The notslop standard

1. What the seal certifies

For one version of one game, a demo or a full game, the seal certifies four things.

• Made by people. Real, human-directed development with visible iteration. Not generated in one go, not a reskin, not part of a mass-produced catalog.
• It works. A person played it. No crashes, dead menus, placeholder or debug leftovers in what we played.
• The page is honest. Screenshots, trailer and description show the game as it plays.
• AI use is disclosed. What AI did, area by area, and nothing that contradicts your Steam or itch.io disclosure. Using AI is fine.

The seal never says a game is fun, good, or AI-free.

2. What you do

Most developers need about 5 minutes.

1. Paste your game's link. Steam, itch.io or your own site. We read your public page and history and show you what we found.
2. Prove it's yours, in one step.
   • Steam: send a review copy to the notslop curator through Curator Connect, or add a short code to your store page for a day.
   • itch.io: sign in with itch.io, or add the code to your page.
   • Your own site: upload a small file or add a meta tag.
3. Confirm your AI use in eight areas: visuals, audio and music, voice, writing, code, translation, store art and trailer, and anything generated live while you play. We prefill what your store page already says.

Only if your public history is thin, add one proof of making: a public repository link, three dated progress posts, or a 1 to 3 minute screen recording of your project open in its editor.

You confirm everything is accurate and accept public revocation if it isn't.

3. How we check

3.1 Public evidence

Software reads your page age and update history, devlogs, your other releases, your store media and your disclosure, and points out anything a reviewer should look at. It never decides.

3.2 Play check

A trained reviewer plays on a clean machine or browser profile. Demos: about 20 minutes from the start. Full games: about 15 minutes from the start plus two later points we pick.

3.3 Defects

Reviewers tick specific defects in four groups (visuals, play, sound, honesty), each with a written severity.

3.4 Friction matches doubt

If something doesn't add up, such as many releases in a short time, store media that doesn't match play, or a disclosure that contradicts the game, we ask for a 5-minute maker walkthrough and a second reviewer decides.

3.5 Sign-off

A named reviewer signs every decision.

3.6 Audits

One certified game in ten gets a second look later. Nobody knows which.

4. Outcomes

We never publish games that weren't certified. During the founding period we aim to decide within 5 business days, and your status page always shows where you are.

5. The label

Each certificate has a public page at notslop.games/c/ followed by its number. It shows:

• the game and version;
• the scope: demo, full game or early access;
• the development history in one line;
• AI use, area by area;
• the checks done;
• the status: Certified, Superseded or Revoked;
• the standard version it was checked against.

6. Showing the seal

Use the badge kit.

• On Steam, use the Steam-safe seal, which has no web address because Steam doesn't allow one. Put it in the Special Awards section or near the top of About This Game, never on capsules or screenshots.
• Elsewhere, link the seal to your verification page.
• A demo seal must say DEMO.
• Don't redraw or recolor it.

7. Updates and re-checks

• A certificate covers the certified version and ordinary updates.
• After a demo seal, the full release gets a quick re-check of new content only. Your evidence carries over.
• A big expansion, new AI use or a new owner needs a re-check.
• We can re-check any game after a player report or an audit.

8. Revocation and appeals

• We revoke for false disclosure, faked evidence, a different game shipped under the certificate, or badge misuse.
• You hear why and get 14 days to respond, and two people decide.
• Revocations are public, with a reason category, and the developer's other certificates are re-checked.
• You can appeal any outcome once. Someone who wasn't involved decides.

9. Fees

• The founding cohort, the first 100 certified games, is free.
• Any future fee will be announced at least 30 days ahead and never charged to a game already certified.
• Nobody can buy a seal, a faster review or a place in picks.

10. Conflicts of interest

• notslop is run by the founder of Quorum, a small game studio.
• Quorum's games hold no certificate, because a seal can't vouch for its owner's own games. They are never listed in the catalog or picked by notslop.
• Reviewers declare conflicts and never review a friend's or their own game.

11. Changes

Every change gets a version number and a public changelog. Each certificate names the version it was checked against.

Changelog, 0.1 to 0.2

• Ownership is proved in one step instead of a code edit.
• Public history is read automatically.
• The 10 to 15 minute walkthrough and repository connection are no longer required. A walkthrough is only asked for when something doesn't add up.
• The demo play check is set at about 20 minutes.
• Added the Steam-safe seal.
• The wait after a decline is cut from 6 months to 3.
• The founding cohort is free.
• Quorum's games never receive a certificate.