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2022
The itch.io Halloween Sale and Selects Bundle are on now!
October 27, 2022
by
Spencer Hayes
20
#editorial
Get your costumes on everyone, it’s Halloween time! Whether you’re a ghost, a witch, or one of those animes you’re always watching we’re welcoming everyone to the annual itch.io Halloween Sale...
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Games of the Month: Puzzles! (and some non-puzzles)
August 30, 2022
by
Spencer Hayes
70
#itchio-recommends, #editorial
Sometimes you need a good puzzle game, just something to throw all of your attention at and ignore anything else going on. Well if that sometime for you is right now, then you’re in luck because in...
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How to play itch.io games on the Steam Deck
June 14, 2022
by
Spencer Hayes
250
#editorial
So you’ve got a brand new Steam Deck and are looking to install some games from your favorite storefront: itch.io. Surely that’s impossible, right? Wrong. Here’s how you can get your itch.io lib...
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Come get the Pre-Summer itch.io Selects bundle!
May 25, 2022
by
Spencer Hayes
18
#editorial
It’s been a few months since we last spoke folks and for that I am truly sorry. As an apology I’ve come back home from my travels with an armful of treats! This is a metaphor, the treats aren’t...
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Games of the Week: Foxes, Space Ships, and Louisiana
April 04, 2022
by
Spencer Hayes
76
#itchio-recommends, #editorial
What’s good itch.io gamers, welcome back to the channel. By channel I mean blog and by gamers I mean people with good taste, but the sentiment is the same! Welcome back to the itch.io Blog! This tim...
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The Next itch.io Creator Day is February 18th!
February 14, 2022
by
Spencer Hayes
200
#editorial
Come one, come all to the next itch.io Creator Day! This Friday, February 18th we’re not taking any of our usual portion of sales. From Midnight to Midnight (Pacific Time) developers will earn 100%...
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2021
This Friday is an itch.io Creator Day!
November 22, 2021
by
Spencer Hayes
108
#editorial
This year for Black Friday we’re honoring our oldest tradition: we’re bringing back Creator Day! Ok the tradition isn’t that old, but this Friday (November 26th) from midnight pacific time to mi...
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Announcing the Game Making itch.io Selects Bundle 2
October 13, 2021
by
Spencer Hayes
23
#editorial
Let’s get ready to make some games! Earlier this year we launched our first ever Game Making itch.io Selects bundle, and now we’re back with a second edition to help folks make new games whether i...
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Games of the Week: Swords, Bracelets, and an accessible RPG
August 30, 2021
by
Spencer Hayes
35
#editorial, #itchio-recommends
You may have noticed that we’re doing these more recently. There are just too many great games coming out for us to keep our recommendations locked to once-a-month posts! Check out all of the great...
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The second itch.io Creator Day is Friday, 7/23
July 19, 2021
by
Spencer Hayes
94
#editorial
Hi itch.io Community, I was going to write a whole goofy intro to this, but instead I’m just going to play this one straight: This Friday (July 23rd) is our second ever itch.io Creator Day. This mea...
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Games of the Month: Boats, Dogs, and Dinosaurs.. Oh my!
July 15, 2021
by
Spencer Hayes
22
#editorial
Welcome back to the Games of the Month! How was that Summer Sale last week? Did you pick up anything cool? Well get ready to fall in love all over again with a whole new group of games from our recomm...
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Announcing the itch.io Summer Sale and Tabletop Selects Bundle!
June 22, 2021
by
Spencer Hayes
37
#editorial
Do you hear the sounds of people enjoying the beach? What about those cheers of children without a care in the world? This can mean only one thing: it’s summertime! (in the Northern Hemisphere, plea...
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Announcing the first itch.io Creator Day!
May 12, 2021
by
Spencer Hayes
276
#editorial
Hi itch.io Community, I’m happy to announce that this Friday — May 14th, will be our first itch.io Creator Day. This means that from Midnight to 11:59pm PT we won’t be taking our usual cut of sa...
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The itch desktop client is now available on the Epic Games Store!
