Would you rather support a Dev through their own person website or Patreon.

[LadyLilith-3D]

We all know Patreon has been getting more strict with its Adult policies, which will only continue. Devs that use Patreon for their payment needs are beholden to them and their policies (which just straight-up suck). They could also turn off your entire income funnel in a flash with no warning. The conundrum is that users are more comfortable using Patreon because it's such a big brand.

My question is if a Dev had their own website set up with a secure subscription process., would you support them there instead of on Patreon? It would be wonderful for the adult community to move away from all the restrictions and guidelines, letting them freely create what they wish (as long as it's legal of course) and also cut out the middle man. This results in less money being taken out of their pocket as well.

I was a website dev for many years before going into the cyber security sector (mainly dealing with PCI-compliant companies) so I have a great deal of knowledge in this specific area. As long as they go with one of the top "adult payment gateways" and set it up correctly, there should not be much of an issue on the Dev side of things. It's just getting users to "trust" them enough to actually use their credit cards on their site. I think that's the main hang-up.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Atemsiel]

I've never personally been burned by a dev getting their patreon nuked, and I already have an account there so for me it's just easier to use patreon. That said, I've also never really supported anything which was in any huge danger of getting removed by patreon. For me though, since patreon is my primary income platform for my own game, I fear it happening to me in the same way I fear getting hit by an aneurysm. It probably won't happen, but it might and that would suck.

I think once developers become bigger and a bit more well known it's a bit easier to trust them with card details on their own website. Trying to support a brand new dev on their own website would feel a bit like trying to give a homeless dude some change and he whips out a card reader.

(Not saying new devs are akin to homeless guys, that's just the only other situation I can think of where I might give money to someone I don't know and it not be regulated by a company of some sort. Same example for buying stuff of craigslist or something, I just find the homeless example funnier.)

 

[Meaning Less]

It all boils down to ease of use and payment options. Regardless of where you are paying from you will need a third party platform to make this transactions happen especially when it comes down to international payments.

And if you use paypal for instance then you will be on the exact spot patreon is, where there is a high risk of them blocking your transactions the moment someone reports that you are selling adult content.

Maybe you could get away without any of that by using a crypto wallet number, but it goes back to the issue that not every user has crypto.

 

[jdw6]

Neither. The private site has no so-called "identity protection" (or even some sort of guarantee that your real ID won't be leaked, or your card charged multiple times). Patreon wreaks of untrustworthiness, since the very 1st time I looked at it, it does not give me any "warm and fuzzy feelings". I'm not paying someone's salary to just jerk off -- and there's far too many examples of devs whose games are on here to ever trust any person who uses that site.

That said, I'd trust Patreon lightyears before the person site, and quite a bit before that other site that's used by some (name escapes me at the moment).

Only way you'll get $$ from me? Use something that I already have an account on. Currently that's only steam. Want money? Release a finished product. Period. Unfortunately, the only game, currently, that I'd consider buying, isn't gonna wind up on Steam, and that dev's game that is there isn't one that I am interested in.
(edit: forgot one... their game is finished & is on steam... current hold back is the content... do I want anyone to know it's in my collection? I have few connections on there now, but... it's left me thinking about it. But thought I'd be fair & indicate there's at least 2 who I've found worthwhile and want to support, just don't like any of the options.)

It's my 2-cents worth, and I know I'll be facepalmed and ridiculed. I had well over 2 years of no money. Think I give a that some dev wants to be paid for using free assets and just slapping together a horribly written and unthought out plot? Hell no. So take it or leave it. But someone should come up with a much better way... and don't even get me going on the miners who have raised the price of every frigging computer component to insane levels. There needs to be a 100% guaranteed anonymous payment system that uses cash, lest you get a huge monetary reward if their system is ever hacked or your name released to anyone.

Atemsiel that was not directed at you, I haven't looked at what you've released or done. You might have perfect grammar and a damn decent plot for all I know, just talking in generalities. And the shit devs using Patreon outnumber any good ones about 1000 to 1. (Real numbers: 10 pages of 'latest updates', that's 300 games. Only 22 aren't ignored. And about a third were and probably will be again. Another third are gonna probably be ignored if they don't improve soon.)

 

[Atemsiel]

Atemsiel that was not directed at you, I haven't looked at what you've released or done. You might have perfect grammar and a damn decent plot for all I know, just talking in generalities. And the shit devs using Patreon outnumber any good ones about 1000 to 1. (Real numbers: 10 pages of 'latest updates', that's 300 games. Only 22 aren't ignored. And about a third were and probably will be again. Another third are gonna probably be ignored if they don't improve soon.)

All good man, I didn't take it as a personal attack at all. I think you may have an unpopular opinion (Guess we'll see what others say) but it's still a valid opinion on the whole thing.

With regard to the latest updates thing, what constitutes ignored? Do you mean just by you, or people in general?

 

[M$hot]

I think even Lesson of Passion and Sex and Glory are struggling a fair bit with that, and they have a pretty fantastic rep regarding finishing products they start with a library of over 50 finished games or something.

I don't like registering for accounts, don't really want the acquisition visible either on my Patreon account or on my Steam account, and creating throwaways or 'shadow accounts' doesn't hold much appeal either. But joining a bunch of random websites to donate there and hope nothing is done with my details seems worse.
The only anonymous way with reliable value imo would be donating a stable coin (You know, one that's tethered to the IRL USD or EUR where 1 stable coin = 1 USD/EUR). But then devs wouldn't know who donated, so it wouldn't work so much as buying access like Patreon but more like a tipjar. And I can imagine plenty of people aren't that hyped on getting a coin wallet and then buying stable coins. Now I personally like tip jars, because I may have money now, enjoy your game now and think the most recent update was great before disengaging with the game for months until the next update is out.
Much like Twitch, I hate subscribing because what are the odds I will have enough time to be back and make use of my sub? But if I like a stream in the moment, I may throw some bits or bucks or gift subs. Because what I like now and have time and money for now changes far too rapidly to tie myself to yet another monthly expense.

I can see the downsides for the dev in not having stable income rather than random spikes, just like I see the downsides of being on Patreon/using Paypal which may get nuked and even if not, they take a cut. Not sure there is a perfect solution, but I think people generally prefer the lowest amount of roadblocks/effort/thinking required. I may have $10 to give you but I'm not likely to ever have 20 minutes to figure out how to.

Anyway, that's just my 2 cents, not trying to speak for anybody else or talk in absolutes. Just because I don't see alternatives hardly means there won't be any.

 

[gunderson]

At this point, the safest place for somebody making a game that Patreon is likely to shut down is on Subscribestar. They take a bigger chunk of your paycheck than Patreon does, but potential customers trust them much more than whatever payment option you're likely to come up with on your own, so you'd still very likely come out ahead if you project is in fact successful.

 

[Loganfin]

As others have said, the payment process is the big deal. And its the reason I've largely stopped financial support. For several years, I would use prepaid gift cards to join and pay through Patreon, but that's no longer an option for now. "Real porn" sites largely don't allow it either. And I'm just not going to pay with my own credit card and give my personal info out. So if a dev set up a system where people could pay completely anonymously and safely, then yeah, I'd be into it.

 

[jdw6]

ignored

Just by me... the little "ignore" button at the top of threads. It's just been my way of knowing what's really new & what isn't, and pay more attention to those games I do like.