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Game and Post not appearing anywhere after publishing

A topic by GoodGuyGames created 13 days ago Views: 189 Replies: 16

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Hi!

So I recently (8 days ago) published a game (Blue Princess) and a devlog post about its release, but no matter how hard I tried, I didn't get to find them anywhere on the site (not on most recent, not by searching and not by scrolling the whole itch games page).

I read the post about visibility and indexing, and everything is ok; its checked as public (both options unchecked), it has cover image and screenshots, has downloadable content, etc., its free and does NOT have any NSFW content.

Up until now, eveytime I uploaded a game/post, it instantly appeared on the site, but now, everything has changed. Even publishing new game/post for test also makes no difference. So I think the problem is not with the game, but rather the site or my account.

I even emailed the itch.io support, but after 8 days and 2 emails, still no response from them.

So can anyone help me here?

Thank you :)

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No Time To PlayModerator13 days ago

Yes, as explained in the unofficial FAQ that can happen. Eight days isn't unusual. And as you might have noticed from countless posts, support may not be able to answer so quickly either. Please worry about promoting your game, not testing the system. Hope this helps.

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GoodGuyGames13 days ago

Well first of all thanks for answering me, but 8 days is A LOT considering my past games (7 games) were published instantly (+countless of instantly published posts), so there IS a problem and as I said, the problem is that I can't publish any game/post for some reason. How can I fairly promote a game that has already lost so many ways of promotion!

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No Time To PlayModerator13 days ago (1 edit) (+1)

...Yes, it depends on the game. It's not a simple, fixed rule. And you're supposed to promote your own game through any means at your disposal, from this community to social media. Indexing is not a tool for promotion and you shouldn't rely on your game being indexed. Our admins said as much many times.

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GoodGuyGames13 days ago

The problem is not indexing, its the game/post not appearing at all, for the first time in 2 years of me publishing games on this site. I'm searching for the root of this problem not promoting this game only.

I think if there is a queue in which games wait to be approved before being published on the site, at least the developer should be aware of it, not thinking there is a bug (like instead of "published" tag, it gets "waiting for approval" tag or something like that, which is already exists in many various sites).

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No Time To PlayModerator13 days ago (3 edits)

...Not appearing at all... Where?! I can see your game just fine on your profile. The page is published, and fully functional. It's just not indexed yet. And devlogs also have to be approved by itch.io staff before they show up in their section. That's separate from the project page where your post shows up just fine.

And yes, this feature has been last suggested three days ago. Until it's implemented, please follow official advice. It's your best bet.

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GoodGuyGames13 days ago

Why did it not appear on most recent page then (As its a very good way of promotion, and it can also lead to popular and recent, which is even better for promoting)? When will it be on recently published games then? After approval, or never?!

Good to hear that's being implemented :)

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No Time To PlayModerator13 days ago(+2)

...Because it's not indexed yet. That's what indexed means, as explained in the documentation you claim to have read. And yes, it will show up there after being reviewed by itch.io staff, as explained in the same documentation. And I didn't say it's being implemented. I said until it's implemented. Hope this helps.

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GoodGuyGames13 days ago

Ok that helped a lot.

But that's odd (and not satisfying) anyway, moving from everything being indexed instantly for 2 years to suddenly nothing indexed even after 8 days!

Thank you again.

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redonihunter12 days ago(+1)

There are people waiting over a month to get their game indexed. And that is not even unusual. You have had 7 games indexed right away. Still indexed, I might add. I believe those people might want to have a word with you... ;-)

And frankly, you need better promotion than existing for 5 minutes on page 1 of recent games. You had 7 games do that and existed for 2 years with those games. It does not look like that turned out to be effective promotion. That's not "good" promotion, that's zero promotion and views/plays are accidental.

In my opinion, if you want to do passive promotion, adjust your tags. Be findable for people that seek your type of game. (That needs indexing as well, but is not dependant on being on page 1 of recent for 5 minutes). Ditch the manual no-ai, singleplayer and godot tags. Those add nothing to describe your game and you can add more tags to distinguish what the game is about. At best you manage to find the tags your target audience is looking for.

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GoodGuyGames12 days ago

Thanks for the great advices dude : They were so insightful.

My problem is not with indexing, promoting or anything, I make games for fun, but the sudden change of instant index to many days makes me believe that there is something wrong with the system. Why some games indexed instantly, (without review of course) while some other take days/weeks to be indexed. The problem is with the indexing system, if I publish the same games from before, they are going to be indexed after some days, not instantly. Nothing changed in my games, but the timing required for them to be indexed changed for no reason.

I think games that are going to be indexed should get an estimated time-to-index. Right now I have to wait for an unknown amount of time just for my game to be indexed. (yes, you don't need to tell me waiting for indexing is not a good strategy, etc. etc. you already made that point correctly and clearly! But my problem is something else and I hope I made it clear.)

What type of tags do you generally advice me to add in my games?

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