VN Ren'Py What are the important elements make you decide to support an author?

[Insane Erotica]

Hi there,

I'm a freelancer. Some months ago, a game developer posted a recruitment to find helpers. I couldn't accept the offer because the payment was too low for me. But I thought what he was doing was interesting. So I asked him about his project. After following him for some times, I decided to start my own project: My Future Wife, an erotic game.

I want to ask your opinions: What is the most important element makes you decide to support an author?

Thanks a lot.

 

[Fantabaldu]

The most important reason which can bring me to think to pledge a game it's about the developer : How much is the Author reliable and how much he participates or has contact here or in the Discord channel with his supporters.
I pledge not for the plot or more updates or for more nice renders ( or at least these are not the only reasons , that of course are in every case important ) .
But i pledge the Dev and his project ; for this reason for me it's really important to know a little bit better the thoughts that he has and his ideas and a little bit of his background....

 

[baka]

overall a good team/dev.
the most important is the scenes and plot. renders dont need to be perfect, just good enough. i can enjoy 2D or 3D, i can enjoy DAZ or HS. what makes it good is how good the dev can make it exciting.
a team need to deliver, and be transparent about issues. they should not promise if they can't keep it.

a really good dev that makes perfect renders doesn't mean much if the story is uninteresting.
or a really good writer, but makes bad renders, is the same. that is the reason "perfection" is not always the best deal.

a dev that is trying too much and promise too much or is changing his vision all the time to please the "complainers" that is also bad. a dev should stick with his vision, and should not try too much. more is not always better.

a dev that never get to the point is the same. we get a neverending prologue and after a while its just boring.

 

[hameleona]

The first version is not a 0.0001.1 ep1 tech demo.
I get why people release things like that. Time is money, but all those "hey, I had an idea and there it is, I made it this weekend!". You want me to drop money on you - better show me you have spent time working on the game. I know it's not a nice thing to say, but I can probably go, rip a bunch of CGI (considering most models are the same, there is a good chance people won't realize it at the start), slap them on a 10K word essay in renpy and release it. Then I'm gonna drop two others and there we go, my health is getting worse, my job stops me from working on the game... and than nothing.
So, an actual game would be nice. You wanna release tech demos - do it for your second game.
I also prefer teems. Very few creators are good at CGI, writing and coding and single person projects that are not pure VNs usually suffer from this. There are other factors, but this one is the most important that I consider when it's about a new dev.

 

[darlic]

There are a lot of good games worth my support out there, the problem is I don't have the financial capability to support all of them. So, the really only thing that wether makes me go for a pledge or not is the game's sexual content. If the game features a fetish I'm particularly fond of and makes good use of it, it goes straight into my pledge list. The second most important aspect is patrons count, as I tend to support still growing projects instead of well-established, money-making ones.
I basically don't care about the story too much, the writing is way more important for me.

 

[polywog]

The biggest factor is need. Support a starving artist today.

 

[Ataios]

The main reason I can't support any author is that I don't have a credit card (it's not necessary to have one in my country) and that wont get one just for patreon or other crowdfunding platforms. If I had one, though there would be only one major factor: Does the game have the fetishes I like.

 

[rayminator]

I'll chose all three

good story is better then crappy story's
good renders are better then crappy ones
longer updates are better because the dev is not rushing to get a update out to please their customers this way the will less errors

 

[riktor]

The most important thing for me isn't on the list. Consistency / Reliability

Releasing (working) updates on time, fixing bugs quickly, good communication, etc.

 

[Higurashika]

Story, characters, choices, situations... a need something big to pledge the author. Or small but this should be really my thing.

 

[fnvx2z1]

A combination of good renders, a good story, the dimensions or physical attractiveness of the female characters, the logic behind the choices in the game, and realism / plausibility. I don’t like to suspend disbelief. So I usually hate games with unrealistic consequences, or any type of magic or mythical creatures. My ideal game is one that makes me believe that the fictional scenarios could happen to a person in the real world. But I am willing to suspend a little disbelief for futuristic / plausible Sci-Fi scenarios with depictions of transhumanism.

 

[Huitieme]

For me, it's quite simple. I need to like the game, and then, I need to like the dev. So if I think the game is great but the dev is either acting like an asshole or, more often than not, is an overall good person but I don't feel the spark, I don't support financially. Then, you have the rare exceptions where the game is great (at least to me) and the dev is active in the forum with a personality that I can either respect or have fun with (or both).

Right now, I can support 2 devs on Patreon, and they both match that description: great game, even greater human being.