April 22, 2021
by
Spencer Hayes
107
#editorial
Howdy itch.io Community! I’m happy to announce that as of this morning the itch desktop client is available to download on the Epic Games Store . If you prefer to launch your game launchers through...
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Announcing the Game Making itch.io Selects Bundle
March 31, 2021
by
Spencer Hayes
32
#editorial
It’s time for a brand new itch.io Selects bundle , but this time we’re trying something a little different. You may remember our previous bundles as collections of some of our favorite games, but...
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Games of the Month: Dreams, Time Travel, and Cyber Gods
January 20, 2021
by
Spencer Hayes
76
#editorial, #itchio-recommends
The calendar may show a new year, but we’re up to our usual tricks at itch.io HQ. We took a break for the holiday season but we’re looking at some of our favorite games that have launched in the l...
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2020
Announcing the itch.io Halloween Sale and Tabletop Selects Bundle!
October 27, 2020
by
Spencer Hayes
12
#editorial
There’s a haunting at itch.io headquarters. Is it a ghost? A ghoul? Nope, it’s the annual itch.io Halloween Sale! From now until Tuesday November 3rd at 10am PT hundreds of games, tabletop adventu...
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Games of the Month: Cellular Harvest, Hylics 2, and more!
July 21, 2020
by
Spencer Hayes
33
#editorial, #itchio-recommends
It’s been a really hectic couple of months here at itch.io, we’ve been hard at work and that’s left scant few hours for playing games. But don’t worry we’ve persevered and have sorted throug...
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Announcing the itch.io Summer sale and Summer Selects Bundle!
June 24, 2020
by
Spencer Hayes
38
#editorial
We may not be allowed outside, but that doesn’t mean our summer vacation has to be ruined. Make staying off the beaches and away from other people fun with a stack of brand new games, tabletop RPGs...
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Games of the Month: Tales from Off-Peak City, Samsara Room, and More
May 28, 2020
by
Spencer Hayes
46
#editorial, #itchio-recommends
We’re nearing the halfway point of 2020 already and it feels like the year has both flown by and taken forever. Usually at this point in the year I’ve gotten a pretty good taste of the best games...
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Games of the Month: Treachery in Beatdown City, Mackerelfish Media and More!
April 23, 2020
by
Spencer Hayes
59
#editorial
We’re back, back, back again with a brand new edition of itch.io’s Games of the Month! Yes I know it’s been a bit longer than a calendar month but that doesn’t mean the games are anything less...
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2019
Announcing the itch.io Holiday Sale and Holiday itch.io Selects Bundle!
December 19, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
15
#editorial
We’ve almost made it through 2019 so it’s time to celebrate! We considered inviting everyone over to itch.io HQ but considering that itch.io HQ isn’t a physical location that might be a little t...
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Check out itch.io on YouTube!
December 05, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
37
#editorial
We do a pretty good job of featuring games around here. From our front page, to our blog and digest emails we have tons of ways for you to get your gaming fix. But sometimes the best way to learn abou...
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Pick up 7 tabletop hits for $8 in the Tabletop itch.io Selects Bundle!
November 29, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
11
#editorial
Grab your dice, call your friends, and get ready for the Tabletop itch.io Selects Bundle ! This entry in our series of bundles highlights the best in analog gaming. There’s something for everyone wi...
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Fall into a brand new game jam
November 21, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
16
#editorial
It’s a busy time of year for games. There are games coming out left, right, and center, and more holidays than I know what to do with. It feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day in the las...
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There are 200,000 games on itch.io. Here's how to find your new favorite
November 07, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
53
#editorial
This week we passed 200,000 games on itch.io. That’s well, that’s a ton of games. Truly more than one human can play in their lifetime. So how do you find which games are your jam? Well let’s ta...
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Need even more Ludum Dare? Here are more picks from the competition!
October 17, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
17
#editorial
With over 1000 games developed as a part of Ludum Dare 45, it’s more than a little tough to sort through all of them. Last week we highlighted a couple of our favorites but I took a look through mor...
