Hey there! Thanks for asking. :-)
1. You'll be notified if your game is DQ'd for breaking the rules. I believe you'll also be notified if your game doesn't advance, but I'm not 100% sure on that.
2. Please refrain from publishing the contest version of your game. If it wins, Komodo will get the rights to publish it, but you'll retain the rights to do whatever you want with it, including making a non-contest (like extended, complete, etc.) version.
I still don't see it in the list of entries. I suspect that someone found something suspicious (if it is the reason I suspect, there are a few entries that this could apply for) and someone reported the entry to itch, but might not have reported it for the contest. I do have some questions though:
Yeah, I'm beginning to suspect that someone (not myself or Nick Komodo) reported the game to itch.io. Please understand that we're not accusing the developer of anything. But, if someone reported it to itch, it is possible that they could have disqualified it. And yes, if no one reported it to Nick or myself, then there is no way of us knowing.
If the game was reported to itch.io by someone reading this message, please let us know (privately or publicly) so we can put this to bed.
As for your questions:
1. No. If the game has been DQ'd by itch.io, then votes toward the game won't count. It says on the page "not available for ratings". Sorry.
2. To my knowledge, this game is still something that the judges can play and rank, ergo it can place in the actual contest. I cannot give away what games have moved to Round 2, however.
