431 - Steam Said No.
ALRIGHT, this will be a quick, to-the-point post. No EXTRA!! and not even a new store item this week, because I’m way too exhausted—and I think I’ve caught a cold, so I honestly don’t feel like doing anything right now. That said, posting a Monday POST is still my duty, and I plan to fulfill it no matter what!
STEAM. About two-thirds of last week went according to plan. Then, just as I finished coloring Tiffany’s sprite, I got an email from Steam saying that Princess Quest had been rejected again. It really caught me off guard, especially since I’d already spent so much time preparing everything—creating achievements and redrawing art assets to comply with the previous rejection reasons...
LAST TIME, they were very specific about the rejection reasons: one of the characters looked too much like Princess Jasmine. This time, the reply was way too vague for me to understand what exactly needs fixing. Should I redraw the “Demon Turtles” chibi CG? Should I recolor Smashlin’s hair to blonde? Should I just cut out all the April–Turtles scenes? And even then, would it be enough? At first I started working on some changes, but eventually I just gave up... I mean, what’s the point anymore? I’m changing characters, cutting out content. The game is simple as it is, but with all this stuff removed, what’s left? To hell with it. I’m giving up.
SEVERAL YEARS AGO, I got a weird email from Patreon saying that, according to Wikipedia, Princess Jasmine is 14 years old, so I had a few days to remove all Jasmine-related content or my account would be suspended. Back then, a friend wrote a “corporate lawyer”-level reply for me, basically saying (in many, many smart words) that if that were true, it would mean the original cartoon is about an older man (Jafar) trying to marry a 14-year-old. That was enough, and Patreon said they wouldn’t suspend my account. The whole incident was extremely weird, but I feel like the Steam team is expecting a similar kind of email from me this time. They’re openly saying they want me to give them some legal argument explaining why my game should be allowed on Steam. Well, whatever—I’m not doing that this time. I’ve already spent way too much time on this. I need to work on Reporter Trainer.
EXPERIENCE POINTS. The sole reason for me to put Princess Quest on Steam was to test the waters, and despite the rejection, I achieved exactly that. Now I know how the whole procedure works and even how to add achievements to a game. For now, I think I should settle for that and just concentrate on my work.
AND THAT’S THAT. Sorry about keeping things short on content this week, but it is what it is. The plan for this week is to color Kimmy’s sprite, add different facial expressions to both girls’ sprites, and hopefully import them into the game already and start coding the whole job interview scene with both of them. That’s all I have to say. Thank you for your support, and I will see you all next Monday. Laterz.
-Aka-
A few links just in case:
subscribestar.adult/akabur
Comments (34)
DID I FORGET TO MENTION...
U cute 🥺
Чел, где игры? Почему ты перестал создавать классные комиксы и игры?
Thank you for playing my games ;)
I think the best avenue would rather than put energy and work into trying to retrofit an old parody game so that it fits steam's standards, just make the next game with that in mind. Especially with all the current knowledge you've gained from this experience. It's been long enough that I'm not sure if reporter trainer would be super easy to pivot and adjust in a way that lets you put it on steam, but if it is possible then it's probably worth it. A big enough hit on steam can change everything.
Well, that’s pretty much exactly the plan right now. When I began working on Reporter Trainer, I was already contemplating the possibility of a Steam release. To that end, I even added code that lets me change all character names at any moment. Basically, the main character’s name (April) at the moment is Sarah Brooks, and she’s friends with the Adult Monster Samurai Lizards, and so on. The idea was to have L.O.L.A. introduce a “reality perception adjustment device” that would let the player rename the characters however they want, so basically a player could name the redhead reporter "April" and it wouldn’t technically be my fault as the developer. Kind of like how, back in the day, Soul Calibur had a character creator that basically let you create copyrighted characters in the game. I thought I was being clever, but now that I have actual experience trying to release a game on Steam, I know that this won’t cut it and that the changes should probably be a bit more extensive. Since I’m still in the middle of development, there’s still time to make changes without wasting too much time unnecessarily or cutting content. So yeah, the plan is still to eventually release Reporter Trainer on Steam. But first, I’ll release it here on Patreon, let you guys test it extensively, fix all the bugs, and then try to release it on Steam. That’s the plan at the moment, anyway.
