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Requesting a Username and Publishing a game related questions

A topic by gadsby created Nov 15, 2020 Views: 585 Replies: 3

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Hi Everyone,

I am big fan of Itch.io and I've been using it from 2016. I have couple questions that I asked support but didn't get any answer yet. I can understand, due world wide issues it can be take some time. So I wanted to get feedback from community and hopefully from admins. We are LibRetro that makes RetroArch. I've checked guidelines and other topics to see if we can able to publish RetroArch on Itch.io and so far I didn't see anything that hold us but I still wanted to be sure. You can find more information about us and RetroArch at these links;

TL;DR RetroArch is a free, open-source and cross-platform front-end for emulators, game engines, video games, media players and other applications. It is the reference implementation of the libretro API, designed to be fast, lightweight, portable and without dependencies. It is licensed under the GNU GPLv3.

We are currently trying to make through Steam and things didn't go as we planned but we are hopeful! We wanted to bring RetroArch to people as much as possible with easy update, easy installation, backup etc. features. So Steam and Itch.io provide these possibilities. The thing I wanted to know

Can we publish RetroArch at Itch.io?
We have Online Updater in RetroArch which help us to download some of assets and Cores from our buildbot, can it be still there or there is no chance to have in-software updater? If this case we can remove it like we did in Steam version.
If we have to remove Online Updater, we have to provide Cores in release build. Since I didn't see Sub-product or DLC page in Itch.io and our Cores have different Licencese from LGPL to GPLv3. So in this case should we go with different store page for each core as Game Asset or is there anything we can do about it.
We also have Netplay which is a mechanism that allows multiplayer over a network. It's not link cable emulation though. It's same system multiplayer and host needs to forward the ports properly. Is it okay to have it there?

So our build is ready to go and I am making a Introduction/announcement video, I was planning make it live as soon as possible, I sent few e-mail to Itch.io didn't heard back should I ask from somewhere else? Also we are requesting retroarch.itch.io and libretro.itch.io, we also send another e-mail related this issue with the trademark information and other stuff, should've go with DMCA or something? Imho if we get these names it will be cool if we can't get it, it's totally okay :)

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Afloof.devModerator4 years ago(+1)

Before you read, keep in mind I’m not a lawyer.

I have couple questions that I asked support but didn’t get any answer yet.

Yeah support seems to be quite busy lately. I would suggest to wait 4-5 business days maximum (if you haven’t already).

I’ve checked guidelines and other topics to see if we can able to publish RetroArch on Itch.io and so far I didn’t see anything that hold us

As far as I’m aware, Itch is pretty open and friendly to developers, so any project is welcome. Unless you are worried about the blurry line between emulators and piracy? I doubt emulators have any issues here, unless they also provide commercial games for free as well.

Can we publish RetroArch at Itch.io?

Same as above.

We have Online Updater in RetroArch which help us to download some of assets and Cores from our buildbot, can it be still there or there is no chance to have in-software updater? If this case we can remove it like we did in Steam version.

I believe automatic updaters are discouraged here on Itch. It’s better to provide a project that works as-is once downloaded. If you use the tool “butler”, you can update files in such a way, that users are able to update through the Itch app, without re-downloading the whole project every time.

If we have to remove Online Updater, we have to provide Cores in release build. Since I didn’t see Sub-product or DLC page in Itch.io and our Cores have different Licencese from LGPL to GPLv3. So in this case should we go with different store page for each core as Game Asset or is there anything we can do about it.

I’m not sure what you mean by “Cores”. Steam has sub-products as you mentioned, but on Itch.io you can create individual project pages for each sub-product, and reference each other that way.

We also have Netplay which is a mechanism that allows multiplayer over a network. It’s not link cable emulation though. It’s same system multiplayer and host needs to forward the ports properly. Is it okay to have it there?

I’m not familiar with Netplay. Opening ports is tricky, and could lead to exposing the user to vulnerabilities. In general Itch.io has no issue with multiplayer games, but I’m not sure of Netplay’s implemenation, and if it’s considered safe. If it is, I don’t see any issue with it being uploaded here.

Also we are requesting retroarch.itch.io and libretro.itch.io

If these usernames are not available, only support can help with what are the available options. I’m not sure if usernames are subject to DMCAs.

Also worth mentioning that licenses shouldn’t be a problem, even GPL licenses.

Sorry I couldn’t answer everything you mentioned, hope this information helps.

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gadsby4 years ago

Thank you for your quick respond, I also wondering if usernames are transferable, like; we go with current username which is not libretro or retroarch for now and in the future is there any chance we can change to these names without loosing any progress or users etc.

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Afloof.devModerator4 years ago (1 edit) (+1)

I also wondering if usernames are transferable

I believe they are, the only downside being that any links pointing to your old username might break, but it’s the same account, so it shows all projects/activity that the old username had.

From what I can see, “retroarch.itch.io” redirects to “libretro.itch.io”, which suggests the “retroarch” was used in the past and changed to “libretro”. So it should be possible to change your current username, or make a new account with “retroarch” as a username.

To change your username, click the arrow on the top-right (next to your current username) and click “Settings”. From there, under “BASICS” -> “Profile” there should be a button with the text “Change my username/URL”. I’m not sure if there are any restrictions (like need an account that has been active for a while, or only allowed a set amount of username changes per year).

As for the “libretro” username, it looks like it’s in use. Its activity can be found on “itch.io/profile/libretro”. It looks like it was registered in “Sep 15, 2016” and has been pretty much inactive (unless it’s possible to delete the activity?).

I’m not sure how Itch.io handles giving usernames of old accounts, best to wait for support for an answer.

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