Hive SDK development process¶

The summary of the entire process from installing the Hive SDK to game app distribution is as follows.

1. Installation
2. Configuration
3. Development
4. Build
5. Deployment

1. Installation¶

To implement features such as authentication and payment in your game app using the Hive SDK, first sign up for Hive Console and create an AppID. After that, install the Hive SDK suitable for your development environment.

Preparation before installation¶

Most of the Hive SDK features require data entered in Hive Console. Therefore, to use the Hive SDK, you must first sign up for Hive Console and create an AppID.

Hive SDK installation¶

After creating the AppID in Hive Console, install the Hive SDK. The Hive SDK may have different installation methods depending on the development engine (Unity, Unreal Engine, etc.) and OS (Android, iOS). For example, if you are developing the game app with the Unity engine, you can conveniently install the latest Hive SDK version using SDK Manager, but if you are developing the game app in an Android environment without a game engine or some other engines except Unity or Unreal, you need to install the Hive SDK using Gradle.

Install features¶

After completing the installation of the Hive SDK, you need to install the Hive SDK features you will use. The Hive SDK provides various features such as authentication, payment, push notifications, promotions, and matchmaking. It is recommended to use authentication and payment features as mandatory and the remaining features as optional.

2. Environment setup¶

If the Hive SDK installation is complete, you will configure the Hive SDK environment. There are required settings and optional settings.

(Required) Basic settings: hive_config.xml¶

hive_config.xml is a file that contains the necessary configuration values for the Hive SDK to function and is included in the app build. To use the Hive SDK, you need to enter the AppID created in Hive Console and the IdP you will use in this file. The Hive SDK includes hive_config.xml in the app build at the time of initialization.

As with Hive SDK installation, the configuration method for hive_config.xml may vary depending on the development engine (such as Unity, Unreal Engine) and OS (Android, iOS). For example, when developing a game app with the Unity engine, you can generate hive_config.xml using the Unity Config Editor without directly entering the configuration values in hive_config.xml, whereas in an environment without a game engine or some other engines except Unity or Unreal, you need to manually create this file and enter the values directly into it.

(Optional) Market-specific settings¶

If you want to use specific app markets such as Google Play Games on PC, Amazon, Steam (Windows), additional configuration is required. Additional settings are needed.

(Optional) Runtime settings¶

Some Hive SDK settings should be done at the app execution (runtime) rather than during Hive SDK initialization (build time). However, changing runtime configuration values during live service is not recommended.

3. Development¶

After completing the log settings and development preparations, implement the desired features in the game app. You need to pass the events occurring according to the game app lifecycle to the Hive SDK throughout the entire game app source code and call the Hive SDK methods that receive these events. Below are the key items to know when developing with the Hive SDK.

Hive SDK initialization¶

Hive SDK initialization is the first preparation step to execute Hive SDK functionalities. In the Hive SDK code flow, initialization is executed first, and after the initialization is complete, each Hive SDK function such as Authentication, Billing, and Promotion can be used.

The Hive SDK displays the terms and conditions consent screen (such as the device identification information collection, personal information collection consent popup that is exposed when the user launches the game app) during the initialization process. One of the main advantages of the Hive SDK is that it allows for easy and convenient implementation of compliance with the terms and conditions consent requests.

Once the initialization is complete, you can check the device identification information and the list of supported IdPs during login in Hive Console.

Login¶

When the user logs in with the IdP set up earlier, the Hive SDK acquires user identification information. You can use this information to identify users and provide services.

When implementing login, exception handling must be implemented. Exception handling is necessary for issues caused by Hive SDK configuration errors or users who have successfully logged in. Examples of users that need to be handled as exceptions include login of suspended users and the process of resolving account conflicts.

If the user successfully logs in, the login token must be verified. The Hive SDK issues a token that can be verified to determine whether the user is inappropriate, and this token can be verified to determine that the token has not been forged.

Payment¶

Billing is a feature that shows the list of products sold in the game app to users and allows them to purchase these products. If you implement a store in the game app and sell in-app products, you will expose the product list and provide different sales product information based on country, currency type, and language. Each product has a product identification code, which distinguishes the information of each product.

When you sell products in the in-app store, the Hive SDK issues a receipt. Your game app must receive this receipt data and call the receipt verification API to verify the receipt. If the receipt is valid, the game app grants the product to the user who purchased it. Once the product has been granted, the Hive SDK declares the end of the payment transaction.

When the payment transaction termination is declared, the receipt for the purchase cannot be used for product restoration. If the user has purchased a product from the in-app store but the product has not been delivered to the user for any reason, the issued receipt can be used to attempt to deliver the product again.

Debugging¶

Enabling logging allows you to check development issues and perform debugging. If the development engine is Unity, real-time debugging is supported with Hive SDK RTT4U.

4. Build¶

Items to check before building, depending on the development engine, OS, or build pipeline. For example, in the Android environment (Android without a game engine and Unity Android), permissions are automatically included in the Hive SDK, so no separate configuration is required. On the other hand, in the iOS environment without a game engine or some other engines except Unity or Unreal, permissions must be declared according to the features you want to use in the game app before building. In the Unity iOS environment, only the necessary permissions can be automatically added using the HivePostProcess Editor.

5. Deployment¶

Before distributing the game app to app markets (Google Play Store, App Store, etc.), you must ensure that the game app is well implemented according to Hive Platform policy, and you must submit the types of personal data collected and their purposes to the app market. Please refer to the personal information guide used by the Hive SDK or third-party libraries for submission.