GameMaker

Learn how to integrate ByteBrew's light-weight GameMaker SDK.

GameMaker SDK Integration

Follow the steps below to integrate the ByteBrew SDK or watch the tutorial video for a step by step walkthrough:

infoNote ByteBrew supports Android 5.1 and above & iOS version 9.0 and above.

Step 1

Import ByteBrew GameMaker Extension

Import ByteBrew GameMaker Extension to your project.

notification_importantImportantPlace ByteBrew in the first scene of your project. ByteBrew SDK does not support offline event caching.

Step 2

Go to your ByteBrew Dashboard

Go to your Game Settings page on the ByteBrew dashboard and locate your game keys listed on the dashboard. After finding your Game IDs and SDK Key, copy them.

Step 3

Initialize ByteBrew

Initialize ByteBrew using the code below at the first scene of your game to start capturing sessions and events.

Inside the initialization on GameMaker, input the Game ID and SDK Key from the ByteBrew dashboard into the parameters of the ByteBrew initialization.

                                
                                

                                byteGameID = "";
                                byteGameKey = "";

                                if(os_type == os_ios)
                                {
                                    byteGameID = "...iOS Game ID";
                                    byteGameKey = "...iOS Game Key";
                                }
                                else if(os_type == os_android)
                                {
                                    byteGameID = "...Android Game ID";
                                    byteGameKey = "...Android Game Key";
                                }

                                //You must make sure add the last two parametes the GameMaker Version and your current version of your project so you can get deep cohort analytics.
                                ByteBrewExtension_Initialize(byteGameID, byteGameKey, GM_runtime_version, GM_version);

Step 4

Exporting iOS Requirements

ByteBrew requires the following three iOS frameworks:

Security.Framework

AdServices.Framework

AdSupport.Framework

We have already added requirements in the settings to add these frameworks.

Step 5

Exporting Android Requirements

ByteBrew requires the following implementation for Android:

Play Services Ads Identifier

We have already added requirements in the settings to add this implementation.

Custom Events Tracking

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Custom Events in ByteBrew enable you to deep dive across all of our extensive analytics dashboards. Continue below to learn how to integrate custom events.

Custom Events on ByteBrew allow for an unlimited number of key_name=value; sub-parameters under the custom event. For example, you can have a custom event called “level” that has a subparameter under the event named “levelnumber” and the values of that Level Number subparameter could be “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.”. Additionally you could add in other subparameters for attributes inside the levels of your game, such as "powerups", to show the different equipment used in levels with parameter values "fireball, revive, doublepoints, etc.". The world is your oyster with custom events, so build as complex of an event system as you need for your game. To illustrate our custom event structure visually, see the following diagram:

notification_importantImportant Do not replicate or copy/paste event structures from other analytics providers to ByteBrew, this will lead to malformed event reporting. Follow ByteBrew's event structure in the following documentation.

Custom Events

See samples below to see how to code Custom Events:

notification_importantImportant Do not use special characters, such as (1) spaces, (2) periods ".", or (3) colons ":" in your custom events or parameters. As an alternative to spaces in custom events, use "_". Ex. "key_name=value;".

Custom event names and parameters that include special characters will not be processed on the dashboard. These events are unrecognized by ByteBrew and antipattern to ByteBrew's event structure.

Basic Custom Event:

                                
             
                                    //Basic Custom Event without any sub-parameters
                                    ByteBrewExtension_AddCustomEvent("eventName");

                                    //Basic Custom Event with a sub-parameter
                                    ByteBrewExtension_AddCustomEventWithStringValue("CustomEventName", "key_name=value;");

                                    //Examples
                                    ByteBrewExtension_AddCustomEventWithStringValue("GamePurchaseVC", "currency=GOLD;amount=500;character=viking;");
                                    ByteBrewExtension_AddCustomEventWithStringValue("LevelCompleted", "level=25;character=viking;");

Dictionary Custom Event Tracking Method:

To easily add additional custom sub-parameters to an event with a dictionary method using "key_name=value;" pairs shown below:

                                

            
                                //Key Value format "key_name=value;"
                                //Custom Events can take multiple pairs, "key_name1=value1;key_name2=value2;key_name3=value3;"
                                ByteBrewExtension_AddCustomEventWithStringValue("level_started", "weapon=megablaster;powerup=extralife;");

Remote Configs & A/B Tests

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Remote Configs allow you to make updates to your app remotely without having to update your game's app store. Adding remote configs to your games are a fantastic way to be agile and send updates or patches to players instantly. Remote Configs are also utilized for creating A/B Tests on the platform.