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Code your way to strategic victories in Bot Land: an interview with Adam Damiano
October 03, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
15
#editorial
I can’t think of many games where professionals have cameras pointed at their hands. Starcraft is one of the few I’ve seen that puts pros’ digits on display, and one quick look will tell you why...
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Nowhere Prophet grew through early access to become a great deckbuilder
September 26, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
7
#editorial
Back in the olden days people used to have to wait until a game was done to be able to play it. But we live in more enlightened times now. Sure there are pros and cons to buying (or releasing) a game...
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Need something to do with the rest of 2019? Try a game jam!
September 19, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
16
#editorial
Jammers gather around, because we’ve prowled the itch.io Jams page and I’m back with the spoils of our hunt. If you want to see every jam currently scheduled on the site you can check out the Jams...
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A quarter century making games: a conversation with Spiderweb Software
September 12, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
18
#editorial
Few developers have had as long of a history as Jeff Vogel and Spiderweb Software. Their 25 year run has produced scores of hardcore RPGs and they show no signs of stopping. This week they released th...
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Zach Barth on how Zachtronics have shocked and surprised with Eliza
August 22, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
15
#editorial
My praise for Zachtronics’ Eliza seems to know no bounds. I wrote in my recommendation on Tuesday, “Eliza stands as one of the best written games I’ve played this year.” It’s a game that has...
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Dicey Dungeons is a brilliant introduction to Roguelikes and Deckbuilders
August 15, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
8
#editorial
In what has been a long time coming, this week marks the full release of itch.io-favorite Dicey Dungeons . Indie superstar Terry Cavanagh (and team) has turned from puzzles and action to craft what is...
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Remaking Shakespeare: How Golden Glitch made Elsinore
August 08, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
13
#editorial
If you regularly read the itch.io Recommends posts every week you likely remember Elsinore , a game about Ophelia from Hamlet trying to solve her way out of a time loop. I ended up really enjoying my...
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Can Androids Pray? An interview with Xalavier Nelson Jr of 2019's hottest mech game
August 01, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
9
#editorial
It’s not every day you see a game launch with Red and Blue versions so when I saw Can Androids Pray I was immediately intrigued. What followed was an intense narrative experience that I ended up enj...
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Sokpop Collective's games continue to impress through creativity, frequency
July 25, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
21
#editorial
Running this blog comes with its fair share of responsibilities. What should we cover, what shouldn’t we cover, which games need the coverage? All of this sets us up for a complicated balancing act...
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How to get started on itch.io
July 18, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
54
#editorial
In my day-to-day I get asked a lot about how to get started on itch.io. This comes from established developers looking to move their projects over to itch.io and new devs looking to upload a project f...
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Fill up July with a bunch of great game jams!
July 11, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
8
#editorial
Are you worried that you don’t have enough things to do? Have you somehow run out of games to play and want to help make sure nobody in the future has this problem? Try out a game jam! We have a pag...
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Tips and tricks to help your itch.io launch
July 05, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
49
#editorial
In the interest of transparency, we’re going to do something a bit differently on the blog this week: we’re lifting the curtain a little bit and discussing how the site works. Specifically I want...
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We're celebrating #loveindies2019, are you?
June 04, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
21
#editorial
We love indies at itch.io so we’re happy to support #loveindies2019! But what is #loveindies? An annual celebration of all things indie, #loveindies is a concerted push to connect developers with th...
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Fill your summer up with these rad projects
May 16, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
13
#editorial
The weather is starting to warm up which means Summer is around the corner. Hopefully you’ll have a little more free time to relax with friends and family. Why are we bringing this up? Because games...
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Faux-retro games are hot right now, here's how to get started on one
May 09, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
17
#editorial
In this weeks’ itch.io Recommends we talked about some new games that felt old. We’ve been seeing a lot of that lately so it’s high time we helped folks get into the aesthetic if they’re inter...
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Ludum Dare 44 wrapped, and we have tons of new games
May 02, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
24
#editorial
Gather around everyone, Ludum Dare 44 just wrapped up which means we have thoughts! The crew here have been busy checking the submissions for gems and we’ve been working on a collection that feature...
