Creating and Using Messages

Messages let you connect to your players through UI-based messages in your game.  For example, you may want to notify players of an upcoming holiday event on the barnyard wooden board or you might want to send all high retention players a thank you message (including a gift) to their inboxes.

Create a Message

Open the Campaign to which you would like to add a message and open the Content Builder. Click "+Add Content" and choose Message. You will have the option of Starting from Template or Start from Scratch. 

Tip: Save Templates of Messages you will be re-using so that you pre-populate all needed fields and set-up by clicking the drop down next to Save Changes and Save as New Template. 

Choosing Start from Scratch, the "Default" Message Type will be auto-selected. You can then select the Message Type you would like if you have created a Message Framework for further customization, covered below.  

Once you've set your Message's Basic Settings of internal name and any additional targeting (segmentation) and scheduling details, create the meat of the offer.

Remember, your base targeting and scheduling is created via the Campaign and the Message lives within the campaign and can further segment down if you'd like to reach different segments.

Fill out the Message Content of in-game title, body, and images used for portrait and landscape if needed.  

Click Save and the "<" to return to the Content builder and the "<" again to return to your Campaign and see your Message scheduled within the Campaign.

That's it! Once it's time to deliver the Message, the user will receive it!

Message Frameworks

To add additional flexibility, you have the ability to create custom message types specific to your organization (using the example above of a message to be displayed on the barnyard wooden board you might create a message type "Announcements Wood Board"). Message Frameworks can include any custom fields you might need to pass, for example: images needed to show potential prizes of an upcoming event. 

Message Frameworks can be set up in Settings in Message Frameworks. The framework is created using JSON-based template definitions. Visit the JSON Templating article to learn more about how you and your team should structure your custom JSON-defined templates.

In order to modify a message type's additional message fields, you should have some knowledge of how JSON works and what the SDK will expect to receive on initialization.  You'll create a JSON hash to define the fields which are needed, and everything can be nested.  See the JSON Templating article to learn more.

Note that if any messages have already been created with a particular message type, modifying the additional fields template will NOT automatically update the messages.  In order to avoid major mistakes that could impact your users, you will have to edit each message manually and load the new configuration.  Affected messages will include a warning letting you know that the additional fields configuration has changed.