Patreon games dying off?

[Cartoon Smut]

I was just checking the patreon pages for breeding season, malise and the machine and crisis point, and their pledges seem to be steadily reducing. Are these just a few isolated cases, or a trend? I'm hoping patreon continues to be a viable model to support developers. The amount of english H games currently in development (hell) makes me giddy, but some of these guys sure are taking their sweet time.

I'm afraid that a few dishonest/lazy developers are going to ruin patreon for a decent chunk of people, and that good developers are going to suffer for it. What do you think?

 

[cloudconnected]

Re: Patreon games dying off?

It think it's quite simple. They just don't produce results that satisfy their patreons and so that number is lessening.

Also, people might just not be able to pledge anymore due to irl stuff.

 

[Nomo]

Re: Patreon games dying off?

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[Taifun Riders]

Re: Patreon games dying off?

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Exactly.
Is more representative to see the numbers of patrons than their total pledge, because patreon few weeks ago implemented a new way to show the total pledge calculating fees, patrons who don't pay...

On the other hand, it's true that if you're making longer you game and redoing everything just to stay more months recieven pledges....patrons realise it, they aren't fools.
I don't know if it's the case of these games. I just want to remark a very common thought in some creators.

 

[azurezero]

Re: Patreon games dying off?

It think it's quite simple. They just don't produce results that satisfy their patreons and so that number is lessening.

Also, people might just not be able to pledge anymore due to irl stuff.

the few messages i get from patrons tend to be about how moneys getting tighter and stuff...ive yet to receive any complaints from them though

 

[AltairPL]

Re: Patreon games dying off?

As you can see

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, MATM had little drop in support in November, but that was expected, since 0.03 was released November 1st, and in December there's slow but steady climb (not counting huge drop related to patreon's total display change). Hope this alleviates your fears at least a bit .

 

[Anon42]

Re: Patreon games dying off?

Crisis Point is doing fine. Like other people have posted, Patreon FINALLY released the update that shows an approximation of what you're actually earning; it takes out Patreon's fees and declined cards from the last month, so the numbers on a client's side might fluctuate more than you'd expect. As far as my earnings go specifically, I haven't really dropped much. October was my most profitable month by far; November was a little lower than it, but still more than any of the other months before it.

If you're planning on making a game via Patreon, just make sure you do it right - either adhere to a strict update schedule and never miss it, or set your game to Per Update - and if people like what you're putting out, they'll come. Just be prepared to deal with a lot of unnecessary hate for it for daring to want to be paid for your hard work, no matter how consistent you are with it.

 

[freeko]

Re: Patreon games dying off?

I'm afraid that a few dishonest/lazy developers are going to ruin patreon for a decent chunk of people, and that good developers are going to suffer for it. What do you think?

It has little to do with laziness and more along the lines of.. Why would I finish this game when I am getting $XXXX per month to not finish the game.

I have been against this model from the start, and I do not think it is a few dishonest/lazy patreons. I would say they are in the majority and that would ruin it for the ones who are honest. Not to go into any specific games, but I feel the pay per month plan is flat out bullshit that encourages the development of a game to find every hurdle and obstacle they can to delay the game being finished in any way shape or form possible. I can at least respect a patreon that is per update, because they need to reach the next goal before they get the pledges.

I truly hope this bubble bursts alot sooner rather than later. All it will take is for one patreon to lose their funding to start the chain reaction that I hope destroys this degenerate model. I am all for paying for a game when it is done, and I spent about $450 on games that I bought for others over the last month. I will not buy a demo of a game. If people wanted word to get out, they would be releasing demos like they do on dlsite before the game is finished. Hell I remember my magazines coming with demo disks, and demo cds as advertising gimmicks back in the day.

I never once paid for a demo of a game and I will not ever do so without getting it as part of a preorder bonus for buying the full game. I think that is the biggest problem I have with this model. Patreon users expect you to buy a demo and it has no bearing on the money used to buy the full game down the road. How much shit do you think Gamestop would get if the $5 put down to reserve a game did not go toward the purchase price of the game? We just want you to pay $5 for the privilege of buying the game from us later on, but it does guarantee your copy of the game! Sheer madness.

 

[asestado]

Re: Patreon games dying off?

It has little to do with laziness and more along the lines of.. Why would I finish this game when I am getting $XXXX per month to not finish the game.

