That is the less charitable interpretation and certainly true for quite a few of them, but in a lot of cases I would also wager someone saw a basic Ren'Py or DAZ tutorial and thought "hey, I can finally make all the raunchy sex scenes exactly how I like them!" only to realise building an actual game takes a signficantly greater amount of work than just that and gave up once they realised they would be spending most of the time fixing menu bugs or shading rather than jiggling tits.
oh yeah, definitely. if I knew what a colossal convoluted swamp renpy was I would've rather done everything from scratch. at least then anything I needed I could just trivially code myself. nothing past dialogue + backgrounds should ever be done in renpy.
It's kinda weird. If you take a look here on the forums, barring the games that have been released incrementally over a long period of time, most games that are "completed" get significantly less views and plays than games that are still being worked on. For me, the explanation is the same as why many movies are being made as franchises nowadays; It's because people don't want something they've invested time in to end. I think people come here for an ongoing experience, or at the very least, a long one.
Make sure to divide the number of views by the number of updates, and if you want to be rigorous by the average number of "next update when?" type posts in between said updates as well. For plays make sure to only count those of the latest version, or again divide by the number of versions. Simple qualitative engagement metrics are utterly useless when comparing different development models.
If they had gone with a release when completed, their monetizing returns would been just a drop of what it is with ongoing releases. Majority of the people making these games doesn't do it out of the kindness of their heart and charity to the "fap fap happy"...
With monetizing platforms such as Patreon it became more available. But you can find many of these games on torrent sites as well. Like first time I did download Avengers "Son of a bitch" I did that through Piratebay years ago.
So much Yes. Real life can get in the way of anything. I know I don't live my life to make a bunch of other people happy rather than worry about myself. Granted I think they should all go to a per release system rather than a every month system but that's my opinion not the "way it should be".
Someone a bit down on their luck, and maybe go into creating such games on their free time to help on their economical situation. For them the bills doesn't stop come monthly, and they won't wait until you possible have a update release 3 months down the line. Patreon is after all about support the creators.
Majority of successful indie games on like Steam, get released through early access, as they need the support and funding to help complete. Indie developers doesn't have any major backers that pick up the bills while waiting for the game/product to be completed. As indie/hobby creator that use Patreon as monetizing platform, it's way more beneficial to have pledges set to monthly than per release/update. Ongoing expenses is a monthly thing after all.
If its a hobby than they have a real day job right?
I'm supporting the creation of a game/artist not paying his bills. I disagree with the whole monthly thing without a release of something other than a brief note with a render about how much stuff they supposedly produced. That's how people get ripped off by developers ghosting but leaving their page on to collect. No wonder people pirate games and stuff. Because were sick of paying for something that sucks or is delayed for one excuse or another.
You can have a good job that pays well and you can have a shitty job paying minimum wages, or you could be a student picking up a unhealthy amount of student loans. Basically anything you not doing full time is a hobby.
Supporting the creator leads to the creator being able to do their thing. No support -> no game for you.
Uh I have a real job and pay my own bills. So if they have a shitty job? Get a better one. Student Loans? Uh US Army paid for my college and I didn't have to pay a dime for it. Maybe don't spend so much to get a degree.
Maybe someday but I sure as hell know if I did it would be because I wanted to not because I NEEDED to. I also wouldn't spend all my free time to make it. See my earlier post about living my life for me rather than make a bunch of people happy cause I made a fap game.
