The ethics of having the game developer as OP

[junior20000]

Hello, fellow forum user!
I hope you are doing ok.

Since I saw game developers posting their games in this forum, I have asked myself this question:

When is it ok to post the latest version of their game?

I know that there is no rule (at least, I hope there is not) that does not let you post it. However, I think there is a non-verbal or written agreement in which you do not post it if the OP is the team/developer of the game, as it is significantly hard to find a post with the latest version of the game in this case.

So, I would hear your opinion about it!
Please, answer the poll. If there is not an option that addresses your thoughts, please post a reply!

I am looking forward to seeing your opinion about this topic.
Take care, and have a good day!

 

[BaasB]

Hello, fellow forum user!
I hope you are doing ok.

Since I saw game developers posting their games in this forum, I have asked myself this question:

When is it ok to post the latest version of their game?

I know that there is no rule (at least, I hope there is not) that does not let you post it. However, I think there is a non-verbal or written agreement in which you do not post it if the OP is the team/developer of the game, as it is significantly hard to find a post with the latest version of the game in this case.

So, I would hear your opinion about it!
Please, answer the poll. If there is not an option that addresses your thoughts, please post a reply!

I am looking forward to seeing your opinion about this topic.
Take care, and have a good day!

This is a pirate site, the end

 

[Rafster]

It depends on each creator, because, as you say, there is no rule about that. ANY user have the right to post and report their post to have the latest version. This is a pirate site, after all.

I love my users, the ones in my thread here wait patiently the two weeks period until I post the game for free on my 3 main sites (here, itch and in discord), and they didn't filter my buggy-as-hell test version even though it was up on the patreon for a whole month. I'm not bothered if a version is leaked (didn't happen because I barely have players lol), but be aware of the bugs that might happen, and I won't rush to fix a leaked version until the time comes for the release (In my case just two weeks. I guess it's a fair time period)

 

[Ennoch]

This is a pirate site, the end

Compact, on point. Hire an artist, make a kinetic novel out of it. Has potential, just needs some boobs&vagina. Drama is given. 'You catch your Love Interest pledging to a game dev who hates F95zoner scum, leaving you for steady updates! What will you do. Will you man up and finally finish your product or just keep milking to pay for copium? The choice is yours in this epic tale of morals and probably other bullshit!'

 

[DidheroHD]

how does one start to crack the savefile??

 

[HarveyD]

Compact, on point. Hire an artist, make a kinetic novel out of it. Has potential, just needs some boobs&vagina. Drama is given. 'You catch your Love Interest pledging to a game dev who hates F95zoner scum, leaving you for steady updates! What will you do. Will you man up and finally finish your product or just keep milking to pay for copium? The choice is yours in this epic tale of morals and probably other bullshit!'

Far too specific for an intro/blurb here. Try something like:

"Follow the journey of a man as he journeys to places. Choose choices. Who knows what will happen!"


But to answer the actual question, sure it's polite to wait. But if you're posting it here before they can then they're slacking a bit. And if you're posting it before they make it "free", that's the point of a pirate site.

 

[Vicorus]

In my opinion if a game is still in its "beginning" stages of releases with small content I think it'd be ok with this.
I've seen a couple of devs here release "games" with barely any content in their game versions and try and Patreon/Substar with expensive access costs. Which as a start up dev, might not be the smartest of choices in trying to further their notoriety within the early access communities they run with.
Personally to me, games that go over 7-10$ a month with weekly/bi-monthly updates are ok with me, Keep it closed. But to charge 30$ for an access fee to their games that have minimum content to their versions and given within some "fandoms" some are abandoned or left for abuse of their supporters is not cool. Example for one.
Fek

 

[Deleted member 440241]

Most of the devs that actually post here usually make the latest version free 2 weeks to a month after releasing on Patreon. It's not a long time to wait if you want to be courteous to devs active on the site.

