itch.io

Draw yourself. Create a character that looks like you, but with the complete opposite appearance. Imagine looking into a parallel dimension where everything is the opposite. Not in the sense that black becomes white, etc. Rather, it should have a bias toward details that would be absurd for you. In other words, it's you, no one knows you better than you do. If you saw yourself from this perspective, you would say, "This can't be me. What nonsense." At least, this thought experiment often helps me when I'm in the same situation as you. It doesn't matter what we draw or create, any creativity is part of ourselves. Therefore, we are much more likely to find inspiration if we turn inward and give ourselves the opportunity to see ourselves from different perspectives.

What I will say will most likely be wrong for someone and may not be liked by the majority. So be it. But I think that, in a place dedicated to games created by lone developers, the most important game is his own, so I want to answer exactly like this. I want to love my creation. What I create will always be a part of me, and of course, it's important to me that this part of me becomes something for others. This is exactly why games are created.

You look a lot like of the oc in my game.

I'm not a professional coder, I've only been doing it for a year. In many ways, my decisions are the result of random experimentation. However, if you're serious about this, I'd be happy to talk to you about it. Add me on Discord. :)

You have a very bright and enjoyable game. It's unhurried, and I would even say it's meditative. It's a pity your time was so limited. It would be great to see brighter endings that feel like rewards, such as the opportunity to give Travis freedom. Either way, you're very good at what you do.

I'm so glad you had fun, it makes me happy. Thank you for telling me about it, it's important to me. Sometimes, visual novels in this format need an element of mystery that borders on meanness. It's similar to real life, where, in a moment of danger, you don't know what to do or which choice is right.

I am very grateful to you, of course. But you were obviously not interested in the plot. Lol. You skipped through the whole game so fast that you never even got to one of the two endings.

It's very unusual to play this after Ren'py. Games created in RPG Maker have a completely different atmosphere. Of course, the freedom of movement in large areas wins here, you immediately want to explore everything, it feels like an adventure. I would like to add more secrets in different corners of the map that you can interact with. Like some side mini quests. Things you can stumble upon that have nothing to do with the main storyline. Anyway, you're doing great! The rendering is very high quality, it feels like it was done with sympathy for the project. I like it.

I am really happy that you liked my visual novel so much. I noticed your comment on F95 right away. Comments like that still make me hysterically excited! After all, I am more of an illustrator than a game developer.

Your visual novel is wonderful, too. Maybe more liberated than mine, but in many ways it helps create the right atmosphere. Your game promotes the idea of a female protagonist, which I think is a great thing, because there are really very few games like this.

I will definitely get a developer badge. Thanks for the advice, I really need it. It means a lot to me. Sometimes every newbie needs someone to tell you directly about their experience. It really helps.

The H-Games market is oversaturated, it is true. But as an avid gamer in the relatively recent past, I can say that very few games really offer something new and unique to the player. In my case, I offer something long forgotten, something that has been lost in the current modern trends. In my opinion, a visual novel must first and foremost be a visual novel.

Thank you very much for your attention to my project.

I also wish you good luck.

I fully support you.

The problem with things like this is definitely not the pornography, but the biased attitude towards pornography. It is a common taboo, and that is the only reason age ratings exist. I mean, in the end, you decide what you want to play, what you want to watch, what you want to interact with. No one is forcing anyone to click their finger in the right order so that they end up with content they don't want, and the only one to blame is the one clicking their finger. No bans will ever change the fact that kids will get around age restrictions and get pornography.

What I am saying is that the industry needs a new genre that separates it from everything ordinary and limited. It doesn't have to be pornography, but bold and open choices can add spice to the subject matter. Like seasoning a dish.

If the author wants to show a brutal collision with reality, then there will be blood, death and sex with all kinds of perversions. Because this is the real world and the author wants to bring his work closer to these dark contrasts, not because he wants to build a plot around porn. There are a lot of such porn games and real masterpieces get lost among them because they get an adult rating after the fact. And I am not saying that the rating is unfair, but it is precisely because of the lack of a more appropriate genre, that there are still people on this planet who have never seen Game of Thrones and think that it is a show about sagging breasts and asses.

It is precisely because of the biased attitude that the industry works with restrictions in favor of the bias of the mass consumer. And the result is a Minecraft movie overflowing with fan service and ass-level jokes, and not a movie about Minecraft with a philosophical dive into the deep secrets of this cubic universe, where end-mutation, zombie virus and inter-dimensional travel are discussed. I say that in the modern world it has become more profitable to build an empty plot on conventions, because real exploration of the world is supposedly boring and unfashionable.

