itch.io

This forum is answered by the community, not by staff members. The moderator is a volunteer from the community, meaning that no one who can answer you here can provide a response or review your page.

You'd have to try contacting support via email. But from what I've read in other posts, the review process might take some time.

You can try your luck by offering the translation here:
https://itch.io/board/10020/help-wanted-or-offered

Creating a video game is not considered "fair use" and it's not a gray area. The ITCH Terms of Service clearly state that you must own the rights to all the content you upload, and creating a drawing of another company's IP does not give you the right to commercialize or redistribute that content, because it is registered and protected by law.

That being said, with fan games, the following often happens:

- ITCH does not actively enforce the rule. In other words, if you upload content using a company's IP, ITCH won't say anything, but if that company files a complaint with ITCH, they will take down your game.

- Some companies are very protective of their content, but fan games usually have so little impact that they never even know they exist, or they're so obscure that it's not worth paying a lawyer to send a cease and desist letter. The problem here is that if your game gains notoriety, you could end up receiving a cease and desist notice or that the company could file a complaint with Itch. (For example, the Streets of Rage fan game).

- Some companies don't mind you creating fan games of their works or IPs, for example, Capcom. In these cases, as long as you're not making a profit, these companies won't ban or file a complaint about your game.

Buenas.

Primero, no escribas en mayúsculas, cuando lo haces, se considera que estás gritando, lo que se considera rudo y muchas personas pasaran de responderte solo por eso.

Segundo,  coloca el link a la página de Itch del juego, si no, la gente no sabrá a que juego haces referencia, Itch tiene más  de un millón de juegos y colocar el link a twitch no ayuda a saber a que juego te refieres.

Tercero, siempre trata de dar la mayor cantidad de información sobre el problema.
No lo dices, pero por el mensaje, creo que estás usando la aplicación de Itch, en ese caso, el problema puede ser que el juego no tenga cliente nativo para tu OS, por ejemplo, que estés usando linux y el juego solo tiene versión para windows.
Otra alternativa, es que el juego no esté bien configurado por el desarrollador (por ejemplo, el desarrollador no indicó que el juego funciona en windows y por ende la aplicación de Itch  cree que el juego no funciona en windows), en ese caso, lo mejor es que se lo informes al desarrollador  y trates de bajar manualmente el juego utilizando la página web del juego dentro de Itch.

At the bottom of every game page, there's a link that says "report," that link lets you report that game directly to the Itch staff.

I doubt support will answer you about a problem with the app; I'd say you'd be better off trying the application's GitHub repository.
https://github.com/itchio/itch

It seems Itch removed the credit card payment option from all games with NSFW content due to a request from the company that manages that payment, and there's no indication that this will change.

Another possibility is that the game developer themselves changed the payment method to "direct to you." In that case, it's the developer, not Itch, who determines whether the game can be purchased by credit card and/or PayPal.

PS: You might not know this, but PayPal works almost everywhere in the world; you don't need to live in the US to open and use a PayPal account.

From what I've read, this solves the problem:

https://github.com/itchio/itch/issues/3369

Your answer has confused me a bit. As far as I remember, there isn't a tax treaty form you need to fill out.

To sell under the "Collected by Itch" program, you must complete the tax interview. In it, you must provide your real information, and once it's validated, the percentage of sales tax withheld in the U.S. will be automatically determined based on your country of residence.

U.S. law requires a 30% withholding rate, but this percentage will be lower in the case of double taxation treaties between your country of residence and the U.S. You simply need to provide your accurate and truthful information in the tax interview that Itch requires you to complete, and that's all.

There's no automatic way to grant access only to your followers.

The alternative is to create a project with restricted access and distribute keys manually. You can revoke these keys if you want to block someone's access, but you'll have to manage them manually.

Regarding your second question, the staff doesn't usually answer the forum (sometimes the admin answers a question or two, but it's very unlikely), so no one could tell you if there are plans for that, but I doubt it. If you read the forum or the suggestions section, you'll see that many requests are more urgent or affect more people and haven't been implemented for years, so I don't think something like what you're asking for is a priority or on the staff's agenda.

EDIT:

I almost forgot, but in restricted mode you also have the option to set a password to limit access.

You should contact support via email:

https://itch.io/support

When you do, you should receive an automatic confirmation email with your support ticket number, which you can optionally share here and politely ask the moderator if they can inform the staff about your issue. (Please note that contacting them by email should be sufficient, but due to the high volume of work at the end of the year, support response times are considerably longer.)

