Calling All Game Developers.... Please Read? Or Don't?

[Supertimes4321]

As for what is widely regarded as "canon" Revan is a man, as far I know. However, I have completed the first game about 10 times and only once of those was with a male char, so, I guess I see Revan more as a woman.

Have you not played KOTOR II? It's not as good as the first one, but I still really enjoyed it. You should give it a play if you can find it. I do remember reading years ago that Lucas himself pushed for Revan to be female, given that he wanted his daughters' to have a female badass character in the extended universe, but I could be mistaken.

 

[Carpe Stultus]

What made me slightly confused is that the OP thinks that porn games won't get tested. Every dev with a handfull of braincells has people in his community that test his builds before release so he can fix bugs, correct typos and so on if they get discovered. Sure typos will get overlooked or some bugs don't show for testers, but thats the same for AAA games.

 

[Agent HK47]

Have you not played KOTOR II? It's not as good as the first one, but I still really enjoyed it. You should give it a play if you can find it. I do remember reading years ago that Lucas himself pushed for Revan to be female, given that he wanted his daughters' to have a female badass character in the extended universe, but I could be mistaken.

I have played KOTOR 2 just as much as KOTOR 1. Kreia is one of my favourite characters in the SW universe ^^

 

[Baka_Energy_studios]

As a solo developer i do feel like a limited number of individuals too

 

[Lewdpanda95]

Now things seem to be changing again, as a

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. I'm hoping it won't affect Steam and Patreon, but you can be certain that some dried up swamp-monster at the NYT is right now 'planning an article' about how Steam objectifies and demeans women. We'll see how long they stand strong against this.

Steam recently blocked adult-only games for german users. That was really dissappoing from them. For context: adult content needs to be behind a strong age verification by german law and while all other services/websites basically laugh at that Steam bend the knee and instead of offering a stonger age verification just blocked it all.

Just checked, I can't find your game on steam either.

 

[Supertimes4321]

What made me slightly confused is that the OP thinks that porn games won't get tested. Every dev with a handfull of braincells has people in his community that test his builds before release so he can fix bugs, correct typos and so on if they get discovered. Sure typos will get overlooked or some bugs don't show for testers, but thats the same for AAA games.

Good point. I suppose my perceived assumptions that developers do not test their products prior to release could have been assumed, however, that was not my intent. My goal was more, or less to obtain some insight into this process. I did not mean to offend, but from what I have read in many of the forms, a lot of folks tend to shit on games because of the bugs and typos. But as you have pointed out, perhaps I was too lose with my language to conveying this. Regardless, I was hoping my post would be viewed more as advocating for developers to do what they want, rather than cater to the patrons.

Thanks for your response.

 

[Supertimes4321]

As a solo developer i do feel like a limited number of individuals too

Care to expand on this? I am not really sure what you mean?

 

[Supertimes4321]

Steam recently blocked adult-only games for german users. That was really dissappoing from them. For context: adult content needs to be behind a strong age verification by german law and while all other services/websites besically laugh at that Steam bend the knee and instead of offering a stonger age verification just blocked it all.

Just checked, I can't find your game on steam either.

Wow! That is interesting. How does Germany go about checking for age verification? In the US it tends to be some BS credit card check, which makes no sense to me.

 

[Lewdpanda95]

Wow! That is interesting. How does Germany go about checking for age verification? In the US it tends to be some BS credit card check, which makes no sense to me.

Yeah I guess credit card or ID verification would be strong enough for them.

 

[Supertimes4321]

Yeah I guess credit card or ID verification would be strong enough for them.

Are you not from Germany?

 

[moskyx]

Unlike musicians, game devs can not count with making money with concerts or any other live shows, their only revenue stream is what they can get for their games and piracy is a real issue. They just can count on people's good will, and in order to get enough funds they must understand how customer mind's works. Which is tricky.

I collaborate with a pair of game devs (Tlaero & Mortze) who only release completed games. One every 6-9 months, give or take, plus minor text-based stories for their patrons. From a creative point of view, they are more than happy as they have absolute freedom to do what they want the way they want. Financially, they are not doing that great, though, if we compare them with some other devs that release incomplete versions of their games 3-4 times a year. Considering they are longtime devs they have a pretty stable fan base, but I feel it still is considerably smaller than what their games quality and personal dedication deserve. And maybe that's because they don't include certain kinks that seem to be the most demanded out there (their games are pretty vanilla), but also because, once you release a completed game, people play it and that's just it, even if they know you're already working on the next one. The product is already completed and they can get it for free so there's no real incentive to keep supporting those devs after, maybe, throwing them the occasional one-time tip.

Patreon's model is, indeed, a double-edged sword, but I think the average patron like to feel they are part of the creative process. And watching how the game grows month after month, partial release after partial release, allows them to feel involved, more so if dev actually take into account their inputs (bugs, polls for minor details, etc). It's unfair, but I can perfectly understand (heck, I'm actually doing it with other devs I support) that odd mechanism: watching how a work in progress actually progresses leads us to be more OK with supporting it on a monthly basis (spending way more than the amount that could be its final market price) than being presented with a completed product you just buy/pirate once and then forget.

