You’ll also need to have a Personal or Business license for Construct 2. The free edition of the tool can not be used for commercial purposes per the EULA you accept when using the software.

Install plugin

First, go and grab the Windows Store App Advertising plugin for Construct 2. Simply download the .c2addon file from the Plugin directory and drag onto Construct 2. You will be prompted to install the addon and restart.

Insert Advertising Object

After installing the plugin and restarting, you should now have a Windows 8 Advertising object available to you.

Double click anywhere on a layout to insert a new advertising block.

The default size is 250×250, but you can change the size to any of the supported advertising aspect ratios by adjusting the Size property. You cannot resize the object by dragging it to a custom size.

If you haven’t already done so, now would be a good time to create your pubCenter account and install the Microsoft Advertising SDK for Windows 8. You will will need to update the Application ID and Ad Unit ID to the values you receive after you create a new ad unit. The values shown here above are ad SDK Test Mode values.

Make sure the ad size matches the ad unit you created as well.

Note: Adding advertising will require Internet capability for your app which means you will need to have a Privacy Policy. Your app will not pass store certification without this policy, so select the Windows 8 object and set it’s “‘Privacy’ setting policy” to Yes.

We’ll look at adding the Internet capability and modifying the content of the Privacy policy after exporting to Windows 8.

Export to Windows 8

Read this tutorial from Scirra if you need more info on exporting to Windows 8.

Open the Visual Studio solution and right click on References in the Solution Explorer.

Choose Add Reference… and check the Microsoft Advertising SDK for Windows 8 (JS). If you don’t see the SDK, you haven’t installed it yet or you may need to restart Visual Studio. Click OK to add the reference to your solution.

After you’ve added the reference, you’ll need to add this line to your index.html just below the base.js and ui.js references.

<script src="///MSAdvertisingJS/ads/ad.js"></script>

You’ll also need to check the Internet (Client) capability in the solutions package.appxmanifest. Obviously your game will need to be able to access the internet if it’s going to show ads!

Note: You will not see your ad when you run or test the app. This is due to you using production Application ID and Ad Unit ID values. Ads will not run in the simulator using these values to prevent abuse. If you want to see the test ads, you’ll need to use Test Mode values.

Your last step is to update the privacy.html file and submit to the store! Don’t forget you’ll also need to include your privacy policy available from a publicly available website. Don’t have one? You can create a free website (up to 10, actually) with Windows Azure. You can have a one-click install of WordPress up and running in minutes.

Here’s how I did it:

• On touch of the share button or on key press of the ‘s’ key, make the share button invisible and take a snapshot of the canvas element. This snapshot is saved as a data URI. You can reference it via the CanvasSnapshot key.
• Whenever the canvas is snapshotted, the on canvas snapshot event is fired. I used this to show the share button again and invoke the Windows 8 share charm.
• Invoking the share charm fires the on share event. Here we create our share data package by sharing the CanvasSnapshot data URI.

There are lots of great libraries and products that you can use to develop for Windows Phone 8. I’ve used PhoneGap on projects for cross-platform mobile apps. Be sure to check out some of these other resources mentioned in the video.

• PhoneGap - PhoneGap is for building cross-platform apps using HTML5. They support Windows Phone 8 with a great Visual Studio template to get started in no time. And don’t miss our PhoneGap porting challenge with great opportunities prizes available for PhoneGap developers.
• Atari Arcade - Great HTML5 games that re-imagine the some of the classic Atari games. Get the source code and get coding!
• CreateJS - A great library for building rich experiences in HTML5 that work beautifully on Windows Phone.
• ProcessingJS for Windows and Windows Phone - The ProcessingJS library uses HTML5 canvas to create digital art, simple games and visualizations. We have a full curriculum on creative coding including sample projects and full-featured apps.
• Construct 2 - HTML5 based game creator focused on building beautiful 2D HTML5 games. Support for both Windows Phone 8 and Windows Store apps.

You can find me on Twitter at @atxryan and on the GameSalad forums at atxryan.

Generating a Windows Store app package

1. After you’ve built your game in the GameSalad Creator, click publish to upload it to their web publishing workflow.
2. You’ll need image assets for logo (150×150), small logo (30×30), splash screen (620×300), store logo (50×50), and snap screen (320×768). It helps to have these ready before starting.
3. Go ahead and head over to your Windows Store developer account and reserve your app name. You’ll need the display name for your app to be generated correctly.
4. Go back to your GameSalad app page.
5. Fill out the form making sure the Display Name matches the name you reserved in the Windows Store.
6. Upload your image assets.
7. Fill in the Windows Store Package Settings
   • Find your app package name and publisher ID by going to Advanced Features >> Push Notifications and Live Connection >> Identifying your app. Grab your Package Name and Publisher ID from the middle of the page. Do not copy the CN= part of the Publisher ID.
   • Make sure your Publisher Display name is the same as you entered in your Windows Store account.
8. Generate your app.

Signing and Testing a Windows Store app

1. Download your generated Windows 8 app package from your GameSalad portfolio. Extract and note the directory.
2. Download the GameSalad Win8 AppSigner zip file. Extract and note the directory.
3. Navigate to the directory containing the App Signer
4. Run AppSigner.exe
   • App Path ‐ Browse to the extracted app package from step 1 and select the *_Test folder. You’ll find the .appx file to be signed in this folder.
   • Publisher ID ‐ This is the Publisher ID that was used during publishing. This should also match the Publisher ID found in your Windows Store account.
   • Key Name ‐ This can be anything. In my apps I use the app name without any spaces.
5. Click Sign App.
6. Follow the prompts. If you get a security warning, click More info and then click Run Anyway.
7. You are now ready to Side Load your game for ad‐hoc testing. You’ll notice the *_Test folder now has a .cer file.

Submitting a Windows Store app package

Now that you’ve generated your app package, tested it, and run it through the Windows App Cert Kit, you’re ready to submit it to the store! Simply go to your Windows Store developer account dashboard and click on edit under the app tile for your game. Follow the steps to fill out the app details and upload your .appxupload.

Let me know when your app is in the store and I’ll add it to my list of GameSalad games in the Windows Store.

1. Go to http://ideapress.me/ and create your app.
2. Register as an app developer (https://appdev.microsoft.com/StorePortals/en-us/Home/Index) for $49.
3. Go to http://rj.cx/win8keepthecash to get your $100.
4. …Profit.

So, you’ll have to sign up for a Windows Store developer account, but there’s a current promotion that pays $100 an app. So you can still come out ahead.

IdeaPress basically does the work for you to make a full-featured Windows 8 application for your WordPress site! No technical skills required, you just need to follow all the steps. At the end you can just generate the package to immediately upload in the Windows 8 store. It also gives the option to download the source code if you want to make further modifications. If you’re curious, it’s also open source so you can see how the template is generated.

I walked through this process myself for ryanjoy.com. It was very easy, though my blog could obviously benefit from more pictures in posts. http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-US/app/ryan-joy/e24ef253-e860-460d-b99c-5fe0f7b79d15

Introduction to the Windows 8 platform and the Windows Store

Jaime Rodriguez

This session is a lightning tour of the Windows 8 experiences, and the most relevant improvements that game developers will run into when building a game for the Windows Store.  You will also get a comprehensive overview on the economics behind the Windows Store.

End-to-End: Develop, debug and deploy a Unity game for the Windows Store

Corey Johnson

In this session, we will build a game using Unity Editor and then export it for usage in  a  Windows Store app. You will see the exporting of the unity player, the visual studio project and deploying to a Windows RT device.

Deep dive: Tips & tricks for porting games from other platforms to Windows 8

Randy Spong

Go deep under the hood of Unity for Windows Store apps. After this session you will understand how the engine works, and the changes you will need to make to port a Unity game to run on the Windows Store app model.

Sharing code: Reuse all this new knowledge on the Windows Phone platform

Jaime Rodriguez, Corey Johnson

Most of what you learned so far on building Unity games for Windows 8 is applicable to Windows Phone too. In this session, we will highlight the few differences across the platforms; we will start with the Windows Phone Store monetization differences and then get to the tools and platform differences. …

Differentiate: Integrate your game with Windows 8 platform features (such as contracts,…

Vladimir Kolesnikov

To have a truly great game, you will need to integrate with Windows 8 features like contracts, live tiles, and push notifications; in this session you will see coding examples and learn techniques for writing plugins that integrate a Unity game with native Windows 8 features.

Introduction to building games with Unity

Carl Callewaert

Partner Session: Rogue Rocket Games

Richard Sun, Nick Bruty

Rogue Rocket games has released two games to the Windows Store:  GunPowder and SushiChop. In this session you will hear their lessons learned during their journey writing these two games.

Partner Session: Coding Jar Studios

Jodon Karlik

Coding Jar Studios started by writing Fling Theory for the Windows Store and quickly ported the game to Windows Phone.  In this session you will hear their lessons learned while writing the Windows game and porting it to phone.

Partner Session: Luminary

Amir Ebrahim, Marco Rizzo

Luminary is one of the first companies that porting games to Windows Phone. In this session you will hear their lessons learned in porting a game from other platform to Windows Phone.

Update: This may be the most important thing you read all SXSW. I will be talking to developers and designers all weekend. I will be at the events below. So what? I will be giving away a lot of Microsoft Surfaces, too. I encourage you to do two things: 1.) Find me at one of these listed events. 2. Follow me on Twitter/FourSquare to find out where I’m at any given time!

SXSW is just around the corner. Just like last year, I’ll be spending more time at unofficial events than I will at the actual conference. This year I’ll be running around hosting events with developers and partners all across Austin.

