I was hoping I could get some opinions when it comes to Patreon, because I'm at a bit of a loss with it all.
Everyone in this thread is sugarcoating the situation for you, so I'm going to be blunt: you made the fatal mistake of including
gameplay into your porn game. Now I'm not one to throw stones in glass houses because the game I'm working on does the same thing, but you have to understand that most people who play erotic games don't want anything outside the most simple game loop in between their sex scenes. It's why they play these games in the first place.
Now someone's inevitably gonna say I'm wrong, and try to prove it by linking a handful of successful games with actual mechanics and complex loops, but most of those have either been in development for literally years (like a bunch of lewd Metroidvanias/side-scrollers), or are the result of extreme survivorship bias, or cater to an incredibly niche and loyal fanbase (ryona, guro, furry, NTR, etc.). It's getting harder and harder to get and keep attention from 'generic' players as time goes by, nevermind actual monetary support. Games that came out in 2016/17/18 wouldn't even be looked at today, let alone played by most of the community. People have become extremely picky, and we as devs can't even blame them since there's so much content out there for players to consume (much of it free).
There's a reason VNs are the go-to choice for most people looking to rub one out quickly, not just here on F95, but on the wider internet as well. Anything that gets in between players and their porn better be damned good and unique... and even then, most of them will ignore it. Your game has quality art, but it's just another 'generic' medieval fantasy game (I don't mean that as an insult, it's just that you don't target any specific niche or fetish group).
You
can still find success, but be prepared for a slog, and possibly months or even years until you build up your fanbase...
Alright, so I'm wondering how the heck I should be approaching this thing. When I released the first game, I got a few people signing up. Maybe 10 all up in the first month. That was over a year ago, and a few have stuck around since then which makes me think I haven't done everything totally wrong, but a lot did drop off.
The best way to retain current patrons and grow your following with new ones is to make frequent releases... ideally at least one new content update every month. You, on the other hand, have
weekly updates according to your Patreon, which is probably doing you a disservice. You're developing a 2D game, so the amount of content you can generate, implement, bugtext, and release in a period of 7 days is probably miniscule... even moreso because you have a game with actual
mechanics that need testing and integration! If you were developing a VN then it'd make sense (tho even that is pushing it), or if you had 5-6 people on your team, but a lone dev having that kind of output for the type of game you're making just screams low-quality. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not being judgemental - I'm sure your game is great, and you're developing it with love and care. I'm just telling you what potential patrons may think.
So . . . how should I approach Patreon? I'm thinking of changing my tiers so it's more like this:
Your Patreon Tiers have nothing to do with how long patrons will support you.
If possible, try to make more meaningful updates, and you'll retain+grow easily.
Consider releasing every 2 weeks to building anticipation and generate more content.
I also saw this on your Patreon:
"Also, Sir Stretchalot isn't the only project I'm working on. I will be making all sorts of different content across a wide range of themes and settings, so keep an eye out for those as well!"
That's a major red flag. Why would any potential supporter give you money when you're stretched thin over multiple projects? I'm not saying you can't work on more than one thing (believe me, I know how fatiguing burnout from a single project can be), but at the very least don't advertise it in neon glow on your main page.
Honestly, I love interacting with players. I respond to everything and probably write way more back than I really should lol. I think I do pretty well at that part already.
This is good. Keep it up!
If the game is not interesting you will not get much attention no matter what you do.
Hard disagree on this. His game has above-average art, and actual free-roam. Lack of exposure is his problem.
It's fine for someone not to like it, I'm not contesting that, but I think more people would play if they knew about it.
Patreon isn't great for what you are doing. It's NICE that you are making completed episodes and games and releasing them, but that means a LONG time between updates, and frequent updates are one of the major things people look for in deciding to support a Patreon.
Take a look at his Patreon page, he updates weekly. If anything, it's
too often! It feels cheap and rushed (not saying it is, just that anyone looking at it will probably think so... and would get fatigued after weekly update messages).
I do have to figure out what I want, yeh haha. I like writing stories, but then, I've had a lot of fun putting together the actual sex scenes too. I'd like to try some stuff that's more about the smut rather than the story as well. Little scenario sort of stuff. They might be stuff I could get out fast on the side to help build a following as well!
Do what
you want to do, regardless of the market. You'll hate yourself otherwise. Chasing trends and trying to max out your income will lead to burnout if you're not working on a project you enjoy. And keep in mind everyone's bias is subjective, and all the comments in this thread should be taken with a grain of salt... my own included.
Having said all that, you just have to be persistent.
Keep going, I'm rooting for you!
P.S. Followed you on Twitter, new art looks great.