Also, to be more precise in my criteria for "a great game": I like a coherent and engaging story with interesting characters and original setting. No young student back home for the holiday and shagging landladies and roommate like there's no tomorrow ever left me an everlasting impression. But give me a guy whose breaking down story is told via his therapist's sessions, give me a space engineer on a suspicious mission in a faraway planetary station full of plots, wiggly eyebrows and conspiracy theories, give me a guy being coerced to enter a mafia family, give me something original in which I can invest my time and my feelings, and I'll be a happy supporter (or at least, you'll have done the first part toward this).

 

[I'm Not Thea Lundgren!]

A good story goes a long way in getting my support; if the story has some humour in it, that's a bonus; Finally, if the dev is personable and contactable and gives good updates, they'll have my support. I currently support quite a few creators, not all of them are game devs; one creates walkthroughs for D&D games, three are artists and the rest are game devs.

In short, if you want support and to keep it, create something worth playing and interact with your supporters in a meaningful way.

 

[MLBnoob]

I picked Good Story in the poll but a nice render would also be entice. Also constant communication, the constant communication would inform patrons and f95ers about updates or if their is a need to pause because of life problems or fatigue in VN development. There are some who leave patrons hanging and keep making them hope while also keeping Patreon to charge them monthly with no updates or notifications, "Contracted ligma (yes, its a dead meme), gonna retire from VN development" is better than total silence.

 

[WIRProductions]

I read a few people mentioned 'reliability'. I was curious what people defined as reliable and if that definition changed if the payment model were per update/release vs. monthly?

 

[Niteowl]

I think it's always a combination of the three......

To be exact, I don't expect these types of games to be perfect in every aspect..... that's impossible.
But I do want them to have
A story somewhat interesting (nerdy teenager looking for a date...yawn, pass, young professional flirting with his secretary and chicks at the gym, double yawn, pass)
Art that is pleasing (tastes are a big factor.... in my case I don't like exaggerated chicks, or thickies......give me slender and cute any day, better if exotic like asians, elves, aliens etc....beauties though, not monsters)
The updates don't have to be huge or amazing, but ideally regular, and of course the artist should keep in regular contact with his supporters, here or on patreon or on Discord.

Fetishes, though, are also a factor (and probably that's true for most of us, whether we mention it here o not).
I mean, would you play a game that features fetishes that disgust you, or fetishes that don't do anything for you? Probably not.
Some people hate futas...I doubt they would play a game with a great story and great art that focuses on them..
(I support Harem Hotel and Pinktea Games, they fit the above criteria for me......)

good luck with your project

 

[Oshitari Azumi]

Probably late to this discussion, but I think that what's most important for me is how interesting the story is, how well developed it is, and the general writing (or dialogue, I suppose) between characters. I understand having a very cut-and-paste formula such as "boy's father passes away; boy moves in with stepsister and stepmother; boy wants to bang them because he's horny", but at the same time it feels like over-saturation when so many games decide to use the same idea with the biggest change being that the characters look different and it takes place in a different location (granted that last one is kinda something that usually stays the same too, either being a suburban town or the city).

 

[Hadley]

First I need to feel like the Dev is actually passionate about his Game and isn't just trying to cash in with the least effort possible. Secondly The Game needs to make you feel something, there needs to be believable Relationship-development. I like Stories that slowly progress a relationship in a realistic way. I don't play these Games for the Sex-Scenes, I want a good Story.

 

[grtrader]

Hi there,

I'm a freelancer. Some months ago, a game developer posted a recruitment to find helpers. I couldn't accept the offer because the payment was too low for me. But I thought what he was doing was interesting. So I asked him about his project. After following him for some times, I decided to start my own project: My Future Wife, an erotic game.

I want to ask your opinions: What is the most important element makes you decide to support an author?

Thanks a lot.

View attachment 342248

1. Is it something I am interested in.
2. Do they update regular. ~ that means I don't do it from the start of a project I want to see they are going to follow through
3. Plot ~ it needs one and there needs to be some logic to it not total BS
4. Level of enjoyment

My suggestion is you write whatever story you want and do the best job at it so you enjoy it.
Not everyone is going to like you or support you.
Doing something you don't like will mean your work will suffer you won't want to do it. That will lead to poor work delays and then people dropping you.
Owe and don't try and please everyone. It adds on to much work you end up making something you aren't happy with...
Don't start second and third projects while working on the first one. finish it follow through. Otherwise people like me just simply won't ever support you again.

 

[Deleted member 494891]

Passion and reliability of the Dev are important. Story and renders come next.

Reliability doesn't imply faster updates, no no, instead, a reliable Dev is one who keeps communication between themselves and their players. Vanishing for months on end without a word and then releasing a five minute update is unreliable to me.

Story is obvious in its implication.

Renders are something else. Now, I like good looking renders, but I am willing to sacrifice good renders if the game checks the first two above. One of the funniest games on here has passable renders, but a passionate dev with a good story - its called Midlife Crisis.