Is there a process around games that no longer seem to have a developer?

[katmk]

In the process of logging a game-breaking bug for Yokohama, I noticed that there hasn't been a developer response since 2021. I know that a lot of games are built by volunteers, so I wouldn't want to chase anyone down but if one isn't actively being worked on, is there a way to request someone else to take a look at it?

[ChiefPointThief]

Every time I search Martian dice I see Martian chess so I decided to try it. It doesn’t load & when I looked at the ppl working on the project none of them have been here for years. I spent time learning the game & trying to find people to play with only to find out it doesn’t even work. So for games like this that appear to be abandoned they should just be removed.

[thoun]

We will welcome dev volunteers that want to fill up for leaving ones. If you are interested, contact us throught the Studio support

[katmk]

I absolutely would if I could but my technical ability is strictly limited to HTML/CSS.

[T72on1]

I understand that most games here are being developed by volunteers. People who we can't thank enough to spend their free time on it. But, as the OP stated, it is inevitable that development for some games will be abandoned.

I think it would be nice to see it in one glance if a game hasn't been worked on for a certain amount of time (6 months, 1 year?). This way, people don't have to ask around to know what's happening. I understand that one can just look at the date of the bug reports being worked on, developer responses, ... . But not everyone finds their way there. So it would be easier to have some kind of label informing that development for that game has stalled. That shouldn't be too much work to do, I'd reckon.

[ChiefPointThief]

There was an end game bug in dig up that decided outcomes that went unfixed. The whole community became aware of it and played around it. Then there was a bug that made the game unplayable that remained for a long time. Thoun (who isn’t the dev) I’m guessing saw the complaints and finally fixed it. So if the original dev abandons the project it shouldn’t be erased (like I suggested for Martian chess). But there should be a noticeable symbol to indicate that the game doesn’t function properly (maybe like a sign on the game page for broken games like premium games have the star).

[Jellby]

I think it would be nice to see it in one glance if a game hasn't been worked on for a certain amount of time (6 months, 1 year?).

Not exactly "in one glance", but for each game you can see the date of the latest version under "Release" in its game page. For instance, for Yokohama it is "231220-1108", I let you figure out what it means. So, even if there has been no developer response in the bugs, there has been some update less than one year ago.

[robinzig]

I think it would be nice to see it in one glance if a game hasn't been worked on for a certain amount of time (6 months, 1 year?).

Not exactly "in one glance", but for each game you can see the date of the latest version under "Release" in its game page. For instance, for Yokohama it is "231220-1108", I let you figure out what it means. So, even if there has been no developer response in the bugs, there has been some update less than one year ago.

While this may indeed be a useful source of information, I'd be cautious in assuming "no release for a long time" means "no longer has an active developer". It could just be that the game is in a mature state, with no serious bugs or missing features remaining - not necessarily that there are no reports, but where the developer considers making changes in response to them a poor use of their time. In such a case, if you discovered a genuine bug (which would necessarily be a rare edge-case bug, if the game is reasonably-often played on BGA without it having been reported before), they may still respond to the report and be able to fix it.

[Jellby]

Indeed. And a recent update does not mean there's an active developer. It could have been a trivial (or even automated) change or license update made by someone who has no intention of doing any further maintenance.