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Celebrate spring with a trio of game jams
April 25, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
5
#editorial
Spring has sprung, so let’s do one of our semi-frequent jam roundups! This time we’re ready to fill your next month to the brim with a trio of weird and wonderful jams that offer everything from f...
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Learn more about your favorite games with devlogs
April 11, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
20
#editorial
Want to live on the cutting edge of gaming? Need to keep up to date on the development of your favorite games? You should check out the devlogs section of the site! For developers, devlogs are the bes...
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Here's where you can find analog games
April 02, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
19
#editorial
Tell your friends, we’re not just for digital games anymore. I’m happy to say that tabletop and analog games have landed on itch.io! Ok we’ve had tabletop developers uploading their projects to...
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Finding the joy in spinning stuff: An interview with the Vignettes team
March 26, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
7
#editorial
I first ran into Vignettes on recommendation from itch.io Coder Extraordinaire Amos. He called it a game about spinning stuff until it turns into other stuff, and while that’s technically right he n...
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Baba is You is available and amazing
March 14, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
28
#editorial
This week sees the release of one of my most anticipated games of the year and I wanted to take a second to make sure it’s on everyone’s radar. It’s called Baba is You and it’s… different. Y...
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Prepare for GDC with these quick tips
March 07, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
4
#editorial
It’s springtime in San Francisco which means that we’re about to play host to thousands of game devs for GDC. The annual (wildly expensive) conference is back which means that it’s going to be a...
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Need something to do this weekend? Try out a game jam!
February 26, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
9
#editorial
Jams, jams, jams! If jam hosts could take a break for just one minute, I’d appreciate it, but that’s not really in the spirit of jamming is it? This week there are a trio of popular jams that dese...
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Announcing the itch.io Midwinter Selects Bundle!
February 12, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
20
#editorial
Shake off the cold with a bunch of hot games in the itch.io Midwinter Selects Bundle ! Grab 6 games for just $10 and support developers while you’re at it. That’s right, for a crisp $10 bill you...
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The Stillness of the Wind is about "nostalgia and loss" — an interview with Coyan Cardenas about his new game
February 07, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
18
#editorial
Fans of slow-paced games about farming might remember when we featured Where the Goats Are on the itch.io blog. The game was a beautiful slow-burn about a woman living with the titular goats while try...
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"No matter what, we never stop fighting to do good." Heather Flowers on Extreme Meatpunks Forever
January 29, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
17
#editorial
Heather Flowers had a busy 2018. Early in the year she teamed up with Ryan Rose Aceae to release the brilliant Genderwrecked and then later on she released her episodic tour de force Extreme Meatpunks...
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There are scores of great VR experiences on itch.io
January 24, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
9
#editorial
So you’ve gotten your hands on that hot new VR set up, plugged in the headset, cameras, and controllers and are ready to live the sci-fi dream. But you’re missing one key component: games. Where c...
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5 years and a 2.0 update later, Mountain is still a uniquely brilliant game
January 17, 2019
by
Spencer Hayes
13
#editorial
You may have missed it in the madness of late 2018 but David OReilly’s 2014 summit-based masterpiece, Mountain got a major update in December. This update --Mountain 2.0 as it’s called-- refreshes...
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2018
A conversation with the curator of the PICO-8 Advent Calendar
December 11, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
23
#editorial
One of my favorite memories of the holidays has to be gathering around with my family and opening our advent calendars every night. The idea of building toward something throughout the season was, and...
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Celeste is one of our favorite games of 2018. Here's why we love it.
November 29, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
16
#editorial
What are the games you find yourself coming back to? Is it your favorite game from when you were a child? Is it the intriguing but flawed experience nobody but you seems to understand? Maybe it’s an...
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October was a month full of game jams. Here are some of our favorites
November 06, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
8
#editorial
I don’t know what it is about October, but it looks like everyone and their mom decided to host or participate in a game jam. As always, you can check out all of the past and current jams over on ou...
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Post mortems are here on itch.io! Write them, read them, and support developers!