When planning to integrate Remote Configs, We recommend implementing remote configs throughout all parts of your game to allow you to tweak and tune as you analyze your game performance data. See how to implement remote configs in your game by following the steps below:

notification_importantImportant Do not spam config calls in your app code. Apps that spam remote configs calls with behavior such as: calling configs each game frame, or rapidly firing multiple calls per user will be auto flagged and potentially paused.

Loading the Remote Configs

To use Remote Configs, you must first call for the config to get updated. You can call the below code whenever you want to update the configs:

infoNote ByteBrew automatically calls LoadRemoteConfig on initialization but you can call it again when needed.

                                
                                  
                                
                                //Call the loader to update configs 
                                ByteBrewExtension_LoadRemoteConfig();
                                
                                //Check if the remote configs are ready and set
                                ByteBrewExtension_HasRemoteConfigsBeenSet();

You can grab A/B Test keys and values using this method:

infoNote If the user is part of the control group it won't return anything but the default parameter value set.

                                
                                               
                                //Call to get the key specific value and if the key doesn't exist it will return the default variable specified, like if the AB test user is in the control group
                                configValue = ByteBrewExtension_RetrieveRemoteConfig("KEY", "DEFAULT VALUE IF NOT AVAILABLE");

Push Notifications

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Using ByteBrew you can send cross-platform push notifications to your players around the globe. To get started with push notifications follow the steps below.

infoNote If you are using Push Notifications in ByteBrew, you must first call InitializeByteBrew before calling StartPushNotification.

notification_importantImportantIn addition to setting up Push Notifications in the SDK, there is additional setup required on the ByteBrew dashboard to get up and running. Visit the Push Notifications documentation page for all the steps to get step.

Step 1

Integrate Push Notifications

Integrating Push Notifications with ByteBrew is super simple and only requires one line of code after initializing the ByteBrew SDK. See the Push Notification integration code line below:

                                
                                
                           
                                ByteBrewExtension_StartPushNotifications();

Step 2

Create Push Notification App on the ByteBrew Dashboard

Go to the Push Notification dashboard on ByteBrew and create a new Push Notification App. See our Push Notification Dashboard documentation for step by step walkthroughs about this.

infoNote In order to create a push app, you must first create an game or app on the ByteBrew dashboard.

Push Notification Android Manifest (Required Android Only)

notification_importantImportantIf your app targets Android API Level 33 and above, make sure your implement this manifest permission.

                                
                                    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.POST_NOTIFICATIONS"/>

Push Notification Xcode Export Additions (Required iOS Only)

For sending notifications to iOS devices, follow the additional required steps below on Xcode:

infoNote For the best step by step walkthrough on push notification integration, watch the video tutorial series on the ByteBrew Youtube Channel.

Step 1

Add UserNotifications.framework

Add UserNotifications.framework to the frameworks and libraries in Xcode.

Step 2

Add Capabilities

Press "+ Capability" and add the following capabilities listed in steps 3 and 4 below.

Step 3

Add "Background Modes" and under that section, checkmark "Remote Notifications

Step 4

Add "Push Notifications"

Push Notification Extra Settings (Optional Android Only)

Add a Custom Small Icon and Large Icon for push notifications.

infoNote The small icon automatically defaults to your app icon. We recommend that you add a small icon because your app icon may not appear correctly. If the large icon default is none, it will not show.

notification_importantImportantMake sure to add these icons to your res android folder. Keep note of the name of the icon, so you can set them in the dashboard when creating a notification.

Track Purchases

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In ByteBrew SDK you can track all your game or apps in-app purchases to analyze your monetization performance on the dashboard. There are two ways to track purchases on ByteBrew. The first way is to use basic in-app purchase events. The second way is to use our real-time server-side purchase validation to validate real purchases vs. fraudulent transactions. See below to learn how to implement either method.

