Developer Support

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Documentation

• General Questions

  • Who can join the developer program?

    The Mochi developer program is open to all creators of Flash gaming content so long as they meet the requirements in our Developer Program Policies. All gaming content must be clean and family friendly. Games that do not meet the guidelines will not be able to participate.

  • Who can join the publisher program?

    The publisher program is for the owners of websites and applications. The Mochi Ads network will not accept publishers with mature or adult content on their sites. Our goal is to provide advertisers with games and publishers that are clean and family friendly. Sites containing content which does not meet that guidelines will not be able to participate in the publisher program and may have their accounts deactivated.

  • How do I become an advertiser?

    If you are interested in learning about advertising opportunities on Mochi Ads, please visit our Advertiser Center.

• Payments and Earnings

  • How much can I make?

    Your earnings depend on how much traffic your game or site gets and the gaming audience that are enjoying them. The great thing about Mochi Ads is that you'll be earning revenue each time your game is played. The best way to find out how much you'll earn is to sign up and start showing ads in your game! There's no cost, no obligations, and getting started is quick and easy. If you don't like it for any reason, you can disable ads at any time even if your game is already the most popular thing on the Internet.

  • What is the Mochi Ads revenue share?

    Mochi Ads provides a 50% revenue share to game developers and 10% to all publishers in our network. Users who are both developers and publishers will receive 60% overall. Our goal is to provide developers with as much or more than they could earn with alternative means of monetizing their games. The way we see it is the more we give the more we get. =)

  • What payment methods are available?

    Payments can be made via check, PayPal and Moneybookers. We recommend using PayPal because it's the quickest and most convenient way for our developers and publishers to get paid.

  • When will I get paid?

    Payments will be sent out 30 days after the end of the month in which your earnings reach $100. You will also be able to activate a payment hold if you prefer your earnings to be withheld until a later time when you request the payment. For instance: If you open an account in May and earn $25, and then you earn $109 in June (for a total of $134) you will get a check for $134 around August 1st.

  • Will I still earn money from my games if someone takes it from my site?

    Absolutely! That's the beauty of Mochi Ads. It doesn't matter who takes your game or what page it ends up on, Mochi Ads will always keep track of it and serve the appropriate ads. In fact, we encourage game developers to spread their games across multiple sites to maximize the earning potential of their games.

  • How do you calculate how much I get paid?

    Ads are sold on a cost per thousand impressions (CPM), cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-acquisition (CPA) basis. We don't disclose exactly what kind of ad is shown for your game, but for the most part we are serving CPM ads which pay out some amount per thousand impressions. On your dashboard, we display the average effective CPM (eCPM) that you're currently earning for each game, which can fluctuate throughout the day based on your traffic and our ad inventory.

  • What is eCPM and why is it fluctuating?

    The effective cost per 1000 impressions, or eCPM, allows you to understand how much money you have made in the past per thousand views and the variety of ads that have shown in your game. Our money comes from advertisers in different forms. Sometimes they buy per view, per click or per action of the ad in your game. The various ads that show will be a mix of these types at different prices. Effective CPM doesn't represent your earnings - rather, it's calculated by dividing your earnings by number of page impressions, then multiplying by 1000. If you made $1.00 over 1,000 impressions then your eCPM would be $1.00. If you made $1.00 over 2,000 impressions your eCPM would be $0.50.

    Your eCPM will fluctuate throughout the day based on your traffic and our ad inventory. The CPM for a specific ad is basically a fixed price, and depending on which ads are shown and what the advertiser is paying, this value will fluctuate. Your eCPM goes up if you get more impressions of higher value CPM ads, and for that to happen you need more impressions from primarily English speaking countries (especially the United States).

  • Is it possible to split the payment between two people?

    Yes! In the game settings tab for your game there is a "Revenue Sharing" section that you can edit to share game revenue with other Mochi accounts.

  • Do I get paid per click or paid per view of the game?

    We don't disclose exactly what actions cause revenue in which advertisements, but for the most part we're serving CPM ads which pay out some amount per thousand impressions. On your dashboard we display the average effective CPM (eCPM) that you're currently earning for each game, which can fluctuate throughout the day based on your traffic and our ad inventory.

• Ad Units

  • How often can an ad be shown?

    There is a frequency cap on advertisements. You can't show your ad more often than once every five minutes during a game play. If you try and show the ad more often then it will just be skipped until that five minutes has passed.

