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Hey everybody.
Back when I started working on Leaving DNA, I anticipated it being a whole fuck ton of work. After coming up with the story and teaching myself Daz and Ren'py, I knew I'd be grinding for a solid two, maybe two and a half more years to finish this project. That seemed like a long way off, but I was passionate about it and knew if I dug in for the long haul I'd get it done. And if I recall correctly, the estimate for the game's completion that I gave to my early supporters was two and a half years.
Three years later, I've only just released Episode Four and still have a long ways to go.
When I came up with the story and started working on the game, I believed I would be funding it on my own. I just wanted to tell a story. I didn't plan on using Patreon, SubscribeStar, Steam, or Itch. But as I spent more and more of my own money on hardware and 3D assets I realized I was going to be inflicting some serious financial damage on myself if I didn't ask for support. And man, I have gotten so many awesome people jumping in to help me out. Some of you have been with me since I first launched my Patreon and SubscribeStar Pages. Others who joined along the way have still given me hundreds of dollars. I appreciate all of you. But if I'm being honest, at this point it just feels like too much for what I'm giving you. Even at the base tier of $3 a month that's $36 a year for maybe a few hours of gameplay. At the $10 and $20 a month tiers it really feels excessive, especially for those of you have been funding me at those tiers since I released the demo.
Of course, in addition to everything I've already spent on the game I do continue to have new expenses. Every month I pay hundreds of dollars more in energy costs from rendering all the time. Each animated scene costs me at least a thousand dollars. I continue to spend money on 3D assets, music licenses, software licenses, and other stuff like.
However, I write all of this to say that between your generous donations and the money I've made from Steam and Itch, I now have made back my own investments and I have enough money to fund the rest of the game. This was my primary goal for opening the Patreon and SubscribeStar pages and that goal has been met.
Looking ahead to the final episodes, it will get harder for me to provide previews or discuss upcoming content. I think I've mentioned this a few times in the past, but I honestly am not sure I'll want to give any previews at all while I'm working on Episodes Six, Seven, and Eight. I've always closely guarded against spoilers and I don't think it's possible to give previews for the last episodes without spoiling them.
Furthermore, the longer I work on the game, the more boring my developer's journals get. Frankly I just run out of interesting things to talk about. My point here again is I'm not sure how much value I'm returning to you for your monthly donations.
So, all of this is my introduction to the formal announcement that I will soon be taking down both my Patreon and SubscribeStar pages. I don't know exactly when, but it will be before I release Episode Five. I will soon prevent new subscribers from signing up, and sometime after that I will prevent even existing supporters from providing any more contributions.
For those who have been supporting me over a period of months and are worried about losing access to the game, don't worry you won't lose access. I will be providing weekly journals and new game updates via an email list. I'm still working out the details on this, but if you've already contributed a certain amount of money via Patreon or SubscribeStar then you will continue to receive all journals and updates for free. I'm not sure what the amount will be yet. Maybe $15 or $20.
I will also continue to provide monthly special renders to supporters who have contributed at higher amounts or for a long period, but the difference will be that access to these renders will be dependent on your total past contributions rather than an ongoing monthly contribution. However, I haven't yet decided what the threshold amounts will be.
In other words, if you've been a long term supporter, you're going to continue to get everything you've been getting in the past, but now you won't have to pay for it.
I know that many of you guys who have been supporting me for awhile want to continue giving me money and you are awesome, but please understand that there are multiple factors that have gone into this decision. There's more than just what I'm writing about here, but the unexpectedly long period of development is a major factor that I think justifies this move all by itself. I will of course continue to receive additional funding from new players buying the game outright on Steam and Itch.
I'll be making a public announcement this week. I wanted to leave the page open to new subs long enough for people who had been waiting for Episode Four to get it, but I don't want anyone signing up just to lose access to the page a month later. What I might do is temporarily open up the ability for new subscribers to make a small one time donation to get access to journals and updates going forward.
Anyways, I'll have more details later, but feel free to DM me with questions.
I really do appreciate you guys. I honestly wouldn't have made it this far without you.
--Monk
