VS the Itchio Algorithm
A small analysis of the effects of video comments on the itch.io algorithm in regards to position on the Popular section, views, downloads, and purchases.
This analysis only contains data relating to the website and not the desktop application.
Video Games
Game 1: Makin Biscuits by Kaden Ramstack
On May 28, 2021 the browser video game Makin Biscuits received a video comment, which increased the viewership and plays significantly for the next week.
The Previous Day, May 27, the game had 0 views. The day the comment was posted the views rose to 142, 192 the next day, then 219 at its height before falling down to around >5 per day on June 5th where it has remained.
The plays for the game also rose in a similar fashion: 63 plays on May 28, then 107, 103, then 95, then a sharp decrease before decreasing to around >5 plays per week.
There is no data as to the placement of the game on the popular page.
Game 2: Out of CTRL by Ezra Szanton, Andrew Knollmeyer, Cam Perry, Daichi Fob, and Katherine Tole
This similar trend has been observed in other browser video games such as Out of CTRL by Ezra Szanton et al.
On February 14, 2022 the game had apx. 50 views.
On February 15, the game received a video comment and the amount of views rose to apx. 325, then rose to 400, then down to apx 380 then down the following two days to 200 before receiving a second video comment which rose the game back up to apx 350, then 400 the next day before falling steadily over the next week.
The browser plays follow the numbers in a similar manner where, at the height of the views it received approximately 300 plays.
There is no data as to the placement on the popular page.
Game 3: Sokodig by Ezra Szanton
Szanton then tested this theory again by posting a video comment on his own game Sokodig. The game had received 0 views or plays the previous week. On February 21, the day Szanton posted the video, the views rose up to 20, then 19 the next day, then 15, then steadily decreased back to 0 by February 27.
The Browser plays follow a similar fashion. February 21 the game received apx 15 plays, then 14 the next day, then apx 8 the following two days before returning to 0 on February 27.
There is no data as to the placement on the popular page.
Video Game Conclusion
Posting video comments for video games significantly increases the amount of views and plays a game receives. This is further proven by the comment sections of any of the video games on itch.io’s popular page. All of the video games listed at the top have received dozens of video comments from reviewers or Let’s Players.
The effects on popularity from posting a video comment last around a week. As of March 20, 2022, there is no significant data as to whether or not it has any long-term lasting effects on the views or plays of a game.
Games (TTRPGS)
All of these games were released over a month before they received their first video comment. Newer games tend to have more downloads, views, and purchases and have a higher chance at appearing at the top of the Popular page on itch.io.
Game 1: Moriah by Kyle T.
On February 16th, Aaron Voight posted a video comment on the TTRPG Moriah by Kyle T.
It is worth mentioning that Moriah was Itchfunding at the time and was being promoted by Kyle T. on twitter on a daily basis.
The day before the video comment Moriah received apx 90 views, apx 2 downloads, and apx 2 payments.
The day of the comment Moriah received apx 90 views, apx 4 downloads, and apx 2 payments.
The day after the comment Moriah received apx 95 views, 0 downloads and payments.
The views for Moriah remained consistent with no significant variation over the week after the video comment.
However, there was a spike in sales and downloads on February 19, which had increased to 20 downloads and 8 sales. The author believes that this is because February 19 was the second Saturday of the month and may have been a payday for some people.
The author believes that the twitter promotion may have led to the lack of any significant increase in views, downloads, or sales due to a video comment.
However the video comment did have an impact in the placement of the game on the Popular page on itch.io.
Moriah was near the top of the page within the first hour after the video comment was posted.
Game 2: San Sibilia by Jimmy Shelter
On February 26, 2022 Jimmy Shelter posted a video comment on their own game San Sibilia.
The day before, February 25, the game had received 1 view.
The day of the comment it received 18 views, then increased to 26 views for the next two days.
(From a DM with Jimmy Shelter. The uptick towards the end of the image is due to the game being in the TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Texas Bundle.)
Shelter also stated that San Sibilia sold 3 copies of the game within the week following the video comment, as well as a noticeable increase in downloads of community copies.
(From a DM with Jimmy Shelter.)
There was no picture taken, but San Sibilia also appeared near the top of the Popular page on itch.io, similar to Moriah.
Game 3: Blood Mountain Resort & Spa by Jimmy Shelter et al.
The video comment for Blood Mountain was posted by Shelter on February 26. The Game Blood Mountain was published on Emiel Boven's itch.io page.
The day before the video the game received 9 views, the day of the video 12, then 14, and 21 at the peak.
(From a DM with Jimmy Shelter.)
Download data and Popular Page data is not available for this game at this time.
Game 4: Numbskulls by Kaden Ramstack
On March 1, Sam Leigh posted a video comment on the game Numbskulls.
February 28, the day before the video comment, Numbskulls received 4 views, 2 downloads, and 0 purchases.
March 1, the day of the video comment, there were 2 views, 0 downloads, and 0 purchases.
March 2, there were 12 views, 1 download, and 0 purchases.