  • What are your ad sizes?

    Mochi Ads come in three sizes: 500x350, 336x280, and 300x250 and are available as static, rich media and video units. The minimum dimensions for a game are 300x300 to ensure that the ads can fit the game window. Pre-game, inter-level and peel-away ads will accept all sizes, but click-away ads are limited to the 300x250 size. Additional ad sizes and types will be mixed into our inventory in the future.

  • What happens when someone clicks on an ad?

    We want to ensure the best possible experience for someone playing your game. When someone clicks your ad in the game, a new window pops up with the advertiser's site. In the original window where they are playing your game, your game is paused and they merely have to go back and click to resume their game. That way, they don't miss anything important! See examples of games with Mochi Ads installed here.

  • Where do ads show?

    Developers have the flexibility to choose where they want to show ads. We have three types of ads: pre-game ads that show while the game is loading, inter-level ads shown during any natural break in gameplay, click-away ads that can be integrated into the game menu or a custom preloader. The only limitation we set is a frequency cap which does not allow inter-level ads to be shown more than once every five minutes; if you try and show the ad more often, it will just be skipped until that five minutes has passed. See examples of games with Mochi Ads installed here.

• Referral Program

  • What is the referral program?

    The referral program allows any Mochi user to get credit for the people referred to Mochi. Just send your referral link to anyone you're recommending to Mochi and once they earn their first $100 we'll pay you an extra $20 bonus! In addition, any sign-ups resulting from a user clicking the Powered by Mochi link in your game will also be counted as a referral.

  • How do I refer people to Mochi?

    To refer people to Mochi just copy your referral link and send it to anyone you want to refer. It's just a web link, so you can use it on your site, forums, email, instant message, etc. To get the referral code just visit the referrals section of your account. In addition, any sign-ups resulting from a user clicking the Powered by Mochi link in your game will also be counted as a referral.

  • When do I get paid for people I refer?

    When the person you referred makes their first $100, your account gets a $20 bonus. You'll receive that payment on your normal payment schedule.

• Developer Questions

  • I think someone copied/decompiled my game.

    If you saw a game on Mochi that you believe was actually copied and/or decompiled, you can make a claim here. Please note that while Mochi reserves the right to remove any games from our system that we have reason to believe were added in fraud, you (as the person making the claim) are ultimately responsible for taking any legal action, per our Copyright Dispute Policy.

  • How do I load external resources (SWF, images, etc) into my game properly?

    When loading external resources into your game, be aware of how the resource url is interpreted relative to the page URL the main SWF is embedded. For more info view our community post:

    https://www.mochimedia.com/community/forum/topic/relative-resource-loading-in-actionscript

  • Is my game eligible to use Mochi Ads?

    We accept Flash games in all languages, not just English. Currently Mochi Ads supports Flash 6 through Flash 10, with ActionScript 1, ActionScript 2 and ActionScript 3. We do not accept Flash content that is not a game (e.g., movies or tools) or games containing adult or mature content. For further information, please refer to our Developer Program Policies.

  • Do you require a contract or exclusivity?

    Mochi Ads does not bind you to any contract or exclusivity terms. You are free to distribute your games or include other forms of sponsorship as you see fit. All that we ask is that the games abide by the Developer Program Policies. Our goal is to help maximize the return on your games by working with you, not against you.

  • How is Mochi Ads different from a sponsorship?

    While a sponsorship means someone pays you money to put their logos and links into your game permanently, Mochi Ads is a non-exclusive way to monetize your game by embedding ads which you can turn off at any time. We make it even easier for you by allowing you to filter ads on a per-domain basis, run your own ads, and all without a contract. Many sponsors will allow you to negotiate sponsorships to allow ads in your game.

  • Are Mochi Ads and sponsorships mutually exclusive?

    Sponsorships and Mochi Ads are not mutually exclusive. Many well-known sponsors welcome our ads. Kongregate, for example, sponsors many games that include them. And because of our wide-reaching distribution, including Mochi Ads can benefit sponsors because Mochi Game Distribution helps games reach a wider audience.

    We also think that Mochi Ads can help you negotiate better deals. You might offer a non-exclusive sponsorship, and retain rights to distribute the game yourself with Mochi Ads in it, or to provide licenses to other sites. You might also offer a lower price if they leave Mochi Ads in it. This protects you so that when the game leaves their site, you still make money. You can also turn the ads off just for their site to make the offer even more attractive. So go ahead and negotiate a deal that works for you, and don't sell yourself short.

