I would like to be able to create an HTML5 version of my TTRPGs, that people can access directly in their web browser. This is possible already, but it doesn't allow me to set a price for the embedded content.
I would like to be able to set a price for my embedded content; I've got the content all set up as a zip file that the embedded player can run or launch fullscreen, but I can't publish it in its current format because I'm not prepared to make it free by default.
(There are a number of TTRPG designers here who would similarly be interested in this idea. We want more ways to present our games, but the current presentation isn't sustainable for us.)
Update: I ended up publishing my game using the HTML5 player anyway, and it kills me that I can't charge money for it: https://mnemonicrpg.itch.io/mnemonic-beyond-the-rift
A few people have donated, which is great, but if the goal is to normalize being paid for our work, we need the option to set a price for our work regardless of whether it's a browser game, a PDF, or a downloadable app.
Implementation?
On the front-end, it's easy for me to imagine how this would work: If the user hasn't paid the minimum price for the game, and the creator has set the "Require payment before showing the embedded player", then the embedded player just doesn't appear, and the "Buy" button appears at the top of the page instead. Once the user makes a payment for the minimum price or higher, enable the player. (Maybe there's a way to enable a "demo" version that doesn't require payment and then override it with the paid version? idk)
Someone on Discord pointed out that itch doesn't require an account in order to make purchases, which could present a problem for a game that is only available in the browser. I have a couple ideas spinning off of that:
- Require an account before the user can purchase the browser game, if it requires payment to play.
- Require the creator to include some kind of downloadable version of the game, if they require payment for it.
- Automatically generate a downloadable application that the user can download that launches the browser version of the game, that doesn't require the creator to build one themselves.
I don't know what the best solution to that problem is. All I know is that the way it currently is set up, I can't do what I need to in order to make my game sustainable for me as a creator.