November 01, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
30
#editorial
You may have seen the update to our blogging system a few weeks back that expanded the types of devlogs that we support. Now there are official tags for tutorials, culture pieces, and what we’re tal...
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How CrossCode modernizes classic design: an interview with Felix of Radical Fish
October 23, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
17
#editorial, #interview
As I mentioned in our Games of the Week last week, CrossCode was a game that took me by surprise. Underneath its classic 16-bit exterior lies a deeply modern hack-and-slash with a shockingly complex s...
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"I've been on a personal journey to be a more compassionate, empathetic person and I wanted to explore that in my work" An interview with Greg Lobanov of Wandersong
October 09, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
6
#editorial
Wandersong is a deeply impressive game. Usually when we talk about impressive games its because of their draw distance, detail of their models, or other technical wizardry. Wandersong is impressive be...
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3 reasons why you'll love the new itch app
September 20, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
36
#editorial
Last week we launched a full revamped itch desktop client and I may be a little biased, but it’s downright incredible. You may have seen our interview with the app’s steward, Amos last week where...
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Meet the new and improved itch app!
September 13, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
43
#editorial
In case you hadn't heard: our desktop client, is new, improved, and lightning fast! ( And you can download it now by clicking here ) Our engineer Amos has been working on this update for what feels li...
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"We egg each other on like teenagers designing an unsafe skateboard trick." How Aether Interactive is able to launch two games in a month
September 11, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
15
#editorial
I've maintained for quite a while that the folks at Aether Interactive are doing some of the most interesting work in interactive fiction ever. Their games repeatedly play with both the structure and...
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The games we saw at PAX that should be on your radar
September 06, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
19
#editorial
We just flew in from PAX and boy are my arms tired. The rest of my body is also tired as evidenced by the fact that my brain couldn’t stop me from writing that terrible, terrible joke as a lede. Any...
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Join a game jam with our jam tracker!
August 23, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
29
#editorial
I’ve maintained for years that everyone has art in them. Maybe it’s an album, could be a painting, a poem, or maybe it’s a game. Unfortunately making a game is a long process. Many of your favor...
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Visual novels are having a Moment
August 16, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
39
#editorial
We’ve written before about visual novels here before, but in the year since that last post the genre has been in a renaissance. Games like Doki Doki Literature Club have been playing with the struct...
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itch.io Recommends: Coffee, Kids, and Puppies!
August 14, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
6
#editorial
Indie games as a community has finally reached a point of maturity where we have career indies. Since the explosion of the indie scene through digital distribution, full-time indie development has bec...
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Rough games deserve our love and respect
August 09, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
96
#editorial
To call modern game development risky is an understatement. It’s no secret that developers are investing big and losing their shirts over it. Budgets and team sizes are swelling while sales expectat...
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Pilot a mech, Explore the stars, and Sext your Enemies: An interview with the developers of Heaven Will be Mine
August 02, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
20
#editorial
One day in the future we’ll be all be riding in mechs. We’ll fight in mechs, go grocery shopping in mechs, and if the folks behind Heaven Will be Mine have their way-- dating in mechs. If HWBM loo...
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A Game by its Cover starts today. Here are some of our favorite games from past years
July 31, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
17
#editorial
Game jams, dear readers, are everywhere. We cover them fairly frequently here on the itch.io/blog and in our email digest. We’ve even got an entire game jam tracker in case you want to know what’s...
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Baldi's Basics in Development: An interview with the developer of one of 2018's biggest games
July 24, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
48
#editorial
Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning is not a pleasant game to play -- it's a great game, but it's one that never really makes you feel good. First it starts off as a janky-but-charming educationa...
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Bringing a decade old installation game to modern audiences: An interview with Tracy Fullerton of the Game Innovation Lab
July 12, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
8
#editorial
When I first heard of the Game Innovation Lab I was excited by its premise. An entire group of people with the express purpose of pushing the boundaries of game design. This week I got a chance to tal...
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Developing a game every two weeks: How the Sokpop Collective is turning gamedev on its head
July 05, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
73
#editorial
The idea of making a game every two weeks for the foreseeable future stresses me out. How can anyone keep up with a breakneck pace? Well this cannonball run of game development is currently going down...
