-supported web games, advergames, console downloads, and microtransaction-supported web games. It even has a couple of articles on exotic and interesting topics like the state of the casual games market in India and the confluence of casual games and serious games. Please take some time to check out the white paper and let the list know what you think. Is it useful? Is it serving your needs? How could we make future editions even better? And please feel free to come to the IGDA Casual SIG roundtable at GDC (next Thursday at 9 AM) to discuss the white paper in person. I hope to see many of you there! Sincerely yours, Dave Rohrl 2008 IGDA Casual Games White Paper Editor 2008-2009 IGDA Casual Games SIG Chair -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From trebconnell at gmail.com Thu Mar 19 11:10:17 2009 From: trebconnell at gmail.com (Treb Connell) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 08:10:17 -0700 Subject: [casual_games] 2008 White Paper is finally done (in 2009)! In-Reply-To: <91a814620903182309v2497cecbt5fc31070a9881f00@mail.gmail.com> References: <91a814620903182309v2497cecbt5fc31070a9881f00@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Very impressive! I'm just a student, but I see many topics that would be useful and/or interesting to me. I'll read through it when I get some more time. 2009/3/18 Dave Rohrl : > Hey all, > > I'm super happy (not to mention rather relieved) to report that the 2008 > IGDA Casual Games White Paper is finally complete and available for > download.? You can grab yourself a copy of the PDF at > http://www.igda.org/casual/IGDA_Casual_Games_White_Paper_2008.pdf > > The white paper is a detailed and thorough overview of the state of casual > games.? It weighs in at over 200 pages and is the fruit of hundreds of hours > of work from several dozen volunteer writers, editors, and project > managers. > > It gives in-depth coverage on the basics of casual gaming from both business > and creative perspectives.? It has detailed insights not only on > downloadable games, but also on ad-supported web games, advergames, console > downloads, and microtransaction-supported web games.? It even has a couple > of articles on exotic and interesting topics like the state of the casual > games market in India and the confluence of casual games and serious games. > > Please take some time to check out the white paper and let the list know > what you think.? Is it useful?? Is it serving your needs?? How could we make > future editions even better? > > And please feel free to come to the IGDA Casual SIG roundtable at GDC (next > Thursday at 9 AM) to discuss the white paper in person.? I hope to see many > of you there! > > Sincerely yours, > Dave Rohrl > 2008 IGDA Casual Games White Paper Editor > 2008-2009 IGDA Casual Games SIG Chair > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: > http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: > http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ > > From tuber at adinet.com.uy Thu Mar 19 13:26:52 2009 From: tuber at adinet.com.uy (tuber) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:26:52 -0300 Subject: [casual_games] 2008 White Paper is finally done (in 2009)! In-Reply-To: References: <91a814620903182309v2497cecbt5fc31070a9881f00@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49C2805C.3010809@adinet.com.uy> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From olive at globz.com Fri Mar 20 10:43:00 2009 From: olive at globz.com (Olivier Besson) Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:43:00 +0100 Subject: [casual_games] 2008 White Paper is finally done (in 2009)! In-Reply-To: <91a814620903182309v2497cecbt5fc31070a9881f00@mail.gmail.com> References: <91a814620903182309v2497cecbt5fc31070a9881f00@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <49C3AB74.2020308@globz.com> Hi, great work ;) I just quickly read the section related to in-game advertizing. For your information, and perhaps for the next (2009) edition ;) : In "InGame Dynamic Advertising Networks" (page 128), "GameJacket" (http://www.gamejacket.com/) can be also added in the list. They provide services quite similar to Mochimedia. Regards, Olivier Dave Rohrl a ?crit : > Hey all, > > I'm super happy (not to mention rather relieved) to report that the > 2008 IGDA Casual Games White Paper is finally complete and available > for download. You can grab yourself a copy of the PDF at > http://www.igda.org/casual/IGDA_Casual_Games_White_Paper_2008.pdf > > The white paper is a detailed and thorough overview of the state of > casual games. It weighs in at over 200 pages and is the fruit of > hundreds of hours of work from several dozen volunteer writers, > editors, and project managers. > > It gives in-depth coverage on the basics of casual gaming from both > business and creative perspectives. It has detailed insights not only > on downloadable games, but also on ad-supported web games, advergames, > console downloads, and microtransaction-supported web games. It even > has a couple of articles on exotic and interesting topics like the > state of the casual games market in India and the confluence of casual > games and serious games. > > Please take some time to check out the white paper and let the list > know what you think. Is it useful? Is it serving your needs? How > could we make future editions even better? > > And please feel free to come to the IGDA Casual SIG roundtable at GDC > (next Thursday at 9 AM) to discuss the white paper in person. I hope > to see many of you there! > > Sincerely yours, > Dave Rohrl > 2008 IGDA Casual Games White Paper Editor > 2008-2009 IGDA Casual Games SIG Chair > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ > From paul_steven at btinternet.com Fri Mar 27 04:09:37 2009 From: paul_steven at btinternet.com (Paul Steven) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 08:09:37 -0000 Subject: [casual_games] Sound effects and audio loops for games In-Reply-To: References: <223926C52C8EBF4DB30570260B67827303D22ACD@ex-be-006-sfo.shared.themessagecenter.com> Message-ID: <00a001c9aeb3$5f8ffa20$1eafee60$@com> Can anyone suggest any good sites for purchasing sound effects and audio loops for online games? I currently use soundrangers however often I cannot find everything I need on this site so some alternative sites would be good to have on hand. Btw for this particular game, I need some nice short animal sounds [horse, budgie, hamster, fish, dog, cat, rabbit, snake) Thanks Paul -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From miguelportilla at pobros.com Fri Mar 27 09:26:43 2009 From: miguelportilla at pobros.com (Miguel Portilla) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 09:26:43 -0400 Subject: [casual_games] Sound effects and audio loops for games In-Reply-To: <00a001c9aeb3$5f8ffa20$1eafee60$@com> References: <223926C52C8EBF4DB30570260B67827303D22ACD@ex-be-006-sfo.shared.themessagecenter.com> <00a001c9aeb3$5f8ffa20$1eafee60$@com> Message-ID: <49CCD413.3080805@pobros.com> Hi Paul, Have you tried http://www.freesound.org ? Miguel Paul Steven wrote: > > Can anyone suggest any good sites for purchasing sound effects and > audio loops for online games? > > > > I currently use soundrangers however often I cannot find everything I > need on this site so some alternative sites would be good to have on hand. > > > > Btw for this particular game, I need some nice short animal sounds > [horse, budgie, hamster, fish, dog, cat, rabbit, snake) > > > > Thanks > > > > Paul > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From brian at tegarttech.com Fri Mar 27 15:09:24 2009 From: brian at tegarttech.com (Brian Tegart) Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:09:24 -0600 Subject: [casual_games] Sound effects and audio loops for games In-Reply-To: <49CCD413.3080805@pobros.com> References: <223926C52C8EBF4DB30570260B67827303D22ACD@ex-be-006-sfo.shared.themessagecenter.com> <00a001c9aeb3$5f8ffa20$1eafee60$@com> <49CCD413.3080805@pobros.com> Message-ID: <003b01c9af0f$8addc610$a0995230$@com> I've always used http://www.Sounddogs.com, but I'll have to check out freesound.org! Thanks Miguel. Brian From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Miguel Portilla Sent: Friday, March 27, 2009 7:27 AM To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List Subject: Re: [casual_games] Sound effects and audio loops for games Hi Paul, Have you tried http://www.freesound.org ? Miguel Paul Steven wrote: Can anyone suggest any good sites for purchasing sound effects and audio loops for online games? I currently use soundrangers however often I cannot find everything I need on this site so some alternative sites would be good to have on hand. Btw for this particular game, I need some nice short animal sounds [horse, budgie, hamster, fish, dog, cat, rabbit, snake) Thanks Paul _____ _______________________________________________ Casual_Games mailing list Casual_Games at igda.org http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.0.238 / Virus Database: 270.11.30/2026 - Release Date: 03/27/09 07:13:00 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From g at soundmindz.com Sun Mar 29 17:12:22 2009 From: g at soundmindz.com (Greg Rahn) Date: Sun, 29 Mar 2009 14:12:22 -0700 Subject: [casual_games] Sound effects and audio loops for games In-Reply-To: <003b01c9af0f$8addc610$a0995230$@com> References: <223926C52C8EBF4DB30570260B67827303D22ACD@ex-be-006-sfo.shared.themessagecenter.com> <00a001c9aeb3$5f8ffa20$1eafee60$@com> <49CCD413.3080805@pobros.com> <003b01c9af0f$8addc610$a0995230$@com> Message-ID: <8462CB42-57E3-4F86-A070-5C7C979E3304@soundmindz.com> Also try Soundrangers.com. Greg ???????????????????????????????????????????????? SOUNDMINDZ Music & Sound Design www.GregRahn.net Greg Rahn 707-643-8519 cell 707-246-4922 Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/GregRahnMusic On Mar 27, 2009, at 12:09 PM, Brian Tegart wrote: > I?ve always used http://www.Sounddogs.com, but I?ll have to check > out freesound.org! Thanks Miguel. > > Brian > > From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org > ] On Behalf Of Miguel Portilla > Sent: Friday, March 27, 2009 7:27 AM > To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List > Subject: Re: [casual_games] Sound effects and audio loops for games > > Hi Paul, > > Have you tried http://www.freesound.org ? > > Miguel > > > Paul Steven wrote: > Can anyone suggest any good sites for purchasing sound effects and > audio loops for online games? > > I currently use soundrangers however often I cannot find everything > I need on this site so some alternative sites would be good to have > on hand. > > Btw for this particular game, I need some nice short animal sounds > [horse, budgie, hamster, fish, dog, cat, rabbit, snake) > > Thanks > > Paul > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 8.0.238 / Virus Database: 270.11.30/2026 - Release Date: > 03/27/09 07:13:00 > > _______________________________________________ > Casual_Games mailing list > Casual_Games at igda.org > http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive: http://www.igda.org/casual-subscribe > Archive Search: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010373383720242846960%3Az3tdwggxil8 > List FAQ: http://www.igda.org/wiki/index.php/Casual_Games_SIG/Casual_Games_List_FAQ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: