Ben Galbraith, director of developer relations of Palm, Inc. discusses the new webOS Plug-in Development Kit and $1,000,000 contest

Ben Galbraith

Q: Palm released a webOS Plug-in Development Kit. What's new that mobile platform developers should be excited about?

Ben Galbraith: The majority of mobile games are written using C++ and OpenGL. webOS is focused on Web technologies but we didn't want to force game developers to have to rewrite their games using HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. By releasing the PDK, we've enabled developers to bring C++ and OpenGL games over to our platform with a minimum amount of effort. What we've learned from talking to everyone from EA to small indies is that, in some cases, it takes just a day or a few days to port a title. On the outside, just a week or two. So it's a win for both consumers and developers. For consumers, they get access to the best games in the mobile market on Palm devices. And, for developers, they have a new channel to sell their games with a minimal amount of incremental investment.

Q: The PDK is available now?

Galbraith: Yes. It's actually been available in pre-release for the past few months. And just in the last few weeks we've opened it up to the general public for developers to be able to distribute their PDK games into our application catalog.

Q: There has been a lot of buzz around Palm's Hot Apps Program contest that gives away $1 million in cash and prizes. How does that work?

Galbraith: From mid-July until the end of September -- the apps that are downloaded the most win the most money. We have the promotion divided into “free” and “paid.” The top downloaded free app and the top downloaded paid app each wins $100,000 and then we have other tiers that win $50,000, $10,000, and $1,000 each. Check the leaderboard to see which are currently the most popular.

I'm especially excited about the fact that free applications are part of the process because it gives their developers the opportunity to really make some money in a situation where they typically wouldn't be able to. And because so many games are paid games, if you submit a free application, you have a strong likelihood of taking home some money. So it pays to not only submit your content but also to promote it.

Q: The smartphone space is getting very competitive with Android, iPhone, and Blackberry. Why should game developers choose to develop on the Palm platform?

Galbraith: What we love about the PDK solution is that it gives game developers the opportunity to bring their C++ and OpenGL titles to our platform with a minimum of additional time and investment. In exchange for a few hours to a few days of effort, you get access to our marketplace. Our device penetration may not be as big as Android's or iPhone's, but it's certainly big enough for any game developer to increase their revenue stream. And if you act now, you can be part of the PDK promotion and magnify your earnings.

Q: What advice would you give to game developers currently working on apps for Palm?

Galbraith: Pay a lot of attention to the quality of the game's assets. Most game developers spend a lot of time trying to make the game fun, as they should. But many developers don't understand the role of high-quality graphics, sound, and production values when it comes to the interface. And that can really make a difference between a mediocre and a best-selling title. You can see when you play with a lot of games on our device—or in the mobile app eco-system in general—that the gameplay mechanics are very simple. It's pretty rare that you find something that's truly innovative. What tends to keep things fresh are the assets. There is a robust community of graphic designers out there with whom you can easily partner and it pays to work with those people to bring that extra level of polish to your game.

Also, it makes sense to work with a bunch of different vehicles to promote your title and build awareness—Gamasutra.com being one of them. It can make the difference between a title that's released to obscurity and one that gets some attention. One way to get your title noticed is to e-mail us at pdc@palm.com and let us know about the game you're making—perhaps two weeks before its release—and give us a chance to look at it so that we can also participate in that promotional process. Then we're able to use some of the social outlets that we have to tell people about the game if we're excited about it.

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By Paul "The Game Master" Hyman

Paul has covered the videogames industry for over 15 years now, currently writes for Gamasutra.com, and was editor-in-chief of UBM's GamePower.com. He can be reached at phyman@gdmag.com.