Game Jolt - Hosting for Freeware Games

CROS · Sun 21/12/2008 18:25:25

Hey AGS users, this is the lead developer of a new site that just came out called Game Jolt.
I was told I could post in these forums, so here goes...

I've noticed a lot of freeware game developers are having a hard time hosting their games, and so I wanted to give them a place where they could put their games up without worry of them every going down. No more broken links when people are trying to download your games.

Game Jolt allows developers to publicize their freeware games, post news, screenshots, files to download, etc. It's all run by the developers themselves, so you'll have full control of how your games are displayed on our site.

~~We'll host the first 25 developers that sign up, whether you want to use us as a mirror or the main download site.~~ Even if you already have a host for your game, you could always add Game Jolt as a mirror. It's also good to just have exposure for your game across the net. ~~After the first 25, new developers will have to host their game's files elsewhere.~~

We opened our hosting up to everyone! So, if anyone has a game to put up, we'll host it till the end of time!

It just launched, and as such it's in a very beta state right now. We'd appreciate any feedback you may have on the site, or ideas/criticism. If you find any bugs, you may post them here in the forum, or notify us at contact@gamejolt.com.

Web Site
http://gamejolt.com

Developer Sign Up
http://gamejolt.com/auth/sign_up/developer/

(it seriously only takes one minute to sign up and get going)

If there's any questions you have, or anything we can help you with, just throw us an email.

Thanks a lot,
Game Jolt

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Mon 22/12/2008 01:19:50

Well, the problem most people have is finding a reliable, free host, not finding a reliable pay host. So your offer seems rather dubious to me, honestly. Are you intending to charge people after the first 25 for hosting? If so, I'm not sure exactly what it is you think you're offering that people can't get elsewhere.

CROS · Mon 22/12/2008 01:43:03

That sentence should probably read, "We'll host the first 25 developers that sign up..."

The rest would have to find hosting elsewhere, but the first 25 would be enabled to upload to our servers.

In truth, I would like to host everyone's files to give them a nice fast server for their free game, but I really need to see the response before I go around throwing too much money in to the project. So, to answer your question, we will never charge any developer for any use of the site. Game Jolt is and always will be free for everything.

Also note that Game Jolt is not just a host, but a way to publicize your game. You can post news, screenshots, etc. and get user feedback, all of which would usually require the developer building a dedicated site for the game. I would love to make a site that developers can use to push their games out to the world. So, any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks for your question. Sorry that the sentence was so unclear.

Trihan · Mon 22/12/2008 01:45:42

I'm interested, but I don't really have much in the way of displayable content yet. I'd rather the space was used by someone who has more to contribute than I do currently.

CROS · Mon 22/12/2008 02:18:42

That's nice of you to be thinking about other developers, Trihan. That's one of the reason I like the indie scene so much. I'll give you upload capability but keep the slots the same, this way you can put some stuff up but not take anyone's spot. You're able to put up incomplete games (even games that don't have files yet). And you can just post news articles and what not on the game's progress.

Trihan · Mon 22/12/2008 02:42:01

Aww, that'd be awesome dude, thanks!

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Mon 22/12/2008 08:12:31

I wish you luck with this, then. I'm sure you'll find many more than 25 people interested from this forum alone.

HillBilly · Mon 22/12/2008 10:37:47

I signed up, figuring I need some space pretty soon.

CROS · Mon 22/12/2008 14:52:47

Thanks, ProgZmax!

Quote from: HillBilly on Mon 22/12/2008 10:37:47
I signed up, figuring I need some space pretty soon.

Sounds good. We'd love it if you put up any games you've worked on. Any games we get are appreciated. You can also host soundtracks, game trailers, etc. Any files related to your game.

Also, anyone that actually signs up for Game Jolt and likes it: it would be great if you recommended us to friends or anyone else in the freeware game business. This thread won't last forever, and then it will be up to everyone who's signed up to get it out there.

CROS · Sat 27/12/2008 00:35:43

Being in the Christmas spirit, we've decided to extend the hosting to everyone forever. No more cap on the amount of developers that we'll host.

Note that Game Jolt is more than just a host, though. Game Jolt is a tool to publicize your freeware game and to get it out to the world.

How can you offer your support to Game Jolt for hosting everyone's games for free? Simple. Just sign up, put your games on the site, and link to them.

By the way, in the coming week we have some exciting features planned that we'll be rolling out! Check back to see.

Hope everyone had a merry Christmas!

Game Jolt

CROS · Thu 08/01/2009 17:14:40

Hey guys, I figured I'd give you an update as to the new developments with the site.

First off, ProgZMax's estimation was sadly off. Not many sign ups from this forum, yet. :'(

As to some new features on the site:

New file mirroring service where Game Jolt will mirror a URL you enter, updating the file on our server whenever the file on the URL changes. The files are stilled served from our server, so you don't have to worry about bandwidth.

Developers now have their own blogs!

RSS/Atom feeds for all the news sections on the site.

More detailed statistics for profile views, files, news articles, comments, etc. in the developer's dashboard.

You can now add soundtracks for your game. The songs from the soundtrack are streamable from your game's main page. The site also automatically zips up the soundtrack for easy distribution. You can check this feature out at Merry Christmas, Alfred Robins page:
http://gamejolt.com/games/adventure/merry-christmas-alfred-robbins/3/

Gamers now have profiles, so you can see who exactly is viewing/rating/commenting/downloading your games.

We also moved to a much better server just to keep things running smoothly.

Hope everyone likes the new stuff!

Game Jolt

LimpingFish · Thu 08/01/2009 19:32:20

Ooh, I like how this site is coming along.

Expect me to appear on it soon.

Snake · Thu 08/01/2009 19:58:28

Yes, it indeed looks and functions neatly. I signed up about 20 minutes ago... still awaiting the confirmation e-mail.

CROS · Thu 08/01/2009 22:16:57

Looking forward to your games, LimpingFish!

Snake, I authorized your account for you. I'm going to check into why the emails are taking so long to send out some times. Hope everything is smooth sailing from here on out.

Radiant · Mon 19/01/2009 19:34:58

Wait, what just happened to your site?

LimpingFish · Mon 19/01/2009 20:03:48

Indeed. "Legato"? I find this most perplexing. $:-\$

Stupot · Mon 19/01/2009 20:27:05

Both Gamejolt and Legato are registered to the same chap, David DeCarmine (CROS, maybe?).
Not sure if that tells us anything

Radiant · Mon 19/01/2009 21:35:53

It appears to have a few Lorem Ipsums on it. Not that that helps...

TerranRich · Tue 20/01/2009 05:00:00

Wow. I had the same exact idea for a site just like this. It would've been a CMS (content management system) where people could have their own mini-site with custom layouts, file uploads, image hosting, blogs, etc. You beat me to it!

voh · Tue 20/01/2009 08:51:24

Legato seems to be a rebranded version of the Lucent Web Framework, which he also seemed to have worked on. You can see it in the title bar when you go to 'User Guide', obviously he isn't done mass-replacing Lucent with Legato