I completely disagree.

There are people who continue selling or receiving donations because they don't depend on being indexed on Itch, since they have their own external advertising network. By mandatory disabling the payments, you're making the decision for them and forcing them to choose a path, instead of giving them the freedom to choose for themselves, which is always a terrible design choice and something I will always oppose.

You started making accusations against me, so don't do what you don't like. It's that simple.

I also consider your previous response a provocation against me, and this is ending up like a fight between two blind people, which I see is the case. So, whatever.

I'll block you, you block me, and we'll avoid reading each other's messages. Have a good day.

"It's NOT a fact that it was Itch's negligence?" This is a statement! Are you defending them?

As I mentioned earlier, you don't need to convince me of anything. I don't work for Itch, and I answered your question in good faith, based on my knowledge.  But you must understand that there is a big difference between what you perceive VS what you must objectively prove in court.

I completely understand your anger and frustration, but I'm not the one to take it out on, and I don't have to put up with it. So, with your attitude, I'm not going to play along. Go ahead and take it out on anyone who doesn't agree with you 100%, but at least don't count on me.

Have a good day, and I wish you all the best in resolving the issue and getting paid. 

EDIT:

If you want to reply, step away from the keyboard, rest, sleep, and reread this, leaving your anger aside. Otherwise, please don't even bother replying, thank you.

EDIT 2:

Another thing: With these rules ....don't ask because there is no support.... is a joke in a forum called "Questions & Support"

This is what I mean: before a judge, the channel's name doesn't matter, because the rules state that this forum is answered by the community, and there's nowhere that Itch commits to responding to you or contacting you through this channel.

If you were to sue them over this, you would lose in 99% of cases.

What I'm trying to do is answer your questions objectively, not flatter you.

I don't see the problem as being on your end.

Normally, if a group or game requires a specific style, it's their responsibility to communicate this before accepting someone, not the other way around.

What you can do is have a portfolio with samples of your style so the team can review them before deciding whether or not to accept you.

That said, it's also not uncommon for a team that's initially formed to eventually split up because, once the ideas to be developed are finalized, they might choose a style that wasn't entirely clear at the beginning of the process.

My personal advice is not to dwell too much on this incident and continue looking for other teams; it's normal for some jam projects to fail, but others will turn out well.

Whenever legal matters are discussed, it's best to seek advice from an expert, in this case, a lawyer, and not base these kinds of decisions on opinions from random people in a public forum.

Some common sense points: legally, your work is with your employer, not Itch. In other words, the only person who could legally take action is your employer, not you, since Itch doesn't legally owe you money. Remember that these legal issues need to be very specific.

Delay in payment is equivalent to unilateral breach of contract, right?!

It depends. If the terms of service specify that payment must be made within a certain timeframe and that timeframe isn't met, then yes.

Otherwise, it can be quite complex. For example, the tax information might have expired and need to be resubmitted. In that case, Itch wouldn't be legally responsible for the delay, etc.

After months of no response, would it be right for the dispute to go to court?! 

Going to court is always an option, but the key is to be certain you have a legal basis for your claim. Otherwise, you're likely to lose, and you could even face a countersuit. That's why it's crucial to seek advice from a specialist lawyer.

Could all of this apply to interest due to the delay in payment and the depreciation of the money?

It depends on the terms of the lawsuit. If you can prove negligence and that it caused damages, you may be able to claim interest and even the costs of those damages.
I want to emphasize a very important point: just because you feel you're right doesn't mean you're legally right. Above all, you must prove your points, not just rely on common sense.
In other words, it's a fact that Itch has been late in paying your employer, but it's NOT a fact that it was Itch's negligence. You would need to prove that.

Please don't try to show it to me. I'm just telling you what I know. If you have proof or want to discuss it, it's best to do so with a specialist lawyer.

I don't think the bank would be responsible for this, but if it's true, then Itch should forward the charge to the bank. That's not our business, not our contract!

I don't know what contracts you have or the details of your case, but if your employer's bank denied Itch's payment, that could be a legal excuse. I know I'm going to sound repetitive, but I'll say it again: it's best to consult with a specialist lawyer.

Not a single official support person has been here yet because there is no support team (a.i.?)!

