Disappointed
An adult visual novel out there is currently selling access to their LATEST UPDATE for $60.
Not the full game.
One update. $60.
Mind you, this game has apparently been in development for 8 YEARS and, from what I'm hearing, still hasn't had an actual sex scene outside of maybe a scene or two involving the husband. I don't play it, so I'm not pretending to know every detail. But that's the reputation it's getting.
Another adult game studio is selling pictures of their characters for $17.
Pictures.
Of their characters.
Guys... what the fuck are we doing?
If you're an adult game developer, please understand that this shit doesn't just make you look bad. It makes all of us look bad.
This entire industry runs on trust.
We're asking people to give us money every single month to help fund games that might take years to finish. They're buying into a promise that we're going to keep working, keep delivering, keep improving the game, and not start treating the handful of people willing to spend big money like human ATMs.
Every time somebody pulls some ridiculous shit like charging $60 for an update, or starts nickel-and-diming whales for character renders, it reinforces the stereotype that adult game developers are just trying to milk horny people for as much money as possible.
And then the rest of us get to deal with the fallout.
People become more suspicious.
They hesitate before subscribing.
They cancel faster when an update takes longer than expected.
They assume delays are scams.
They assume Patreon tiers are cash grabs.
They assume we're intentionally dragging development out because finishing the game would stop the money.
That distrust spreads way further than your Patreon page.
Making an extra $100 selling a couple renders to whales might feel great today.
But if enough developers keep doing shit like this, eventually we're all trying to convince an audience that's been burned twenty times that this time supporting an adult game developer isn't going to fuck them over.
There is already enough skepticism surrounding Patreon-funded adult games.
Stop giving people reasons to believe the worst stereotypes about us.
Make good shit.
Charge people fairly.
Release actual content.
Respect the people funding you.
Because those people aren't just customers.
They're the reason most of us get to make these games in the first place.
Comments (24)
WOFTAM has been substandard for sometime to be fair, little progress in story etc, despite how long its been around. Regarding "whales", yes they are the ones that throw stupid money at projects, problem is they get a sense of entitlement to that same project, watched games be ruined because the "whales" demand a certain storyline which just breaks every part of the story immersion (if you can ever call thay I these games lol), can think of one game in particular where they removed all choices and branched out on three different paths, accelerating the corruption aspect with no thought to story or the character, just butchering it to fit what desires they had and the game is unplayable now, that is where I feel a developer needs to be stronger in the face/demands of "whales", they dont own it, not there's, its the developer and the community of customers not just a closeted group, suppose thas why I dislike discord as well, sometimes voices that make sense get drowned out by those who wave the biggest wallet about lol, just do you HC, loving everything so far, prefer the slow burn, makes it more enjoyable to play.
100%
téged viszont azért mert a játkod igényes müvészi, mint egy vizulális könyet támogatom teljes szível.
Igen én is sokszor csak akkor támogatam itt ha már a játékot ki probáltam és tetszett. itt még sohasem vette ismeretlenűl játékot. mivel hihetetlenűl drágák.
No name and shame? Bit disappointed about this. If I like the game and it shows good progress, communication and regular updates I don’t mind paying for a subscription. Have been supporting multiple developers for years (Zoey Raven, Fooxied Studios, Mr Maya, Tukann and Fox Stone Studios). Problem is that my financial situation changed so now I am only supporting one developer at the moment (looking at you Harvesting Corruption) 😉
When your product is good, then people will support when they can. I have limited income so generally play the free versions released by creators but everytime I have enough money I happily support my favourite creators for a month. People soon learn who they can trust and when people are as honest as you then they will come and spend money on your product (which is also high quality I might add). Keep going and don't let the greedy, selfish people bring your mood down.
