content(distribution): prepare an accurate cross-channel player launch kit

[zoeyrose]

Outcome

Prepare one reusable, provenance-cleared player launch kit for free discovery channels such as itch.io, IndieDB, IGDB/Twitch, relevant open-source game communities, and appropriate gaming press.

Publishing is gated on an end-to-end working public play path and explicit authorization for each external action.

Why

Free game directories and niche communities can provide qualified referral traffic, searchable backlinks, streaming-directory presence, and reusable launch coverage. A shared source package prevents descriptions, screenshots, releases, system requirements, and availability claims from drifting between services.

Sending players to an unresolved endpoint, stale download, or incomplete onboarding flow would waste scarce attention and damage trust. A downloadable ZIP alone is not sufficient launch evidence.

Scope

• Add a source-controlled distribution kit containing:
  • a one-line pitch and reviewed short, medium, and long descriptions;
  • factual genre, perspective, multiplayer, feature, platform, license, and content labels;
  • current system requirements and installation instructions;
  • immutable release, manifest, checksum, SBOM, and release-note coordinates;
  • canonical homepage, play, download, source, support, and press URLs;
  • human-created cover art, screenshots, logos, and a short authentic gameplay clip in channel-appropriate forms;
  • exact authorship, license, transformation, attribution, alternative-text, and digest records for every asset;
  • a channel matrix covering current field, format, account-ownership, moderation, and update requirements;
  • reviewed draft copy tailored to each channel without changing the underlying facts.
• Include at least:
  • itch.io;
  • IndieDB;
  • IGDB and the resulting Twitch directory/category path;
  • appropriate open-source/free-game directories;
  • rule-compatible community announcements;
  • a small press/tip list whose audience genuinely matches the game.
• Verify channel requirements against their current official guidance at delivery time and record the verification date.
• Add a launch go/no-go checklist that proves, from a representative clean Windows environment:
  • download and checksum verification;
  • extraction, startup, and configuration;
  • public service discovery and connection;
  • account/character onboarding where applicable;
  • the first meaningful gameplay objective;
  • honest failure, maintenance, and support guidance.
• Clearly distinguish supported Windows play from unsupported Linux, macOS, browser, or replacement-stack claims.
• Prefer a reusable static press-kit page or repository package over third-party embeds, trackers, or duplicated mutable facts.
• Define who owns later corrections when a release, platform, endpoint, or screenshot changes.
• Do not create third-party accounts, upload files, publish pages, contact press, submit directory entries, or make community posts as an implied part of a code/content change.

Important

The completed kit is not authorization to publish it. Before any external write, a maintainer must approve the exact service, account owner, assets, copy, destination URL, timing, and actor in this issue. Credentials and private correspondence must remain outside the repository.

Acceptance criteria

• One reviewed source package can populate every target without contradictory versions, platforms, licensing, or playability claims.
• All imagery and footage depict actual Atrinik material accurately and satisfy the website's provenance, accessibility, notice, and performance contracts.
• No temporary generated concept image is presented as gameplay or used as final launch media.
• A clean-machine rehearsal reaches meaningful gameplay through the production download and public endpoints, with its release, date, environment, and results recorded.
• The go/no-go checklist fails closed when the release, DNS, TLS, directory, rendezvous, server, or onboarding path is unavailable.
• Draft announcements respect each community's current rules and provide useful context rather than repeated promotional link drops.
• The kit contains no trackers, credentials, private contacts, unsupported feature promises, or mutable guessed download coordinates.
• No account creation, upload, publication, submission, outreach, or community post occurs without target-specific authorization recorded here.
• Each authorized publication records its final public URL, published facts/version, date, owner, and future update path.
• npm run check, npm run build, npm run deploy:dry-run, and git diff --check pass for website changes.

Dependencies

• Relaunch atrinik.org from the standalone MIT website repository #4 owns the canonical player, download, server, gallery, and support journeys needed by the kit.
• content(media): replace temporary generated concept art with human-created visuals #22 owns replacement of temporary generated concept art with human-created, provenance-cleared visuals.
• content(home): lead with a player-first Atrinik Classic pitch #26 owns the core player proposition.
• content(play): publish a player-first Classic getting-started path #28, content(discovery): publish verified gameplay and world pages #29, and content(guide): publish a verified first-hour Classic walkthrough #30 own the play, gameplay/world, and first-hour destinations used by launch traffic.
• docs(discovery): audit and correct external Atrinik listings #31 owns correction of existing listings; this issue covers new launch distribution rather than corrections.
• atrinik/metaserver-worker#18 and its consumer-release dependencies must establish the production public discovery/connect path before launch is marked ready.