Lab Churros
patreon
Updates for the next year
🕑 Added 2023-12-31 14:27:05 +0000 UTCI am considering changing the business model of the game soon! Here is a big block of text explaining why.
Bear with me while reading this article, the order of information in here is weird but it does make sense by the end and it is really important information for Patrons.
F95Zone
Some NSFW devs, including friends, have told me, that if I wanted more supporters I should already have leaked my game on F95Zone. For those who don't know, F95Zone is a community/forum for NSFW games. I've been checking it out these last weeks and it is indeed one of the most organized communities I've ever seen. They also have forums for developers, which I have previously been recommended for networking before.
The Catch? It is a pirate community. Once a game is posted there people can request builds and others can upload it. Even if I claim control over the game's forum thread, as the dev, I would be unable to stop builds from being uploaded. I am quite against leaking the game for free to some people while charging others for the same access. I also find suggestions I received, like creating an alt account to leak the game in secret, shitty solutions.
That is why I've been considering just releasing the game for free for everyone right now, and with a lower barrier to entry, focusing the Patron on donations with benefits other than builds. I've always been quite uncomfortable charging a monthly fee for an unfinished game. And in the future, when the game is still in early access but more robust. I would like to just make it a one-time purchase, giving access to all future updates like a more common early access model.
My goal
All I am seeking from game development and Patreon right now is the ability to keep developing these Size Kink games. I want to finish Project Oasis without making it too grandiose, and when I am done with that, I want to be able to look at the bottom line and see that I can do it all over again.
The reality is that I might not be able to do either. After 5 months of development, my savings are running out. The 50-something dollars I am making from Patreon is actually covering my credit card bills right now, but I am still bleeding a bit of money here and there. To be perfectly honest all I aiming for right now to be able to keep working on Project Oasis full-time is around 350 dollars, which is what I used to charge a 3D printable figure commission.
TLDR & also Cold
I am not good at writing articles, I prefer chatting on Discord. and my nose is killing me right now. Here are the important bullet points and a few extra points I didn't include above.
- I am uncomfortable charging a monthly subscription to an unfinished game.
- Pirate communities seem to be the biggest communities in NSFW gaming and instead of leaking my game, I would rather make it free for now.
- I always wanted it to just be on sale for a one-time purchase, but I can't just do that before I get the project to a proper early-access stage. Right now I don't even know if I will be able to continue development.
- Money is running out. Soon I won't be able to focus only on Project Oasis.
- Offering development builds as monthly subscription benefits means I am incentivized to not work on features that would take longer than 2 weeks or a month to finish. Which limits development.
- Patreon games tend to enter never-ending development cycles due to their "subscription models". I just want to finish Project Oasis and then move on to develop another game.
- People have been telling me Patreon is getting weird with NSFW so I might just also open a SubscribeStar soon.
I want to hear from YOU
There is a lot to unpack here and many other aspects that I didn't go over. Feel free to ask any questions and I also wanted you guys to tell me how do you feel about all this.
Comments
Violent Fran
Thank you, and I am glad for your support.
Beitie
Well, I have heard of F95Zone, but have never been on it personally. I really enjoy the games you come up with, and especially the way you handle the size kink genre. From what I've seen and played, this is by far the best to my taste in that genre. I'm glad to support what you have built so far, and would like to keep supporting if I can. I hope it all goes well for you.