  • Does Mochi Ads accept games with adult content?

    We do not support games with adult themes. Our founding principles are to provide advertisers a selection of games that are clean and family friendly. Refer to the Developer Program Policies for our criteria on what is an acceptable game.

  • Can I use Mochi Ads in movies?

    At this time we only support Flash games. The video, animation, and gaming markets are all very distinct. Our energies are focused on gaming because it's what we love and it's the market we know best. Even though our technology might work with other kinds of content, the other markets would need their own sets of publishers, features, ad sales, etc.

  • Will Mochi Ads support non-Flash games or content in the future?

    Currently Mochi Ads supports Flash 6 through Flash 10 with ActionScript 1, ActionScript 2, or ActionScript 3. Our technology is not compatible with any other platforms unless those platforms can host Flash content. We are always researching new technologies and trends, but at this time we are fully committed to supporting Flash.

  • What do I do if I suspect someone copied/decompiled my game?

    If you see a game on Mochi that you believe was actually copied and/or decompiled, you can make a claim here. Please note that while Mochi reserves the right to remove any games from our system that we have reason to believe were added in fraud, the person making the claim is ultimately responsible for taking any legal action, per our Copyright Dispute Policy.

• Adding A Game

  • How long does it take for my game to get approval?

    The game approval process begins once ads are installed properly in a game and the game profile is 100% complete. Once you've done both of these things we usually approve your game within 24 hours, but in cases of high volume it may take longer.

    If you do not provide accurate information, especially in the game URL field, it will take much longer to get approved or it will be denied. Game URLs linking to sites that require registration or password may also increase your approval time. Additionally, games that get played more are approved with a higher priority.

  • What is the game profile for?

    The game profile is used during the approval process for your game and targeting ads (by category and keyword). It is also used as the information we send out to users of Mochi for Publishers in the game distribution feed if you are participating in the distribution program.

  • What kind of thumbnail formats can I upload?

    Game profile thumbnails must be 100x100 ".jpg", ".gif", or ".png" files. If an animated ".gif" is uploaded, only the first frame will be used.

  • My game is already made, do I have to redesign it?

    Nope! We make it simple for you to add Mochi Ads into your game through our quick and easy setup process. Within the Mochi Ads interface, simply download the MochiAPI and copy the mochi folder next to your game's .FLA file. Then, paste the ActionScript that you get from the Mochi Ads site into your game where you want ads to show. If you have any questions about setting it up, feel free to email us, or our community forums are a great resource!

• Ad Settings

  • What ad units are available?

    We currently have three different types of ad units. We offer pre-game, inter-level, click-away ads in our inventory. These ads are available in static, rich media and video formats. Pre-game shows as the game is loading, inter-level can be shown at any point in a natural break in the game. Click-away ads have the flexibility to be integrated anywhere into the game. Developers should refer to the Developer Program Policies for our advertising rules. Pre-game and inter-level are available in three sizes: 500x350, 336x280, and 300x250. Click-away ads are currently available only in the 300x250 size.

  • Can I control the ad's appearance?

    Yes! You can control when and how often the ad shows in the game. Through our ad formats, we provide developers with the flexibility to choose when to insert an ad and what type of ad. You can choose your own preloader bar colors with the pre-game ads, and you can develop your own custom backgrounds to integrate the ad display into your game. In the case of peel-away ads, you can enable or disable these ads separately.

  • What are click-away ads?

    Click-away ads are untimed ads that can be removed through user initiated action. Unlike pre-game and inter-level ads, these new ad units do not have a 10 second timer and are designed to provide developers with more flexibility . These ads are available in a 300x250 size and can be placed in custom locations throughout a game. With these ads, the game player can close the ad at any time and continue playing the game. Refer to the Developer Program Policies for additional information on acceptable use.

  • What are peel-away ads?

    The peel-away ad appear in a game's leaderboards. It shows as a triangular teaser at the top right corner of the high score screen. The user is able to click the teaser ad, and it "peels" down to reveal the full ad which can be closed at any time. Any approved game using the Mochi Scores leaderboards service is eligible to use the peel-away ads. Peel-away ad settings can be selected from your game dashboard by selecting the "Edit" button under ad settings.

  • Can I show my own ad?