I am immensely grateful for your kind comment, these words warm my heart.

The 18+ rating is nothing more than an agreement with the policy of the genre, but it is a necessary condition to create a fair game capable of immersing the player in deep and important issues.

This is a really interesting subject. It goes much deeper than it seems at first glance.

Games or porn games.
Games for everyone or games for grown-ups.
Ordinary games or games with a twist.
Boring games or games that speak of the sublime.

Everyone has their own tastes and preferences when it comes to games.

It is really nice to notice that in modern realities the trend of interest is gradually shifting towards "games that speak about the sublime", capable of giving not only the game in its usual form, but also new spectrums of sensations, and not just ordinary pornography just for the sake of hot content.

Any game can be original, but only a few games are brave, capable of telling unvarnished reality and giving the player a truly unique experience.

The balance between restrictions can drive the developer crazy, but in the end you just have to accept reality. You can call your game open and honest, you can build interesting storylines on top of adult content, you can make it more romantic or darker, you can make it much more alive. But at the end of the day, it still has explicit scenes and it is an adult game, and there will always be people who will call it porn. Black and white are enough for the foundation, but blurred tones are already for sophisticated connoisseurs

Thank you.  :)

Thank you very much for your positive feedback, it means a lot to me. I'm glad you liked it.   :)

The full release of my game is now a dream that I am striving for and putting everything I have into it. I'm very sorry, but I can't tell you the exact release date. I'm making the game by myself, while I study and work. It took me a whole year to make the prologue, it was a difficult time for me. Now I'm creating Episode 1 and I really want to finish it within the next two months. I need more luck.

Thank you so much for telling me, I'm so glad you liked it. :)

Amazing song, great that you shared it with me, I was listening to it for the first time.
"Take these broken wings and learn to fly again, learn to live so free."
It makes me feel calmer and very inspiring. It will be on my playlist now.

Thank you very much for your interest in my game. I hope you will play it and share your impressions with me.

As for the size, I will say the following: When unpacked, the game will be "966MB". Art illustrations weigh "147MB". Character sprites and elements for them weigh "124MB". Sounds and music weigh "128MB". Videos weigh "497MB", most of which is taken up by the two final videos, which were created to make a special impression on players.

The largest illustration weighs "3MB", I think that's okay.  Anyway, thanks for your ideas :)

Thank you for your positive comment! It means a lot to me. You have given me the strength to continue with my project. This is first comment for my game and I will always remember it.    :)

My game has been indexed and I want to summarize it.

Here's what I'll tell you: worry, study more materials, read, develop and look for answers. It's paradoxical, but it's very important to balance in yourself the one who doesn't stand still and the one who is ready to be patient. This is the only way to save precious time. And you won't waste your energy and your nerves.

And I'll tell you what I wanted to hear from the very beginning: everything will be okay, you'll be successful. This place is a really good opportunity for those who are just starting out as a developer.

There are those who are ready to help you, you are not alone, so never give up. But even in a friendly environment there is always danger, there are criminals who want to do a lot of dirty tricks. There is a constant battle with them, and therefore you must learn to be part of this well-coordinated battle. Everyone starts from a small seed, you just have to accept that as a fact. But what will happen next with your game, what it will grow into, what fruits it will bear, depends only on you.

For me personally, these few downloads and the long-awaited positive comment mean a lot. The process of creating the game was and is a creative therapy for me, it helps me to feel better. And now I know that my work and experience could give someone new impressions, which is very pleasant to realize. Now I have more strength to continue doing what I do, even more than I had in the beginning.

Thank you all. Be yourself. Don't give up. Keep creating. You will succeed.

My game has been indexed and I want to summarize it.

Here's what I'll tell you: worry, study more materials, read, develop and look for answers.
It's paradoxical, but it's very important to balance in yourself the one who doesn't stand still and the one who is ready to be patient.
This is the only way to save precious time. And you won't waste your energy and your nerves.

And I'll tell you what I wanted to hear from the very beginning: everything will be okay, you'll be successful.
This place is a really good opportunity for those who are just starting out as a developer.

There are those who are ready to help you, you are not alone, so never give up.
But even in a friendly environment there is always danger, there are criminals who want to do a lot of dirty tricks.
There is a constant battle with them, and therefore you must learn to be part of this well-coordinated battle.
Everyone starts from a small seed, you just have to accept that as a fact.
But what will happen next with your game, what it will grow into, what fruits it will bear, depends only on you.