Sorry you’re feeling under the weather. Maybe you should get some rest for a few days? Maybe walking away from Steam sounds like a blessing in disguise. Better to keep your creative soul than gut the game for their vague rules. At least you got the "XP" from the process! You make great original characters but I like a lot your parody games, on the other hand a huge success on Steam will allow you to make games in better condition (like hiring a programer) so I don"t know... Speaking about great original character, Tiffany looks absolutely top-tier!! I’m really hyped to see Kimmy’s face and how that interview scene plays out (soon*) P.S. For the "no" answer, did you try to send to Steam a Butterbeer ? I read somewhere that Butterbeer helps from moving to a "no" to a "yes headmaster". Just saying
Yeah, when I was writing the Monday Post, I really wasn’t feeling well, but it turned out to be a very light cold. I was basically back to normal in only a couple of days :) And yes, I definitely feel like I’m trying to sell my soul a bit when I try to work with Steam. I’ve always felt like there were some restrictions and lines I couldn’t cross here on Patreon, but on Steam things are way more serious, and I will definitely have to dull the edge of my jokes and some of the content if I want to release a game there. But at the same time, I still really want to give it a try. It may sound dumb, but having a game on Steam would make me feel like a legit game developer. -_- Anyway, I hope you trust me to make the right call. Don’t worry, I don’t plan to sell out completely, but it would be really interesting to infiltrate the society of serious game developers with my immature edgy jokes and complete lack of proper education in anything other than drawing XD P.S. XD ^_^
'No experience is useless, it all leads to a better run next time', to quote an old friend.
Well said. And it's very much true in this case for sure.
May the 4th be with you, Aka-won Burobi
Same to you my friend XD
Agreed, Steam ain't worth it
Well, I still hope to give it a try with Reporter Trainer, but we will see how it goes...
I'm sorry that it didn't work out, but at least the potential is there to reach a wider audience. The world must be educated!
Indeed. I owe it to the world! I have a mission! Only there is now way I can do this with any of my old games. Maybe I will have a better lack with Reporter Trainer, we will see.
Well that's disappointing I was really looking forward to it. You could always try making the original characters which I know you can do and they're pretty great from the ones I've seen. But what is wild to me here is that they have a problem with this, But they already have like a few other games that are literally Porn parodies of characters and whatnot on Steam. For instance: Friendship with Benefits 1 & 2 Tuition Academia Once A Porn A Time 1 & 2 Sapphire Safari Frankie's FunClub Divine Adventure Games Dirty Fantasy Anomaly Evolution Cumrooms Smilers Den Deluxxx And the various of Other SCP, Backrooms and Star Wars like games Universes and characters Porn parodies. I'm sure there's many more but this is just what I have a short list of offhand. But don't give up hope, might need to find a contact to talk directly to who could talk you through the thing of what the crap is going on and what you need to do to make it work.
I suppose it also depends on the person reviewing your game. Like I said, I feel like they just want me to persuade them somehow. But to hell with that—I’ll just concentrate on working on Reporter Trainer for now, and maybe try my luck with it on Steam once it’s finished and you guys have play-tested it extensively here on Patreon.
Get your work done then deal with steam or even try gog. There are a couple others also like oppaiman also. Use the legality method after the work is done.
Yeah, I will try with Reporter Trained one day. As for GOG I already tried but they just ignored me.
Try to find (if you can tolerate it) lemon and honey tea or ginger tea because they are inexpensive ways to treat and prevent changes that come with weather changes. I hope you are taking good care of your health. Obviously, having a game on Steam would greatly expand its scope; however, it's always wise to consider the bigger picture because this also implies changing the reasonableness of the topic and proposal to bring what is niche to the common audience. Perhaps the smartest thing to do is create anthologies, each lasting 10 to 30 minutes, introducing characters and worlds in a safe way, and letting your name circulate among other circles, and the person will naturally come to you in search of more. In a way, I believe that all of us who are here are doing this in one way or another. Whatever happens, never forget that the one who makes the most mistakes is also the one who gets the most things right – eventually you'll be able to put all of that to good use. I wish you a great week, I'm going back to being a filthy lurker.