Track Basic In-App Purchases

To track in-app purchases in your game, use the below method:

                                
                                
                                ByteBrewExtension_TrackInAppPurchaseEvent("Apple App Store", "USD", 5.99f, "currencyPack01", "Currencies");

Track Validated Purchases

On ByteBrew, we offer a real-time server-side purchase validation to stop purchase fraud from client-side purchase receipt tampering that takes place in mobile games and apps. To utilize this validation you have two options: (1) a method with a callback to retrieve if a purchase was valid and (2) a method just to validate purchases without a callback. Follow below sections for code snippets for each function:

infoNote To help avoid any common mistakes made during integration of purchases follow the below:

fiber_manual_record

You do not not need to use track using both the basic tracking purchase method and purchases validation methods. The purchase validation method also tracks purchases. Using both methods will cause your purchases to double.

Purchase Validation with Callback

To track validated in-app purchases utilize the platform specific method. Using this method will create an asynchronous call to "Social Events" with purchase details and verification status.

notification_importantImportantMake sure the receipts have correct JSON string formatting.

                                
                                
                                    //JSON Format ex. string json = "{\"firstname\":\"john\", \"lastname\":\"doe\",\"age\":30}";

                                    //Retrieve the iOS receipt from the purchase event that occurs. We will validate it server side so you can view valid purchases in you dashboard.
                                    string iosReciept = "...";
                                    if(os_type == os_ios)
                                    {
                                      ByteBrewExtension_ValidateAndReturnInAppPurchaseEvent("Apple App Store", "USD", 1.99, "NoAds", "NoAds", "EMPTY", "");
                                    }
                                    else
                                    {
                                      //Retrieve the Android receipt and Signature from the purchase event that occurs. We will validate it server side so you can view valid purchases in you dashboard.
                                      googleReciept = "...";
                                      googleSignature = "...";
                                      ByteBrewExtension_ValidateAndReturnInAppPurchaseEvent("Google Play Store", "USD", 1.99, "NoAds", "NoAds", "EMPTY", "NOPE");
                                    }

Next, grab the purchase data from the Async Social Event with the code below:

                                
                                
                                isValid = "";
                                itemID = "";


                                if (async_load[? "type"] == "bytebrew_purchase_status")
                                {
                                    isValid = async_load[? "isValid"]; //This will be a string of either "true" or "false"
                                    itemID = async_load[? "itemID"];
                                    
                                    
                                    show_message_async(string(isValid) + " Valid");
                                    show_message_async(string(itemID) + " Purchase Item");
                                }

Purchase Validation without Callback

To track in-app purchases using our validation system without looking for the purchase callback, utilize the platform specific method code snippets below:

notification_importantImportantMake sure the receipts have correct JSON string formatting.

                                
                                
                                    //JSON Format ex. string json = "{\"firstname\":\"john\", \"lastname\":\"doe\",\"age\":30}";

                                    //Retrieve the iOS receipt from the purchase event that occurs. We will validate it server side so you can view valid purchases in you dashboard.
                                    iosReciept = "...";
                                    ByteBrewExtension_TrackInAppPurchaseEventWithValidation("Apple App Store", "USD", 5.99f, "currencyPack01", "Currencies", iosReciept, "Leave me empty if your tracking ios");
                                  
                                    //Retrieve the Android receipt and Signature from the purchase event that occurs. We will validate it server side so you can view valid purchases in you dashboard.
                                    googleReciept = "...";
                                    googleSignature = "...";
                                    ByteBrewExtension_TrackInAppPurchaseEventWithValidation("Google Play Store", "USD", 5.99f, "currencyPack01", "Currencies", googleReciept, googleSignature);

Ad Tracking Event

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Using ByteBrew you can track your game's or app's ad events. Tracking Ad Events will enable you to see breakdowns of your ads in the monetization dashboard. See the code snippets below to learn how to track ad events:

infoNoteTracking Ad Events in the ByteBrew SDK is required for visualizing pLTV and pROAS calculations on the Attribution dashboard.

