Skip to main content

Browse GamesGame JamsUpload GameWinter Sale 2025Developer LogsCommunity
On Sale: GamesAssetsToolsTabletopComics
Indie game storeFree gamesFun gamesHorror games
Game developmentAssetsComics
SalesBundles
Jobs
TagsGame Engines
redonihunter141 days ago

Not as a global rating.

But you could have a datasheet, for lack of a better word. You would collect all the information about the usual topics that are relevant for making something considered a higher age rating than 0.

The ratings criteria for specific countries are known, so from that datasheet a rating can be guessed. There will be some uncertainity and inaccuracy and even some dishonesty, but that is an issue for all ratings and reviews and the like.

But you would not collect that information actively. You would collect it by volunteers that just give an extensive rating after having played a game. There are people that like to do such things. Giving reviews. Combine the review with a questionaire for sensitive topics and you get a collection for that datasheet to calculate region specific rating estimates. You can even weight that rating's accuracy by previous honesty and accuracy of the reviewers.

Reply
Null141 days ago (1 edit)

I am still against the idea. Not only is it overly complicated, but you just admitted that there is a probability of dishonesty and inaccuracy. Probably extremely high, if you're talking about volunteers. Which is yet another reason why indies should not be given the same treatment as anything commerical. 

Plus, once again, every developer who has ever listed something here will still be waiting for the end  of the world, since all of the games and other media would have to be removed, played/read/looked at, reviewed (probably with a great deal of bias,) rated (with most likely a large amount of inaccuracy, and dishonesty) and then be listed again.

So, still no support at all from me.

Reply
redonihunter140 days ago

As far as I know, Steam uses just that. Because having an official rating is very costly. They just use a big questionaire and guesstimate a regional rating from the answers.

In most cases the only important decicsion is, if a game is adults only or not. Nuances, if a game is for 6, 12, 15, 16 are not all that important, but some parents might care, if a game has a 17, 16, 15 or 12 recommendation.

I have doubts that there is much incentive to lie for a developer when filling out and submitting such a questionaire. Be it for Steam or for any indie ratings board.

But I would guess that some developers would be grateful to have a "global" age recommendation for their game. On the other hand, no one will care all that much and if the dev has some level of professionalism, the game will be on Steam anyway and have their age recommendation.

What might be interesting, is some kind of online calculator. For developers to get an assessment, while the game is not finished. The aforementioned questionare plus calculation for different regions. That would be doable. And should that fly, and people would refer to that thingy a lot, it might be expaned to the ratings board in this suggestion.

Reply
Rob DVD137 days ago (1 edit)

For anyone who wishes to adopt this idea as their own, is to keep in mind the costly nature of getting a rating from other ratings bodies. Also, ITCH needs to give publishers more comprehensive options when marking their products in the mean time, also allowing an outside payment processor of the publisher’s choosing to bypass PayPal and Stripe all together 

Reply
AboutFAQBlogContact us
Copyright © 2025 itch corp · Directory · Terms · Privacy · Cookies