Uploading game

BarbWire · Mon 05/08/2019 14:50:51

This may seem a silly question to all you AGS aficionados, but I am curious as to
the best site, webpage, whatever to upload a game once it is completed. I believe
Gamejolt and Itch.io are options. However, is it better to upload to a personal
website to achieve maximum downloads. The chances that I will ever need to do this
are a squillion to one, but I suppose stranger things have happened.

RetroJay · Mon 05/08/2019 20:59:33

Hi, BarbWire.

To be honest I have often wondered this myself.
What I have noticed is although my games (and ours

) I uploaded to "GameJolt" and linked AGS to go to the download page there...
The download counters seem to have a large discrepancy between the two sites (AGS and GameJolt).
Not sure why this is other than people click download here and then change their minds when GameJolt page opens. OR...
One or the other download counters doesn't work exactly how it should.
Of course, in saying this, it can't be AGS's counter that is at fault. (This is not a joke. I do mean this because the counter here does seem to work correctly.)

Not sure if having your own "paid" website makes things any easier or better.
I have a free Weebly site but unfortunately cannot upload to it. I can only advertise games there and link to GameJolt.

Cassiebsg · Mon 05/08/2019 21:15:07

To say from my side, if I click a game on the AGS DB and it takes me to GameJolt I just close the site, cause GameJolt doesn't work on my browser.

So I either check for a mirror, aks for a mirror or give up downloading the game.
Have no problem with Itch.io site.

RetroJay · Mon 05/08/2019 21:39:02

Hi, Cassiebsg.

This is very interesting. I wonder how many other people have the same problem with GameJolt?
The good thing here is that whenever I upload games to GameJolt I also upload to Itch.io too.
Maybe I should have included links for my games on AGS to Itch.io as well.

Just a quick question. Did you play "Tales of Jayvin"?

Cassiebsg · Mon 05/08/2019 22:16:18

Well, eve if there's a mirror, people will always click the main download link first. Which means that one person trying to download, will count as 2.
Some times I read the description if there's a mirror, to see if there's any info on where the games are located before clicking.

OT: I haven't yet. I don't really have that much time to play games anymore, as I rather make them or do 3D...

So I avoid long games.

blur · Tue 06/08/2019 01:45:44

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Mon 05/08/2019 21:15:07
cause GameJolt doesn't work on my browser. Have no problem with Itch.io site.

It is funny, for me it is exactly the reverse.

BarbWire · Tue 06/08/2019 16:18:53

Thanks for the information Cassiebsg, RetroJay and Blur. As I have already said
I dont really know a lot about this topic, but it seems strange that certain sites
are not compatible with peoples browsers. I use Chrome and so far have had no
problem.

If anybody else can shed any light on this subject I would be interested to hear
your views.

Vincent · Thu 08/08/2019 11:54:28

I can say a similar thing that once there was an online game and every time I used the Firefox browser the page could not load instead using Google Chrome or Opera loaded well. It seems like certain type of sites doesn't get loaded properly fine from certain type of browsers and as you said this seems strange. From what I know the best sites for upload free games are the one you mentioned and Steam or GOG for pay games.

BarbWire · Thu 08/08/2019 18:53:00

Ciao, Vincent. (bet you didn't know that I can speaka da Italiano)

Thank you for your input.

I am still none the wiser as to why some browsers work and some don't.

I wonder if it may be governed by which OS is used.

Oh, well, never mind. It will have to remain one of the unanswered mysteries
of the twenty first century.

Vincent · Thu 08/08/2019 22:04:02

Ahaha ciao BarbWire. (I must say that I knew that you can speaka da Italiano too, molto brava)

I have done some research on the Internet and they said that no matter which browser you are using or how up to date the browser is, inevitably, you will find a website that doesn't seem to be working correctly. Many of the issues you are seeing can cause issues with printing, interactivity, or animations. Webpages are programmed using a few different languages. These languages have standards that manufacturers and developers must follow in order for their products to be compatible with the browser. Most of these standards are introduced after innovations, and they can change the way a browser needs to function. These standards are different for each language, and this affects browsers differently, whether that be Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Chrome. Each browsers has different engines. These engines process the code written for different websites you may visit. Each browsers engine will interpret and render a webpage in a distinctive way. That means the exact same website can look and function differently across browsers. This leaves developers balancing on a tight rope. They try to reach a compromise when coding based on the relative popularity of the browser that most of their customers use. Because of this, many small issues will arise across different browsers. To make matters worse, there can be issues with a website in different versions of the same browsers. For example, if Chrome adds a new standard to their engine it may break a website that was once working in Chrome. Developers have to try and catch these changes and update their websites before the customer notices the problems.