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A handful of games you might have missed
June 26, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
20
#editorial
Every week we like to feature some of the freshest, most interesting games we can find, but we can’t get them all. Unfortunately that means that some games fly under our radar. This week I’d like...
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"The internet is not a kind place for human brains" An interview with the masterminds behind Cultist Simulator
June 12, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
26
#editorial
Cults are so hot right now. Film, literature, games, everybody is making cult media right now. Alexis Kennedy and Lottie Bevan are the minds behind the recently launched Cultist Simulator, possibly th...
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ESC's creator opens up about the game and working with a game design dream team
May 29, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
11
#editorial
ESC is a game about the future, but not a future of flying cars and high tech corporate espionage -- a future that is at odds with its past. It’s a game that asks the player to look into a cyberpunk...
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A Minute with the Minit devs: What they learned developing 2018's hottest Zelda-like
May 24, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
28
#editorial
Minit has become one of my favorite games that has come out this year. The top down 2-color adventure grabbed my attention and held it until its scant runtime was over roughly an hour and a half later...
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Make your game pages beautiful to boost your sales
May 15, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
34
#editorial
So you’ve been working away on your game for days, weeks, months, or years. It’s been a labor of love and you’re almost ready to drop your masterwork onto the world. Now what does that mean? Pre...
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Announcing the 3rd itch.io Selects bundle!
May 10, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
14
#editorial
Strap yourself in for another deluge of deals and check out some of our favorite games at a wallet friendly price. Yep, it’s another entry in our line of premium itch.io Selects bundles. This time w...
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Everything is Going to be OK's final update is out and it's brilliant
May 09, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
18
#editorial
Everything is Going to be OK has received its final update and it completes the story of one of 2017’s best games. If you’ve never played Nathalie Lawhead’s interactive zine, now is the best tim...
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itch.io isn't just for games: Check out our non-gaming content
May 03, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
15
#editorial
If you’re reading this blog you already know that itch.io is the best place to buy games. Our tools are flexible enough to allow anyone to upload their projects, and our community creates amazing wo...
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Here's how to find and join game jams on itch.io
April 24, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
19
#editorial
Oh no! You missed last weekend’s Ludum Dare game jam! (Ok, I missed Ludum Dare and yes I’m still salty about it.) If only there was some way you could see all of the upcoming game jams and their d...
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itch.io Collections are great and you should use them
April 17, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
35
#editorial
How often has this happened to you: You’ve found a creator you really like but you can’t scroll through their Twitter to find all of their favorite games. Or maybe you want to keep track of games...
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"Make a game someone would kill a man to play" An interview with Brianna Lei of Butterfly Soup
April 10, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
59
#editorial, #interview
We love Butterfly Soup over here. We held it up as one of our favorite free games of last year , and I certainly haven't cooled on the game over time. I got the opportunity to meet the game's creator,...
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Announcing the #museumjam AKA the Pippin Barr Game Idea Jam #2
April 03, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
11
#editorial
We’re pleased to announce the #museumjam in partnership with the Zium Musem. Throughout the entire month of April you’re invited to make any sort of 3D art you want for a chance to be featured in...
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We're losing our Flash game history but we don't have to
March 27, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
46
#editorial
I spent a lot of time as a kid playing games. Sure there was a lot of Pokemon and N64 but I also fell in love with Flash games during my formative years. In many ways the Flash community of the mid-20...
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Amanita Designs opens up about their creative process and comedy on CHUCHEL
March 20, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
19
#editorial
Last week we recommended the recent point and click comedy adventure, CHUCHEL. It's a delightful romp that refines point and click mechanics beautifully, but it's also a game that shows off the hearts...
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How we Curate
March 15, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
71
#editorial
Alright gang, pull up a seat and let’s talk about the number one topic on the hearts and minds of children everywhere: curation. If you’re unaware already, curation in this context is the act of s...