    Yes! Mochi Ads allows you to upload a custom ad to show in your own game. This can be used for many purposes such as to temporarily promote a new game of yours, a new site or even to provide you with the flexibility for a timed license to advertise for another site during a fixed time-period.

  • What is domain filtering?

    When you enter in a domain to be filtered, whenever the game is played on that site, we will not show any network or custom ads if the game is played from a file hosted on that domain. Each domain you enter will be filtered.

  • Am I allowed to put multiple ads in a single game?

    Yes, you can do definitely place multiple ads in a game. A pre-game ad can only be shown once while the game is loading, but an inter-level, click-away or peel-away ad can be shown multiple times. However, there is a frequency cap on inter-level ads. We won't show an ad more than once every five minutes during a game play. If you try and show the inter-level ad more often then it will just be skipped until the time period has passed.

  • How often can I show my ad?

    Pre-game ads can only be shown once. Inter-level ads can be shown multiple times, however there is a frequency cap on advertisements. You can't show your ad more often than once every five minutes during a game play. If you try and show the ad more often then it will just be skipped until that five minutes has passed. Click-away ads are not subject to time limits.

  • Can I encourage users to click ads?

    No. Anything in a game encouraging a user to click an ad is not allowed. In order to ensure a good experience for users and advertisers, the game should not request that users click on Mochi Ads or rely on deceptive implementation methods to gain clicks. In addition, developers may not circumvent existing Mochi Ads restrictions on frequency which an ad is showed. Refer to our Developer Program Policies for more information.

  • I've added the Mochi Ads code but why don't I see an ad?

    If you've having any issues, we're here to help! Just email us. Our forums are a great resource!

    There are three scenarios that would prevent an ad from showing. The first scenario is if a connection cannot be made to the Mochi Ads server. The second scenario is if a game has been disapproved due to conflicts with the Mochi Developer Program Policies. Under these scenarios nothing will appear and the game will continue without pause. The third scenario is when a game is awaiting approval by the Mochi team. The third scenario is if the game is not at least 300x300, and we may not have ads to fit that small size.

  • Why does my game sometimes show network ads when it is set to show custom ads?

    Even if a game is set to use custom ads, we will show network ads on sites that use our distribution and/or hosting services.

  • If a sponsor wants a version of the game not containing ads, is there a simple way to block the ad for the sponsor's site?

    Yes, we allow domain filtering. When you enter in a domain to be filtered, whenever the game is played from that host, we will not show any network or custom ads. Each domain you enter will be filtered. This way, if the game gets copied to another site, then ads are turned on and you make more money. No need for domain locking!

• Game Analytics/Stats

  • What kind of data can I track with stats?

    Stats helps you track your games’ performance over time, as well as helps you better understand which publishers are driving the majority of your traffic (i.e., where your games are being played the most). You can track your earnings, ad requests, impressions, eCPM, uniques, hosts, performance by ad format and countries in which your games are played for any defined time period (just click on “change dates” next to “currently viewing” to select dates).

  • How can I access my stats?

    Login as a developer, click on a game in your dashboard, and select stats from the navigation bar. From here, click on the different tabs to view the performance of your game by different criteria.

  • How are Mochi Ads stats different from Mochi Analytics (formerly MochiBot)?

    Our two products provide analytics in different ways. Mochi Ads tracks ad impressions and revenue, and Mochi Analytics (formerly MochiBot) tracks game plays and the sites where your game is being hosted. Mochi Ads data may be different for a few reasons. First, in a game showing multiple ads Mochi Ads data will be inflated because it displays the number of ad impressions not plays. Second, Mochi Ads will not load 100% of the time. If the end user's connection takes too long to communicate with our server, we will abort the ad to preserve the user experience.

  • What counts as an ad impression?

    An ad impression is the successful showing of an ad to a game player for its entire expected duration. This is not a measurement of the number of times the game was played, because depending on your game the user may see more than one ad in a single session.

  • What is the "legacy" ad format?

    In the advanced game analytics, developers are able to track the performance of ads in their game by ad format. Some developers may see stats in the "Legacy" ad format. Legacy ads are old stats data recorded from before Mochi Ads recorded separate ad formats in the database. These are a mix of pre-game and inter-level ads.

  • What are skipped impressions?

