Supporting your favorite developers... without money.

Doorknob22

Super Moderator
Moderator
Game Developer
Nov 3, 2017
2,395
5,811
I saw a thread in another forum about how much are people ready to pay for supporting the games they enjoy but I want to stress that becoming a patron is not the only way you can support your favorite developers.

Basically writing a porn game is an extremely lonely task. Most of us can't tell friends and families what we're investing our time, energy and money into hence the experience is very lonely. You can't easily ask your pals if you're in the right direction because most of them don't know about the pervy direction you took. We are not all knowing. We are not sure we took the right direction. We must make dozens of decisions without being able to consult with anyone. This situation is dramatically different than the one of vanilla creators who can easily share their concerns and doubts with people they know and trust.

If you want to support the developers whose work you enjoy but don't wish to back them financially, here are some ways to do so.

1. If they have Discord, visit it frequently. Talk with the developer (and others) and express what you like about the game.

2. Recommend the game to others in F95. There are forums here where people ask for recommendations on new games, recommend the games you enjoy. For a developer to see others recommend his game is incredibly encouraging.

3. Give a positive review. Spend 10-15 and write a nice review with what you liked about the game. Again, it's incredibly encouraging for a developer and can indirectly help promote the game.

4. Visit the game's thread in f95 and help others who have questions, show the developer he is not the only one caring about the game.

5. Are you good with graphics software? Many developers (this one included...) aren't. Your favorite developers would be thrilled to receive some cool signature files to share with fans.

Another good way to help support devs without paying for it would be to give any games . The act of wishlisting them push them up Steam's algorithm, makes it show in the "Coming Soon" section on the main page, makes it more likely that it'll get recommended in "more games like this" and "what to play next", and in general provides a huge boost for the game at launch.
There are many others ways to help promote a game you enjoy without opening your wallet. What you need to remember is that showing continuous support in a project does wonders to ensure its developer's determination to continue developing it.
 
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ChaosOpen

Well-Known Member
Game Developer
Sep 26, 2019
1,014
2,142
Cannot like this post enough. It really takes the fun out of making it when people keep their distance, often going so far as to cut down anyone who is trying to engage as "bothering me."
 

Hadley

Well-Known Member
Sep 18, 2017
1,047
1,892
I never review Games, because I think its kinda weird to review a unfinished Game. Especially since you can't see what Version the Review is based on, so Reviews can kinda mislead. Also the Rating System on this Site is kinda broken. I played lots of Games because it got great Ratings but then the Game turned out to be complete Horseshit, so overall I dont give to much shits about Ratings and I pretty much never play 0.1 Versions. If a Game is good it will get popular and sooner or later I'll find out about it.
 

Jaike

Well-Known Member
Aug 24, 2020
1,601
6,276
I never review Games, because I think its kinda weird to review a unfinished Game. Especially since you can't see what Version the Review is based on, so Reviews can kinda mislead. Also the Rating System on this Site is kinda broken. I played lots of Games because it got great Ratings but then the Game turned out to be complete Horseshit, so overall I dont give to much shits about Ratings and I pretty much never play 0.1 Versions. If a Game is good it will get popular and sooner or later I'll find out about it.
First, always include the version in the review.

As a feedback mechanism for developers, it makes the most sense to review a game while it is still in development. It's less of a hassle to make a drastic change in the plot in 0.3 than in 0.8. Of course, reviewing a 0.1 with barely any content is a bit pointless.
 

F4C430

Active Member
Dec 4, 2018
650
745
Since reviews were brought up, i want to reiterate a couple of the rules:
  1. Try to be objective, describe your reasoning and highlight what key aspects of the content were good or bad.
  2. Please mention the version of the game you are reviewing of.
  3. Do not mention other games or other developers in your review, this is to prevent cross promotion.
  4. The review should only be about the game, not the developer (pricing, update times, etc).
  5. There is a 200 character requirement, do not attempt to bypass this by using spam or irrelevant comments.
  6. Your review shouldn't be solely focused on your feelings about a specific genre.
  7. Do not review your own game or games you've worked on.
Please keep your reviews honest or at least disclaimer that you're a fan of the dev when writing it.
 

claus001

Active Member
Feb 15, 2020
687
1,432
Also you know you can offer help to dev to debug the game. That is actual work which is much more valuable than 5$ monthly donation.
 
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Parodos

Member
Game Developer
Jul 16, 2021
442
2,532
Point 2 in particular is very helpful I think, just spreading the word, posting about it can make a big difference.
 
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Deleted member 229118

Active Member
Oct 3, 2017
799
976
aw... you wanna Hug ?! haha
Yes?
I like hugs.
Now give me a hug.

As for the topic:
I am very relucatend to talk to anyone.
I find people anoying to the point i often want to strangle them.
That said i do help people or talk about stuff i like or dislike.
But i am aware my fetish is a rarity.
I dont expect dev's to add mindless drones to mind control games.
Because lets face it very few people get off on turning people into mindless robots that you need to be micromanage.
 
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Droid Productions

[Love of Magic & Morningstar]
Donor
Game Developer
Dec 30, 2017
7,171
18,343
Good thread.

Another good way to help support devs without paying for it would be to give any games . The act of wishlisting them push them up Steam's algorithm, makes it show in the "Coming Soon" section on the main page, makes it more likely that it'll get recommended in "more games like this" and "what to play next", and in general provides a huge boost for the game at launch.
 
Jun 25, 2018
301
413
For #3, not even just leaving a review but simply talking about the game in general will make the dev team happy that their work is not just sitting in a void.
 
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Adabelitoo

Well-Known Member
Jun 24, 2018
1,950
3,050
I usually don't post on necro-bumped 2 year old threads but as a dev I can't express how true and effective these things are.
 
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Bingoogus

Engaged Member
Sep 5, 2021
3,512
9,141
One thing for this site that i think greatly helps spread a game around is if people would actually hyperlink their signature ads. Having a template instruction on how to do that in the posts the FP's link to for signatures would also really help cause half the time sigs are unlinked and i expect that half of that is laziness but the other half is just a lack of education as to how to do it. Unless a signature reeeeally grabs my attention, if its unlinked it will also go unresearched. Half the games i've found and love on this site have come purely from signature advertisements.

Edit: although i am a broke ass piece of white trash, a few devs have received a few bucks out of me due to those sig ads putting them on my radar. One small example of non-monetary help leading to more tangible help.
 
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Douve

Member
Jun 1, 2017
156
646
One thing for this site that i think greatly helps spread a game around is if people would actually hyperlink their signature ads. Having a template instruction on how to do that in the posts the FP's link to for signatures would also really help cause half the time sigs are unlinked and i expect that half of that is laziness but the other half is just a lack of education as to how to do it. Unless a signature reeeeally grabs my attention, if its unlinked it will also go unresearched. Half the games i've found and love on this site have come purely from signature advertisements.

Edit: although i am a broke ass piece of white trash, a few devs have received a few bucks out of me due to those sig ads putting them on my radar. One small example of non-monetary help leading to more tangible help.
Hey thanks for the info, I had no idea we could do this !

Also in order to support the dev you can create fan signature and this time there's a thread on how to do it with linked psd files.