Patreon adult game developer 101 (humour)

[brasileirinho]

I present you the foolproof guide to become the greatest adult game developer in Patreon:

1. Promise a lot, deliver very little.

You will want to be efficient. Promises are easy to make. Delivering content is hard. So focus on the easy parts!

2. Apologize every other post

Use this template:

Title: My situation/Game progress/We are sorry

We are having issues because of (Covid/Health issues/Holidays/Someone quit/Dirty laundry), so we will need to postpone the new content for later. We deeply apologise, but we are looking forward to deliver great content!

3. Focus on the details

You will need to take good screenshots for people to be interested in your creation. And you only need a few of them. So, since you can't take a picture of sound effects and gameplay mechanics, etc., ditch everything that is not related to composing the scene in your screenshots. Some people may hate it, but as jack sparrow would say:




4. Pretend to care about your patreons wishes

Create a discord with a suggestions channel, create polls, ask your patreon's opinion, etc. But ignore them all. You need to keep them hoping you will add their suggestions, so you can continue milking money away from them.

5. Do it all by yourself

So, you had some success following steps 1~4, and now you are earning 10k every month. So you think you should hire someone to help you, right? Think again, because you are wrong.

6. Don't create deadlines or fix a specific date for anything

Being a indie developer isn't a job. You don't have a boss. You are just doing it as a hobby. So there is no point in taking it seriously.

====================================================================

Well, that's the end of this guide, for now.

I'm sorry for not delivering it earlier, but I had some kidney stones and that delayed the release. I promise to update it as soon as I can with many images and maybe some videos anytime soon. I'd like to ask for your suggestions about how can I improve it further.

Se you soon!

 

[murkis]

Patreon seems to be full of scammers

 

[Fatalmasterpiece]

The key to not being disappointed by Patreon creators is to have 0 expectations and know you're not buying something specific, you're just donating to an artist/team. If I subscribe, it's to give an artist I like some money, I don't expect anything back. The money is just to help them keep doing what they do. If they keep making stuff I like, great, if not, whatever, my life goes on. Literally just "Cool art, here's $20, have a nice day"
People are really spoiled by businesses like Amazon where they want the cheapest price, fastest delivery and want a full refund if their purchase doesn't meet their exact, unrealistic demands. That's not how art works. That's not how creativity works.

 

[brasileirinho]

That's not how art works. That's not how creativity works.

Yeah, art and creativity needs time. Star Citizen is a proof of that.

 

[Adabelitoo]

I hope this is just humour because it sounds like the average whining disguised with "humour" in the title. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[mp3774]

ur like the hitler of humour

 

[Sphere42]

The key to not being disappointed by Patreon creators is to have 0 expectations and know you're not buying something specific, you're just donating to an artist/team. If I subscribe, it's to give an artist I like some money, I don't expect anything back. The money is just to help them keep doing what they do. If they keep making stuff I like, great, if not, whatever, my life goes on. Literally just "Cool art, here's $20, have a nice day"
People are really spoiled by businesses like Amazon where they want the cheapest price, fastest delivery and want a full refund if their purchase doesn't meet their exact, unrealistic demands. That's not how art works. That's not how creativity works.

That's how it's supposed to work, but it has gone way beyond "exclusive behind the scenes insights for loyal fans" and well into "art as a service" subscriptions. Only the "contract" is so anti-consumer no one would buy there if it were an actual retailer.

As for the last paragraph, half of that is exaggerated and the other half is contract law. If you walk into a store and buy a TV only to discover the box filled with wood instead you are entitled to a refund. If they agree on a date for delivering goods or services you can sue them for breach of contract if they do not deliver on time. Amazon certainly does set unrealistic expectations and tends to be quite lenient in regards to consumer complaints but that doesn't mean all consumer rights are rooted in their grace alone.

 

[anne O'nymous]

As for the last paragraph, half of that is exaggerated and the other half is contract law. If you walk into a store and buy a TV only to discover the box filled with wood instead you are entitled to a refund. If they agree on a date for delivering goods or services you can sue them for breach of contract if they do not deliver on time.

Except that there's absolutely nothing of that in the relation between a creator and his patrons ; it's even in the definition of the word "

You must be registered to see the links

".
As Fatalmasterpiece said, you give few bucks to an artist because you think he deserve them, period. At no time you are due something because of this. Of course, it's natural that the said artist give you some exclusivity or things like that, as thanks for your support. But it's just that, a polite "thanks you", nothing more ; they have not a single legal obligation regarding your pledge, only a moral one.

