Author Archives: Patricia Correa

Grow your indie game with help from Google Play

Today we’re opening applications for the 2021 editions of the Indie Games Accelerator and the Indie Games Festival from Google Play. These programs are designed to support the growth of small games studios that bring unique games to players around the world. 

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Get help to develop your game with the Indie Games Accelerator

The Indie Games Accelerator brings the best of Google’s programs, products, people and technology to indie game developers that are full of potential. Selected studios will get free education and mentorship from Google and top industry experts to help them build and grow a successful games company. 

This year the program will be fully digital and is expanding to nearly double the markets, including the U.S., UK, Germany, France, Russia, Japan, South Korea and others. 


Promote your existing games with the Indie Games Festival 

The Indie Games Festival celebrates the creativity and innovation of top indie talent. Selected games will be rewarded with promotions on Google Play and dedicated marketing campaigns that will help players worldwide discover the games. 

We will host three competitions for indie game developers from Japan, South Korea and select European countries. 

If you are an indie game developer based in one of the eligible countries, apply for either program by July 1st. 

Come celebrate the art of indie games with us

Today we’re announcing the 2020 edition of the Google Play Indie Games Festival, a celebration of the passion, creativity and innovation that indie game developers bring to the Google Play store. 

This year we will host three competitions for indie game developers from Japan, South Korea and several European countries. The top 20 creators in each region will be chosen to showcase their games at public events in Tokyo, Seoul and Warsaw. Players, industry experts and the Google Play team will vote to select the top 10, and from there, three winners for each regional contest will be crowned. 

Prizes are designed to help indie developers showcase their games and grow their businesses on Google Play. This includes things like promotions on the Google Play Store and chances to network with industry experts and influencers. Winners could even go home with the latest Android devices, which can help them curb development costs.

If you make indie games and meet the eligibility criteria, enter your game by March 2, 2020. 

The contests aren’t just for developers, though. If you like playing unique, creative, high quality games, you can sign up to attend the final events in Warsaw, Tokyo and Seoul, where you’ll get the chance to  play the games, meet the developers, vote for your favorites, help choose the winners….and of course, have a little fun. 

Need some inspiration? Check out the winners of the 2019 edition in Europe.

Video showing the winners from the 2019 European Google Play Indie Games Festival

#IMakeApps: One developer’s life on the road

Sterling Udell and his wife Teresa always loved to travel and the opportunity to hit the road full-time was a dream for them. At some point, they realized that software development was a remote-friendly job, and decided not to put off traveling any longer. Check out more #IMakeApps stories on g.co/play/imakeapps.

What kickstarted your nomadic lifestyle? 

I’ve always loved travel, and my wife and I used to dream about someday making it work as a lifestyle. Then, a serious health issue brought home that there might not be a “someday.” I was already working remotely as a programmer, and we realized that it would be possible to kit out an RV to support doing so on the road. So we took the plunge!

How do you juggle your lifestyle with your work as a developer? 

Being an independent developer gives me lots of flexibility in how I work, and we’re pretty flexible in our travel as well, so it’s not too difficult to fit the two together. Our preferred mode of travel is to park up for a few days in one location, where I’ll tend to work on apps most days, with some time off for getting to know the area as well. Then we’ll pack up and move on to somewhere else⁠—seeing the sights along the way⁠—and start the cycle over. 

Does your lifestyle inspire or influence the types of apps you create? 

Absolutely. We spend a lot of time outdoors, and that makes you very aware of the natural passage of time: day into night, summer into winter, then back around again. Not to mention, if you’re spending time outdoors, there’s a practical side to knowing what time the sun will rise, or when the daylight will fade. This was the basis of TerraTime, an app that displays the natural flow of sunlight, clouds, seasons and beyond, accessible in the palm of your hand. And Lunescope works  similarly, but for the phases of the moon. Both apps are focused on showcasing the world’s  natural rhythm.

What app are you working on at the moment?  

I’m currently working on a major update to TerraTime Pro, adding a feature that many folks have requested. The focus of the app has always been to help people connect with the world we live in, linking our human understanding of time with the natural cycles that underpin it. Without giving too much away, the new feature should further that goal⁠—on a global scale⁠—as well as making the app more useful day-to-day.

What has been your experience creating apps on Android and distributing them through Google Play? 

I was drawn to developing for Android specifically by unique platform features, like widgets and live wallpapers, that I wanted to include in my early apps. As my portfolio has grown, I’ve continued to leverage such features into apps that wouldn’t be possible anywhere except Android. I think that’s what’s kept me on the platform for the last 10 years: the unique possibilities that it offers. 

Source: Android


#IMakeApps: One developer’s life on the road

Sterling Udell and his wife Teresa always loved to travel and the opportunity to hit the road full-time was a dream for them. At some point, they realized that software development was a remote-friendly job, and decided not to put off traveling any longer. Check out more #IMakeApps stories on g.co/play/imakeapps.

What kickstarted your nomadic lifestyle? 

I’ve always loved travel, and my wife and I used to dream about someday making it work as a lifestyle. Then, a serious health issue brought home that there might not be a “someday.” I was already working remotely as a programmer, and we realized that it would be possible to kit out an RV to support doing so on the road. So we took the plunge!

How do you juggle your lifestyle with your work as a developer? 

