Patreon Tiers Rewards - what do you think??

[Grumpy Eagle]

Tiers:

2+
- extra/hidden scenes included in the game

5+
- you get the previous tier rewards
- vote on proposed content (such as character appearances)
- access to patron-only posts
- get the game 5 days after release

10+
- you get the previous tier rewards
- get the latest version of the game on release
- complete walkthrough of the current version of the game

20+
- you get the previous tier rewards
- access to "Dev Talk" weekly summary of ongoing development
- name in credits - "Thank you page" (part of the game)
- access to beta-testing
- previews of future releases

There can be some minor rewards like discord role, but that is not so important.

Few notes:

1. I don't want to spend more time creating tier rewards than creating actual game.
2. I don't want to use 1 dollar pledge because way too high fees (40% fee is ridiculous)
3. I feel that extra/hidden scenes should be for all patrons
4. I plan to update the game every 2-3 months (I prefer less updates with more content rather than more updates with less content).
5. Pools will be about characters apearance etc. not about game story (I want to work on my story).

Questions:

1. Is it good idea not to have 1 dollar tier?
2. Is early access worthy reward when I plan to update every 2-3 months?
3. Is there something you find really bad/good?

Any ideas are welcome.

Thank you

 

[MFN]

Hello! I was advised that for a novice developer it is better to have a subscription of $ 1. Subscription rewards are always a good idea. But updates every three months, in our time, in my opinion, are negatively perceived by the public

 

[Grumpy Eagle]

Hello! I was advised that for a novice developer it is better to have a subscription of $ 1. Subscription rewards are always a good idea. But updates every three months, in our time, in my opinion, are negatively perceived by the public

Yeah, I know that update every 2-3 months is quite long. On the other hand I'm not sure how to release updates every month and maintaine the quality of updates I want to have. But this problem probably has no easy solution...

 

[Akamari]

It's a bit too pricey in my opinion. Development updates should be available to all patrons regardless of tiers. That's what they sign for. Not much point supporting a developer if you can't see what's going on.

1 Dollar tier is good to have, some people might want to do just a token appreciation.

 

[MFN]

Yeah, I know that update every 2-3 months is quite long. On the other hand I'm not sure how to release updates every month and maintaine the quality of updates I want to have. But this problem probably has no easy solution...

The main thing is that you enjoy the pleasure of the game))) and the work time is no longer important))) drpinkcake now releases updates rarely, but very well, people like it. The main thing is to choose your path that you like, and then everything will go easy
Forgive me if I don’t get my thoughts right. I do not know much English at the moment

 

[RedPillBlues]

- extra/hidden scenes included in the game

Gets a yikes from me, paywalls mean i'm instantly less likely to support.

 

[beyreli]

20 for previews? It feels too expensive.

 

[Akamari]

Gets a yikes from me, paywalls mean i'm instantly less likely to support.

Yeah. Depends how they're done though. If they are really hidden, so that they don't bother those that are not supposed to see them. That's fine IMO. But if they are pushed into your face with a paywall and a price tag during the game, that'd would piss me off instantly.

 

[Grumpy Eagle]

Gets a yikes from me, paywalls mean i'm instantly less likely to support.

Well I actually thought that it is big reward for all patrons... I still feel that patrons should have big reward compare to people who play it for free.

Anyway I don't want to look like someone who cares only about money.

 

[Grumpy Eagle]

20 for previews? It feels too expensive.

To be honest I feel that 20 dollars it way to high pledge in general, but when I looked at cca 30 biggest games on this website, they all have those ridiculusly high tiers with almost no significant rewards (it is almost always like name in credits...). So it is a copy/paste from my side .

 

[Grumpy Eagle]

Try you look at it from developer's point of view. For example Akabur (Princess trainer) - for him is patreon only tip jar. There are no rewards = cca 3000 patrons and 5500 dollars every month - that is less than 2 dollars per patron. Every single developer who has reward system has more dollars per patron (cca 4 - 6). So Akabur can easily make 15000 - 18000 dollars every month with reward system.

I know that from player point of view patreon should be only tip-jar, but obviously for developers it is not the best way to go...

It's interesting that rewards, which works best, probably pissed off most players

 

[Grumpy Eagle]

It's a bit too pricey in my opinion. Development updates should be available to all patrons regardless of tiers. That's what they sign for. Not much point supporting a developer if you can't see what's going on.

1 Dollar tier is good to have, some people might want to do just a token appreciation.

Yeah I think you are right about the updates.

But then I have problem with "extra/hidden scenes included in the game". I still feel that it should be for all patrons (in my eyes this is most valuable reward) but then there is almost no point to have tiers. If 1+ tier has updates + extra scenes, there is not many reasons to pledge more than 1 dollar.

It is more difficult than create actual game...

 

[polywog]

As a patron of the arts, I reward artists for their contribution to society. Supporting artists towards quitting their day job, so that they can focus more time on doing what they do best. I don't support sell-outs, or commercial artists who are making 6-7 figure salaries... they have already made it, and are not in need.

