Microsoft has been publicly testing its Project xCloud game streaming service since October, so naturally, it"s been taking feedback on how it can improve the service. The idea is to bring a console game to your phone or any other device you have, but at the same time, there are challenges that come from the new form factors. The company announced some improvements that are coming for developers to adapt to this.
One challenge is that while someone typically always has their phone with them, they might not have a controller. They may not want to always carry a controller. For that, games are going to support touch overlays, so you"ll be able to use your phone"s touchscreen.
Then there"s the challenge of screen size. A game that"s meant to be played on your 55-inch TV might not scale well to the size of a smartphone, so that needs to be addressed. There are now APIs that will allow games to adapt to the smaller form factor.
Finally, games can be more "cloud aware", with a better understanding of the device"s network state. That way, the game can adjust its settings according to the demands of the device.
This is all news that was meant to be announced at GDC, although the event was postponed. Obviously, there will be more news to come on Project xCloud.