When to start a Patreon for a new game

shane999

New Member
Mar 26, 2018
7
6
Hello again,

This question is geared more for other developers. I'm still fairly early in building my game, and I was trying to figure out when the best time to set up a Patreon.

Is it ideal to do so right at the start, or better to wait after a few updates? Or is it more about the amount of playtime? I'm hoping for at least 45 minutes for my initial release, but is that enough, or should I wait while building up an audience first?

Sorry for my ignorance. I'm just more used to the more standard approach to game dev - spend years making a game, submitting it to Steam and the like, and hoping just to make the cost back.

Thank you for any help and advice.
 

DarkCube

Member
Game Developer
Jan 20, 2018
220
530
The adult gaming market on Patreon is a crowded place now, so you should have a demo with a decent amount of content to pick-up anyone's interest. Building an audience is an essential part, Patreon is a tool to monetize your existing fan base, not build it from scratch.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HiEv

HiEv

Member
Sep 1, 2017
384
778
It's not just a cliche, you really do only get one chance to make a first impression.

Just look at the first page of comments for any game posted here. Do any of those (reasonable) negative comments apply to your game? If so, you probably want to fix that, so those same comments don't end up in the first few comments of your game, permanently marring its reputation.

The game should have an easy to use interface, it should be as bug-free as possible (test every permutation you can and try things you think only a moron would try, to see if you can break it), and the text should have excellent spelling, punctuation, grammar, capitalization, etc... You should test installing it on a clean machine to make sure you didn't leave anything out (fonts, images, sounds, etc...) and didn't incorrectly use fixed file paths to content the game needs (also note that some OSes will load "xyz.jpg" if you try to load it as "XYZ.jpg", while other OSes won't, so make sure the case matches in your file and path names).

Also, the game should have sufficient content so that people know what to expect going forward in the game. If you, for example, only post the intro to the game, then that's bad, because the normal gameplay usually occurs after the intro. For adult games that also means a couple of sex scenes, so people can see if they like how you do them.

Finding a few testers to try it out before the actual release is a good idea, because they can spot problems you've grown blind to.

Basically, you don't want to blue-ball people with some shoddy, unfinished, skeleton of a game, thinking that you'll make it better later. You want to make something that will wow people and leave them wanting more, because they already have a clear idea of what the finished product will look like.
 

doodee

New Member
Nov 5, 2017
8
3
Building an audience is an essential part, Patreon is a tool to monetize your existing fan base, not build it from scratch.
This might be a question for different thread, but how / where does one get a fanbase for a porn game? Something tells me, I shouldn't give out flyers at my local church. :)
But seriously, mate, how do you make people aware of your game?
 

Wape

Member
Game Developer
Apr 8, 2018
223
1,026
This might be a question for different thread, but how / where does one get a fanbase for a porn game? Something tells me, I shouldn't give out flyers at my local church. :)
But seriously, mate, how do you make people aware of your game?
Been wondering the same. I have a tumblr for my game but I have to use my main tumblr (where I post hentai mangas and other delightful filth) to reblog it to get any kind of traction. Most people find my game from some random porn game site that hosted it a while back (it's a Twine browser game).
 

HiEv

Member
Sep 1, 2017
384
778
This might be a question for different thread, but how / where does one get a fanbase for a porn game? Something tells me, I shouldn't give out flyers at my local church. :)
But seriously, mate, how do you make people aware of your game?
Find forums or other social media sites where people who might be interested in your game can find information about it and discuss it. For example:
Does your game have transformations in it? Try
Is there hypnosis or other mind control? Try
Does the game work on Android? Try the reddit
Is it interactive fiction? Try the (Adult Interactive Fiction) reddit
etc...

There are also lots of general places to post information about your adult game:
The , , and reddits
The "Adult Content" section of
The "Hentai" section of
The "Adult Gaming" section of
The "Other Adult Games" section of
... and, of course, here.

If there's a game like yours, Google around to see where that game has been mentioned, and then see if there's a place there to bring up your game as well.

That said, it's important to remember a few things when posting your games places once it's ready to start showing it to people:
  1. READ THE SITE'S RULES BEFORE POSTING. I've seen people post their games to sites, and in doing so, they violated multiple rules the site has. That's just disrespectful and leaves a bad impression.
  2. INTERACT WITH THE COMMUNITY. Don't merely copy-paste-post and run. Look at how other people post things there first, and then post in a way that the community likes. Also, ask questions of them. Look for suggestions. Respond to comments. Be a part of the community. This will make people more interested in taking a look at your game.
  3. MAKE YOUR INTRO POST VISUALLY INTERESTING. Don't waste time talking about yourself. People don't care about that. Show them the game. Show sample images of the characters. Give them a general idea of the plot. Use different font sizes, colors, bullet points, etc... Don't go overboard, but don't just make it plain text either. If you put time into making the post look good, then people will see that you probably put time into making your game look good too.
  4. DON'T REACT BADLY TO CRITICISM. It can be tempting to make snarky, sarcastic, and/or mean posts when someone criticizes something you put so much time into it, but DON'T. You'll merely make yourself look bad, and possibly alienate someone who could actually be helpful in the process. If it's just criticism, ask then what could be changed to make it better, and ACTUALLY LISTEN. Discuss the difficulties of doing some of the suggestions and ask about alternatives. Etc... Sometimes dicks are just dicks, but sometimes dicks actually know a thing or two too.
  5. DON'T EXPECT AN IMMEDIATE REACTION. Most "big" indie adult games took about six months of community outreach (or more) before they finally took off. Don't give up just because you aren't immediately flooded with likes/patrons/etc... These kinds of things take time.
Anyways, hope that helps! :)
 

DarkCube

Member
Game Developer
Jan 20, 2018
220
530
This might be a question for different thread, but how / where does one get a fanbase for a porn game? Something tells me, I shouldn't give out flyers at my local church. :)
But seriously, mate, how do you make people aware of your game?
up above has given a valuable info regarding your question. Add to the list usual social platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr. Consider creating a separate promo site for your game, there're many ways to create one for free. It can serve as an additional source of info. If your game has cool art inside, post screenshots, character designs, etc. on art portals like , .
Be prepared, that managing and promoting your game is a task as serious, as creating the game itself.
 

8873672413434

I Steal Your Cats
Donor
Oct 4, 2017
369
302
Offer a Demo version of the game before you jump straight into Episode 1. Offer the Demo on Patreon, Tumblr, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter (Be careful with Twitter), etc, all for public access. If people like what they see in the demo, They will follow you and keep upto date with stuff on your social medias.

The one mistake you can make is to assume you'll instantly make money. That may not be the case. Your game may kick off straight away or it won't start kicking off until 50% of the game completion. So long as YOU know youre putting 100% effort in and not half assing it. Everything else will come into place eventually.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NewGuy2020

shane999

New Member
Mar 26, 2018
7
6
Thank you for the great advice, everyone! And as for doodle's question, that was one of my main concern's, as well. So thanks again on all of our behalves for the help.