 

[junior20000]

Most of the devs that actually post here usually make the latest version free 2 weeks to a month after releasing on Patreon. It's not a long time to wait if you want to be courteous to devs active on the site.

I agree that, with most serious developers, there is no substantial update gap, like one version behind or some time before release. On the other hand, my courtesy goes down the drain when paywalled content is involved, mainly if there are tiers with huge value discrepancies.

 

[TheMagicalGurl]

If my game has people that hyped for an update, go for it.

Just toss a coin to your witcher... I mean, your friendly neighborhood dev.

 

[Atemsiel]

Any dev who's active on this site knows the deal. We're here because it gives us a good way to interact with players. Any dev with an expectation that they're gonna have any exemption from what the site is about is generally not gonna keep control of their thread for long.

Leaks happen. We know. We're here anyway because this is where the players are.

 

[TheMagicalGurl]

Any dev who's active on this site knows the deal. We're here because it gives us a good way to interact with players. Any dev with an expectation that they're gonna have any exemption from what the site is about is generally not gonna keep control of their thread for long.

Leaks happen. We know. We're here anyway because this is where the players are.

I feel like working with people and the free exposure is just common sense. Better to be seen and known than ignored and irrelevant.

I just hope that the kind devs are recognized with kindness in turn. Thats my hope.

 

[mr__person__]

While there is no rule, from what I've seen it seems the consensus is:

If people like the dev, they wait for the new update.

If they don't, they don't.

A dev has a normal cycle of posting the latest version of their game 1-2 weeks after it's up for patrons, subscribers, etc. then generally it goes unleaked. More than that, or if there's paywalled content, or if no one likes the dev, then it's much more likely that leaks occur.

That said:

This is a pirate site, the end

 

[Pamphlet]

Post 'em if ya got 'em and want to. Pirate site and all that jazz. Just don't go cutting up rough in threads if they haven't leaked yet.

 

[gunderson]

Here's the thing: yes, this is a pirate site, but the needs and wants and attitude of a dev do in fact often matter. The big one is if a dev eventually has public releases or not, which is the best way that a respected dev can delay releases of versions onto f95 that go out to higher-paying donors earlier. That also tends to prevent the 'premium' versions from being distributed, as users here tend to respect that those are perks of being a donor and that people here can still play an up-to-date version of the game eventually.

Devs who get very "mine! pay up or you'll never see another version of this game! Public releases are theft! Fuck you, f95!" tend to be pirated much more shamelessly. Which feels par for the course, to me. Most people who see your game are erstwhile pirates on f95 anyway, and you get supporters because we think you AND your game are good.

Whether the OP is the game maker or not isn't really relevant. If they're just doing it to try to control the message and prevent leaks because they're jealously guarding their treasure, that shit's likely to backfire.

 

[Domiek]

It's a pirate site and the dev having ownership of the thread doesn't change that dynamic.

The only thing that would truly be devastating is if someone leaks my closed test builds. This build is very unpolished, possibly buggy, and normally goes through an additional iteration of writing or render changes before being ready. Having this leaked significantly destroys the public perception of the latest update and the boost we get for showing up on the latest updates page.

 

[whizwart]

If we were on a purely ethics driven path, we all would be subbed to 30 different paetrons. But, thats not the world we live in. I think the community appriciates when the dev posts updates and interacts, but its not expected, its really just a huge bonus.

 

[DuniX]

Creators can make a thread for their game with their development of the game and what not and that can eventually become the release thread. That's fine.
But they do not "Own" the release thread, even if they are the OP of the thread.
It's up to the discretion of the Moderators in how much they intervene and how much goodwill they have with the community if the game is delayed release of the latest version.

And the worse case that can happen is not that a leak is posted, that's nothing, the worse case is losing control of the thread entirely.

 

[Succubus Hunter]

Sharing is caring is the code of the internet seas. You get update, you share update.

 

[dareddevil7]

I'm pretty picky with my preferences, so I can't really afford to put money down on something I may not even end up liking, however if I do like something a lot, I'll put money down.