After a Break

[Zippity]

Well, it's been a little while, probably a little under a year since I last played these types of games and posted reviews and such... Needed to take a break and play some normal games along with all the RL stuff that tends to meander it's way into our lives...

It's always interesting to go away and come back after a break and see what's new, what's changed, what's stayed the same, and what trends seem to occur over time...

Some of the erotic VN/Games I've played in the past either stagnated, or finally finished (not many in that category), or decided to start over, or are still truckin' along (some at a snails pace and some rather quickly - which is always a plus)… And of course, there are a few new titles as well, either testing the waters as new developers, or tried and true warriors of the genre, whom have introduced some new products for us to delve into...

I have noticed a few of the restarts that I worry about, mostly because they are not new, but rather they are remakes... And yet the authors decided to give them a number that would, in most cases, be representative of a sequel, not a redesign... An example would be Daddy's Goodnight Kiss 2... It's not really a sequel, as it is a remake, with pretty much the exact same story concept with pretty much the same characters, with pretty much the same description... Now, I am fully aware that some authors, once they get some funds rolling in, to bank roll their development, decide on some new technology to use and learn some valuable lessons their first time through... Therefore, they decide to begin over and make it better then it was... But in a few cases, and I'm not saying Kiss 2 is one of them, the author's may just be stringing along the paying fans, to prolong their cash cow income, by starting over at just as slow a pace as previously, but without changing much... In all reality, I haven't seen all that many VN/Games doing a restart (thank goodness), so all in all, it's not that big of a deal... It's just sad when I see something I was following the development of, and enjoying, start all over and at a slow pace... Pretty much makes me want to give up on that author all together, in some cases...

I've also seen a few long term developed VN/Games pretty much slow down (to a snails pace) or go into development limbo, after being in development for a long while (and taking peoples money btw)… Which once again, as I've mentioned in the past, always makes me suspicious of those developers... Were they milking, did RL finally catch up, or did they just get bored and move on without keying us all in (while still getting subscription based donations from unsuspecting fans)? It's pretty much the reason why I'm not a fan of subscription based donating in any way... One time donation/s as I feel like they deserve it, I have no qualms with, but sequential payments (that you may forget about) to an unknown person/persons, just because you're a fan? Just too much wiggle room for scammers and milkers, without any real way of getting refunded when they screw up or fail to produce... It's another reason I'm not a fan of Early Access Games, but that's a whole other topic

I've also seen a few developers come a long way in such a short period of time, with their products... And to be honest, I'm more prone to play quicker developing VN/Games or ones that are fairly deep into their development cycles... Newer VN/Games aren't too bad to try out, just to determine if they might be worthy of giving a go later on, after growing a bit... But as we all know, it's sometimes a roll of the dice as to what you're going to get... And in some cases, a new game introduction has hardly anything to it, to even give you a real idea of what it'll even be about or the direction it plans to go... It's a bit rare, sometimes, to get a newly developing erotic VN/Game with some substance to it, some meat on it's bones as it were... I remember when Mythic Manor was first released on this site... It actually had a decent bit of content in it, right off the bat... And it's been going strong since then... But it's not the norm, even though I'm sure a lot of us wish that was the case, lol...

I've already tried a few titles I'd not heard of before, recently... And I've been pleasantly surprised by some of them... They are not all perfect, don't get me wrong, but they are still entertaining and fun to read and play... Some have been dialogue and story rich (some of my favorite types) and some have pretty much just been masturbation material without any real substance or depth (not necessarily my favorite), and then there are those that are so scatter brained, that I just had to stop, delete, and never look back...

I'll (eventually) be reviewing a few of the ones I've recently read/played, in the same fashion as I've done in the past... Being brutally honest as I give my personal opinions of their different aspects... And I look forward to reading others reviews and thoughts...

It's good to be back... And I hope everyone is having fun and enjoying life...

Zip

 

[freedom.call]

Good to see you again, always enjoyed your reviews.