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A handful of tips to maximize your first convention
March 06, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
14
#editorial
As much as it pains me to say it, we’re entering convention season. Starting with GDC this month we average roughly one major trade show a month until PAX in September. This means that a lot of memb...
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Features, get your features! Here are our best features you're not using
February 22, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
44
#editorial, #bundles, #widget, #refinery
We’re a pretty busy crew over here at itch.io. You may have seen some of the recent posts on our updates blog detailing some of the changes we've been hard at work on. We’re all really excited to...
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Announcing the itch.io Valentine's Day Sale and Selects Bundle!
February 12, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
12
#editorial, #sales
It’s that time of year again when the days get a little brighter, the coldest part of winter is behind us, and there’s a little something in the air. That’s right it’s pollen season! Wait, it...
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Peering into the Rusty Lake: An interview with the series' creators
February 06, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
8
#editorial, #interview
If you’ve been reading the blog for long enough you’re probably already familiar with how enamored with Rusty Lake we are. The series is 12 games deep and despite that manages to surprise with eac...
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5 Questions with Porpentine, one of indie's most prolific stars
January 30, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
24
#editorial
Porpentine has had a career throughout the lifespan of the modern indie renaissance. Releasing her first games in 2012 she’s been around even longer than itch.io and her name became synonymous with...
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Everything is Going to be OK: A conversation with Nathalie Lawhead
January 16, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
39
#editorial
Nathalie Lawhead had a busy 2017. Her autobiographical digital zine Everything is Going to be OK released, was shown publicly, and was nominated for IGN’s Most Innovative Game Award. She was also bo...
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A labor of love: an interview with the developers of Love on the Peacock Express
January 09, 2018
by
Spencer Hayes
11
#editorial
Dating sim romance options are no longer stuck in the realm of high school girls and 20-something office professionals. Games like Hatoful Boyfriend and Dream Daddy have pushed the boundaries into the...
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2017
Our favorite paid games of 2017
December 28, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
27
#itchio-recommends, #editorial
This post marks the final entry in our end of year "favorite games" series. We've talked about a bunch of awesome projects that you can read about here , here , and here . But today's not about all of...
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Our favorite non-gaming content of 2017
December 21, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
24
#editorial, #itchio-recommends
One of my favorite parts of working for itch.io is seeing the community use the tools we’ve built in ways we never expected. When we first launched itch.io it was a site for games, and it still is...
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Our favorite jam games of 2017
December 14, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
15
#editorial
We’re huge fans of game jams at itch.io. We’ve got the best jam tracking page around and a good portion of our team takes part in jams on the regular. Even now, at the end of the year there are ne...
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Our favorite free games of 2017
December 07, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
41
#editorial
The year is coming to a close and we wanted to celebrate some of our favorite games of the year. This is the first of a series of posts we’ll be putting up in the coming weeks highlighting games and...
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The Challenges of Curating a Digital Museum: an Interview with Michael Berto
December 05, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
9
#editorial
The Zium Museum has been out for a little over a week now, and it’s been a project I have kept coming back to over the past days. You might be familiar with the project as a player (it’s free and...
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Developing Games and Tools from the Ocean: An Interview with Hundred Rabbits
November 21, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
22
#editorial, #interview
When covering creators and their works there is always the fear that the creator is more interesting than the work. Percy Bysshe Shelley comes to mind. When I discovered Hundred Rabbits' work I was s...
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Discounting for Developers: How and when to do it
November 09, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
21
#editorial
Discounting your game has become one of the surest ways to increase exposure in this crowded scene, but it’s also one of the most contentious. Critics argue that heavy discounting has devalued indie...
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Kickin' down doors to murder Satan: an interview with Terri Vellmann of High Hell
November 02, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
10
#editorial
“Hey you’ve got to check out this game, you shoot Satan in the face a bunch” High Hell was announced at the most recent PAX and it came out with all of the intensity and drama of kicking a door...
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Let's get sad and talk about death and stuff: An interview with Gabby DaRienzo of A Mortician's Tale
October 24, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
8
#editorial, #interview
Human bodies are gross. We’re all bags of meat and juices that (hopefully) kick around for 90 years and then stop moving. Dead bodies are even grosser. Or at least that’s what I thought before I p...
