In professional game development and creative technologies in general, it’s essential not only to build working prototypes but also to publish them in accessible formats for testing, showcasing, and feedback. All playable games and project builds in CSG courses will be distributed through itch.io, a widely used platform for hosting indie games, prototypes, and research demos.
Using itch.io ensures that:
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✅ Your project is easily shareable — testers, mentors, and stakeholders can access it with a single link.
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✅ You can host browser-based (WebGL) or downloadable builds with minimal setup.
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✅ Version control is transparent — each upload can be labeled (v1, v2, etc.), making progress easy to track.
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✅ Feedback is centralized through comments, ratings, or embedded links to surveys.
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✅ You gain experience publishing like a real developer or researcher, preparing you for future showcases, portfolios, or funding pitches.
Rather than submitting files manually each time, publishing your build to itch.io simulates real-world deployment and a user-facing communication, turning your prototype into something that can be played, shared, tested, and discovered.
👤 Creating an Itch.io Account
Create an itch.io account to be used as a portfolio site for showcasing your CSG projects.
1. Create a new or use a pre-existing itch.io account.
- The Account should have a professional username.
- The username can be your name, or you can choose to use the name of your future studio or brand.
- User names should be all viewing age-appropriate
2. Set-up Your Profile Page
- Write a paragraph or two about you and the purpose of this itch.io portfolio.
- For example, you might share that you are a TU student majoring in CSG, and this portfolio is where you will be sharing your CSG projects.
3. Verify and Make Public
- Verify your itch.io account before your profile becomes public.
- To verify your account, you will need to follow the email link you received when creating your account.
- To verify your account, you will need to follow the email link you received when creating your account.
- To ensure that your profile has been published, log out of itch.io.
- Then in the browser address bar type yourUsername.itch.io.
- If you can access your profile, when logged out, then your itch.io profile is published and public.
⤴️ Submitting to Itch.io
All CSG game/interactive projects must be submitted to itch.io
Submission must include the following information:
Game Title
- The title of the game should be something creative.
- DO NOT USE :
- Game Design Challenge XX
- Untitled Game
- Your Name’s Game
- The default “Creative Game Title”
Cover Image
All submissions must include an engaging Cover Image (thumbnail) for the game.
- Images can be of the game being played, screenshots, or representations of the theme.
- Or a custom thumbnail or stock image from sites like Pexels.com (https://www.pexels.com/ ).
Release Type
The Release Type depends on what you are uploading.
For most class projects set the type to Prototype
Kind of Project and Upload
When publishing your project to itch.io, you must correctly set the Kind of Project and the format of your Upload, depending on the kind of game or prototype you are submitting.
Follow the appropriate guidelines below:
📦 Physical or Print-to-Play Games
If your project is a board game, card game, or any physical/tabletop format:
- Set the Kind of Project to Downloadable Game.
- Upload all materials as a single PDF, including:
- Rules or gameplay instructions
- Any print-to-play components (cards, boards, tokens, etc.)
- Set the Upload Type to Document / Instructions
This ensures players can easily download and print everything needed to play.
💾 Digital Downloadable Games (Executable Builds)
For PC or Mac games made in tools like Unity, Unreal, Godot, Python, etc.:
- Export your game as an executable
- Compress everything into one .zip file
- Set the Kind of Project to Downloadable Game.
- Set the Upload Type to Executable
Make sure your build runs without installing additional software, unless clearly stated in the itch.io description.
🌐 Browser-Based Games (Unity WebGL or HTML Builds)
If your game runs directly in the browser, such as Unity WebGL, HTML5, or other web-based tools:
- Set the Kind of Project to HTML
- Upload the entire WebGL / HTML build folder zipped
- Set the Upload Type to Executable
- Check “This file will be played in the browser”
- Under Embed Options, choose Click to Launch in Fullscreen to prevent cropping or scaling issues
This ensures your game displays correctly across different screen sizes and devices.
Project Description
The game description should provide a clear description of the game and clear instructions on how to play the game.
The description must include:
- Game Title
- Platform: Type of game
- Genre: List the genre
- Rating: E+
- Target Market: Age range, game style
- Game Overview:
- Brief description of the game/story, about a paragraph or two.
- Brief description of the game/story, about a paragraph or two.
- Instructions:
- Requirements for playing the game (i.e., how to download)
- Overview of controls (i.e., Use mouse and keyboard to control player)
- Game Design Team
- Youe Name – Role on Project
- Name of Other Members – Role on Project
Genre and Tags
- Choose the appropriate game genre for your project.
- Add a few relevant tags to make your game more discoverable and search-friendly.
Visibility and Access
- Save your draft — until this step, visibility cannot be changed.
- After saving, preview your game page to confirm everything appears correctly.
- Go back to the “Visibility & Access” section and set Visibility to Public.
Congratulations 🎉, you now have can now start uploading to Itch.io.
👥 Adding Contributors
When working on a group game project, only one member needs to create and publish the itch.io page. After the page is live, that person can add the rest of the group as contributors.
Open the game page settings
- Log in to the account that created the page. From your itch.io dashboard, select Edit Game.
- Navigate to the Admins section
In the top menu, click More > Admins.
Add your teammates
- Enter the itch.io usernames of your group members.
- A unique link will be generated
- Copy the link and send it to each teammate, so they can accept the invitation.
Set contributor visibility
- On the Admins page, be sure to check “Display as Contributor” for each person.
- Have teammates accept the invite
Their status will show as Pending until they click the link. - Once accepted, the game will appear on every team member’s itch.io page.