I don't quite understand this. The rules clearly state that Itch support cannot be contacted via the forum. By posting here, you are agreeing to these rules, and while I understand the frustration caused by the lack of information, the rules are clear on this point. You simply cannot contact staff or support through the forum.

The thing is, this forum is answered by the community, not the staff (no, the moderator is a volunteer, not an Itch staff member).

I understand your frustration, but what the moderator is pointing out is that you're not contacting the staff here, and they're not going to respond. So, there's really not much point in continuing to insist this way. Personally, I don't see a problem with you doing it, but you should keep in mind that the staff isn't going to respond or provide a solution through this channel.

Regarding the problem, from what I've seen (and personally), this issue doesn't affect all users. I haven't had any problems accessing the application, and perhaps that's why the staff hasn't been able to resolve the problem, since they may not have been able to reproduce it. And to answer your next question, no, Itch doesn't have an IT team dedicated to patching the application (please don't ask me why, I don't know; I don't work for Itch either, and I'm simply explaining how Itch works, not defending it).

The application is open source and on GitHub. In theory, anyone who knows how to solve the problem could commit the solution.

Remember that the available balance is only an estimate. The final amount you receive is only calculated when you request a withdrawal, not before, and in my experience, you always receive more than the available balance indicates.

Also, since you haven't requested your first withdrawal yet, your interview hasn't been validated, so the system is currently showing your 30% tax withholding. Don't worry, when you request your first payment, Itch will validate your interview, correct the tax withholding, and pay you the correct amount.

In any case, when you get paid, you can download a document with the details for your review, but in my experience, Itch has never made a mistake when paying me.

Gross revenue is the total net sales you have accumulated for that project. Note that if you make a withdrawal, gross revenue is not reset.

Available balance is an estimate of the money you will actually receive after all applicable deductions.

Deductions can be divided into three parts: the transaction fee charged by PayPal or Stripe, which is usually around $0.50 USD plus 3% of each transaction

Itch percentage, which is 10% by default.

Withholding tax: If you haven't made any withdrawals yet, your tax interview hasn't been validated, and the ESTIMATE balance is calculated using a 30% withholding tax on all your sales.
When you request a withdrawal, Itch will validate your interview and calculate the final withholding tax based on your country of residence. This final withholding tax only applies to sales originating from the USA, and this calculation is only done when you request a withdrawal.

Note: Validating your tax interview costs $3, which will be deducted from your first withdrawal.

Example for ESTIMATE balance:

12 - (0.5 + 12*3% PAYMENT FEE) -12*30% WITHHOLDING TAX - 12*0% ITCH REVENUE = 7.54 per sale * 7 sales = 52.78  approximate

How much do you actually receive?

It will depend on your country of residence and the countries of your buyers. The estimate Itch uses for available balance is the worst-case scenario, where you live in a country that doesn't have a tax treaty with the USA and all your sales were made from the USA.

In the best-case scenario, your withholding tax is 0%, so you only need to deduct the payment fee

The latest stable version of Debian is 12. So yes, the problem is that you're using a very old version of Linux, and it's recommended that you try to upgrade to a more recent one.

Some games will work for you; for example, a game created with Ren'Py 7 will probably work, but if someone is using the latest version of Ren'Py (I think it's 8.4), you'll have problems with those games.

But which distribution?
Debian? Fedora? Ubuntu? Mint?

The error message is looking for a specific version of GLIBC that you don't have. This problem can occur because you're using a very old version of Linux and that game used a new version of renpy.

Try running the following command and tell me which version you have.

cat /etc/os-release

EDIT:

im so sorry for the bother again, youre not obligated to continue helping me at all!

Don't worry, I'll try to help you as much as my knowledge allows ;)

Without more information, it's hard to say. I've tested Ren'Py on modern Ubuntu systems and it's never given me any problems.

Try the following: Go to the folder where you extracted the game, right-click anywhere in that folder, and you should see an option that says something like "Open the terminal here."

Click that option, and it will open the terminal with the path to that folder. Type:

./<name_file>.sh

Replace <name_file> with the correct name of your file and then paste the error message here. Let's see if we can resolve it.

EDIT:

Or paste the "Log.txt" file that renpy generate. 

The advantage of the command line is that it usually shows you the error message if you can't run something, so you can search for and resolve it.

I was searching, and in Itch, "the-life-of-me" appears as a VN programmed in Ren'Py.