I have been against this model from the start, and I do not think it is a few dishonest/lazy patreons. I would say they are in the majority and that would ruin it for the ones who are honest. Not to go into any specific games, but I feel the pay per month plan is flat out bullshit that encourages the development of a game to find every hurdle and obstacle they can to delay the game being finished in any way shape or form possible. I can at least respect a patreon that is per update, because they need to reach the next goal before they get the pledges.

I truly hope this bubble bursts alot sooner rather than later. All it will take is for one patreon to lose their funding to start the chain reaction that I hope destroys this degenerate model. I am all for paying for a game when it is done, and I spent about $450 on games that I bought for others over the last month. I will not buy a demo of a game. If people wanted word to get out, they would be releasing demos like they do on dlsite before the game is finished. Hell I remember my magazines coming with demo disks, and demo cds as advertising gimmicks back in the day.

I never once paid for a demo of a game and I will not ever do so without getting it as part of a preorder bonus for buying the full game. I think that is the biggest problem I have with this model. Patreon users expect you to buy a demo and it has no bearing on the money used to buy the full game down the road. How much shit do you think Gamestop would get if the $5 put down to reserve a game did not go toward the purchase price of the game? We just want you to pay $5 for the privilege of buying the game from us later on, but it does guarantee your copy of the game! Sheer madness.

i think mostly the same, i prefer to buy complete games and im not someone who donates just like that. Its not like i see it wrong however it has to be improved by... a lot. As you say if they divide the project in a few stages, say what they need to have acomplished it and then take money i think it would make the model better.

But well its better to not talk about this things and just ignore it, even if its just to not raise any "fighting spirit" in the forum.

 

[diegoletal]

Re: Patreon games dying off?

I am not very familiar with pantreon, so what I say might be completly off.

But from the little that I can see there's a lot of new games starting off but very few being finished.

It would be nice to have some data to work on. I tryed to search in the "compreensive patreon list" some games to see the % of them that where completed, the % that where on hold or where in development for a long time, etc... but I could not find this data anywhere =(

It would be nice to have this statistics because, withouth them, we are only guessing =/

 

[mxk1310]

Re: Patreon games dying off?

I am not very familiar with pantreon, so what I say might be completly off.
...
It would be nice to have this statistics because, withouth them, we are only guessing =/

Normally, the beta version of a game should roughly indicate how far off it is from being a complete game (0.1 meaning 10%, 0.2 being 20% etc.) Some developers sadly don't know how to number them, so it is indeed a wild guess.
Being the money grabbers they are, they instead post every beta version instead of making a good basic engine first and balancing their game ON PAPER. Working in this way, you would have to backtrack numerous times to fix things so I guess even the developers themselves most of the time don't know how far they are.

 

[torkenstiem]

Re: Patreon games dying off?

It would be nice to have this statistics because, withouth them, we are only guessing =/

i think theres a thread on hongfire hentia games that has a list of games either still bein worked on or not. not sure how many is patreon tho.

 

[SilentSilth]

Re: Patreon games dying off?

It has little to do with laziness and more along the lines of.. Why would I finish this game when I am getting $XXXX per month to not finish the game.

This is why I only support developers that take money once they've put out something for the month instead of the standard "give me money every month and you'll get something every few months to a year".

 

[Manamana]

Re: Patreon games dying off?

Exactly.
On the other hand, it's true that if you're making longer you game and redoing everything just to stay more months recieven pledges....patrons realise it, they aren't fools.
I don't know if it's the case of these games. I just want to remark a very common thought in some creators.

Indeed, but the more you play like that, the more you risk to loose all your patrons trust. And regaining trust is difficult.

It has little to do with laziness and more along the lines of.. Why would I finish this game when I am getting $XXXX per month to not finish the game.

I have been against this model from the start, and I do not think it is a few dishonest/lazy patreons. I would say they are in the majority and that would ruin it for the ones who are honest. Not to go into any specific games, but I feel the pay per month plan is flat out bullshit that encourages the development of a game to find every hurdle and obstacle they can to delay the game being finished in any way shape or form possible. I can at least respect a patreon that is per update, because they need to reach the next goal before they get the pledges.

Completely agree, in fact and apart from trusted artists who actually advertise a real release date, and keep their promises, I just can't pay a monthly fee for something I can't verify.
I don't have the money nor the trust to do that.

 

[Abandonedacc]

Re: Patreon games dying off?

Yeah the biggest problem are lack of communication and updates, obviusly people will get bored if it takes too much time and the results are poorly at the point to quit or call the project a scam.