BarbWire · Fri 09/08/2019 14:32:35

Nice of you to get back to me, Vincent. You certainly have been busy
researching the browser issue. I have just read it for the third time,
just to get my head around it. Time to go and have a lie down in a
darkened room.

I had no idea what a complicated affair something like a browser was.
It must be an absolute nightmare for all concerned to get the balance
right. Something else we all take for granted.

Once again thank you for the information, it is much appreciated.

eri0o · Fri 09/08/2019 14:40:58

You could have your own website and provide links yourself to the different store fronts you have your game available. I think this works well for the long run.

BarbWire · Fri 09/08/2019 16:10:35

Hi eeri0o

I suppose your own Website would be the ideal solution when uploading
a game, but I don't think you could use a free website to do this, could you?
The thought of spending hard earned cash doesn't really appeal to me.

eri0o · Fri 09/08/2019 16:25:54

I think you misread, so I will explain. You create a website, can be on a free host, like Tumblr, GitHub Pages, WordPress, ... Then you upload your game to itch.io, gamejolt, Steam, ... Then you add links on your website to the other platforms. I do recommend paying for a domain, it's usually just 10 USD or less, per year, but in case the free host goes down for whatever reason, you move your website to a different host seamlessly.

BarbWire · Fri 09/08/2019 18:22:16

Thank you, eri0o, for the information.

What you have told me is most helpful.

eri0o · Fri 09/08/2019 19:47:42

There are many websites to buy domains, I currently really like the interface of the one from Google -> https://domains.google/#/ .

This is not a must, and you can sure be really happy by focusing only in a single game storefront. Having your own platform is only relevant for long term.

BarbWire · Sat 10/08/2019 09:26:23

Hi eri0o

I have just seen your post. I will be checking the site you have
directed me to, shortly.

Thanks for the update.

RickJ · Sun 11/08/2019 01:38:21

You can get a free domain name at Freenom https://www.freenom.com/en/index.html?lang=en These guys have been around for quite awhile.

Free web hosts tend to come and go here is one you (never used them though) https://www.000webhost.com/. It would probably work great as a landing page with links to your game's download. The game files would have to be hosted elsewhere however. In addition to the sites mentioned above you may want to consider Archive.org as a mirror.

BarbWire · Sun 11/08/2019 12:26:41

Hi RickJ

You have certainly given me plenty of food for though,
with your suggestions and I will see if any of them are
for me.

I appreciate your input.

Danvzare · Mon 19/08/2019 12:59:51

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Mon 05/08/2019 21:15:07
To say from my side, if I click a game on the AGS DB and it takes me to GameJolt I just close the site, cause GameJolt doesn't work on my browser. So I either check for a mirror, aks for a mirror or give up downloading the game.
Have no problem with Itch.io site.

Recently I've tried to make GameJolt the main download for my games, and Itch.io the mirror. But with you saying this, I wonder how many people just don't bother with the mirror.
I wonder which site would make the better main download.
I also wonder if it would just be better to upload the game to MediaFire or something, and use that as the main download.

Cassiebsg · Mon 19/08/2019 14:03:34

I can't give a proper answer to be honest, cause there's also a lot of people that hate MediaFire and they're popup adds.
Probably the best solution is getting a free site and host the links to several "mirror" sites like eri0o suggested...

BarbWire · Mon 19/08/2019 14:36:43

Thanks Cassiebsg.

I will do as you recommended and go with eri0o's suggestion.

As I'm normally a thread killer, it is quite refreshing to have had
replies to my post.

cat · Mon 19/08/2019 14:46:47

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Mon 19/08/2019 14:03:34
there's also a lot of people that hate MediaFire and they're popup adds.

Yes. Mediafire is the best way to make your game look unprofessional.

Danvzare · Mon 19/08/2019 18:46:42

Quote from: cat on Mon 19/08/2019 14:46:47
Quote from: Cassiebsg on Mon 19/08/2019 14:03:34
there's also a lot of people that hate MediaFire and they're popup adds.

Yes. Mediafire is the best way to make your game look unprofessional.

Any suggestions for better file hosting sites?
Google Drive perhaps?
Dropbox maybe?

cat · Mon 19/08/2019 19:02:32

Quote from: Danvzare on Mon 19/08/2019 18:46:42
Any suggestions for better file hosting sites?
Google Drive perhaps?
Dropbox maybe?

I think they are slightly better than Mediafire. But the point is, it doesn't look professional to download from there.

Gamesjolt and Itchio both look professional. Otherwise I think a direct download is better, i.e. use your own webspace or a host that supports deep linking to the zip.