itch.io

They are all rather broad subjects. There's already an Art category with the 2D and 3D sub-boards, which is a good starting point. As for Playtesting, I think it could use its own sub-board within the Game Development category. Other things like Writing or Music could probably fall under Art as well. Marketing is a finicky topic because it's not development related. Maybe a sub-board for business related subjects?

So the project I currently work on is inspired by Japanese themes and follows anime style aesthetics. I also personally love watching and discussing anime (forum needs an off topic section for an anime thread!). If the project you are working on right now follows the aesthetic, please share some artwork from it! I love to see what else the community is working on, especially when art styles align.

Here's some Armor Blitz art to lead us off:

SU-152!

Well that's it from me for now. Share your stuff!

I do agree that self-promotion can pose an issue. Every passionate developer has been at the point where they try to plug their game all over the place - it's natural for something you put so much time into!

If people want to advertise, they can keep a running devblog and update it in another section of the forum. If a game is being featured weekly, it should be moderator chosen with no applicant process. And the focus of discussion should be on its design and how it might be improved. There's no perfect game, and hearing good constructive feedback can have a positive impact on the developer.

The weekly posts are really nice for setting expectations for users. Although this forum isn't the best for a weekly post format, I think that creating dedicated topics to things like: Marketing | Art | Playtesting | Writing | Technical Accomplishments might encourage more focused spaces for people to congregate around.

People enjoy guidance, and subtopics help in facilitating that organization :)

This is awesome that itch.io is sprouting its own community forum!

My name is David, an indie developer and computer science student in Michigan. I currently work on my game Armor Blitz when I'm not doing class work. Luckily the rest of my small team of 5 also works very hard, and some are full time. We've been developing this game for quite awhile now and I love the theme and fanbase that we're developing!

Things I do outside of class include managing my university's game development club Wolverine Soft. As the Vice President this year, I have to keep things running smoothly to ensure the success of on-campus game devs and to provide a good collaborative space for developers.

On that note - if anyone lives in Michigan hit me up. I love to speak with local developers and network with anyone who wants to talk. Oh and I play a lot of online games like CS:GO, LoL, Heroes of the Storm, World of Warships, and occasional MMOs.