Itch

[Yamych]

I got excited about the idea of creating my own visual hentai novel.
So I learned how to program in Renpy, came up with a plot, created art using a neural network, added music, and added gameplay. The next step was to publish the game on itch, but I ran into a problem: it hasn't been indexed for 20 days now. I turned to the GPT chat for help, and from what they said, I understood that I needed to increase activity, but how can I do that if the game is only available via a direct link?(

 

[papel]

I don't understand why you asked chatgpt to understand why your game hasn't been indexed when you should've perused their forums

Anyway, itch did recently delist several hentai games due to pressure from Visa/Mastercard,

You must be registered to see the links

- so, the first question is whether your game is available for free or as "pay what you want"

 

[Count Morado]

I don't understand why you asked chatgpt to understand why your game hasn't been indexed when you should've perused their forums.

Because ChatGPT has all the answers. /s

 

[Yamych]

I don't understand why you asked chatgpt to understand why your game hasn't been indexed when you should've perused their forums

I read the posts and rules on itch, and I don't fall under any of the criteria for game removal.
As for the wave of game removals, I waited until everything was fixed and then posted the game.
All payments are disabled, the game is free, and I marked it as NSFW. The content in the game itself is harmless, considering what's on the site.
I wrote two letters to support, but no replies came.
So all that was left was to ask in the chat gpt, and they actually offered a sensible solution, saying that the game was missing an asset in order for it to be posted. But still, it sounds strange, because the game can only be found via a link, and when you want to download it via the link, a threatening sign appears saying: “We do not recommend downloading this game, as it has not been verified and may contain threats, etc.” This discourages people from downloading the game.

 

[Count Morado]

...

They are backed up because they chose to delist all NSFW games and then verify whether each followed the rules. The free NSFW games that had no possible violating tag were all relisted eventually... But they are still backlogged because they have a very small staff and thousands of games to check. That is taking priority over reviewing new NSFW games, I imagine.

You unfortunately had very poor timing on listing your game. All this happened a month before you listed your game.

As for the content of your game, does it have:

• bestiality
• minors
• incest (or step-cest)
• rape
• mind-control
• blackmail
• sleep sex
• bondage
• heavy S/M
• or any kind of non-consenual sexual content, even consensual sex that appears to be non-consensual?

 

[Yamych]

I read these rules. The only thing I have in the game is a step-sister, through distant relatives, and later in the plot it turns out that she is not a sister at all. As for the age of consent, I made a disclaimer at the beginning that everyone has reached the age of majority. The characters also look like they are of legal age.
P.S. There are no sex scenes with this supposed sister

 

[Count Morado]

....

The way you describe the character relationship doesn't make sense. If her parent is married to the parent of the character in question, but they don't share both parents, then they are step-siblings. If they have sex, that's step-cest.

Step-cest is a violation of credit card companies/payment processors TOS. Even as a free game, it could get your game blocked. Just as a heads up.

The disclaimer means nothing. As long as your characters look like adults, aren't attending a high school or lower, then you should be fine. Even 18+ but attending a high school or lower might cause problems, as seen with Steam game rejections.

 

[eevkyi]

You can try sharing your game here and in other adult gaming-related communities while you resolve this impasse.

 

[Yamych]

But could the theory about assets before indexing games in ITCH be true?
If, for example, a game is free and has no views or downloads, could this be the reason why it is not indexed?

 

[Count Morado]

...

They are backed up. I assume NSFW games that had already been listed and then got delisted have priority before approving any new NSFW games on itch.

Again, you had bad timing. You tried to add a NSFW only a month after they delisted all NSFW games. It's going to be a while. You might as well just be patient.