March 3 the TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Texas Bundle was released. Numbskulls was a part of this bundle and the author believes that most of the views and downloads came from this. The game received 30 views and 153 downloads. Buyers of the bundle do not have to view the game page in order to download the game files.
March 4, there were 77 views and 344 downloads.
However, Numbskulls did reach the top of the Popular Page on itch.io within the first three hours of the video comment. Unfortunately there was no picture taken.
In comparison to another game that was in the TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Texas also by Ramstack, Numbskulls did not perform as well in terms of views and downloads.
Game Comparison: Numbskulls vs Alone on a Map
On March 2, the day before the TTRPG Bundle, Alone on Map game received 9 views and 8 downloads.
On March 3, the day of the bundle, Alone on a Map< received 121 views, and 390 downloads.
On March 4, the second day of the bundle, Alone on a Map received 200 views and 702 downloads.
It is worth noting that the number of downloads includes all the files that are available for a game.
For Numbskulls, 6 files are available. Most files are the same game in different formats but there is an Optional Character sheet available for download.
For Alone on a Map 6 files are also available. Most files are the same game in different formats but there is a Required grid sheet available for download.
Game 5: Salt & Strife by Evan Doyle
On March 27, 2022 Evan Doyal posted a video comment on his own game Salt &Strife.
The day before, March 26 the game had 0 views and 0 downloads.
The day the video comment was posted it received 10 views and approximately 11 downloads.
The second day, March 28, the game received 15 views and 10 downloads.
Salt & Strife also appeared near the top of the popular page at around 30th to 40th place, approximately 10 places below Honey Heist, a game which remains constantly near the top of itch.io’s Popular page.
(Red Emphasis added by Ramstack)
Salt & Strife also appeared near the top of the Free tag, with the settings set to popular as well.
However, the most interesting thing about the video for Salt & Strife is that the video was unrelated to the game itself.
From an Email with Doyal he stated:
"Your google doc was super interesting and, as it turns out, helpful! There was a question in the doc of whether it mattered or not if the video needed to be related to the game. To test this, I dropped an unrelated video comment on my Salt & Strife game, just a vid of some music thematically related to the game but with no keywords which would connect them."
(This article was original posted on Google Docs before this NeoCities page was created)
The Video comment he posted on his own game simply stated “Some Thematic Inspo” and a link to music by Thomas Müntzer.
Please see the “Video Relevance” Section for more information.
Game 7: Mushi Melee, Rod, Reel, and Fist, and Mendicant Spell Vixens by Richard Kelly et al.
Kelly stated in a Twitter DM that the game Mushi Melee received no change in views since they posted a video comment that linked to a 12 second sound clip. Initially this led to the assumption that the video content might be a factor in the algorithm, but the author no longer believes that to be the case.
Kelly had also been promoting Mushi Melee on twitter since its release. The author believes that, like Moriah, this may have contributed to the video not being a large influence on views or popularity for the game. It is also worth noting the video comment was posted within the first two weeks of the game’s release. Newer games tend to be more popular so the video comment may not have added any more benefits to the game’s popularit.
(From a DM with Kelly)
Kelly also posted a video for the games Rod, Reel, and Fist and Mendicant Spell Vixens, both older games, which did receive an increase in views.
Kelly also stated that the increase in views for each game was relative to the amount of views they had previously received. Mendicant Spell Vixens previously had 0 views the weeks before and received 8 views after the video comment. It is worth noting Mendicant Spell Vixens is currently in the Seasonal Selects Spring TTRPG Bundle which ran until April 14, 2022.
The numbers for Rod, Reel, and Fist were not provided.
The position on the Popular page for itchi.io was not recorded for any of the three games.
The Video Comments for Mushi Melee, Rod, Reel, and Fist, and Mendicant Spell Vixens have since been deleted.
Update: 6/27/22
Game 8: Her Oddessy by S. Kaiya J.
On June 16th, 2022, user Black Dragon Dungeon Company posted a video comment on the game Her Oddessy.
The Day before, June 15th, the game had 23 views and 12 downloads.
The Day of the comment, June 16th it had 32 views and 19 downloads.
The next day, June 17th it had 56 views and aproximately 48 downloads.
From an email with Kaiya J.
On the morning of 6/17, less than 12 hours after the video comment, Her Odyssey jumped up to #4 on the Popular Physical Games rankings on Itch. It climbed to #1 on 6/19 and remained either #1 or #2 (trading off with Lancer) until 6/21. It dropped to #5 on 6/22, then rapidly dropped on 6/23 to #9 in the morning, #12 at noon and in the twenties by evening.
Kaiya J. also noted in the email that Her Oddessy was a part of the TTRPGs for Reproductive Rights Bundle, which launched May 13th, and noted that the pre-expsoure might have lead to a less significant increase in views and downloads due to the video comment as viewed in the 90-day chart below.
Game Assets
Asset: Bakery Asset Pack by Kaden Ramstack
On February 27, Kaden Ramstack posted a video comment on his own Game Asset, Bakery Asset Pack.
The day before it received 3 views and 0 downloads.
The day of the comment it received 18 views and 6 downloads.
