Thanks for the surprisingly well thought-out reply, but there is also a flaw or two in your own reasoning. One, if you're not looking to make a profit, why then did you decide from the outset that the game would not be free? If you're charging for the game, you're definitely not looking to take a loss, so it's for profit. Two, you assume that the customer-satisfaction model I'm describing cannot hold true in an environment like F95. This also is false: look at the entire first page of games on here, sorted by popularity is easiest, and look at their supporter platforms. Even those who post a disclaimer about people leaking their work too soon or leaking the Patreon-only material with them, still choose to continue development and finish what they started. Furthermore, all of them are making solid numbers in terms of number of supporters and money coming in. Why? Because they understand that even a pirate site still creates exposure for their games, and most of their supporters first found their work *right here on F95.* So they're doing what content creators always do if they want to succeed: taking advantage of free publicity for their work. And if you think my bluntness is being "harsh," that is unfortunate, but the truth is that sugar-coating things will not help you at all. Hard fact: You're shooting yourself in the foot. Unfortunately, you're using a tank gun to do it. Might wanna get a bandage for that. Best of luck to you, whatever you wind up doing.
The use of the phrase
"amazingly well thought out response" immediately conveys the condescension of the comments that follow and, probably, the smugness of the person making them. So I'm going to do the same.
So I have to clarify. I thought I'd used the right words: covering costs.
Paying for DAZ 3D or Renderosity or... , hosting the site, the domain name, the Adobe Creative Suite subscription... None of this is free. You should also make donations for the music you use to compensate the composers a little.
The break-even point is the tipping point between the costs I incur and the profits I don't make. So I'll reiterate my point: when someone shares my game without my permission, they're taking money from me. You can turn this around in any way you like.
On the other hand, you're describing a business model. And what you say is true in terms of how it works. But I don't follow that logic. If I don't want to play in the same league as the successful games you mention, that's my right. I work virtually alone, I have very few material resources, and this is just a hobby. So I don't think I have the capacity to produce the same games, of the same quality, at the same pace. But I think that below a certain level, it's better not to have too many illusions... Gamers are quick to reproach this. I've lost quite a lot of support because of that... I've also read references in this thread to games that some people boast about supporting, but which I find to be below par. I won't be caught dead doing that. At the very least, a game should be plausible and fairly realistic, if not accurate. When I screw up a narrative, it's because my MC is dreaming. With others, it's as if the MCs are living in a parallel world and dreaming all the time... Not for me.
So here I am with a different rationale: limited means and limited ambitions. And even that's impossible to achieve, because just when I'm trying to make ends meet, someone generously comes along and pays €2 to 'share'.
Well done guys!
I've already written and asked several times: "leave me alone". I don't want your free advertising. And if I shoot myself, it's in my foot. Not yours. What's the point of your five-bullet marketing lessons, full of clichés? You must think you're pretty clever, but "
In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king".
I'll finish with my thoughts on F95. If there is a lot of traffic on this site, it's not because of the few blockbuster games on it, but because of the 17,500 other little games. And I don't like that.
Now, take the bandage I didn't ask you for and go and dress your own wounds...
No hard feelings?