    A skipped impression happens when a request to our server does not return an ad to show. Common reasons for skipped ads are frequency capping and domain filtering. Frequency capping prevents ads from showing up too often: only one pre-game ad can be shown in a game, and inter-level ads can't be shown more than once every five minutes. Domain filtering is a feature you can use in the ad settings tab to disable the showing of ads on certain domain names. Some domains are always filtered due to distribution partner agreements, such as with kongregate.com.

  • Can I share my Mochi Ads stats with others?

    Yes! You can easily share your Mochi Ads impression statistics with other people. Select the game you would like to share from the developer dashboard, and select 'Stats' from the bar. To the right of the Game Stats header, create a link to share your data with anyone else. This can be deactivated at any time by turning off the link. Check the revenue box to share your earnings data as well the game's ad impressions.

  • What if I change my mind or no longer want to share my stats with someone?

    You have the power to deactivate the links at any time for any person you grant access to your stats. You can create separate links for different people, so that you can deactivate one user’s access while enabling another to see your data.

  • Can I choose what data I want to share with whom?

    Yes. You can share impression data, or even the full revenue data for your game with anyone.

  • Are stats available for all international developers?

    Yes.

• Game Distribution

  • What is the Mochi Game Distribution program?

    The Mochi Game Distribution program gets your game on our partner sites and portals automatically. Games enabled for distribution will be available to the hundreds of publishers signed up for Mochi for Publishers. All you have to do is select your game from the dashboard, and follow the directions under Distribution to upload your game and give us permission to distribute. It's as easy as checking a box and you'll get more traffic (and ad revenue)!

  • How can I manage the contents of my distribution .zip file?

    From the developer dashboard, select the game you'd like to manage and then 'game settings'. Select the 'manage' link next to your .zip file. Check the boxes next to the files that you'd like to remove from your .zip file and click save. We recommend that you keep the same filename when you update new versions so that permalinks to your SWF will always point to the latest version.

  • I distribution enabled my game, why don't I see it in the feed?

    Your game will not be instantly available to in the Mochi Game Distribution feeds. In order to assure the high quality content for our publishers, games enabled for distribution go through a second review process. Please make sure you do not upload a site-locked version of your game when you enable distribution.

• Scores

  • Do I need to put ads in my game to use Mochi Scores?

    No, you don't! Game developers can take advantage of Mochi Scores without running ads in their game. Simply login to your account and set up a game.

  • What does banning an entry do?

    Banning an entry will remove all the scores for that person, and will refuse any more submissions from them. We do this based on a unique ID given to each player and not their IP address. You can undo your bans by pressing 'undo bans'. This will allow previously banned players to submit scores again. However, this will not bring back their previous entries.

  • Can I put the leaderboard on my website instead of in-game?

    Yes, you are not limited to using the Mochi Scores leaderboard in-game. We have also provided some methods so you can retrieve the data and create your own version. Please refer to our API documentation for more details.

  • What is 'getPlayerInfo' for?

    'getPlayerInfo()' can be used to retrieve player information from the Mochi Scores leaderboard service. Currently we are storing the players username and last score submitted for each leaderboard. This is stored as a Flash SharedObject. This can be used to welcome the user on repeat game play and show them their last score.

  • What are the requirements for using leaderboards?

    To use the Mochi Scores leaderboards service your game must be published for at least Flash 7 and ActionScript 2.0. The minimum game size for the in-game widget (optional) is 270 pixels wide by 250 pixels. Your game does not have to be approved for ads, nor do the ads need to be active in order to use the service.

  • The in-game Leaderboards used to be fine in my game, now they look wierd? What gives?

    As of November, 2008, we launched version 2.0 of our in-game Leaderboards. We allowed all developers the opportunity to opt-out if the new leaderboards did not fit well in their existing games. To opt out, simple visit the 'Leaderboards' section for your game. If your game was already in the system at the time we released v2.0, you will see a small note at the bottom of the page and a link which you can use to revert back to the original v1.0 Leaderboards.

    Here's the difference between versions:

    Original Leaderboard specs:

  • Default width: ~405 pixels - The width would change if you specified a smaller board via the showLeaderboad parameters, OR if you removed columns via the advanced settings in the Mochi Developer tool.
  • Default height: ~250 pixels - The height would change if you provided a height via the showLeaderboad parameters
  • Smallest width: ~250 pixels - If you turned off all the optional columns via the Mochi developer tool

  New Leaderboard specs:

  • Default width: ~450 pixels
  • Default height: ~350 pixels
  • Smallest width: ~360 pixels
  • Smallest height: ~280 pixels