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How to maximize your launch on itch.io
October 19, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
53
#editorial
To describe the modern indie scene as “crowded” is a major understatement. Reports come out on a seemingly weekly basis that there are more games launching than ever before. Every storefront is bu...
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Let's make more mystery games
October 12, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
10
#editorial
There’s something inherently attractive about detectives. Talented crime-solvers have charmed audiences for centuries, there’s a good chance that your grandparents’ grandparents read Sherlock Ho...
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Your Game Jam Forecast for the rest of 2017
October 03, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
6
#editorial
Oh game jams how do I love thee let me count the ways: you inspire people to think creatively, you teach people to start developing, and you force people to accept scaling design. As far as I can tell...
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Kentucky Route Zero is Half-off and All-good
September 28, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
8
#editorial, #sales
Kentucky Route Zero is not a new game -- the Kickstarter launched in 2011-- but it’s definitely a fresh game. Detailing the supernatural adventures of a deliveryman on “one last job” Kentucky Ro...
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Zines are awesome, unique, and available on itch.io
September 19, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
22
#editorial
Zines -- short for magazines or fanzines -- are growing in popularity everyday. We have seen more and more of these compact works of writing crop up on itch.io and they’re consistently interesting a...
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Games are a great way to take a break from the nightmare that is 2017
September 12, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
7
#editorial
Anyone who plays games regularly understands their ability to heal. We’ve got endless books written about this, charities set up behind this idea, and now game designers explicitly making games abou...
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Your Quick Guide to Making Friends/ Talking to the Press
September 05, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
16
#editorial
So you’re making a game. That’s great! You spent countless hours and sleepless nights to make sure that your brainchild made it out into the world. Now, if you want to make rent it’s time to get...
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In Defense of Puzzle Games
August 22, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
9
#editorial
I’ve been harboring a deep secret that I need to let out: I love puzzle games. I’ve spent a few nights over the past week staying up late playing games like Rusty Lake Roots and I’ve loved every...
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Why Tacoma's UI is secretly brilliant
August 15, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
7
#editorial
A clarity of purpose is a key part of designing a game. Trimming out what is unimportant to your game is a deeply necessary act of development. This goes for all elements of your work. Tacoma understa...
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Jamming for charity: Announcing War Child's HELP game jam
August 08, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
5
#game-jam, #editorial
Sure game jams are fun. At this point everyone knows it. But what if jams were something more? What if jams could help with real world issues. War Child is a charity that works with children in some o...
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Accessibility in games is the industry's next great hurdle
July 11, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
16
#editorial
The games industry has been moving towards diversity over the past few years. We’ve been making strides to include more people of color, LGBT, and non-male leads into our games. This is amazing, but...
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The Tearoom is subversive, gay, and brilliant
July 06, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
3
#editorial
The following is Not Safe for Work. Robert Yang is one of the most banned people on Twitch. The New York-based academic and developer has created more banned games than literally every person on the p...
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In defense of visual novels
June 13, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
30
#editorial
Just like Batman, I’m here to right wrongs. Unlike Batman I care about videogames. Without punching, let’s talk about how visual novels aren’t given a fair shake and why you should give them a t...
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What every developer can learn from short games
May 30, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
52
#interview, #editorial
Games are getting longer. Look at any AAA RPG and you’ll see the industry’s race for 100 hour playtimes. But what about games that go in the opposite direction? What about microgame-- games that t...
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Tumbleseed is the next great Roguelike-like
May 09, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
9
#editorial
When I was younger I was diagnosed with a fairly rare heart condition. It didn't affect me much on the whole but there were stretches where I'd be trapped in bed for days at a time. This is where my l...
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In Our Darkest Hour, Cuteness is Here to Save Us
April 18, 2017
by
Spencer Hayes
16
#editorial
There's an unblinking face on each of the trees. When I look up, there's a face on the clouds and sun. Inside the house, there are faces on breakfast, the furniture, and the plates -- it's cute as all...
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