I’ve highlighted those events with which I’m directly involved. I hope you’ve RSVP’d for each of them!

Thursday, March 7^th

• Come chat tech and have a beer with me at my SXSW Office Hours.
• Startup Crawl

Friday, March 8^th

• Start the conference off right by connecting with locals, friends from out of town and Refreshers from around the globe at the Refresh Lunch – 5^th Annual Web Developer kickoff lunch.
• Unity Game Jam @ SXSW
• Game developers and designers! Come have beers and brats with Microsoft & GameSalad.

Saturday, March 9^th

• SxSW TechCocktail Saturday
• SXSW #StartupLife Celebration
• gdgt Live
• Dribbble party – Come hang out with the Dribbble crew  and the best designers in town for SXSW.

Sunday, March 10^th

• Do you develop for the web? Yeah, you should be at the Austin JavaScript & Open Web party.
• Oh, you’re a designer? Well, it’s a good thing we’ve got a UX and Design Social Hour going on at the same time! (Actually, no that’s terrible because I want to be at both.)
• As if that weren’t enough, Bing Fund is ALSO hosting an event this day!

Monday, March 11^th

• Another SXSW gaming workshop, this one focused on Unreal: Making Mobile Games with the Unreal Engine Workshop
• MoDevAustin kickoff party
• The Big Nerd Ranch caravan has arrived at SXSW, delivering fun, good fortune, and a look into the mobile future. Check out their Facebook event page (Big Nerd Ranch SXSW party) and be sure to RSVP via the email address.
• The Microsoft BizSpark team is hosting their 5th annual MEAT UP for STARTUPS. This one is invite only, but hey, if you’re reading this blog, you know a guy.
• Austin on Rails SXSW Happy Hour

Tuesday, March 12^th

• Come learn Unity 4 developer at this Unity 4 Workshop.
• Windows Phone Party

Wednesday, March 13^th

• Sleep. Only sleep.
  • Actually, that’s just wishful thinking. I’ll be presenting Azure Mobile Services to Austin Professional Android Developers.

SXSW is opening up their entire Gaming Expo up to the public: http://schedule.sxsw.com/events?lsort=venue_all_days&venue=Palmer+Events+Center

I need to begin resting my body and liver.

What about you? Which events are you looking forward to attending?

How’s this for success? TIL a fellow dev evangelist is pretty much making 1x his MSFT salary with his app. Want in? > rj.cx/app_in_30_days
— Ryan Joy (@atxryan) January 29, 2013

I couldn’t reveal any more information at the time, but now Kevin has blogged about it.

Success can’t be guaranteed for every app, but hopefully this story is the first of many to come. I hope your success is next. Have you submitted to the Windows Store yet? I can promise that after learning of Kevin’s app success, my own apps are getting MUCH more attention.

“Side-loading” means installing a non-certified app using external media (CD/DVD, USB or even a .ZIP archive). This bypasses the official Microsoft Windows App Store. Typically you’ll want to side-load an application in order to test it. Developers can always side-load their own apps on a developer-unlocked device. This means a device with a valid developer’s license on it.

Creating a test app package in Visual Studio

1. Create your app package for your project from the Store >> Create App Packages menu…
2. For the simple purpose of testing, you can select no when asked if you want to build for the Windows Store.
3. If needed, you can change your build target architecture and versions.
4. Done. You’ll find a new folder called AppPackages in your project folder.
5. The AppPackages folder will contain an .appxupload file (the same time that you’d upload to the Windows Store) and a folder ending with _Test.
   
6. You can copy this folder over a thumb drive or zip it up to send via email. In my case, I copied it to a thumb drive to transfer to my Surface.

Side-load on to the Microsoft Surface

1. Open the thumb drive on your device. It’s nice to have a USB port, right?
2. Find the Add-AppDevPackage.ps1 in the *_Test folder and right click it to Run with PowerShell. To right click on a Surface, just hold your finger down for a long click. A square will appear to indicate a context menu click.
3. If you’ve never installed a developer license on this device (and it’s more than likely you haven’t), you’ll need to acquire a new license. This is the part that makes the device “developer unlocked”.
4. Pressing Enter opens up a new PowerShell window to acquire a license and install the certificate included with the app you’re installing.
5. Click agree and sign in with the Microsoft account associated with your developer account.
6. As soon as you successfully sign in, you’ll get a prompt that says a developer license has been added to this machine for 90 days. After 90 days are up, you will need to acquire a new license. It’s just as simple of a process each time.You’ll also need to confirm that you wish to install the certificate included with the app. If you signed it, no problem. If you’re testing someone else’s app, be sure you trust the developer.
   
   
7. Success!

   

8. You can see that my terrible Hangman game is now installed on the Surface.

That’s it! It was just as simple as I’d expected to side-load on to a Surface. Keep in mind, these instructions actually would work the exact same on any other Windows 8 or Windows RT device.