Anyway, back to Solundria and the reason for this blog....
Last year while visiting my granson Juan, I wrote him a very simple snap game as he is only 2. The game was written in Java so I used Java Web Start to make it available to play free to visitors to Solundria. Later I came up with the idea of providing the game as a service, to send an alternative and unusual birthday message by email.
Some months later the game is now available to play free on the site. Its a simple little game and so should be easily playable by young children. There are different versions of the game, the original version has the characters from Solundria on numbered cards including Clever Clyde who Juan really took a shine to.
There is also a version which includes images from some programs I wrote for an Open University Book. There are also a Snappy Xmas and Snappy Easter versions.
Because I am using Webstart as a delivery mechanism it took a while for me to work out a suitable payment process. At one point I even had a Processing payment GUI which took the customers choices and uploaded them by ftp to my site. When an order was submitted it also sent me an email and I could pick up orders from the site. This worked like a charm on my local machine but when I tried to get this to work with webstart there wasnt an easy method of allowing ftp transfers. Finally I designed a PHP form which is a much easier way of receiving orders. I started out with a properties file which could be used to read the properties into each ordered game. Then I discovered that the jnlp file can be used to pass in the parameters, which has made customising the Snappy Birthday Games much easier!
The game can be sent for 10 pounds GBP to any email address. This might sound a bit steep but I have to customise each copy and upload it to a personalised address for each order. There is a lot of free stuff on the site and a girl has got to eat.....T.T
The Snappy Birthday Game is available to send as a personalised birthday game and payment is handled off site by PayPal. There is also an option to get the game free with some very good offers from TrialPay. This is also handled off site so the payment details are kept secure. The offers include flowers, DVDs, books and other items that would provide a nice birthday gift and getting the Snappy game sent free with a personalised birthday message is an added bonus!
After coding all this, I now have to attract some customers to the Snappy Birthday Game, who may want to send a Happy Birthday message to someone special. Search Engine optimization is something I have not considered very carefully up to now...but I will have to find some way of publicising this unusual, unique and original new birthday product (teehee).
Apparently in order to succeed on Google you have to have some relevant links pointing to your page.
All links gratefully received!
Trial PayClever Clyde will show you how to send the Snappy Birthday Game free with a personalised message from you.
