Hello everybody, 

As you know, itch,io is probably the main hub for game jams, and that's quite a feat since jams are a very important part in the indie game development environment. Currently the GMTK 2019 JAM hosted by the youtuber Mark Brown with almost 3k entries is under the voting phase, and as already stated by another person here in the itch.io community, the listing/filtering process isn't ideal for a jam this size because there isn't any kind of intelligent system ruling it, which makes some entries receive less ratings and overall feedback regardless of the developer contributing by playing other games and giving feedback to their devs.

This problem has already partially been solved by the Ludum Dare jam, they have a karma system that works very well (it does have some flaws, but is way better than a fully random system), what do you think about implementing a similar system over here? 

For whom isn't familiar with their karma system:
If you look at their rules (http://ludumdare.com/compo/rules/) and search for "Coolness", you will see their quick explanation about how this system works. But basically, every entry has a "coolness" value that increases as the player rates and comments on other's entries, then in the listing of the entries there will be a filter called "Smart Balance", which lists the games based on two things: Their coolness - amount of rates/feedback that they received. This system kinds of "Guarantee" you to receive more or less the same amount of feedback and rating that you've given. 

Agreed, that system would be very useful here. I mean sure, better filters do help increase visibility, but they still rely on people actively searching for games with fewer ratings. Currently, the only way for people to get visible is to spam the jam's community with rate exchange topics. A karma system would solve this problem.

Sounds like a good change or at least a good option for people making the jams. The more options the better in my opinion, I'm all for it.

It's understandable that itch.io have the filters they do given the core use of the site is not game jams, but rather serving as more of a library. 

And there is no silver bullet, but the current default random filter we have currently is uneven and unfair.

Visibility should be a function of participation, favouring those who are rating others and engaging in critical feedback and praise.

I agree that Ludum Dare's Karma system would be a good model to start from as it's been proven to work well for the last few years.

The current reliance on spamming the community with "Play my game" and "I'll rate you if you rate me" in order to achieve an above mean average rating count is frustrating and discouraging.

GMTK brings a level of popularity and attention, but with increasing numbers the amount of spam is growing and could turn the community toxic easily.

Whatever changes are made to address these issues however,  should be done in a transparent and iterative process with the community, with regards to the various game jam formats itch.io hosts.

I'm excited to see itch.io create an even more welcoming and supportive breeding ground for aspiring developers.

/endrant

I would like to add  my voice to this proposal.

Count me in. I have yet to even do a game jam but I'm getting there. :D

That's generally my worry about joining any jam that isn't Ludum Dare. "But what about the sweet Ludum Dare karma system?!"

As with a lot of these feature suggestion threads, I would like to give this a +1. We should really have some sort of system in place because some real sketchy stuff goes down in some jams.

I agree - it's what I've been thinking every time I've joined a non-LD jam!