Google has announced that they’ll soon be rolling out a new set of tools for developers to play with. Some of the new stuff was ad related, allowing for customised ads and optimising IAP targeting. It also includes a tool that allows developers to create custom experiences for different users, although there’s no word yet on how those differences are measured or defined, which could bring some interesting features to Android gaming in the future.
One of the coolest bits of the new kit that Google announced is the ability to turn Android phones and tablets into custom controllers for gaming Android TV. It will let developers create a unique controller for each title, bearing not only the joysticks and buttons for input but also any HUD elements they want to include. The feature was demonstrated with a racing game that added a speedometer and tachometer to the set up but it’s easy to imagine the same principle applied to health bars, ammo count and inventories. The new tool currently only works for games running on Android TV but hopefully with the growing power and popularity of Android systems and smart boxes we’ll soon see the feature make its way to other Android services.You can see more on the new tools here.