Normally, Ren'Py works quite well natively on Linux.

Try the following:

Download the PC version.

You'll have the game in a .zip file. The first thing you should do is extract it. Usually, if you right-click on the .zip file, you'll have an option that says "extract here."

Extract the game, and in the extracted files, look for one with the .SH extension.

Normally, before you can run a program, you must give it execute permissions. You can do this using commands, but most modern desktops allow you to do it visually.

This may vary depending on your desktop environment. In my case, I use KDE, and the way to do it is:

Right-click on the file with the .SH extension and go to "Properties."

In the Properties window, find the "Permissions" tab and check the box that says "Allow execution of the file as a program." Click OK, and now, if you double-click on the .SH file, it should launch Ren'Py and the game.

From what I understand, it's similar to GitHub. You have your game files in the final version, but you also have a change history, and it's supposed to be possible to recover an older version thanks to that history, but I've never tried it.

Butler manages that history automatically. Your players and the website should only see the latest version. If someone downloads your game, they only download the latest version and not the history, so it shouldn't be a problem.

It depends. The problem is that most games are designed for Windows and can't be run directly on Linux.

To run them, you need to use Wine or Proton, and depending on the game's complexity, it can be as simple as running `wine game_name.exe` or as complex as installing and configuring dependencies. It's something you have to check on a game-by-game basis.

Now, if the game has a native Linux version, it's usually simpler. You just need to run the main file, which will often be a .SH or .APPIMAGE file, although most are simply files with the game's name but no extension.

The simplest solution is to use Steam. The Steam client installs Proton and configures everything automatically, and it works with the vast majority of games. It's by far the simplest and easiest way.

The problem isn't that he has files he doesn't need; it's that the devlog is showing him the change history (I assume Butler generates that automatically), and I haven't found a way to alter that history.

What you're doing isn't technically changing the version, but rather creating a new file and deleting the old one. That's why you see a clean history in the devlog, but the downside is that you're preventing the itch app from automating updates.

The problem with that is that you prevent the Itch app from automatically updating games.

Your players will have to download the entire game manually with each new version.

Post? I think you mean devlogs.

Someone who knows more can correct me, but as far as I understand, what you're seeing is the change history of that channel so you can associate it with your devlog. From what I've read, Itch doesn't offer any commands to manipulate that history, but in theory, it shouldn't affect you at all. The idea is that when you write a devlog, you'll be doing so based on the latest version you upload.

As explained in what you read, the problem isn't following the guidelines, and there's not much you can do on your end. You haven't done anything wrong.

The problem is that your game needs to be reviewed by a human before being indexed. This human review can take several days, simply because there aren't enough staff members available to do it sooner, and that's something you can't fix on your end, period.

What can you do?
What you're already doing: not relying on being indexed and promoting your game.

Will asking for help here help?
It depends. I've seen two situations. Sometimes a game gets stuck in limbo for some reason, and getting the staff's attention allows those games to be reviewed again.
But if the game is in the normal process, meaning it's waiting its turn to be reviewed, then writing here doesn't seem to have any effect.

The staff does not read or answer this forum; instead, it is answered by the community. If you need to contact the staff, you must contact support.

Hi, a few things:

First, the staff doesn't read or reply to this forum; it's answered by the community. If you need to contact the staff, you should contact support.

Second, Itch changed its search system a while ago. Usernames are no longer indexed. If you search by username, Itch will show you the indexed games associated with that account. If that account doesn't have any indexed games, then it won't show anything.

Third, the homepage is populated with games from people you follow and games featured by the staff. This has nothing to do with being indexed, and it's not something you can request. If your game is good and the staff likes it, they'll select it and show it on the homepage.

Fourth, I recommend you read the unofficial guide written by the moderator, as it explains the process. But basically, many games have to be manually reviewed by a staff member before being indexed (not all games), and that waiting list can take several days.

Itch doesn't offer a way to automatically split the profits from a single project among multiple people. The only option is to do it manually.

Itch allows you to automatically split profits if it's a bundle with multiple collaborators.

It's possible to modify RPG Maker to create the TRPG you want, but the problem is that modifying it requires a certain level of proficiency with the tool. If you use someone else's plugin (for example, I found one here: https://himeworks.itch.io/grid-battle-system), you'll be limited to what that plugin allows unless you know how to modify it.

