I’ve let our admins know about your tickets. Please don’t link to NSFW games in the main community forum.
I have seen many developers get a clear spike after an update, and I really want to understand why mine are inconsistent. i cannot build a cummunity with that kind of irregularity.
I upload a new build and post a Major Update devlog, but I sometimes miss the usual spike. I would appreciate a reply as soon as possible, before I keep updating the game without knowing what is going wrong on my side.
here a screen of the situation:
Thanks for explaining. I understand that not every major update devlog is approved for a boost ,got it.
I still wanted to share my full perspective as a developer, even if it does not change my situation.
I am a solo dev, hand drawn art, self code the game game, one monthly update.
I used to rely on the idea that following the rules (push build + major update devlog + regularity) would give the project a fair shot at visibility.
When that becomes unpredictable, it is very hard to build an audience or plan development. It starts to feel like working in a vacuum.
This is especially hard in the NSFW category, which no longer works the way it did before 2024. Since 2024 I have been de-indexed, and it took me a certain ammount of time to understand that i needed to desactivat the payment.
On top of that, there is the current environment with ai generated content. Solo developers (or other) who put more time and energy into hand-made work are competing for attention in the same ecosystem as projects that can produce content much faster. It often feels like very different levels of effort are treated the same from a visibility standpoint.
I am not asking for special treatment, and I understand you may not be able to explain individual moderation decisions. I also realize this message may not change my current situation. I just wanted to explain why this system is emotionally and practically very hard for a solo developer who depends on monthly updates to keep the project alive.
To be frank, I am close to giving up on continuing this way.
That is only my point of view.
I understand that from itch.io side, this system may work efficiently at scale, with a huge amount of data and games releasing every day.
As a developer who is part of that same mass, I still do not see a realistic path forward concerning my condition.
I am stuck in a dead end that is not about game development itself, but about visibility.
Without meaningful promotion or placement, I do not see how a project like mine can grow in a sustainable way.
I am trying to be realistic.
And also ,sorry for asking about response times. It was an instinctive reaction.