Publishing Your Game

This guide covers everything you need to know about packaging and publishing your Emberware game.

Overview

The publishing process:

1. Build your game (compile to WASM)
2. Pack assets into a ROM file (optional)
3. Test the final build
4. Upload to emberware.io
5. Share with the world

Building for Release

Using ember-cli (Recommended)

The ember CLI handles compilation and packaging:

# Build WASM
ember build

# Package into ROM
ember pack

# Or do both
ember build && ember pack

Manual Build

If you prefer manual control:

# Build optimized WASM
cargo build --target wasm32-unknown-unknown --release

# Your WASM file
ls target/wasm32-unknown-unknown/release/your_game.wasm

Game Manifest (ember.toml)

Create ember.toml in your project root:

[game]
id = "my-game"              # Unique identifier (lowercase, hyphens ok)
title = "My Game"           # Display name
author = "Your Name"        # Creator credit
version = "1.0.0"           # Semantic version
description = "A fun game"  # Short description

[build]
script = "cargo build --target wasm32-unknown-unknown --release"
wasm = "target/wasm32-unknown-unknown/release/my_game.wasm"

# Optional: Assets to include in ROM
[[assets.textures]]
id = "player"
path = "assets/player.png"

[[assets.meshes]]
id = "level"
path = "assets/level.ewzmesh"

[[assets.sounds]]
id = "jump"
path = "assets/jump.wav"

ROM File Format

Emberware ROMs (.ewzx files) bundle:

• Your compiled WASM game
• Pre-processed assets (textures, meshes, sounds)
• Game metadata

Benefits of ROM packaging:

• Faster loading - Assets are already GPU-ready
• Single file - Easy to distribute
• Verified - Content integrity checked

Testing Your Build

Always test the final build:

# Test the WASM directly
ember run target/wasm32-unknown-unknown/release/my_game.wasm

# Or test the packed ROM
ember run my_game.ewzx

Verify:

• Game starts correctly
• All assets load
• No console errors
• Multiplayer works (test with two controllers)

Upload Requirements

Required Files

Optional Files

Metadata

• Title - Your game’s name
• Description - What your game is about (Markdown supported)
• Category - Arcade, Puzzle, Action, etc.
• Tags - Searchable keywords

Publishing Process

1. Create Developer Account

Visit emberware.io/register

2. Access Dashboard

Log in and go to emberware.io/dashboard

3. Upload Game

1. Click “Upload New Game”
2. Fill in title and description
3. Select category and tags
4. Upload your game file
5. Upload icon (required) and screenshots (optional)
6. Click “Publish”

4. Game Page

Your game gets a public page:

emberware.io/game/your-game-id

Updating Your Game

To release an update:

1. Bump version in ember.toml
2. Build and test new version
3. Go to Dashboard → Your Game → Edit
4. Upload new game file
5. Update version number
6. Save changes

Players with old versions will be prompted to update.

Content Guidelines

Games must:

• Be appropriate for all ages
• Not contain malware or harmful code
• Not violate copyright
• Actually be playable

Games must NOT:

• Contain excessive violence or adult content
• Harvest user data
• Attempt to break out of the sandbox
• Impersonate other developers’ games

Troubleshooting

“WASM validation failed”

Your WASM file may be corrupted or built incorrectly.

Fix:

# Clean build
cargo clean
cargo build --target wasm32-unknown-unknown --release

“Asset not found”

Asset paths in ember.toml are relative to the project root.

Verify:

# Check if file exists
ls assets/player.png

“ROM too large”

Emberware has size limits for fair distribution.

Reduce size:

• Compress textures
• Use smaller audio sample rates
• Remove unused assets

“Game crashes on load”

Usually a panic in init().

Debug:

1. Test locally first
2. Check console for error messages
3. Simplify init() to isolate the issue

Best Practices

1. Test thoroughly before publishing
2. Write a good description - help players find your game
3. Create an appealing icon - first impressions matter
4. Include screenshots - show off your game
5. Respond to feedback - engage with players
6. Update regularly - fix bugs, add features

Distribution Alternatives

Besides emberware.io, you can distribute:

Direct Download

Share the .wasm or .ewzx file directly. Players load it in the Emberware player.

GitHub Releases

Host on GitHub as release artifacts.

itch.io

Upload as a downloadable file with instructions.

Ready to publish? Head to emberware.io and share your creation with the world!