Has anyone ever dealt with this site?

CAD4466HK

2[H]4U
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I've heard of them, and see pics, links, vids everywhere, but no actual experience with them. They've been around a while though, so probably not a scam.
 
Itch.io is great. Tons of small indie games. And I mean proper indie, not Devolver Digital indie.

Genre mix skews about how you'd expect for an indie indie storefront. Lots of visual novels, retro inspired games, horror games, top-down/side-scroller games, and -- of course -- porn games. Can be hard to sort the wheat from the chaff, as there's a lot of chaff. Gamejam-fodder and programmer-art abound.

Also, the launcher is kinda crap, but you can download games directly from Itch if you want to avoid it.
 
Itch.io is great. Tons of small indie games. And I mean proper indie, not Devolver Digital indie.

Genre mix skews about how you'd expect for an indie indie storefront. Lots of visual novels, retro inspired games, horror games, top-down/side-scroller games, and -- of course -- porn games. Can be hard to sort the wheat from the chaff, as there's a lot of chaff. Gamejam-fodder and programmer-art abound.

Also, the launcher is kinda crap, but you can download games directly from Itch if you want to avoid it.
Right on!
This is what I was wanting to hear!
 
Itch.io is legit. It's where smaller indie games go to get experience, especially new and upcoming hobby developers who are solo or don't have any way to market things.

There's a hell of a lot of trash, but there's also some damn good games that launched for free or dirt cheap on itch before they get a publishing deal or are able to make it to steam, etc. Some games there are so niche they'll never make it to another storefront, and that's fine too!
 
Itch.io is great. Tons of small indie games. And I mean proper indie, not Devolver Digital indie.

Genre mix skews about how you'd expect for an indie indie storefront. Lots of visual novels, retro inspired games, horror games, top-down/side-scroller games, and -- of course -- porn games. Can be hard to sort the wheat from the chaff, as there's a lot of chaff. Gamejam-fodder and programmer-art abound.

Also, the launcher is kinda crap, but you can download games directly from Itch if you want to avoid it.
Itch.io is legit. It's where smaller indie games go to get experience, especially new and upcoming hobby developers who are solo or don't have any way to market things.

There's a hell of a lot of trash, but there's also some damn good games that launched for free or dirt cheap on itch before they get a publishing deal or are able to make it to steam, etc. Some games there are so niche they'll never make it to another storefront, and that's fine too!

Agreed. Itch is, besides Steam, the only 3rd party storefronts/platforms on PC that I think is worthy of support. Their niche is true indie titles - they don't do major studio or publisher stuff, but sometime split the difference with a "popular indie" dev or publisher. Overall, their store is pretty equitable and respectful to both developers and players/customers. They even allow a dev with their game on Steam to include Steam keys for their purchase on Itch, in addition to the direct download. They are one of the few first party platforms to have a truly open source application/store that can optionally be used to download, update and the like if desired. Itch is also known for their bundles, especially some "mega bundles" put on by the site (as opposed to smaller bundles coordinated by developers directly) that offered hundreds or thousands of dollars of content for a pittance. In addition, there are tons of GameJams to the point its a whole category on their site, which goes along with how Itch is probably one of THE most accessible places for a new indie developer to go and potentially sell their game.

On the downside however, users who expect another store for big name titles won't find them on Itch. There will be a lot of amateur content that you wouldn't see on another store , as the barriers for entry are so low. While you'll find some indies that are well regard on Steam et al, there will also be webgames, game jam products, artistic/conceptual tests, fanfiction-style works, and a lot of people's first's projects that will be limited in quality to say the least; most of these will be free, thankfully. However, unlike those that used to cynically push asset flips on Steam and other platforms hoping to have their users farm and sell community items (ie cards, badges etc..en masse; note this is no longer possible thanks to Steam getting wise to it and cutting a lot of the loopholes rightly), these titles are honest attempts by new developers, modders, or young creatives just trying to get their stuff out there so I cannot be annoyed by its presence. Besides games of all sorts, Itch also supports offering other kinds of content like tabletop game rulebooks or print-your-own kits, artistic asset packs, music, comics, and other forms of "non-game" stuff, so just keep that in mind when searching through.

Overall, so long as you understand what Itch is and what its not, there's a good bit to appreciate. It will not be the place to go to pick up a big name or even a frequent "Indie, but published by Devolver, Klei, Supergiant, Yacht Club, Coffee Stain, or the like" location, but it does very well on focusing on true indies and those getting their start. It tends to take an equitable and open approach in doing so, for the benefit of devs and players alike, including supporting Linux and FOSS. Itch has a comfortable niche and within that parameter, though not perfect, manages to do very well for all involved; a rarity in the face of many PC game stores/platforms that exist purely for greed and control to the detriment of devs and especially players.
 
Agreed. Itch is, besides Steam, the only 3rd party storefronts/platforms on PC that I think is worthy of support. Their niche is true indie titles - they don't do major studio or publisher stuff, but sometime split the difference with a "popular indie" dev or publisher. Overall, their store is pretty equitable and respectful to both developers and players/customers. They even allow a dev with their game on Steam to include Steam keys for their purchase on Itch, in addition to the direct download. They are one of the few first party platforms to have a truly open source application/store that can optionally be used to download, update and the like if desired. Itch is also known for their bundles, especially some "mega bundles" put on by the site (as opposed to smaller bundles coordinated by developers directly) that offered hundreds or thousands of dollars of content for a pittance. In addition, there are tons of GameJams to the point its a whole category on their site, which goes along with how Itch is probably one of THE most accessible places for a new indie developer to go and potentially sell their game.

On the downside however, users who expect another store for big name titles won't find them on Itch. There will be a lot of amateur content that you wouldn't see on another store , as the barriers for entry are so low. While you'll find some indies that are well regard on Steam et al, there will also be webgames, game jam products, artistic/conceptual tests, fanfiction-style works, and a lot of people's first's projects that will be limited in quality to say the least; most of these will be free, thankfully. However, unlike those that used to cynically push asset flips on Steam and other platforms hoping to have their users farm and sell community items (ie cards, badges etc..en masse; note this is no longer possible thanks to Steam getting wise to it and cutting a lot of the loopholes rightly), these titles are honest attempts by new developers, modders, or young creatives just trying to get their stuff out there so I cannot be annoyed by its presence. Besides games of all sorts, Itch also supports offering other kinds of content like tabletop game rulebooks or print-your-own kits, artistic asset packs, music, comics, and other forms of "non-game" stuff, so just keep that in mind when searching through.

Overall, so long as you understand what Itch is and what its not, there's a good bit to appreciate. It will not be the place to go to pick up a big name or even a frequent "Indie, but published by Devolver, Klei, Supergiant, Yacht Club, Coffee Stain, or the like" location, but it does very well on focusing on true indies and those getting their start. It tends to take an equitable and open approach in doing so, for the benefit of devs and players alike, including supporting Linux and FOSS. Itch has a comfortable niche and within that parameter, though not perfect, manages to do very well for all involved; a rarity in the face of many PC game stores/platforms that exist purely for greed and control to the detriment of devs and especially players.
I've been oblivious to this platform, thanks for the schooling!
 
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