In many threads, people complain about all the horror games... ;-)
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This flawed tag based filtering is present all over, not just itch.io too. You may joke about it here, but having trudged through so many games it's become really frustrating there aren't proper categories. Large chunk of horror games are by quite a few parameters also "adult" games as it is. So following that logic, it'd be better to section off the pornographic variety elsewhere instead of having to contend with filters that can and have hindered exploration for games that merely contain sexual themes. This is also why the steam store has two separate classifications. "Sexual" (by tag only) and "Adult-Only" toggle.
And this isn't to say that it's helped steam, because developers have on numerous occasions marked non-pornographic games as adult-only.
I have trouble understanding what you wrote.
And I did not joke. I just winked at you, since you are a fan of the games that so many people complain about. Or rather they complain about their overabundance in the popular ranking.
Everyone has their own gaming preferences. It would be nice if the recommendation features would be more advanced on Itch. Steam does not even rely on tags. Not from my perspective. I never ever knew that you could filter for tags on Steam, before I read the discussions on Itch. I found my games on Steam in a fundamentally different way. And Steam would not recommend me games I seem to have no interest in. In fact it even "warns" me, if I show suddenly interest in something that I had never played before. Somethign similar, that is.
Sorry, I meant to imply lightheartedness by including the word "joke". Must've been misplaced by me.
Anyway, the main takeaways of my previous comment were that:
1) Dividing the site's NSFW content of the pornographic variety and non-pornographic variety into categories would alleviate most of the issues surrounding it. As it currently is, a lot of crossover exists between the two due to how the tagging system fundamentally works.
2) Steam has a sub-par solution which only really proves that ultimately you'd need to make a separate site for it altogether. Since users are somehow able to label their games "adult-only" on there without either understanding what that means or due to the vagueness of the language itself.
Long story short. The structuring and language used to define what constitutes as adult are problematic and I think Itch.io and so forth have gotten a little too cozy with the site layouts to make any significant changes.
And to put it another way regarding my first major point. Just because you are able to censor out all the NSFW content, that doesn't solve the issue of a bunch of games that might use it for reasons that aren't centered around sexual gratification vanishing also. Like, what about everything that contains sexual content but still may appeal to people who aren't looking for "eye candy"?
All that content is at risk of becoming inaccessible and as a result of that make you miss out on games. This is why some people (myself included) may want to still leave it on regardless.
And not to be neglectful of your input. I acknowledge that preferences are many and it would be difficult to appease every single persons. However, this isn't comparable to such a tall ask. It's more of a QOL change request that everyone would benefit from in my mind.
I also acknowledge that you may have sidestepped some of the issues pertaining to steam browsing by not engaging with the tagging system over there. That's fair enough. I just don't think that should have any bearing on discussions surrounding people that do actually use it and or care about it's implementation.
Itch's content filter could be better, that is a given. They only have yes/no for content that is not suitable for minors or the workplace.
That sums it up. Itch has no content evaluation. So you either browse for all content or only for the content that was not marked as unsuitable for minors or workplace.
The now hidden adult tags will circumvent the filter, in case you did not know. If you select tags like "adult", you will see such games, even if your account's settings are to not show them. They removed the adult tags from the suggestion box as a fix for the obvious issues this presents.
If you browse for the mature games that are not of lewd nature, you should know at least some of the usual tags they use. You typically won't find them under puzzle games. They have a reason for their mature nature and that usually involves some kind of horror or gore or violence tag. While there are lewd games among those too, it is rather uncommon. And you typically can recognise them and avoid them at a glance.
This goes for all tags and those tag discussions. Yeah, some people think that negative filtering would help them find games. But there are just so many games here. You need to positivly select your interests first to thin it out. And if in the tag combination of 2-4 tags most games are not what you want, then your tag selection might be lacking.
that doesn't solve the issue of a bunch of games that might use it for reasons that aren't centered around sexual gratification
The intent or artistical value is not considered in this. If there are pixel boobs, on Itch, it is 18+. If the developer did not mark it as sensitive, some complainer will complain.
The tick box a developer has in the metainfo shows this:
Has sensitive content — This project is not suited for minors or the workplace
Maybe this explains why you noticed some games that are not exactly 18+ still being marked as such. Sensitive is quite vague, also the workplace thingy.
I want to use Thea 2: The Shattering as an example. On Steam you can read this:
The developers describe the content like this:
The game contains mature storyline, including text descriptions of bloody sacrifice, sexual assault, violence against children and animals. A small number of artworks contain nudity.
On Itch it would be 18+, because of the nudity alone. Feel free to check what age rating it has on Steam in your country. It is displayed as 12+ the way I access it. That is 1 year less than the minimum age a user on Itch has to have according to tos.
I've noticed that you have been around the forums for a while. In particular I noticed the presence regarding these topics. So I'll take your word for it. And some of the advice on a personal level is definitely appreciable even though it doesn't exactly line up with my own idea I have proposed up above.
That being said I am more so speaking in general terms rather than my own self. I can probably stomach it since things are the way that they are and I can figure out on how to narrow down results on a case by case basis. Again though, it is appreciated. Clearly you care about the user experience yourself.
So I'll take your word for it.
Well, let's say my opinion is founded on experience. But it still is my personal take on this. Oh, and I am one of the people that do not use an adblocker. If you are used to scroll past advertisements, then scrolling past unwanted games is peanuts. It helps if you are not easily offended by the existence of things you do not like.
People just experience platforms differently. For example, the Itch homepage is "hidden" to me. Out of sight, out of mind. The icon that currently looks like a pumpkin. The homepage has sections that are not easily accessible elsewhere, like the feature/fresh lists. On the bottem there even is the randomizer. It took me months to realize I could go there. After creating an account I never ever had a reason to go to the main itch.io page, so I forgot it. It is hidden in plain sight (to me), next to the browse button. This also hides the recommendations a bit. They are in your library and on the homepage. But there is no text button while browsing, reminding you that there is such a feature.
On Steam it is the reverse. The place to search by tags is rather hidden (to me).
I don't believe there would be a perfect way to address all preferences as previously established.
Perfect, of course not. But more granularity might help for certain things like maturity filterings. As far as I know Steam started pushing some kind of questions sheet people have to fill out before publishing. I imagine they would tick off a checklist if certain elements are in the game. Itch's question is not asking for facts (nudity, textual violence against children and animals, etc.) it right out asks the developer's opinion about the sensitive nature of the game and only yes or no at that. So you cannot filter out brief nudity or mild violence, but lump it alltogether with the grimdark gore games and the naughty ones.
Some additional specifics:
The now hidden adult tags will circumvent the filter, in case you did not know. If you select tags like "adult", you will see such games, even if your account's settings are to not show them. They removed the adult tags from the suggestion box as a fix for the obvious issues this presents.
No, I wasn't aware. That's good to know.
And you typically can recognise them and avoid them at a glance.
Yup, I do, do that.
Feel free to check what age rating it has on Steam in your country. It is displayed as 12+ the way I access it.
Same here it seems.
The intent or artistical value is not considered in this. If there are pixel boobs, on Itch, it is 18+. If the developer did not mark it as sensitive, some complainer will complain.
Unfortunately, no. I don't believe there would be a perfect way to address all preferences as previously established. It is still a sub-optimal solution. I'd just take it over what we currently have. That or a site content split. I'm ok with either one, really...