 

[HopesGaming]

About the patreon money donation stuff.
If it was simply a one-time donation thing then the whole marked would change.
Pretty much everything will be on standstill and the only games that will be made are the ones that do it as a hobby. Basically a small update every 4-5 months. Especially now that the quality demand is not the same as it used to be. Nowadays script and renders are expected to be top quality. Which in turns means it takes longer to produce.
Making a game is time-consuming. Patreon is not for buying the game but supporting a dev that is making something you
enjoy. You're not pledging to hopefully receive a product like Kickstarter. You want to see the dev be able to continue doing what he is doing and want to send some spare money his/her way.
And the dev hopes that one day the amount would be enough that he/she can leave her RL job and do it full time.
The milk and scamming are pretty easy to avoid. Just stop pledging.
Example, I had a sickness period, I made sure to tell my patrons about it. They understood.
If a dev goes silent for 2-3 months. Unpledged immediately.

Anyways, enough rambling from me.
Welcome back.
Sadly it seems like you took a break just after my release so will be fun to read your review if you one day get around to play it.

 

[recreation]

Welcome back unknown person

 

[Zippity]

About the patreon money donation stuff.
If it was simply a one-time donation thing then the whole marked would change.
Pretty much everything will be on standstill and the only games that will be made are the ones that do it as a hobby. Basically a small update every 4-5 months. Especially now that the quality demand is not the same as it used to be. Nowadays script and renders are expected to be top quality. Which in turns means it takes longer to produce.
Making a game is time-consuming. Patreon is not for buying the game but supporting a dev that is making something you
enjoy. You're not pledging to hopefully receive a product like Kickstarter. You want to see the dev be able to continue doing what he is doing and want to send some spare money his/her way.
And the dev hopes that one day the amount would be enough that he/she can leave her RL job and do it full time.
The milk and scamming are pretty easy to avoid. Just stop pledging.
Example, I had a sickness period, I made sure to tell my patrons about it. They understood.
If a dev goes silent for 2-3 months. Unpledged immediately.

Anyways, enough rambling from me.
Welcome back.
Sadly it seems like you took a break just after my release so will be fun to read your review if you one day get around to play it.

I just wish these sites, like Patreon, offered options to donating... The only option Patreon offers is subscription based... You can't even set up one time donations through their site... It was originally designed for people to support themselves while they developed art and music and so forth... At least that is how their home page portraits it... It was only later, in the last couple years, that the Erotic VN/Game industry began using it... Mostly because it's a subscription based thing...

It really began with just general streamers, game or not game related... They found that quick donations were nice, but when someone subscribed, it's a marketing fact that a high percentage of folks subscribing to something, no matter what it may be, sometimes tend to stay subscribed even when not actively participating in what they are paying for... Usually because they get wrapped up in other things and forget or they are just too lazy to drop it while they take a break and then renew it when they return... It's what those streamers hope for, because it's a continuous flow of money from a source that can be somewhat forgetful... I've done that myself, with stuff like MMORPG's, magazine subscriptions, charity organizations, etc. Only when the budget was tight did I suddenly get a moment of clarity and stop those forgotten subs...

It's the appeal of a constant, sometimes forgotten subscription, that is the real driving force that leads developers of anything, be it streaming or in this case erotic VN/Game development, to use those forms of sites for their donation collection... I just feel if those sites offered multiple options (i.e. one time donations as well as subs) then it would work out better... Not every fan want's to tie up their money in a sub, and maybe their money is tight and a one time donation (or multiple donations over a given time) works better for them... By not offering options, you do limit yourself...

As to the scammer/milker thingy... Sure you could just stop subbing, if you feel that is occurring... But you see a tendency for folks who are fans and initiate a sub donation, being hopeful that they are not being scammed or milked... They may be so hopeful, that they sort of have blinders on to that possibility, because they are so hopeful and really want the product to succeed and improve and develop... But yes, if your smart and pay attention, you could just stop subbing, but it would take a decent chunk of fans to un-sub, for there to be any real dent and to really make a difference in showing a developer, that they need to get with the program and stop milking... I don't always see that as something that happens all too often... It does occur, but not in a consistent manner... Paying fans tend to be highly trusting, enough to throw money at a total stranger (not even a corporation) via a subscription…

Patreon does offer the Developer that ability to Pause all donation payments while they are on an extended leave, but you don't see many Developers using that option, but instead they just allow the money to keep flowing in, even while they are doing nothing to further development during their absence..

That's all I was saying...

Zip