 

[Droid Productions]

Patreon's model is, indeed, a double-edged sword, but I think the average patron like to feel they are part of the creative process. And watching how the game grows month after month, partial release after partial release, allows them to feel involved, more so if dev actually take into account their inputs (bugs, polls for minor details, etc).

Totally this. I don't see my Patreons as 'consumers'; since I give away the game as I develop it here, why would they be? These are the kinds of fans who pay for back-stage passes at concerts, buy merch, get the collectible statues, buy the Collectors Edition DVDs or travel to a special premiere location. True fans.

It's an absolutely fantastic experience interacting with them, and feeling that they love what you're doing.

Especially after spending 5 years doing F2P mobile.

 

[Supertimes4321]

Unlike musicians, game devs can not count with making money with concerts or any other live shows, their only revenue stream is what they can get for their games and piracy is a real issue. They just can count on people's good will, and in order to get enough funds they must understand how customer mind's works. Which is tricky.

I collaborate with a pair of game devs (Tlaero & Mortze) who only release completed games. One every 6-9 months, give or take, plus minor text-based stories for their patrons. From a creative point of view, they are more than happy as they have absolute freedom to do what they want the way they want. Financially, they are not doing that great, though, if we compare them with some other devs that release incomplete versions of their games 3-4 times a year. Considering they are longtime devs they have a pretty stable fan base, but I feel it still is considerably smaller than what their games quality and personal dedication deserve. And maybe that's because they don't include certain kinks that seem to be the most demanded out there (their games are pretty vanilla), but also because, once you release a completed game, people play it and that's just it, even if they know you're already working on the next one. The product is already completed and they can get it for free so there's no real incentive to keep supporting those devs after, maybe, throwing them the occasional one-time tip.

Patreon's model is, indeed, a double-edged sword, but I think the average patron like to feel they are part of the creative process. And watching how the game grows month after month, partial release after partial release, allows them to feel involved, more so if dev actually take into account their inputs (bugs, polls for minor details, etc). It's unfair, but I can perfectly understand (heck, I'm actually doing it with other devs I support) that odd mechanism: watching how a work in progress actually progresses leads us to be more OK with supporting it on a monthly basis (spending way more than the amount that could be its final market price) than being presented with a completed product you just buy/pirate once and then forget.

Excellent points. This all makes perfect sense to me now. I guess my misunderstanding regarding the process is in large part based on my own experiences as a musician. As you have stated, the lack of other means to revenue income outside of the main product (the game) makes it harder to make money. Treating the games like a subscription does seem to be a way better business model. I could also be projecting some of my frustrations with how Comix Publishers release their work. One page at a time, rather than an entire issue is maddening!

Anyway, thank you for your response. Everyone in this chat has really changed my opinions and perceptions regarding this industry.

 

[Rando Civ]

Honestly, I just do what I want and that's it. Sometimes I listen to suggestions from fans and add them if they make sense in the context of the story or character behaviour and not gonna lie, fans have some really damn good ideas sometimes. But for the most part I just make the story that I want to make.

 

[Joshua Tree]

KOTOR movie? Disney owns the rights to that and they are the last company I would entrust with making a movie about KOTOR at this point. Do you want to see Revan as a black, pansexual, transgender feminist? I don't even dare think what they would do to my beloved HK-47 (hey, that name sounds familar )
I am actively hoping that KOTOR will never be made into a movie, because I do not believe it will be done correctly. But this is Disney we are talking about, and they are on a crusade to destroy everything awesome about SW, so you will probably get your movie before too long, and I will end up crying.

Did you ever install the behavior module in HK-47 in the actual game? And he went kaputt

 

[Supertimes4321]

Honestly, I just do what I want and that's it. Sometimes I listen to suggestions from fans and add them if they make sense in the context of the story or character behaviour and not gonna lie, fans have some really damn good ideas sometimes. But for the most part I just make the story that I want to make.

Are you the creator of Summertime Saga? If so, damn good game!

 

[Supertimes4321]

Did you ever install the behavior module in HK-47 in the actual game? And he went kaputt

Of course! The only thing I could never make happen in that game was finding Mission's Brother. I don't know why, but it would never activate for me. Also, maybe it's just me, but didn't these games seem to make your Jedi more powerful as a light-side Jedi? What's really weird is that anytime I play an RPG game where I get to pick good vs. bad, I always go with good first. Even when I decide to play as a bad character, I end up doing good stuff toward the end!

 

[Rando Civ]

Are you the creator of Summertime Saga? If so, damn good game!

Lol. I wish.
Nah, i'm some small time amateur making a very hated game. But I don't really mind, I like my work and I feel insanely grateful for those who like the vn.

 

[Supertimes4321]

Lol. I wish.
Nah, i'm some small time amateur making a very hated game. But I don't really mind, I like my work and I feel insanely grateful for those who like the vn.

What is the name of your game? Also, why do people dislike it?

 

[Rando Civ]

What is the name of your game? Also, why do people dislike it?

I made a few mistakes.
But I don't regret them. That's how you learn the ropes.