Let’s play some games!

I’m a huge gamer at heart. And because of this, I love working with Google In-App Payments and helping developers make money from their awesome games. Many of us will be spending the holidays at home enjoying family time and some rest and relaxation. What better way to rest and unwind than with some awesome games that you can play in the browser instantly? Below are some of my favorite games that showcase how developers are utilizing the web platform and creating immersive, monetizable games.




Bastion
Bastion is a story-driven action RPG with beautiful 2D visuals. You control ‘the kid’ (protagonist) with your keyboard and mouse, navigating him around the world to collect pieces and rebuild the bastion. The action is intense and rewarding, and the RPG elements addictive. If you haven’t already purchased the full game, check out the first area for free before buying the full game.

Cordy
Cordy is an adorable puzzle platformer. The goal is to complete a level as quickly as possible while collecting all of the items and enough energy to charge/unlock the exit. It’s gorgeous, fast-paced, and fun to play. Try it for free and you can upgrade to the full version in-game.









Fieldrunners
I’ve been addicted to Fieldrunners (and tower defense games in general) for years, and now it’s available in the browser. Personally, playing in the browser totally fixes my fat finger issues with tower placement. For those of you that have never tried tower defense games, the goal is to prevent enemies from reaching their goal by building a maze of towers that damage them.










GT Academy
Motorsports has always been one of my hobbies, and GT Academy is great because it’s a browser-based racing sim. You can progress through your career achieving better licenses and unlocking faster cars. Once you’ve honed your keyboard driving skills, challenge other players in online multiplayer.









Dragons of Atlantis
I honestly can’t define why this game is so addictive, but I keep going back over and over. Dragons of Atlantis is an empire game where you build your cities, develop your armies, establish alliances, and raid other empires. If you haven’t tried this game, run through the tutorial and you’ll be thoroughly hooked.









Angry Birds
It’s the classic Angry Birds that everyone loves, but with new holiday-themed levels to challenge you. Check out the latest HTML5 Angry Birds.








In addition to the games highlighted here, there are more great games to be found in Chrome Web Store and on Google+. After your holiday feast, have some fun and take a look at what you can now do within your browser.

Posted by Peng Ying, Developer Advocate

Commerce API World Tour

Over the past few months, the Google Commerce Developer team has been very busy spreading the word about Google’s In-App Payments and Shopping APIs for Search and Content. In addition to meeting developers at events in the United States, we had the opportunity to engage with developer communities around the world.

We started our world tour in Japan at Google Developer Day, Tokyo. We continued globetrotting to Australia for GDD Sydney, then to Spain for Google DevFest, Barcelona and finished in Germany with events at the Berlin GTUG and GDD Berlin.

Peng Ying and Mihai Ionescu presented distribution and monetization strategies for web applications to developers in Tokyo, Sydney and Berlin while Danny Hermes spoke about using the Google Shopping APIs in Barcelona.

We love meeting and talking to developers, and we’re looking forward to continuing to connect with developer communities worldwide. With the recent international expansion of In-App Payments, we’ll be hosting a hangout on Google+ tomorrow December 20th at 11AM PST to answer monetization questions.

For future events, keep an eye on this blog, our social media channels and the Google Developers events page, or join a Google Technology User Group.

Posted by Mihai Ionescu, Commerce Developer Advocate