walker188

Active Member
Apr 30, 2017
767
2,335
That would have been an outcome that better reflects reality. A project that has not been worked on at all for six months is indeed abandoned. If the devs announced before that six month period that they were back at it again, their 18 month would have started anew. But they couldn't be so cut and dry with reporting their situation, hence their "unabandoning" isn't being given the grace period
Yeah, well. Maybe you should only look for finished games, then? There are many devs who still share that vision, I even 'work' as a translator for a team that has released more than 10 completed games in the last 10 years (with little financial success, mind you, but that would be dragging this discussion onto offtopic zone). The thing is that Patreon works fine enough for those who understand what they are paying for: they are not paying for the final product (although they can subscribe one month just to 'buy' it when it's ready) but to let devs keep working on their games. In WaL's case, it's not even a subscription model, since the game is totally free and Patreon rewards are fairly underwhelming (some spoilery pics, voting rights, and a chance to see your name listed in the game's supporters gallery). Basically, you don't get anything else than the personal satisfaction of supporting someone whose work you appreciate. And sure, it's obvious that when gamedevs manage to get enough support to make this for a living the incentive to actually finish those games is questionable at the very least, but that's what everyone signed up for, and patrons will always have the last word by voting with their wallets.

You mention WaL's devs should have released a completed game first, which is a financial gamble since they wouldn't get a dime until the game was ready to release, so they would have needed to work several years on this hobby while also working on their daily jobs (meaning that none of us would probably know about WaL yet, and chances are we'd never ever knew about it since they could have dropped this 'unborn' project for whatever reason - like having a second child in 2022- to focus on their regular jobs and no one on Earth would have noticed); then take their one-time shot to get as much money from sales as possible, then probably keep working on their daily jobs for some stable monthly income while they sort out the newborn or whatever situation they'd be facing at the time, rinse and repeat. I don't think that's a reasonable choice to make for any family when they have an alternative that allows them to get their somewhat stable monthly income from developing their game, as it happened here when they gained some good traction with the first couple of installments. Patreon actually allowed a talented artist and a decent yet inexperienced writer to leave their jobs and live on their pet project, which is quite a nice thing if you ask me. You are demanding hobbyists to take a professional or even industrial approach, going from one project to the next, hoping their sales would remain high enough to make it worthwhile, but that's neither what this kind of people usually look for, nor what they wish, nor even what they are capable of. If they have more stories to tell and feel like it, they can try their luck with a second project, but some games and stories can be on almost eternal development, much like soap operas.

On another note, WaL devs did let their audience know that the project would be taking a lower priority for some months, and the way they constantly communicate their progress and shortcomings lets people decide when to stop paying them. I guess they could have paused pledges for some months, but around 20% of their supporters back in 2022 have already left by themselves.
The sad fact is that you probably spent more time writing this novel, than Nuts did working on the game this week.
 

moskyx

Forum Fanatic
Jun 17, 2019
4,388
14,740
yet you are still here defending them like your life depends on it
Don't you realize that being on the third round of polish is actually a good thing? This is their usual workflow, they're back on track and getting closer and closer to that sweet spot where they feel the update is good enough to be released. Just one more month, including external playtesting.
 

VanillaLover

Active Member
Jun 15, 2021
935
1,456
Don't you realize that being on the third round of polish is actually a good thing? This is their usual workflow, they're back on track and getting closer and closer to that sweet spot where they feel the update is good enough to be released. Just one more month, including external playtesting.
I have honest trust that this update is gonna push through, but the next ones are gonna either take way too long, or not even happen. These devs are going to be burnt as fuck and as soon as 0.7 comes they'll stop indefinitely.
 

Finuee

Gorehound Gal
Game Developer
Sep 14, 2022
635
3,355
I have honest trust that this update is gonna push through, but the next ones are gonna either take way too long, or not even happen. These devs are going to be burnt as fuck and as soon as 0.7 comes they'll stop indefinitely.
They're indeed gonna be very burnt out. That's why I think the next update is when it'll become clear if the boat's gonna sink or sail.
 
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moskyx

Forum Fanatic
Jun 17, 2019
4,388
14,740
I have honest trust that this update is gonna push through, but the next ones are gonna either take way too long, or not even happen. These devs are going to be burnt as fuck and as soon as 0.7 comes they'll stop indefinitely.
Nothing points to that, so far. They already have a rough idea about how they want to tell Holly's story so that it doesn't take too much time to be produced, cutting off the introduction of a couple of new characters (the village's twin sisters and Junior's sister). I'm confident 0.8 will arrive sooner than many people expect
 

Finuee

Gorehound Gal
Game Developer
Sep 14, 2022
635
3,355
Nothing points to that, so far. They already have a rough idea about how they want to tell Holly's story so that it doesn't take too much time to be produced, cutting off the introduction of a couple of new characters (the village's twin sisters and Junior's sister). I'm confident 0.8 will arrive sooner than many people expect
I really hope you're right. (y)
 
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FreelancerFL

Member
Jul 23, 2017
330
514
Don't you realize that being on the third round of polish is actually a good thing? This is their usual workflow, they're back on track and getting closer and closer to that sweet spot where they feel the update is good enough to be released. Just one more month, including external playtesting.

Just one more month
>next month
Just one more month
>two months later
Sorry for real just one more month
>next year

Did they prescribe you copium?
 

caviarkush1

Newbie
May 4, 2024
23
88
Just one more month
>next month
Just one more month
>two months later
Sorry for real just one more month
>next year

Did they prescribe you copium?
He's saying it because of the release date that is set in a months time. Though the devs are apparently a couple days behind.. I feel like it will be early December but let's wait and see
 
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caviarkush1

Newbie
May 4, 2024
23
88
So 2024 isn't gonna make it ?
Depends if it gets delayed and by how much. I can't see them working on the game over Christmas with their kids. They suggest that they haven't had a normal Christmas with their kids because of working on this game but it honestly just sounds like a pity ploy, I doubt they worked much on this game over Christmas the last 2 years.

In their words: "I'm actually happy that there's a deadline and that it looks like this year we'll finally have a proper Christmas."
 

Finuee

Gorehound Gal
Game Developer
Sep 14, 2022
635
3,355
Depends if it gets delayed and by how much. I can't see them working on the game over Christmas with their kids. They suggest that they haven't had a normal Christmas with their kids because of working on this game but it honestly just sounds like a pity ploy, I doubt they worked much on this game over Christmas the last 2 years.

In their words: "I'm actually happy that there's a deadline and that it looks like this year we'll finally have a proper Christmas."
Thanks for the info. (y)
 
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