14 DAY TRIAL // Users of Bing Maps can now play a Coin Search game
via a new application that is now live in the Bing Map App gallery.
Bing Maps is a platform after all, and Coin Search comes to prove that there are no limits to what developers can build leveraging Microsoft’ mapping, search and location platform. Fact is that gaming on Bing Maps can be a fun experience, although, at least at this point in the evolution of the platform, gamers should not expect experiences similar to those delivered by a Windows PC on an Xbox.
“The latest Bing Map App in the gallery, Coin Search, lets us explore Bing Maps in Streetside to find random coins throughout beautiful New York City,” noted Chris Pendleton, the Bing Maps Technical Evangelist for Microsoft.
“Four areas have been marked on the map; inside each of these areas there are five randomly distributed coins. Find all of the coins in each area to win the game,” Pendleton added.
But Coin Search is not only a Bing Maps game, it is also a code sample. In this regard, Microsoft revealed that it is actually sharing the code for the new Bing Maps gaming experience.
At the same time, developers can also grab the Bing Maps SDK (software development kit) and start building applications for the platform themselves.
“You can now download the code for the Coin Search game from Microsoft Connect (Windows Live ID required),” Pendleton said.
“The whole idea is to show you how to render images and use advanced features such as the Streetside interface and isolated storage in Bing Map Apps. See, we’re trying to help your map apps be even better,” he revealed.
Here are the instructions on how to play the game:
“Click the Begin button.
Click an area button in the left hand panel or hover over an area on the map and then click the area’s name to enter Streetside.
Navigate around the area in Streetside and click on any spinning coins you come across. Note: you can use the directional arrows on your keyboard to walk through Streetside. Sometimes that’s easier if you want to explore more carefully.
Once all the coins in the area are found, you will be removed from Streetside so you may select a different area to search,” according to Pendleton.
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