Yeah, pretty frustrating that not only do some people who clearly have talent at something like this just take the easy and lazy method of making it a personal ATM for barely any effort, but also that people continue to buy into the scam fueled by their hopes and dreams so the dev never feels the need to actually put in work and deliver on the product. It would be great if both groups' mindsets would change. I've always felt that quality products will rise to the surface naturally, so it vexes me to no end that rather than put in effort and complete this game, potentially becoming one of the best (like Karryn's Prison, as you mentioned), instead Eromancer just keeps coasting on the dono money even though there'd probably be a far bigger and longer-lasting payoff for actually finishing the damn game.
Like, I'm no business major or anything close to it, but I have always maintained that people will pay for quality, especially when that quality is clear to see. So many games with amazing potential that present that kind of quality, and yet a disturbing number of them fall into the same fate as this game and MatM. There are plenty of h-game devs that are slow to put out updates, sure. But seeing the latest patch notes just makes me laugh; it's pathetic.
And maybe it's a difference of situation or mindset, but if I had the skills to make games like this, or Karryn's Prison, or any number of games I could list, personally I would be working on it every chance I could, because I know that's what keeps people invested, brings in more potential backers, and overall gets the game working well and eventually completed. Hell, maybe someday I'll have to put in the effort to learn how to make games of my own, and either work on improving my own art or just work with an artist who could help it come to fruition. I could just about guarantee that with my mindset, even if I never reach the quality that this game could have, I'd not only have a better following than Eromancer, but I'd also get the game finished instead of just jerk everyone around with updates shorter than a Twitter post.
Might be a lot of big talk coming from someone who knows virtually nothing about game development, but fuck, man, it's just so frustrating to see stuff like this become more and more common. You'd think eventually someone with skills like Eromancer's would come around and have the bright idea to just do the normal thing and make their fucking game without milking the backers for years, and absolutely take off in terms of success. But as far as I know, most of the good devs either keep their heads down or are content to work on smaller projects. Which, kudos to them, but I wish more people would follow their practices instead of those of Eromancer.
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