If you search, you'll likely find templates for Unity and Godot. I found this one for Godot 4:
https://github.com/ramaureirac/godot-tactical-rpg

Exactly which path is easier depends on you and your prior knowledge. Personally, I would spend a few days with each option to see which one  are more comfortable or which one  as having more potential.

If you want to focus on the game itself, it's best to look for a specific engine. One option could be RPG Maker with a plugin like MZ3D.

If you want to use a generic engine, based on what you've said, I'd recommend Godot over Unity, since its GDscript language is very similar to Python, making it easier for you to adapt.

It depends. There are types of games where the story is very important and others where it isn't.

For example, a visual novel or interactive fiction will be good or bad depending on the quality of its story.

In games like RPGs, the story can make the difference between an average game and a memorable one.

In arcade-style games, the story is merely decorative.

It's impossible to give a single, simple answer because the importance of a story within a game depends heavily on the gameplay style, as player expectations change depending on the type of game they're looking for.

A general piece of advice: never try to force a player to read or follow the story. Try to be friendly and give each player the option of whether or not they want to read the story of your game.

For example, never force your players to read or watch an introduction that explains the story; always try to make it optional. Something I've noticed is that many games allow you to delve deeper into the folklore of the story through collectible items, etc.

I can't agree with what you're saying. A business is successful if it generates profits at a lower cost, period.

I agree that on a personal level, it's not the same. You can consider yourself successful without necessarily generating profits, and I agree that you should pursue your happiness, which isn't the same as just making money.

But in my experience, if someone has to ask questions, it's because they're not clear about what they want. You talk about catharsis, but making a decision like the one he's proposing has consequences, consequences that I think he doesn't fully understand. He's chasing an idealized dream, and if that dream doesn't come true (which is most likely), it turns into a nightmare full of frustrations where he ends up questioning himself. At that point, there's no catharsis, no happiness, no success, but rather depression. And that risk is hidden from him behind pretty words like being persevering.

If he wants to take the risk, it's his life, let him do it, I wish him the best, but he should do it fully aware of the risks and the reality. If he's clear about what he wants and understands the risks, then, normally, those people don't question whether they're making a mistake, because they know what they want and what they're aiming for. That's the difference.

Let me see if I understand you.

- This person needs to ask if they're making a mistake, which indicates they don't know what they're getting into.

- This person needs to ask why their game has so few downloads. This indicates they haven't studied the market or read the hundreds of post-mortem analyses that discuss the risks of creating video games.

- This person is giving up a job with a secure salary to pursue a dream, without knowing the risks or the reality of the field they want to enter?

And you're telling me you don't consider that a bad decision?

And by the way, I'm not talking about ALL startups or ALL entrepreneurs; I'm talking about this specific case and based on what they've asked.

EDIT:

And by the way, what I meant by mistake was quitting their current job, that is, jumping headfirst into making a living creating video games without a safety net. I made it very clear in my first comment that they should NOT quit their job, but  create their video game in their spare time. If their game is successful, then he should quit their current job, NOT before. That's what I meant by the mistake, and that's the question they posed in the title.

That has nothing to do with innovation; it has to do with using their head when venturing into a market that is new to them.

Remove all adult content tags and descriptions, and then, in the metadata section of the dashboard, uncheck the option that says "Has sensitive content."

After that, you'll have to wait for the staff to review it. If they don't, contact them again and clarify that the content is just a demo without NSFW content.

Short answer to your main question: yes.

What you're saying, I've read dozens of times over the years. The harsh truth is that the video game market has been oversaturated for a long time, and making a quality game isn't enough. You need a marketing strategy that gives your game visibility to potential buyers and an understanding of the market or niche you want to enter (and even then, there are no guarantees).

Some people have built a community over years and, thanks to platforms like Patreon, are able to make a living developing games.

Others look for a publisher or pay for advertising, and if they have a visually appealing product, they manage to position themselves and sell well.

A few are lucky enough to have their games become well-known.

But the vast majority don't get more than a few hundred or, if they're lucky, a thousand downloads.

Trying to make a living from this without knowledge or a community is too risky, and it would be best to continue working a stable job that allows you to live comfortably and dedicate yourself to creating games in your free time. If you are consistent, it is possible that you will build a community that allows you to quit your job and live off this, but it is highly recommended that you only make that leap when you are already on solid ground.