 

[azurezero]

Re: Patreon games dying off?

Yeah the biggest problem are lack of communication and updates, obviusly people will get bored if it takes too much time and the results are poorly at the point to quit or call the project a scam.

you wouldnt expect a lack of communication from the people giving you money would you

 

[asestado]

Re: Patreon games dying off?

you wouldnt expect a lack of communication from the people giving you money would you

Haha dont worry, if thats what happen then there are two possibilitys. First is that you are doing a nice job, second is that they love you and want to throw you their money, be careful if its the second... just a recommendation XD

 

[YummyTiger]

Re: Patreon games dying off?

This whole thread is based on mistaken information. The notion that Patreon funding has gone down recently, which is incorrect. The displayed amount has changed to accurately reflect what the creators actually received, nothing more.

Therefore, the entire thread serves no purpose but to rehash tired old arguments. So, might as well throw my tired old argument into the thread:

Patreon is the most customer friendly model to ever exist for h-game distribution. YOU ONLY PAY WHAT YOU WANT. If you don't want to donate, THEN DON'T. Over half of the Patreon games are planned to be released for FREE. How many other game distribution models offer that? So, I'll bold this, if you don't like Patreon, DO NOT PLEDGE. Those games that are not free, are going to be sold upon completion. So, you're free to just wait and pay like normal. If you like English h-games, then fighting against Patreon is perhaps the silliest thing you could do.

 

[nightshad]

Re: Patreon games dying off?

It has little to do with laziness and more along the lines of.. Why would I finish this game when I am getting $XXXX per month to not finish the game.

I have been against this model from the start, and I do not think it is a few dishonest/lazy patreons. I would say they are in the majority and that would ruin it for the ones who are honest. Not to go into any specific games, but I feel the pay per month plan is flat out bullshit that encourages the development of a game to find every hurdle and obstacle they can to delay the game being finished in any way shape or form possible. I can at least respect a patreon that is per update, because they need to reach the next goal before they get the pledges.

I truly hope this bubble bursts alot sooner rather than later. All it will take is for one patreon to lose their funding to start the chain reaction that I hope destroys this degenerate model. I am all for paying for a game when it is done, and I spent about $450 on games that I bought for others over the last month. I will not buy a demo of a game. If people wanted word to get out, they would be releasing demos like they do on dlsite before the game is finished. Hell I remember my magazines coming with demo disks, and demo cds as advertising gimmicks back in the day.

I never once paid for a demo of a game and I will not ever do so without getting it as part of a preorder bonus for buying the full game. I think that is the biggest problem I have with this model. Patreon users expect you to buy a demo and it has no bearing on the money used to buy the full game down the road. How much shit do you think Gamestop would get if the $5 put down to reserve a game did not go toward the purchase price of the game? We just want you to pay $5 for the privilege of buying the game from us later on, but it does guarantee your copy of the game! Sheer madness.

hehehe hahahaah you just proved why i wont pay for demo's if im going to pay for a game. it better be done or the dev dont get anything from me.

main issue i have with patreon is trust. sure i payed for a demo. and a games development. but. what kind of protection do i have as an investor. if something goes wrong the developer suddenly. losses everything. virus. hacks. you name it. im out of money with nothing to show for it.

everything has risk i know. but if the dev suddenly. decides. hey i just made over a Mil in cash suddenly tells everyone. he bord and decides to be a complete sht and cancels the games dev and refuses to refund the investors. what kind of protection sort of suing his ASS in court do i have?

save the whole, welcome to the internet bs. cause that's just an excuse to comet fraud against decent and honost investors.

what keeping the dev from running off with our cash and go on a spending spree. then telling everyone he lost all the files. no refund. is there some kind of protection for us? or WORSE. he gets Mil of donations and finishes the game and its only 5 minutes long >< what do we do then. can we take him to court? cause legally he did finish it. so what do we do about that? nothing?

 

[YummyTiger]

Re: Patreon games dying off?

*SNIP*

You just answered your own question. Don't pledge any money if you don't trust the developer. In fact, that rebuttal works for every single argument against Patreon.

As for the rest of your post, when you purchased a complete game in the past, you also could have gotten screwed. There are plenty of buggy, problematic complete games out there. Steam refund is a new concept, and getting refunds on opened games in the past was pretty much nonexistent. As such, you have to be careful with what you spend money on--which is the same thing you should be doing with Patreon.