The Sale Page is Live!
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Original page description:
The Queer Halloween Stories Bundle Returns!
The Queer Halloween Stories 2022 Bundle was a privately curated mutual aid bundle that was created in order for us at Project Ensō to learn how to run larger co-op bundles on itch.io. Now that we've tested a few methods and theories, we're ready to open up applications to the Queer Halloween Stories 2023 Bundle for all queer developers to join! Our goal this year is to make it bigger, better, and a whole lot more badass.
Candy the Cyclops was originally designed by inkymaw. This year's main promotional art pictured above was drawn by Isla of milk+ visual, with logowork by Madi of Sad Ghost Studios. Alternate pixel promotional art shown at the bottom of the page was drawn by Quinn K.
So what is the Queer Halloween Stories Bundle? How do I participate?
The Queer Halloween Stories Bundle is a mutual aid bundle that runs from October 1 to November 1 directly supporting developers of narrative-driven media that relate to themes of horror or the Halloween holiday. This year, we're also opening up submissions to zines, comics, books/novels, tabletops, and other forms of media that can tell stories!
The submission period is open until August 24, 2023. To apply to the bundle, please do the following:
- Fill out this 14 question Google Form to verify your team, submissions, opt-in status, and provide review keys to the moderation team
- Join this jam page and submit your projects
Applying is free, and you may submit up to 3 projects. Both steps must be met as the Google Form is for verifying developers while the Jam Page is what itch staff will use to import the bundle submissions. The answers on the Google Form must match your submissions to the jam page in order to be considered for the final bundle.
Disclaimer: If you receive any form of financial aid from a government entity that may be jeopardized if you earn over a certain amount in a specific time period, it is your responsibility to keep accurate records for verification and recertification pursuant to program requirements, as well as reporting changes to the relevant agencies in the appropriate time period. Project Ensō is not responsible for what each bundle participant does with their share of the bundle proceeds or how it impacts them.
What can I submit to the Queer Halloween Stories Bundle?
We are accepting Digital & Physical Games, Books/Novels/Zines, and Comics, as well as Bonus Content for completed works. We accept both commercial and PWYW titles starting at $0. We are not currently accepting standalone assets (art, engines/frameworks/plugins, audio, fonts, etc.) intended for use in developing games.
Developers who wish to submit pages with pre-orders for work intended to be commercial at the end of development should send an email to projectenso.publishing@gmail.com before submitting to clear approval.
What are the submission guidelines for the Queer Halloween Stories Bundle?
To submit your work to the Queer Halloween Stories Bundle, it must meet the following conditions:
Requirements for all Submissions:
- The Lead Developer and/or Teams who made the game must be queer or majority queer
- The Lead Developer and/or members of the Teams must be all 18 years old or older
- Submissions must not contain copyrighted assets (stolen sprites, music, fonts, IP, etc.)
- Submissions must not promote or encourage violence of any nature towards minority or marginalized groups, including minors (depiction of violence towards minorities framed in a negative context is not considered promoting such acts)
- Submissions must not contain, promote or encourage any use of Web3 technologies, Cryptocurrencies, or NFT. Submissions must also not utilize AI Generated assets.
- Submissions must contain a customized thumbnail/cover image, preferably containing the logo or title of the project
- Submissions must either contain a minimum of 3 screenshots if possible, a playable web version/demo, or a customized page with descriptions of the project contents
- Submissions must list all content warnings (see this list for examples of possible content warnings)
- R-18/Adult/NSFW works are allowed but must be tagged appropriately and cannot contain explicit imagery in the thumbnail/cover image
- Developers must be able to utilize itch.io's "Collected by itch" payout option
- The owner of the itch.io page must submit their own project (please have each developer complete the application themselves)
Requirements for Games:
- There must be a strong narrative element that drives gameplay
- Games intended to be commercial upon completion, pages with demos must contain a pre-order. Developers contributing a pre-order must have a previous track record of releasing complete games (2 minimum), to be judged on a case-by-case basis
- For Games in active development/Early Access, the game build must be functional without game-crashing errors for the majority of players with the latest build being updated within a month
For Zines, Tabletop Rulebooks, and other files delivered in .pdf format that are not considered Books/Novels, pages of the work must be customized (something like Arial text on plain white pages is considered not customized)
For all submissions, at least one of the following conditions must be met for your work:
- Can be classified as Horror of any type (including psychological, yandere, "killing games," etc.)