For me personally, these few downloads and the long-awaited positive comment mean a lot.
The process of creating the game was and is a creative therapy for me, it helps me to feel better.
And now I know that my work and experience could give someone new impressions, which is very pleasant to realize.
Now I have more strength to continue doing what I do, even more than I had in the beginning.

Thank you all. Be yourself. Don't give up. Keep creating. You will succeed.

Thank you.  :)

If only it were just a joke on your part. But alas, we live in a world where even an overly concerned user who participates in such discussions with good intentions can easily turn out to be a double agent ;-)

You are absolutely right about everything. This is a much deeper topic for discussion than I first thought. That is why I agree to wait as long as it takes, no matter how hard it is for me. I really understand that it is not the developer who is in a difficult situation, one of thousands of the same, because each of them wanted such a difficult situation for themselves. This is my choice, my path. I understand very well that those who have to bear this pressure of thousands of persons like me should be thanked, and I thank them. This platform is a great opportunity for me and my game, and I have not found a better option yet.

Obviously I was really misled and misunderstood the interpretation of these recommendations.

I created this post, but not to demand an answer or to proudly ask the whole forum when I will get an answer here and there and why it is taking so long. No, no and no again! This is not about me, but about others who have encountered similar things. I made it clear that this is not a complaint, but an interest in someone else's experience.

Please forgive me if I broke the rules or offended you in any way, this was not my plan.

That's exactly what I was trying to explain, but I guess I'm not doing it well. I didn't mean to offend or hurt anyone. Only two people responded to the post I made, but it still turned into such a lively discussion. I think I really hit a sore spot. But I didn't mean to, really! And I just want to repeat what I've already said: "I accept the time frame as fair and honest." And that's true, no matter what it ends up being. Ten days have passed, ten weeks will follow, it will be hard of course, but if it finally gives me the opportunity to show my game to others, then it was worth the wait, and if it happens much sooner, then I'll throw a party.

I was really interested in gaining experience from others, learning how it happens from those who have already experienced it. And I'll be honest, I got even more than I expected, so many useful thoughts, now I have something to think about, something to learn, and most importantly, now I'm calm about my game.

Thank you.

Thank you for your time.

Very interesting remark about the influence of significant events in the world on the indexing time, it really makes you think. You immediately understood that I am not looking for specific numbers, I understand everything perfectly well and do not blame anyone for anything, everyone does their job and everything has its time. Nevertheless, you have given me much more information on this subject, so I am already glad that I decided to create this post.

Thank you for your attention to my thoughts! It means a lot to me.

I understand what a dangerous place the internet can be, it is really very sad, but I am definitely not a scammer, honestly. I am the simplest and most ordinary little developer without an audience, trying with all my might to figure out how to get at least someone to play my game.

"Don't ask how long it takes," but why so strict? I think this is the most important question. Developers come to this site to share their games. I do not need exact time frames, who do you take me for? I am just a little newbie developer who made his first game, everything is new to me, everything is unclear, but I read and study everything carefully and listen to everything. But it is obvious that there are those who have already gone through this, and there are also those like me who are just starting out, and there is also an opportunity to share our experiences with each other. Our experience in this matter, our attitude towards this matter.

Squeaky wheel, as accurately noted. A lot of things are really extremely vague, and all you can do is take everything on faith, which of course is very inconvenient. "The games will just be indexed eventually", maybe I would have been quite satisfied with this clarification from the beginning. And if there had been a postscript: "Weeks/over a month", then I would have even calmed down, that's honest. I completely agree with you.

Forgive me for my mistake. I really didn't mean to offend anyone with my actions. I read all the rules and recommendations. But I'm not interested in the technical side of this issue, because it's clear that the time frame is infinitely blurred. Everybody talks about it, it's written everywhere. That's why I made it clear that I'm not complaining, that this is probably the way it should be. I don't need support in this matter. Because what kind of support can there be? Attention to my project and its indexing? That would be support, that would be great. But that's not going to happen, and I understand that. I accept it honestly and fairly. I wanted to know specifically about other people's experiences, how they feel about this.

I have a question for everyone who has submitted a game to itch.io.
How long did it take for your game to be indexed?

It's been 10 days since I published my game.
I've been waiting 3 days for a response to my support email.

I'm not complaining, it's probably the way it should be.
It would be great to hear about your experience though.