Being an independent developer gives me lots of flexibility in how I work, and we’re pretty flexible in our travel as well, so it’s not too difficult to fit the two together. Our preferred mode of travel is to park up for a few days in one location, where I’ll tend to work on apps most days, with some time off for getting to know the area as well. Then we’ll pack up and move on to somewhere else⁠—seeing the sights along the way⁠—and start the cycle over. 

Does your lifestyle inspire or influence the types of apps you create? 

Absolutely. We spend a lot of time outdoors, and that makes you very aware of the natural passage of time: day into night, summer into winter, then back around again. Not to mention, if you’re spending time outdoors, there’s a practical side to knowing what time the sun will rise, or when the daylight will fade. This was the basis of TerraTime, an app that displays the natural flow of sunlight, clouds, seasons and beyond, accessible in the palm of your hand. And Lunescope works  similarly, but for the phases of the moon. Both apps are focused on showcasing the world’s  natural rhythm.

What app are you working on at the moment?  

I’m currently working on a major update to TerraTime Pro, adding a feature that many folks have requested. The focus of the app has always been to help people connect with the world we live in, linking our human understanding of time with the natural cycles that underpin it. Without giving too much away, the new feature should further that goal⁠—on a global scale⁠—as well as making the app more useful day-to-day.

What has been your experience creating apps on Android and distributing them through Google Play? 

I was drawn to developing for Android specifically by unique platform features, like widgets and live wallpapers, that I wanted to include in my early apps. As my portfolio has grown, I’ve continued to leverage such features into apps that wouldn’t be possible anywhere except Android. I think that’s what’s kept me on the platform for the last 10 years: the unique possibilities that it offers. 

Source: Android


Bringing the art of movement to the world

Rosa Mei is a professional dancer and martial artist who creates apps to teach movement: 7 Minute Chi, Meditation Moves, Taichi Temple, Gymnast Fit and Super Funky. Check out more #IMakeApps stories on g.co/play/imakeapps.

What types of apps do you make?

I make apps that teach busy people how to move and meditate. Even if you only have five minutes a day to train, you can progress. People can do moving meditation in seven minutes, learn a new dance in one minute, learn all the fundamentals of tai chi in two hours, or train like a gymnast in a rigorous 10-minute set. These short, yet high-impact training sets let people fit them into their hectic lives. They can also customize their training to what they enjoy most. 

How did you get into dance and martial arts? 

I always had too much energy and was gumby levels of flexible. My parents were engineers and really didn’t understand why I wanted to dance. I got full scholarships to study electrical engineering and Russian linguistics, but I chose dance because it fascinated me more than anything else in the universe. My mom was an IBM engineer and was so embarrassed by my career choice, she told her colleagues her daughter studied “dance law.”  I said, “What’s that, ma? Gravity?”

What eventually interested you in technology and making apps? 

Before I made apps, I worked in multimedia design for about 15 years; I’m a compulsive creator. I’m really great at making site-specific dance operas and in a sense, apps are the ultimate site-specific tool.  You can train in your kitchen while making coffee, or on top of Mount Kilimanjaro. 

How do you balance your dance and martial arts passions and your app business? 

I practice my dance and martial arts training really early in the morning and  teach classes and workshops in the evenings and on weekends. I design my apps during the day and work with additional software engineers pretty much around the clock.

What has it been like using Android and Google Play to create and distribute your apps?

Google Play is an amazing platform for developers because it really gives you complete freedom to create—and then your product gets put in front of a worldwide community. And Android devices are affordable and state-of-the-art, giving developers  a wider reach and impact.

Source: Android


Bringing the art of movement to the world

Rosa Mei is a professional dancer and martial artist who creates apps to teach movement: 7 Minute Chi, Meditation Moves, Taichi Temple, Gymnast Fit and Super Funky. Check out more #IMakeApps stories on g.co/play/imakeapps.

What types of apps do you make?

I make apps that teach busy people how to move and meditate. Even if you only have five minutes a day to train, you can progress. People can do moving meditation in seven minutes, learn a new dance in one minute, learn all the fundamentals of tai chi in two hours, or train like a gymnast in a rigorous 10-minute set. These short, yet high-impact training sets let people fit them into their hectic lives. They can also customize their training to what they enjoy most. 

How did you get into dance and martial arts? 

I always had too much energy and was gumby levels of flexible. My parents were engineers and really didn’t understand why I wanted to dance. I got full scholarships to study electrical engineering and Russian linguistics, but I chose dance because it fascinated me more than anything else in the universe. My mom was an IBM engineer and was so embarrassed by my career choice, she told her colleagues her daughter studied “dance law.”  I said, “What’s that, ma? Gravity?”

What eventually interested you in technology and making apps? 

Before I made apps, I worked in multimedia design for about 15 years; I’m a compulsive creator. I’m really great at making site-specific dance operas and in a sense, apps are the ultimate site-specific tool.  You can train in your kitchen while making coffee, or on top of Mount Kilimanjaro. 

How do you balance your dance and martial arts passions and your app business? 

I practice my dance and martial arts training really early in the morning and  teach classes and workshops in the evenings and on weekends. I design my apps during the day and work with additional software engineers pretty much around the clock.

What has it been like using Android and Google Play to create and distribute your apps?

Google Play is an amazing platform for developers because it really gives you complete freedom to create—and then your product gets put in front of a worldwide community. And Android devices are affordable and state-of-the-art, giving developers  a wider reach and impact.