- Take place on or around Halloween
- Include monsters/aliens, demons, ghosts, or elements of magic/witchcraft, etc. as the main focus or with a general atmosphere of either "creepy," "unnerving," "unsettling," OR "spoopy" or whimsical in a fantasy setting
We prefer projects that contain queer characters, themes, and/or narratives, but this is not a strict requirement.
If you're unsure if your project fits the theme or other criteria, you can post a message on the Jam Forum or email us at projectenso.publishing@gmail.com for us to review. You may submit up to 3 projects. The application moderation team reserves the right to reject projects for any purpose as they see fit.
What criteria will submissions be accepted on?
Our moderation team will judge submissions on these criteria, in this order:
- Other acts of community work done (does this applicant host another mutual aid bundle, moderate a positive creator community, write advice articles, etc.?)
- Quality of work
- Length of work
- Financial need of applicant
Submissions are voted upon by the moderation team and must meet a minimum amount of approvals to be accepted. Applicants who opt out of receiving funds are often accepted, so long as no violations in their submissions are found.
In addition, developers who often collaborate together may be examined closely, and we may prioritize the financial needs of one of those collaborators in order to ensure that funds are distributed as fairly as possible. We acknowledge that itch.io currently does not support true revenue splits within projects and apologize for this inconvenience.
How can I increase the likelihood of my submission being accepted?
The following bullet list is not to be taken as hard and fast rules, but rather suggestions:
- Submit projects that are newer or of significant length
- Submit your best work
- Applicants who submit their projects early have a higher chance of being accepted, as we have limited slots for distributing revenue and attempt to review entries as we receive them to reduce the burden on the moderation team
- Your itch.io page should be customized and look appealing (view Easy Releasy by Jannik Boysen for help on this)
- User Interface or Page Design should be customized and pleasing to the eyes
- itch.io profile, Website, or Social Media must explicitly state that the Developer and/or Team identify as queer in some form if using that method of verification (please don't make us hunt for this information, as this slows down the screening process)
Please submit full URLs for questions that require links. We anticipate receiving a large number of submissions, so please do not create extra work for our moderation team. Applications that make our moderation team work harder may be rejected in the interest of time.
What is the price point of the bundle? How are funds split? How much can I expect to earn if I opt in?
Following the common pricing structure of similar bundles, we anticipate hosting a $60 Edition and $10 Pay-What-You-Can Edition of the bundle that both contains the same projects in order to allow lower income customers to contribute without jeopardizing their financial situation.
The funds that this bundle earns will be distributed equally between all developers who opt in to receive the money it earns through sales on itch.io. Based on data from the Queer Games Bundle, Trans Witches Are Witches Bundle, Indiepocalpse, and other mutual aid efforts, we estimate that each developer may earn approximately $300-$400 or so depending on how many applicants we receive. We will set the final earnings goal to reflect this. As this is the second year that the Queer Halloween Stories Bundle will run, we are still gathering data as to the potential performance of this bundle.
How long is the Google Form application?
This application contains up to 14 questions, though you may not have to answer all of them. We suggest that you set aside at least 10-15 minutes to complete it.
What happens to information I submit into the Google Form application?
The information you submit to us will be kept confidential and is solely used for context when considering your application. Applicants who wish to opt into receiving funds will be asked questions about their financial need. You may decline to answer these questions with the understanding that if your application is rejected, you cannot submit an appeal.
If I submit my game to the bundle, do you own it?
Nope! Project Ensō will not claim ownership of any projects selected to participate in the Queer Halloween Stories Bundle. We may use screenshots and videos of your game to promote the bundle on social media, as well as ask you to provide Streaming/Review Keys to members of the press.
