Tier 1 (BASIC) Publishing for Mac

You will find that when using the Mac AppGameKit Studio IDE, applications are automatically created in the project folder that holds the project files, so there is no need for a separate build process here. Simply zip the .app file to easily transport your application. There is no need to include the media folder in this case as it is included in the .app file.

Signing Your Own Mac Application

To self-publish your Tier 1 BASIC application on the Mac Store, you will need to build your own Mac application in Xcode, and for this you will need a Mac Developer account. Apple requires that all applications submitted to the Mac Store be signed with a special certificate that is granted to you as a developer. For more information on how to sign up to be an Apple developer, and obtain your developer certificate, visit the Apple Mac developer website. Once you have registered with Apple, and you have configured your Mac with Xcode, the required Mac SDK libraries, and your keychain certificate you will be ready to proceed.

To make the process as simple as possible, we have provided the source code to the AppGameKit Studio Player for Mac so you don't have to do any actual Tier 2 C++ coding. It's simply a case of adding a few resource files, specifying your developer certificate in the project settings and compiling a new release application.

Follow these steps to build your own application on the Mac:

• If you haven't already done so, install the AppGameKit Studio C++ libraries to a location of your choice from the Tools->Install Additional Files dialog
• Navigate to your chosen folder and copy the apps/interpreter_mac folder, renaming it to a name of your choice
• Open this new folder and double click on agkinterpreter.xcodeproj
• This should launch Xcode with the Mac application project
• Open the project build settings and change the product name from 'AGK Player' to the new name of your application
• Copy the MEDIA folder from your AppGameKit Studio project folder into the Xcode project folder
• All being well, when you click Build and Run you will see your Tier 1 BASIC appear!

From this point you can further modify the application to prepare it for submission to the Mac Store. This will involve editing the .plist file found in the Resources area, and specifying your certificate in the 'Code Signing' section of the build settings. Once you are ready you can the Archive and sign your app using Xcode for submission to the Mac app store.

Notes

• The Apple website has comprehensive tutorials on every step of the development and submission process when submitting Mac applications, and is highly recommended reading.
• Youtube is a great source of video tutorials on the various steps involved in registering an Apple account, setting up XCode, installing your certificates and going through the submission process
• For submission to the Mac Store, you are most likely going to need the latest version of Xcode to prepare and sign your final binaries for submission.