The day after the comment it received 84 views and 11 downloads.
The third day it received 88 views and 12 downloads.
Afterwards the views steadily decreased. The downloads fluctuated between days but also showed a decrease in downloads.
There was no photo recorded but the Bakery Asset Pack did appear near the top of the Popular page for Game Assets.
Tools
Tool: Indie TTRPG Generator by Michael Klamerus
Some time during the last week of February 2022 Ezra Szanton posted a video comment on the Tool Indie TTRPG Generator. The tool did not go to the top of the Popular page of Tools on itch.io and Klamerus stated in a tweet that there was no uptick in traffic to the tool.
As of March 21, 2022 there is no definitive answer why the video comment did not improve the popularity of the Tool.
Video Relevance
All of the video comments include an embedded YouTube video.
Makin Biscuits: Browser Game
Video: A Lets Play of the Game
The game received an increase in views and popularity.
Out of CTRL: Browser Game
Videos: 2 Lets Plays of the Game
The game received an increase in views and popularity.
Sokodig: Browser Game
Video: a Music track by Louie Zong
The game received an increase in views and popularity
Moriah: Physical Game
Video: A review by Aaron Voight
The game did not receive an increase in views and popularity. This may have been due to Twitter promotions.
San Sibilia: Physical Game
Video: A playthrough by Chris Chinchalla
The game received an increase in views and popularity
Blood Mountain Resort & Spa: Physical Game
Video: a review by Randy Angle
The game received an increase in views and popularity
Numbskulls: Physical Game
Video: A review by Sam Leigh
The game received an increase in views and popularity
Salt & Strife: Physical Game
Video: A music track by Thomas Müntzer
The game received an increase in views and popularity
Bakery Asset Pack: Game Asset
Video: 30 sec slide show of the images in the pack. This video contains no sound
The Asset received an increase in views and popularity
Indie TTRPG Generator: Tool
Video: A music video for The Shin’s song The Rifle's Spiral
The Tool did not received an increase in views and popularity
Mushi Melee
Video: Nature SFX
This product did not receive an increase in views or popularity. Possibly due to Twitter promotion or recent publication of the game.
Video since deleted
Rod, Reel, and Fist
Video: Review by Talking About Games; Review by Sandro’s Dev Corner
This product received an increase in views and popularity.
Unclear if the two videos were in one post since the posts have been deleted
Mendicant Spell Vixens
Video: Review by Talking About Games
This product received an increase in views and popularity.
The video has since been deleted
Conclusion
Does posting a video comment increase the popularity of a product on Ichio?
Yes, posting a video comment on a Physical Game, Video Game, or Game Asset will increase it's popularity on itch. For Physical Games, and Game Assets it will most likely appear at the top of the Popular Page. There is no current evidence it works for Tools.
Does this increase the amount of views a product receives?
For video games this increases the amount of views by a significant amount and in some cases more than 200 views.
Physical Games received approximately 20 more views for 3 days after the video comment was posted. The second two days after the comment was posted garnered the most views and by the end of the week the views had returned to the average amount before the comment.
For Game Assets there is only data for one product, so the author is hesitant to state whether or not posting a video comment will increase downloads for all Game Assets that receive a video comment. However, there was a dramatic increase in views and downloads for the week after the comment was received for Bakery Asset Pack.
Does this increase the Sales a product receives?
Only one of the games in the analysis had any increase in sales in the week following the video comment.
It is of the opinion of the author that by posting a video comment on itch.io in the physical games section will generate >10 more sales.
Does it matter who leaves the video comment?
No, Sokodig, San Sibilia, Salt & Strife, and Bakery Asset Pack all received video comments from the same account that published the product on itch.io. All of these products still benefited from the video comment the same as if a different account had published it.
Does the video need to be related to the game to work?
The author believes that the video does not need to be related to the product for the product to receive the effects of publishing a video comment.
Should I still post video comments on Itch?
YES! But be polite!
If you made a game, some people have shown hesitancy about posting videos in the comments, and you might want to include in the game description some sort of encouragement to have people post their videos.
Can I post TikTok videos directily onto itch.io?
Unfortunatley, no, you will need to upload the video to YouTube to be able to embed it in a comment on itch.io.
Please keep in mind that there are not many TTRPG games that have video comments and the results of posting a video comment are subject to change as more games receive video comments.
TL;DR
Does posting a video comment on itch.io make that much of a difference?
- It sends the game to the top of the popular page for about a week but there isn’t really a significant increase in views, sales, or downloads.
- The game might get 20 more views and an increase of ten or less sales.
- Yes, posting a video comment on your own game's page will also work.
- Video doesn’t need to be related to game.
Did you receive a video comment and wish to contribute data?
Data Needed:
Name of Product
-
Type of Product
Views: Day Before Comment, Week After Comment
Downloads: Day Before Comment, Week After Comment
Sales: Day Before Comment, Week After Comment
DM Twitter: @KadenRamstack
Email: Kaden.Ramstack@gmail.com
This article was last updated 6/27/2022
Top of Page