Mooniverse News 6-12-26
Welp, its that time again. Going to leave this one free, because part of it pertains to my free post from a few days ago...
Going to let that go for now and do happy stuff. If you are a paid member and you havent voted, vote now. You have three days left from when this was posted.
One of the two shining stars of my donors, Philip reported two bugs. I wasn't able to replicate the first... But the second was squashed.
I also added a feed on my Discord to showcase the excessive promotional work I do on BLUESKY. So you can now follow along with my Bluesky hijinks if you want and yes, I am too active. It's very easy to be active on my phone with Bluesky. Plus I have made many connections and friends from there who are now mutual recommendations. Many of whom, you might have joined from...
I have also continued preliminary work on PM2.
Now back to the free post from a few days ago...
First and foremost importantly, because the free writing nature of how I make this posts can leave ambiguity. Let me be clear.
If you are not on financially sturdy grounds and you need to eat. By god, please take care of yourself and live. I am sorry deeply for leaving that unsaid and to leave anyone feeling like a money tree to be shaken. That is never something I want to do and I sat there for an hour after one reply, comtemplating deleting the post in shame and regret... So..... I can pay my rent, etc. It's just this project costs a lot of time, effort, energy and I am very much not compensated for it right now and it IS very frustrating that Itchio has castrated me and removed a steady flow of income from my pocket and all because some random clowns don't like being horny.
Unfortunately, this IS my second job. My first job keeps my lights on. Keeps me stable, not thriving, but stable enough to live. So... Well, don't know what else to say... The expectation is... from everyone else and how THEY do things to give faster updates so you have more content to enjoy... I feel that's the one huge change from the AI parasite infesting the adult game sphere for me. AI is too easy to use and creates adult gaming McDonalds and I prefer to be Five Guys or In and Out (for west coast Americans). I want you with quality burgers and I want your small fries to fill the bottom of your bag so much you ask "Is this what they call small?"...
Anywho... I am ranting and raving again... I have over 1800 followers from varying places and I don't know what I can do to gain 100 subscribers for the very first time ever.
So humble goal... 100 subs. Yes, I have never passed 100 subscribers in the history of this page. Can I? IDK. But I can try...
Anywho, have a wonderful day...
Comments (4)
I feel like you need to hear this, so despite being a free follower, i'll chime in. I'm not subbed because my current financial situation is uncertain, though i have been subscribed to other patreons before. Relevant because i was subbed multiple months (until i was no longer financially comfortable enough) despite knowing that the game of theirs i loved wasn't being actively worked on. Having long times between updates isn't a big deal so long as you don't give the impression that you've abandoned the project. A somewhat regular schedule of "hey, this is what i'm working on" or "hey, this will take longer than expected because of irl trouble/financial issues/etc" is all it takes. AI slop is fast, sure, but its also inconsistent and, as cringe as it sounds, soulless. You can tell there was no effort put into the writing or art, it feels far too sanitary, too distant. Not to mention all the errors in logic and images. (Adult-)Games, like any piece of media, no matter if book, film, song or else, have the potential to alter someone's perception, way of thinking, spark thoughts that lead to drastic changes in people's lives. I know i've had moments where adult games made me feel all fuzzy inside and perceive the world around me quite differently. Should mention that Project Moon was one of the games that blazed the way for me towards those positive changes in my life. AI Slop doesn't do that - it lacks the human experience that the writer pours into it. If i can have slop that barely scratches the itch right now or have a great experience later that leaves me wanting more, why would i opt for the slop? So i'll wait, patiently, no matter how long it takes and as funds allow. In regards to the other commenter - I disagree. Devs sharing that they're struggling humanizes them, tells the reader that they're not just some entity behind a screen but an actual person with fears, worries, hopes and all. That includes publicly asking about why people aren't subbing, so by no means should you feel bad about your other post. Something i've seen included in other creator's posts of this kind is a reminder to "ensure you don't endanger yourself when giving to others"/"spend responsibly" - that may help alleviate your fears/anxiety about making people feel they should sub/donate when they can't. I'm much more likely to support someone who shares their feelings and is open with their community than some sanitized, corpo like creator. Because with a corpo, i'm making a transaction, paying for a service. But with a creator i like, i want to support them and enable them to keep creating. Thats also behind the first person i subbed to, they made bsky post about the itch deindexing wave threatening their livelihood and that some of their contracted artists would be in danger of becoming unhoused if things continued. Person that cares about their art, is open and transparent about the state of things AND cares about the people working for them? If i can spare the funds, of course i'll support. So no, seeing "doom posting" wouldn't steer me away, but instead to sub and comment, requesting you to continue unless its dangerous to do so (financially or otherwise). Giving non-sanetized poll options also serves to humanize you in my eyes, so i totally disagree with their opinion. The only thing that actually turns away people from subscribing is seeing no recent posts (within around 2 months). Personally, not seeing any free posts also makes me cautious, though i don't expect anything more than the mentioned "hey, still working on this" posts to be free - just to allow me to get an idea of the state of the project, if its even still being worked on or if you've abandoned it. I wish you a wonderful day as well, including you, possible unrelated reader, and hope the sub and the itch situation both improve.
Thanks and free opinions matter. You can show support in free manners too (rating me on Itchio, following me on Bluesky and reposting at times things we mutually like, joining the discord and being active and keeping the convo alive, etc.) I appreciate that from people that cant logically afford that such as yourself all the same… What you said is what I tried to convey to Ham Givings. I want to be real and honest but also be good overall. Yea, its “having my cake and eating it” but I would prefer to do things the right way. I dont want to be an empty soulless corporate-ish type. I am a real person making passion projects and frustration over passion projects not having the success envisioned is disheartening and its ok to not be ok with it. Anywho, hope things get better for you and luck rewards you. Hope you have a nice weekend.
It felt like when you were releasing Moon, there was an update what felt like everyother month, if not monthly at the start. Meanwhile ITB is like every 4-6 months. Even you F9* page, the ITCH redirects to Moon instead of ITB? Not to mention that like half the posts you make about ITB is doom posting about quiting it. Why would people start supporting a game that could be dropped at any second. Yeah I go to a page for a game im intrested in, and some of the first thing I see is not just one, but two polls about quiting the game. Seeing "PM2. Get to it. No one is here for that "IN THE BAG" or "I don't like it, can you just make PM2 already and stop wasting energy on it." or "I wish you were doing PM2 instead, but I am willing to wait for your to finish In the Bag first." dont exactly instill condifence in the game
You have only ever been free, so you never saw the expansive posts talking about why and the mental cost it took to do nearly month updates over TWO YEARS of my life. I barely took one break for long in nearly two years... working two jobs for two years... I was exhausted then and even til this day, it lingers. I am honest and don't sugar coat. The only person behind my work is the same person you are talking to. One human and I have limits. I am no machine but am forced to complete with literal machines. I am allowed to lament on my own soapbox. I only offer those POLL OPTIONS because I want to give people the choice to say that if they want to. Sure, its a bit of me projecting how I think people feel about it onto ITB... I dont like to be a developer who blows smoke up people's ass and to be honest, Collective Shout happened at the very first update. It wasn't my fault nor anyone else's that some clown group rained on the parade and blew up the floats. On the other hand, I fixed that one part you mentioned. The problem with this project is again its only ONE PERSON on this. If I miss something or do something wrong, I have to live with it. Sad but true.