If really you want to make a comparison with something, then it would be giving a tip to waiter when you arrive. Doing this, you expect him to treat you better that those who haven't (or gave less), and that's all. And if he don't treat you better, you were just a fool that bet on the wrong horse.
It's not the fault of the creators if some idiots don't understand what they are doing while subscribing to their Patreon page ; they have no obligations to fulfill imaginary duties.

 

[Sphere42]

It's not the fault of the creators if some idiots don't understand what they are doing while subscribing to their Patreon page ; they have no obligations to fulfill imaginary duties.

That depends on the local laws, admittedly I'm not familiar with US specifics. In Europe there are "implied contracts" including verbal ones. If an artist lists "one coloured HD image every month" as a tier perk then that constitutes a paid subscription not a "donation".

What you describe is how Patreon is supposed to be used. Try putting up a stall with a sign "free vodka bottle with every 20€$ donation!" and see how quickly you get busted for unlicenced selling of alcohol.

Of course all of that only applies if the artist genuinely promised goods or services. "Subject to availability", "early access to all completed works I produce" yadda yadda. But those disclaimers are printed on sale offers and coupons for a reason.

 

[arcaos]

I’m really curious what the expectations are of creators regarding “just hire more people lol”. Ignoring all the logistics of swapping from being a creator to someone’s boss, having twice as many developers does not double development speed. Disputes over work/direction/quality, miscommunications, training, and just general employee turnover can slow projects more than it helps.

To take a common example, “y u no voice act?!” To start, you need to hire at least one very talented adult voice actress, or more likely multiple ones (harem games are usually where these requests go). You now have to get them all to narrate a book’s worth of text with similar audio quality with correct tone/expression, which means multiple “is this good?” back and forth sessions per reading. And then, if any of your voice actresses leave midway through because this will take months, you either need to accept that the character changes voices halfway through or hire a new one and start the process over. And all of that time and coordination takes away from development because you are still making your game while you herd the voice acting cats.

 

[anne O'nymous]

That depends on the local laws, admittedly I'm not familiar with US specifics. In Europe there are "implied contracts" including verbal ones.

Well, apparently you aren't too familiar either with European specifics.
Implied contracts, whatever implied-in-fact or implied-in-law, exist to (try to) guaranty equity between the two parties of a, verbal or written, agreement. But equity do not mean equality.
Here, the implied contract past between the artist and the patron would be (see below) that, if the artist release something, the patron will have the possibility to access it under better conditions than someone who wouldn't be a patron. It's the expected interpretation of what patronage is and mean, and how justice would more than surely interpret it.

If an artist lists "one coloured HD image every month" as a tier perk then that constitutes a paid subscription not a "donation".

I'll deceive you, but it's neither a subscription, nor a "donation".
As you believe Patreon works, you could try to plead your cause, saying that the artist promised you something monthly, and that you payed for this monthly "something". To which his lawyer would respond that it's a patronage, and that therefore the said monthly something is just a free reward. There's no guaranty that justice will favorite one or the other argumentation.

But as I implied, this is not how Patreon works.

You must be registered to see the links

, in the "All about being a patron" section:

To summarize: A patron is someone who purchases memberships from Patreon to support their favorite creators’ creations. Through a paid membership on Patreon, patrons directly interact with creators they support, using tools supplied by Patreon, and through our platform have the opportunity to engage with a greater community of patrons and creators.

As a patron, you’re joining Patreon to be part of an exciting movement to support a creator’s membership while you get special benefits, which may include access to your creator, merchandise (when offered), exclusivity, and engaging experiences with the creator and patron community. In exchange, you pay Patreon for membership programs, on a subscription basis, to access and support creators you like.

It's not wrote "through", what would mean that Patreon is just an intermediary between you and the creator, but "from", what mean that your interlocutor is Patreon, not the creator. And they added a second coat by saying explicitly that it's Patreon that you pay, not the creator.
Therefore, technically it's a contract between you and Patreon. In this contract, you agree to give money to Patreon, while Patreon agree to give you access to a part of the creator's content (depending of your tier) and to give a part of this money to the said creator.

At no time you are in contract with the creator, and therefore he have no obligation to you. Whatever he wrote in his page, and whatever how it's worded, it's a reward to thanks you for you help.

What you describe is how Patreon is supposed to be used.

Well, as you see, it's not even "how Patreon is supposed to be used", just how it is supposed to be perceived. Whoever perceive it other way is the one in fault for not having read the Terms of Use, period.

 

[PrinceOfShades]

Not announcing a deadline doesn't mean you don't take it seriously.

 

[brasileirinho]

I hope this is just humour because it sounds like the average whining disguised with "humour" in the title. I hope I'm wrong.

Another funny part is that I'm not german.