thanks for sharing this. i know the gamejolt story well. they were friends, we’d (the two founders) would hang out at events whenever any of us where at the same festival, hugs n stuff, they interviewed me a bunch, said they supported my work no matter what, named a drink at one of their parties after my game, etc etc… then they took down my games because of that policy. they never gave me an explanation either, even if my games didn’t have sexual content. they said they reverted it but took my games down anyway. i wrote about that https://www.nathalielawhead.com/candybox/on-gamejolts-new-policy-why-stigmatizing-sex-in-games-is-harmful-to-the-medium-and-never-works
it’s an example of the empty platitudes platforms give queer creators but then stab them in the back when no longer of use to them.
i feel for pornographic devs and think they are a canary in the coal mine for how experimental work is treated. it impacts queer work the most and is often a smokescreen for targeting queer work.
personally i wish people would read this in a broader scope (what success is and that traditional capitalist models are not sustainable, we need to create that for ourselves…) rather than assuming i’ve had it easy and just had accolades dropped in my lap when the entire existence here has been a heartbreaking uphill struggle (you can read about how i was treated by game journalists for example), but this struggle is one i believe in and don’t want to give up. i have a right to exist, so that keeps me going. if i give up then i admit that the world has no place for someone like me.
i hope your work gets the respect it deserves someday. the way we treat anything surrounding porn is wrong.