Google play game services and Facebook integration in one game

Question

We are creating a cross platform game for iOS and Android. We have thought about how and with which services we should integrate achievements and scoreboards with.

For the iOS part, we are pretty sure that this how we want to do, in order from when the user opens the app for the first time:

• Connect with Game Center (Should be automatic, the user shouldn't even notice?) We will also get the players nickname for public scoreboards here.
• Ask if the user wants to connect with Facebook so that we can compare the players highscores with their friends.

We could add Google play game services there as well, but I don't feel like that adds anything to the experience for the end user.

Now comes the tricky part: Android

We thought that we could do just like for iOS, except that we replace Game Center with Google Play Game Services. However, unlike Game Center, Game Services will ask the user to log in to their Google+ account and allow us to access their account. So now, what we have is a double login, first with Google+ and then with Facebook. What will users think about that? Should we scrap Play Services entirely and just ask the user for a nickname within our app and user Facebook for achievements?

Answer 1

There is a common design error that comes up for multi-mobile platform projects, and it's not limited to games. People who prefer iOS think that everyone, Android users included, will balk at anything except the iOS experience. So when designing the android half of a mobile app, the design includes iOS-style inputs and layouts. Likewise, Android designers think that they need to apply custom style to everything iOS so that it doesn't look 'iphoney'.

Both these ideas are wrong. People who don't own iPhones don't secretly pine for the day when they will finally get an iPhone and its glossy, rounded-corner buttons. And iPhone users have no interest in seeing anything different from the common iOS app layout. The two platforms are different, but their respective users prefer that difference.

Android users who are willing to use Google Play services are used to having to sign in. People who use Game Center are (ostensibly) aware that they're always logged in and can log out at any time. Don't assume that Android is less agreeable, simply because it gets permissions on an app-by-app basis. Afterall, that's how Facebook works, and users still agree to its permission requests.

As for your question, would it be off-putting to users to have to sign in to two services? That is entirely up to your execution of the sign-ins. You're right, it would be annoying to put the two sign-ins back to back before the user even gets to try your gameplay. So don't do that. Be more subtle; let the player enjoy the game a little before prompting them to post their highscores.

You could go the way of CCS and constantly harass users to Facebook beg, or you could go the cheap tower defense method, and just show a reminder every few rounds. I think the trick is to be respectful of the player, and not let the social "features" get in the way of enjoying the game.