                                
                                
                                // Record the Placement Type, Location of the placement, ad unit ID, and Network (Recommended)
                                ByteBrewExtension_AddTrackedAdEventWithAllOptions("Interstitial", "EndOfLevel", "3253k3302-3r3j4i343-3nij343-405403", "AdMob");

                                //Some ad event paramters can be ommited like so
                                ByteBrewExtension_AddTrackedAdEvent("Interstitial", "EndOfLevel");
                                ByteBrewExtension_AddTrackedAdEventWithAdID("Interstitial", "EndOfLevel", "3253k3302-3r3j4i343-3nij343-405403");

Data Attributes

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Data attributes are tags in the SDK that you can give a user to define them more specifically on the dashboard when filtering. For example, you can use data attributes to tag to users to build player segments to send targeted push notifications. If you are looking to update values on users at certain locations of your game, then use Custom Events with subparamters to track that type of update. See the following code snippets for examples on how to use Data Attributes:

infoNote Data Attributes should not be spammed or used to continuoisly update a set of values a single user. If our system detects or tracks that your game(s) are spamming this method, it will automatically turn off your Data Attribute tracking. See list for most common forms of spamming:

fiber_manual_record

Sending a high frequency of updates per second or per user.

fiber_manual_record

Using Data Attributes like Custom Events.

fiber_manual_record

Sending updates to Data Attributes in bulk by updating all attributes at once instead of one value that was changed.

fiber_manual_record

Sending unnecessary updates by updating data attributes with repeated values.

                                

                                
                                ByteBrewExtension_SetCustomUserDataWithString("username", "michael_scarn");
                                ByteBrewExtension_SetCustomUserDataWithDouble("total_hitpoints", 68.7);
                                
                                //You have to set the values as a string for these and we will cast them accordingly
                                ByteBrewExtension_SetCustomUserDataWitInteger("dundees", "3");
                                ByteBrewExtension_SetCustomUserDataWithBoolean("loves_the_office", "true");

Get User ID

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GetUserID method in the SDK enables you to grab the current User ID of the user in your game. This is a handy method for finding the ID for a user you want to send a specific push notification to.

                                

                                
                                // Get the string userID
                                ByteBrewExtension_GetUserID();

Stop Tracking Current User

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In the ByteBrew SDK, you have the option to stop tracking any user in your game by calling the ByteBrew StopTracking method. This will immediately stop and disable any tracking for a user. As another alternative method to disabling tracking, you can build your own consent pop-up prompt screen in your game or app and delay the initialization of ByteBrew SDK until your user has consented/agreed to your prompt.

                                
  
                                
                                ByteBrewExtension_StopTracking();

SDK FAQs

What events does ByteBrew automatically track?

ByteBrew has standardized events that are automatically tracked such as: install events and session events. These events are used throughout the platform to automatically calculate out-of-the-box metrics like: session length, playtime, retention and more.

Does ByteBrew track offline users?

here are several reasons ByteBrew does not cache offline player data such as:
(1) App File Size: For games tracking many parts of their games, users playing offline will generate a significant file size of cached data that will inflate the app size on the device.
(2) Reduce App Crashes: If the storage of offline data becomes too large, the device will not be able to open the app on lower end devices and cause a potential app crash. ByteBrew is designed to make sure those issues do not exist for your game.
(3) Data Accuracy Tampering: Cached data from historical game session will get uploaded into the system the next time the user comes back online. This mean malicious users can tamper with your app's data, leading to potential issues with accurate reporting for you to operate from.

What is the minimum OS versions required for ByteBrew SDK?

ByteBrew supports Android 5.1 and above & iOS version 9.0 and above.

Can I use two push notification providers at once?

No, you can only use one push notification service or provider to send notifications at one time. However, if you are only using ByteBrew for our other services, then you can use another platform's push notifications SDK while still using ByteBrew SDK without any issues.

Is there any callback needed for Push Notifications?

No, Push Notifications has it's own internal callback, so no other callback is necessary.

What is the minimum Android API version for ByteBrew?

API Level 22 (Android 5.1)

How long does it take for my Configs or my A/B Test to deliver to my players?

A/B Tests deliver configs using your Remote Configs integration. Remote Configs delivered in milliseconds to your players after the ByteBrew SDK is initialized.

Should I convert revenue to USD?

Yes, whether tracking in-app purchases or using Custom Events that send revenue parameters, the revenue you send should be in USD.

lightbulb Pro Tip Initialize ByteBrew in the first scene of your app or game.