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Today, more than ever it is important that we help the little guy. In a world where corporate agendas, and influence peddlers dominate and dictate what appears in media, many classes and cultures are underrepresented, or ignored entirely.
Corporate policies such as Apple, Google's decision to no longer support free Flash games, severely shifts the market in favor of Big Game Companies. You can still buy Flash games, and their browsers will support the commercial Flash games that they sell in their app stores, but they want to monopolize the market and prevent you from playing the millions of free Flash games out there, made by the little guy. That's just unfair.



If you are a creator, struggling to get your work out there, trying to make it in today's unfair world, you deserve a helping hand.

If your patreon says you're a greedy a-hole who only wants rich people to enjoy your work, you chose your fate.
Here's a good game for rich people, and some buggy shit for you poor people. That isn't nice.
Just focus on making one game, not four different versions that make you look like a racist prick.

The more people enjoying your game, the better. More happy players tell their friends, those players tell their friends, soon your game is popular, and you start getting rewards.

 

[Grumpy Eagle]

Well I'm just not sure if most patrons have the same thinking like you guys.

You are basically saying: "Patrons don't need big rewards. They will pledge anyway if they will enjoy your game."
I still think it is exactly oposite: "I will not pledge a single dollar, because everyone gets the same for free."

Maybe I'm way too big pesimist .

 

[Adabelitoo]

I don't like them to be honest, here are my reasons:

1) I do think that "Patrons don't need big rewards. They will pledge anyway if they will enjoy your game." so I really don't care to much about the rewards, so maybe everthing that I can say after this is pointless
2) I don't like the idea of more content for patreons only, I really don't, I would higly preffer if that extra content is available for everyone and those patreons are the who decided about what that extra content will be about (what characters, fetishes, clothes/costumes, etc)
3) Even if you do those exclusive things, everything will end being leaked and free here, so it's useless

Now, for the 1$ tier I think we could use an entire dedicated thread to talk about that

 

[Grumpy Eagle]

I don't like them to be honest, here are my reasons:

1) I do think that "Patrons don't need big rewards. They will pledge anyway if they will enjoy your game." so I really don't care to much about the rewards, so maybe everthing that I can say after this is pointless
2) I don't like the idea of more content for patreons only, I really don't, I would higly preffer if that extra content is available for everyone and those patreons are the who decided about what that extra content will be about (what characters, fetishes, clothes/costumes, etc)
3) Even if you do those exclusive things, everything will end being leaked and free here, so it's useless

Now, for the 1$ tier I think we could use an entire dedicated thread to talk about that

Well I was thinking the same about extra content and "everything will end being leaked and free here, so it's useless". That is a good point.

 

[Agent HK47]

I believe that every patron should recieve access to the game and patron only posts. This is what 99% of people are looking for when they pledge, and both should be in the lowest available tier, IMO.

As for higher rewards, just make sure people feel like they are getting something for their money. Polls are a great way to do this, or the old "Name in game credits."

I would probably do something along the lines of this:

- $1/2 = Access to game (with all scenes) and patron only posts.
- $5 = Ability to vote on polls. This would preferably be things such as choosing the style of clothing a character will wear for a scene or the hairstyle of a future character. You do not want your patrons to control the important aspects of the game, such as the flow of your story or which characters gets updates next, cause that is a BAD idea (just ask ICSTOR or DarkSilver).
- $10 = Access to walkthrough or maybe a custom image of a character of their choosing. Or both.
- $20 = Name in credits.

(Every higher tier would ofc have access to whatever the lower tier rewards are)

I would not make tiers higher than this, but ofc I don't want to tell you what to do. Just make sure people get something for their money, and do not make yourself seem greedy, cause people tend to dislike that, which is understandable.

 

[lemonfreak]

Your prices are fine but if you're planning a release every 2-3 months, I guarantee that sooner or later unforeseen problems will stretch that to 4 months, at which point you will have charged your $20 patrons the cost of a AAA PS4/XONE/Switch title for a few pictures.

For that reason I would suggest going with a per release model so you don't end up feeling guilty about taking money for nothing.

 

[Grumpy Eagle]

Ok I created new tier system and rewards based on your suggestions (little bit):

1+
- access to patron-only posts
- receive development updates
- get the game 5 days before public release

5+
- ability to vote on polls (proposed content such as character appearances - clothing, hairstyle etc.)
- access to preview images of upcoming updates
- get the game 10 days before public release

8+
- complete walkthrough of the current version of the game
- 3x Monthly Special HD image of voted characters
- ability to vote on polls (proposed secondary events - 3-4 short events every update)


12+
- your name in the Game credits!
- access to "Dev Talk" weekly summary of ongoing development



1. I start with 1 dollar tier.
2. No extra scenes for patrons
3. I reduce the prices (update every 2-3 months)
4. Patrons cannot control main Storyline and characters development
5. Patrons can control minor events in the game

What do you think about this one??