Amnesia is one of them no penetration at all blue ball action :D
It's still a free choice and everyone chooses their own misery 😂
I've seen an earlier version of the novel/game. It had a good start, but the way the creator turned, leaving all bigger platforms and trying an own homepage - with access only from one or two of the older platforms, which didn't have that creator anymore - was just killing this creator I guess. So that person/team is no example of successful business, guess desperately trying to get money out of the last content done
Tbh, the higher tiers for renders don't fuss me too much. You can view the post history to get an idea of frequency and weigh that up against the cost prior to making that commitment. By far the bigger issue is promised of delivery times that keep getting pushed out, because of sick grandmothers and dead dogs over and over while expecting a monthly commitment in return. Sometimes life happens, but they aren't one off rate occurrences. Hence, the pattern is subscribe when there's an update and then immediately cancel it after download until the next one Bauer it may be 3 months, or a year. What you absolutely nailed is that not everyone is guilty of it, but it's so prevalent that the whole industry is being painted with the same brush.
I wouldn't hang your hat on monthly updates. That's a REALLY fast turn around rate. Even for me, you pretty much can ONLY be doing a few scenes with JUST dialogue if you wanna get something out in a month... I mean, I can get more out but, I have this uncanny ability to never sleep and just always be working on my game... lol. But I think for MOST developers, 2-3 months is a SOLID update schedule. For a solo dev. Especially if they have a day job... But anywhere past 3 months, even with a job, it better be a MASSIVE update... And if you don't have a job, 3 months better bring all sorts of new systems and mechanics... If you're getting a few new scenes, some dialogue choices, and it's been 3 months.... You might wanna start talking to the dev about how seriously he's taking it, or rethink your support. lol.
Don't worry about the WOFTAM's (Waste of Fucking Time and Money) mate. Just keep doing you.
You nailed it. Your approach should be the gold standard for all devs. Too bad greed sometimes becomes their ulterior motive.
Pisses me off.
Such a volley of replies! May I also add, Patreon could probably make finding things easier. You click the AVN tag, and get, what 10 suggestions? Type AVN in the top search you will get a page of them, but there has to be a better way of organising it. So dev's can truly get their work seen, and players / backers can find the type of material they want to play. Also if like me you have a long list of patreon sites down the left side (yes, I have a shit life). Trying to keep track of what dev, is proving which game and which of them have updates is a nightmare. I have had to try and do this on a spreadsheet. I came looking for distraction is sexy games, and instead, feels like I found a new unpaid job.
This could be a lucrative business for developers if so many were not out there scamming everyone.. if I had the funds or know how I would start my own site that was exclusive to developers who release games with quality and timely updates. Anyone working the scam would be banned from it.
I know of someone who does that... The problem is, THAT guy makes the developers promote his game and pay him... lol.
I was very close to giving up on all adult games and decided to support my those who give me quality updates in a timely manner at a support level I can afford (not many out there sadly)
As a player, may I just say. Hurrah and Huzzah. I have joined a fairly large number of developers to try their games, some are just bad, but I have to say most are playable, enjoyable games. However, can I add a plea to the Dev's. Give potential backers something to work on. Not all banners show what you are getting into, games graphics style, detailed game info. Some dev's release free demo's, and well I think that's great. You can try the game, see the quality and if you like it then you're likely to subscribe. Some of us might be here because our life sucks ass and there's nothing remotely interesting or erotic in it, maybe these games are a big distraction from the shit happening IRL. So please, take the post above seriously. Else we'll stop having "one hand in our pocket", and just put them both around our joy departments.
LOL One hand in our pocket. Great song. Perfect reference.
The newest scam is to release 2 or 3 episodes for free every 2 or 3 weeks on patreon and adult playgrounds with little material and once they have the followers scale back to 5 minute updates every 3 to 5 months.
I really only know if a handful of games that have given supporters anything worth while. And yes it us giving developers a bad rep. One if the reasons I support you is because you have been straight up and have not put your support levels out of reach
I agree 100 percent. I have played games that have been out for 5 years and still have not had more than 1 sex scene It ridiculous and what's worse is those who support this
That's probably the worst part. Is that people still support it. Which allows them to keep doing it.