Yeah, I know about the lemon-and-honey thing. Thank you for the good advice, though. And thank you for your kind (and wise) words of support—I really appreciate them. Yeah, I can’t say that I’m looking forward to becoming more well known. These days, it’s not very smart to attract too much attention. Personally, I’m happy with how things are now. The problem is mostly the financial aspect. I’m 40+ now, I spent a lot of my savings on my mother’s medical bills last year, and I also have other family members I need to take care of. The older I get, the more I start wondering where I’ll be in 10 years, for example. Anyway, those are just the kinds of thoughts we all get from time to time I guess...
Ah well, my guy feeling was that it would get rejected or severly altered in order to be posted on Steam. Having the Patreon/Discord club that we do feels exclusive anyways. If economy gets too tight - make a shout out and the community will rally, I'm sure.
Yeah, personally I am super happy being the underground dev that I am right now. Honestly, I don’t need more attention, because it would only bring problems and probably more restrictions on the things I’m allowed to create. And I know that if something happened, I could ask you guys for help. But you know, I don’t like begging... And I don’t even like selling my creations (most artists are really dumb when it comes to selling their own work). That’s why I was really proud to basically release my games for free and live off donations. But you know, I’m getting older, and what felt fine at 20 suddenly starts feeling a bit depressing when you’re over 40. I was hoping that having a game on Steam would improve my financial situation... In any case, the most important thing is that I have big hopes for Reporter Trainer, and I think you guys will like it. And if you do—if I really manage to create a good product—then the financial problems will resolve themselves on their own, I’m sure ^^
It sucks, superior leader 😫 But on the other hand - may be one day in distant future, you will decide to make a game with only original characters. I mean, you've always had amazing original characters. As much as I love Akabur's "parody" games, I would love to see something completely standalone. Like an actual Skater Girl Trainer 🌚 anyway, please share updated Princess Quest with us✨ P.S. Amazing gif btw 😏
Well, yeah... Maybe some time in the future. ^^
I find it so odd they won't approve your game but have two games based on Disney Once A Porn A Time. Odd
Once a Porn a Time is not based on Disney. It's based on public domain characters, not Disney versions of them.
Sorry for that, I know how it feels when a big project gets rejected on Steam... In any case, I think you should keep the idea of creating something more tailored to them. I'm not saying you should do it right now, just keep the idea in mind.
Well, thankfully this was not a big project. I made the right choice by trying this with Princess Quest (since it’s a super small game). The whole experience gave me a much better idea of how to do things next time. :) P.S. Thank you for that achievements tutorial video. Thanks to it, I was able to add achievements to the game.
Haters gonna hate Haters gonna hate Bitches gonna hate Still, I don't think Steam is gonna allow anything they think has the remotest of chances of angering the Mouse. Steam is big, but they ain't bigger than the Mouse. I hope you find out a way to make it work ❤️
Yeah. I thought there was some wiggle room, but it seems that even referencing established IPs in text form could get you in trouble. I mean, even if I replaced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with “Adult Monster Samurai Lizards” and gave them a female reporter friend named Sandra Brooks, that could still get me in trouble on Steam. Kind of ridiculous if you ask me, but I must adapt or perish. I plan to adapt. :)
Good luck with steam, and well, the fictional character age is in many cases dumb, so many animes would be almost CP if we take the ages seriously (how many are about Highschool or lower) Just to make the point a good chunk of the main characters in popular animes like Naruto or Bleach are underaged, even in One Piece many are even if not neccessary. Glad you were able to fight back
Yeah. I think I’d better not comment on this whole “age of a drawing” thing, because the stupidity of the entire argument just gets on my nerves. :( In any case, thank you for your support, Ace. As always, it’s comforting to have a real man of culture and a scholar such as yourself around.