Poll results and come to Jesus moment!
I know I said I was going to end the Poll in 3 days but I got what I needed from it, and now I'll tell you why I made it!
The Poll was 93% positive with only two votes saying I could do better, and those people messaged me basically saying they love the game, but gave a couple of constructive comments.
So, why I am concerned? Well, I talk to other devs who seem to be trending up or staying around the same amount of support, but I'm clearly not doing that. Now, I want to preface this with saying anyone who gives ANYTHING to support me I appreciate deeply. But here are the facts and most devs would never show this to you.
Below is what I made in the last year, and you can see the months I released updates how much more I made and now what I'm projected to make this month.
So yea, I'm a little concerned. When I do polls people say they want the big updates, but I'm gonna start considering just doing one day updates, because it's not what you're saying with your money (again I appreciate anyone who gives anything I'm just stating facts here, come to Jesus moment remember). Also this will give you an idea of the bite Patreon takes out of creators asses. :)
What this shows is about 1/4 to 1/5th of the people who sub only sub for the update, so what motivation would I have to NOT release more frequent updates? And, there was a mass exodus this time.
Is it really the quality of the game is high or are people are just being nice? I have no idea and it's making my head spin trying to figure it out. Anyway, this is where I'm at with things. Now that 469.16 number will likely rise over the course of the month as I get new subs, but it's the trend here that's concerning me and making me think I might need to take a step back and look at my business model.
I realize this is a niche game that's only going to attract certain players, but many of the ones I had are no longer supporting, and I see other games that tell a story about absolutely nothing, that are making triple what I am. I'm still doing good in terms of overall AVN creators on patreon, but as I said before you can see why I might be concerned looking at this.
Just as an aside I'd do ODAAT for free, but since this is something I do full time. I really need to consider how I can monetize it better. Am I too nice or something? Do I give away too many things for free? Should my dev updates be Patron only. Idk, but I'm gonna have to think about that stuff.
Because, if things KEEP going in this direction, I'm gonna have to go part time with the game and pick up a part time job so I can continue to help my Dad. Again, I can't stress enough how much I appreciate everyone who is here and supports me, but facts are facts and this is concerning.
Comments (13)
Just for me...I support 17 creators on Patreon and a couple more that are off-Patreon. While it's not a ton of money per month it's still the equivalent of a credit card payment, and the vast majority of those creators do 1-2 updates a year. And I've been supporting for multiple years. Then I still have to up my support to get the updates upon release. For some games I estimate I've spent $300-$500 and this is the "same game", just an update. For comparison I have several dozen games on my PC and about 100 more on Steam that are a one-time pay. They average $20-80 to buy the game and I've been playing some of them for decades. I have (not that I'm any different from you or anyone else) a mortgage, a full house with kids and a grandkid plus supporting them still. While I make good money I still live paycheck to paycheck like the vast majority of the country (world) and honestly cannot justify paying $15/mo (as an average). I know that doesn't help you but I try to give the slow and steady support that I can budget for instead of bouncing in and out. I figure that still gives you a fair increase over someone who does bounce in and out. I know you're not mad..again just my two cents for how I have to deal with this. I'm actually wondering if I'll ever see the "complete" version of any of these AVNs...lol.
I see your point, and it's why I'll be getting my next game on steam. You will also see the completion of ODAAT. Also I've got 1894 members with only 202 paid. If even 100 more of them did what you do. I wouldn't be contemplating other work. Or considering starting my next game early so I can go all in on steam. Again, not that I don't appreciate the people who already give. It's also really sad when I'm working my ass off and I see other creators that poop out 1/3 of the content I do every 6 months who are making 1000's because their game caters to a "fetish" that I'll not mention. If you're one of them and your game just doesn't suck, it doesn't even have to be good. You're making 2 grand a month easy. But, they are not on this platform, that's not my bag creatively, and it is was it is. I also support anyone's right to do the content they'd like or consume the content they'd like. But, that genre has a ready made audience. It's just easier for them.
I'm the same as John, I started supporting you long before ODAAT because I enjoyed your walkthroughs and was hoping to see more, I have continued supporting you since then as I still use some of your mods and walkthroughs and still want to support you in creating them as there are not enough good walkthrough/mod creators out there. The addition of you creating a game didn't change my support then and won't now, but it is a shame to see you scaling back on everything else. I understand why and I don't fault you for that, but that is a factor of why I don't pledge more and why some others might discontinue their pledges. I actually enjoy your walkthroughs more than your mods as I can still read them in addition to someone else's mod at the same time and make more informed decisions as well as plan ahead for future choices. Plus writing walkthroughs is typically quicker and easier than mods and can be done for more games that aren't conducive to mods so I fully support you making more walkthroughs in addition to your game and scaling back your mods if that would help ease your workload slightly. I personally support a ton of creators at once so I have to balance where and how much I pledge and I typically pledge more for content that I use and enjoy the most. If I could afford more I would happily pledge more for long-time creators like yourself but as others have mentioned, inflation and other rising costs are forcing myself and others to cut down on the amount of creators we support and the amount we pledge.
Like I told him, that's fine. It's just not where my passion lies anymore. But I do have a few active on the other platform. Sorry you didn't like ODAAT.
I started subscribing to your channel, before ODAAT, because I LOVED your Mods. I stayed subscribed because of them - not for ODAAT (I have explained in the past why I don't play that game). But it seems that you have cut back on your Mods in order to work the game - but I stay loyal hoping that you'll reinvigorate your Mod practice, once the game is concluded. You can't do both Mods & game without burning out...but I am a person with patience. I'll wait. And support until then.
That's fine John, I'm not mad at anyone or anything like that. And I totally understand that situation. But, that's just not where my passion lies right now. I still do have some active mods on the other platform though.
All subs want fat content on a relatively quick cycle. The truth is almost nobody can do this well without cliffhangers, big reveals and parceling out the lewd content in smidges. I can't speak for anyone else, but if you think smaller releases more frequently is the answer, you won't lose me. Give it a shot for a 3-6 month trial and if the numbers go up well, like the old saying goes: 'Money talks and BS walks': you were right! Maybe people will come and sub every 2 -3 releases, or maybe they stay for the cycles...only one way to find out!
I'd actually be rather shocked if people are staying steady in this environment. I know i'm squeezing out every nickel of extra expense because inflation. I spend way more on housing and food than I did two years ago. I can't be the only one. It's not a great economy and the job market more or less sucks. Way less out there than a year and a half ago, the last time I looked.
Perhaps it's just the few developers I talked to, I don't know. I know the kind of games that get supported no matter what. And it sort of pisses me off that some of them just aren't nearly as good as mine. And, I'm not trying to be arrogant by saying that they just objectively aren't. So that upsets me a little bit.
I really like your story you tell in ODAAT. I remember giving it a chance and really liked it! What really surprised me was in the walk through about what the choices meant, I saw some behaviors (choices) that I actually had some things in common with the characters. I've never been addictive to anything in my life! Yet, there were some things your characters did I could relate to. Now some Dev's I support have a rolling updates. The patrons get the update as per level. But the free version is 1 or 2 updates behind. I do like that as it makes supporting a Dev to get the latest and greatest soonest.
That's a great idea, but all of season 1 is public, so if people know they enjoy the game, they're probably going to support it for the updates for the second season. And, if they've played all 11 episodes in the first season and still don't know if they like it, I really don't understand why they're still playing it to begin with. Lol
I try to stay subbed but I don't always have da money for it. But I try to support the best I can.
And, I appreciate that, I'm just showing this because it's got me scratching my head.