Tutorial Game Dev Dos And Don'ts

[buff]

Tired of seeing the same mistakes over again? Please post them here, so that new devs can learn from the mistakes of others.

Do: Post objective (or as objective as you can be) good practices. ("Don't add controversial kinks halfway through the game, upsetting your existing fans.")
Don't: post matters of taste. ("Avoid kink X, because I don't like it.")

Don't:	Do:
Use cutesie names for your Patreon tiers (like character names). Most supporters follow many games, and nobody will remember if "Rebecca" is higher than "Tiffany" or what amount of money "Soldier" is.	Just call them $2/$5/$10whatever.
Assume that your game is the only one the players follow.	Mention the name of the game in your update posts, especially if your Patreon/Substar account name does not contain the name of the game.
Try to control a complex branching storyline using only an unmanaged snarl of flag variables	Have your first effort be of mild ambition, don't try to do "DARK SOULS BUT PORN" your first time out of the gate.
Higher a VA 1/4 of the way into the game lifecycle	Recognize that things will change, edits are likely as the project matures, and voiced lines lock your content. Wait until everything is set in stone before hiring a VA to ... set it in stone.
Ghost your fans	Communicate often and just tell people when you will release late. (People will bitch, but you will lose fewer supporters than you will by radiosilence.)

 

[Volta]

Don't: Expect to be perfect to start with. Or assume you already are perfect, you're not.
Do: Make an effort to improve as you go. Know your limitations and intentionally challenge some of them but not all of them at once

Don't: Just make what sells, unless you enjoy it you won't want to finish it.
Do: Make what you would want to play, but know how big that audience for that content is ahead of time and manage expectations accordingly.