Appreciate the criticism and more than happy to re-evaluate.
Looking at two other games in the space, FA and ORS. Why did I pick those? They aren't strong 'engine' games (like those that use Unity and the like), they are high-quality, story and character-focused. FA because, well...obvious. ORS because its a CYOA. Hope those reasons make sense.
FA ($5, $10, $20) - 2,260 paid members
ORS ($6, $11.50, $23) - 2,549 paid members. [We'll ignore the higher tiers because they're not related to content, really]
Blue Swallow ($3, $5, $10, $25) - 312 paid members.
I figure those are fair comparisons and not too far off from where Blue Swallow is. In fact, we have a content-access tier lower than both and significantly lower than ORS.
So, I'm all about pricing appropriately and I sincerely want to have people supporting in realistic (and consistent) ways, but especially with the stark difference between the paid member count, it's very hard to keep producing content every 1-3 weeks with the income flow we currently have.
Thoughts?
I am unsure what game OSR is (Our Red String?), but I am familiar with FA (have backed in the past and will again, but as it's been over a year since the last version got released it's just too long for me remain backing.)
For me, the problem is, your lowest tier (A tier with no real incentive for players) is 3 times the price of FA's 'Analyst' tier at $1. Neither your lvl1 nor FA's lvl1 give any early access to the build, though FA does give some in-game content bonuses.
Your next tier says that you will wait 3 weeks. For me, when I read that I think "well, if I'm going to wait 3 weeks for the game to be playable, I may as well just wait until it's free."
In comparison, FA's lvl2 at $5 gives the backer access to the bug fixed version as soon as it's ready. When I look at that, I think, "err, why not." Over the past 3 years, I have been a backer at this tier for about 2 years (in total time spent backing).
FA's more expensive tiers are there, and people do go for them, but most people just want to get a playable release asap, and that is what FA's tier 2 does. By grading when people get access, you are encouraging people to wait.
You get people onto your higher tiers by encouraging them to try the lower ones to get them invested in the development of the game, but even then most people will never consider the higher tiers. I may buy a porn game for the price of your higher tiers, but I would not pay that much per month for one.
Also, when it comes to the amount of backers, other than what I have said above. I suspect there are a few reasons.
1, Time. FA has been around for a longer time and has had time to build momentum.
2, Discord. You have Discord access as a perk of backing (according to your tier descriptions). FA's Discord is open to all.
3, Style. I like the way your game looks, but FA's is more eye catching. It uses bright colors in its pictures, and while they are less stylized, I find then bolder in look. I also like the way it uses both photos (more A.I. photos now) and the paper doll images. I think FA's look helps get people to try the game and from there back it.
I don't want this to come off as overly negative, as I like your game. I did consider backing it and would have except for the reasons above. I hope this game continues to grow both in terms of content and supporters. I also hope that what I have written is seen by you as me wanting you and your game to succeed. I am dyslexic and find writing/typing unpleasant, and I would not have spent as long as I have writing this if I did not want you to do well.
