Game discarded?

[coral kettle]

My game got discarded for "not being a video game", even tho Wplace.live is on IGDB. Why do they got a pass and not me since it's the same game (I mean, mine is even more a video game than them because I got achievements, daily quests, guilds etc...).
I really can't wrap my head around why you thought it's not a video game, also for references, I'm launching the app soon, AppStore and PlayStore both agreed it's a video game 🤷‍♂️

IGDB ID : 378616

[slim escarp]

What we define the criteria as minimum for being a video game is not the same as others.
If Wplace.live is the same as yours then maybe it was accepted by mistake

[coral kettle]

Well, yeah but you could see why it's not fair?
I'm curious about what's the criteria for being a video game is then? Because I don't see how mine wouldn't be video game

[oblique niche]

Can you share what was your contribution for? We're lacking context here sorry.

Regarding the AppStores: unfortunately the notion of game for those platforms is incredibly broad, so no it's not because PlayStore or AppStore says it's a game that we consider it one. For example apps that deal with V-Bucks, avatars, alphabet learning for toddlers etc.. are arguably not games by our standards.

[coral kettle]

Hum, I added the IGDB ID so I thought the ID could be used to retrieve the contribution
Here's the link : https://www.igdb.com/games/better-place/changes/2625576

No I understand it's just that I wanted to give examples that everywhere it's considered a game, but to each their standard that's right, I just can't possibly understand how this wouldn't be a game.
Also the contribution was added a few months ago now, since then logos changed etc, I can't update the contribution once discarded it seams

[slim escarp]

No, once discarded it has to be re-submitted

from a quick glance Bplace seems to be the exact same as Wplace

[coral kettle]

I don't mind if I get the green light it's indeed a game

[coral kettle]

yeah, it's based on the exact same concept, but even more gamified

[slim escarp]

I can't safely tell where the line is drawn, need an admin input on this

but if it is more gamified then I would think it might meet the minimum, but again don't know

[coral kettle]

I hope so, but I mean, again Wplace seemed to have met the minimum without being gamified?

(and I'm not saying Wplace shouldn't be on IGDB, more that I can't figure out why Better Place wouldn't be)

[slim escarp]

that's why again it might have been accepted by mistake if the criteria aren't met on IGDB's side

[coral kettle]

Let's wait for an admin input then

[covert edge]

Yeah, looking at Wplace, it seems it should not have been accepted in. I will get that archived. Thanks for bringing it to our attention!

[coral kettle]

What about my game? What part does it not pass?

[covert edge]

We asked for gameplay footage and when we looked, we didn't see significant gameplay elements. We would consider it to be a collaborative art tool.

[coral kettle]

I'm sorry I'm going to be the annoying one that is trying to debate here, and I know what it's like.. So, sorry in advance, I'm trying to understand!

Here's my reasoning:
Is a game about making art wouldn't be considered a game then? Is Skribbl.io not considered a game? Gartic Phone either?
I'm curious about what would be your definition of tool, because for me a tool is something used to perform a specific task that brings value/teach something/have an outpout of some sort.
My website is not something where you can learn pixel art, or just create pixel art to export or something. It's a pixel war on the map of the world, where you have daily quests to complete, achievements for milestones, leveling with XP, colors to unlocked, guild system, battle events etc.
I'm really struggling to see which part in this is a tool and not game, or the difference with the 2 games I've quoted

[covert edge]

Skribbl.io and Gartic Phone have objectives with prompts of what to draw and the objective of trying to get others to guess. We would consider this to be significant gameplay rather than gamified elements as part of a tool.

[coral kettle]

Yeah, so does my game, there is a clear gameplay strategy loop:

• Players have a limited number of pixels they can place and upgrade, governed by a cooldown timer. Every move is a strategic decision.
• Players join guilds to coordinate attacks and defend specific areas of the canvas. This creates a persistent "war for pixels"
• Progression (reward system): participating grants experience points or perks that enhance their influence on the board
• Social meta where the gameplay emerges from the diplomacy, betrayal, and coordination between factions, transforming a static canvas into a living MMO experience

And the Guild War events have a clear "win/lose" state if that's what you're looking for.

How are games where you simply draw on templates allowed then? (https://www.igdb.com/games/pixel-draw)
I'm fearing the bias on game/tool is based on the fact that mine is a browser game, I might be wrong but that's the feeling I'm getting

[sand meadow]

👋 another staff member here 🙂

There is no bias against browser games on IGDB. We have tons of them! We understand what your project is doing but we wouldn't consider it a video game at this time. That doesn't mean that you can't get a Twitch category though if that is what you are after. Do you have a link that you can share to your project?

[coral kettle]

I was talking about the browser bias vs purely pixel art making games like the link I sent, sorry if it wasn’t clear
To the game? It’s https://bplace.art

Also, idk if this could help on how the game is viewed, but this will be the store presentation of the app releasing soon

[sand meadow]

It's very cool! but not something we would consider as a video game at this time. Thank you for sharing the screenshots. I hope the project is successful! I'd be curious how it compares to WPlace but that's a whole other conversation 😅

[coral kettle]

Agree to disagree then, any other way to add it as a Twitch category?
Yes it's clearly based on Wplace mechanics, but offers a lot more quality of life improvements, whole lot of new features and better moderation

[sand meadow]

I know WPlace was classified as Entertainment in the iOS store if I am remembering correctly 🤔

[sand meadow]

Yep another way would be to reach out to Twitch support. We can also DM the team directly to see if this is something they would consider as well. This way we tackle it from 2 angles.

[coral kettle]

I'm pretty sure they never had an app? I'm actually planning on being the first game of this type to release an app (to go with the quality of life aspect)

But what's for sure is that both on App Store and Play Store I'm classified as Game

[coral kettle]

Sure! That would help a lot thanks
Do you know if I need to reach out to a specific Twitch support service?

[sand meadow]

They should be able to direct you while using the generic one

[sand meadow]

Can confirm I've messaged the proper team!

[coral kettle]

thanks for your help, reached out too, don't know if I put the right categories because nothing seemed to match but we'll see

(also maybe I should have explained better that I'm fighting this war not to be an ass, but because I'm planning on adding a Twitch stream feature in the game to enable streamers to play with their chat, but this feature without a stream category wouldn't make sense)

[sand meadow]

Yep no worries at all!