Since everybody said last time I should have posted this sooner:

You can make a game for a game jam that works great on your machine, but is still a pain to play/rate/criticise for others. I have done so in the past. Please respect your fellow developers and their time! Make sure they can rate your game easily.

Do not …

… call your download theme.zip, ludumdare.tar.gz, game.exe or ld48.jar: If two people name their file after the game jam, or the game jam theme, there will be confusion.

… put a “Web” link to a Unity WebPlayer thingy or Java Applet: This does not let players know if your game works on Linux/Android/RasPI/iOS.

… upload .exe files only for Java, Lua and Python games: This excludes players on OSX/Linux who could just run your game if you had spent less effort packaging it.

… write “there is no Linux build”: Now it shows up when you for “Linux”.

… make arrows+x+z your only control scheme: Some people have French or German or totally different keyboards

… terminate the program on victory or player death

Do …

… give unique filenames: something like developerjamgamename.zip

… put your name, twitter, game name in the title screen

… be specific about platforms: Name your links Web(HTML5), Web(Flash) or Web(Unity)

… provide platform-independent packages: Upload .love/.jar/.py/.z5 files for mac/linux users if you can’t make an .app or .deb file. Other game devs may have java or inform7 or löve installed for their own game development.

… say what language/engine you used: Some people can’t run certain engines or versions of engines (like UE4in Wine or Unity 5.1 with certain integrated graphics processors)

… make unusual requirements clear: This includes gamepads, LAN or local multiplayer, motion controllers like Kinect, VR hardware

… host a public server for online multiplayer

… test if your game works on another machine: Sometimes you forget to package an asset or other dependency like an mp3 codec.

… port to more platforms later

… keep the time/effort to play your game in mind: People who rate 25 games don’t have time to sit through half-hour cut scenes or clicker games that require you to click for half an hour straight.

Thanks, and please comment what common mistakes make rating hard for you!