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Nepenthe




Joined: 27 Sep 2004
Posts: 132

PostPosted: Mon Feb 02, 2015 11:57 am    Post subject: Patreon Reply with quote

What does the OHR community think about Patreon? Have any of you used it as either an artist or patron (or both)? I've just started looking into it and I love the general concept (regular pay for creative endeavors - if the artist continues to produce), but I'm not sure how game design fits in. As Patreon is notoriously hard to browse, I'm having trouble seeing how others do it. What I've found so far is either designers producing frequent tips/tutorial style e-books or cranking out tons of micro games, neither of which sound particularly appealing.

Anyway, I have a ton of questions but I'll save them for now to see if we can get a discussion going. In the meantime, can anyone point me to game design (video, tabletop, board, card, anything) themed Patreon pages, successful or not, that maybe do things a little differently?
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TMC
On the Verge of Insanity




Joined: 05 Apr 2003
Posts: 3240
Location: Matakana

PostPosted: Tue Feb 03, 2015 2:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey, wow, Nepenthe.

I guess I've heard of Patreon in passing, but had never investigated before. Pumping out small releases sounds bad, but if you're doing that why not collect monthly payments instead? Then you can just keep a game development blog, with frequent releases I would hope, and release whenever it's done. I see what you mean about tutorials, there's endless numbers of them!

I saw that Slashie is on Patron. He's one of the most well known roguelike devs: creator of DoomRL and many other games. Looks like he uses a monthly payment system, and posts new versions of his current game as 'creations'.

It was hard to find any other games though. I guess the idea is that you spread the link to your page yourself rather than expecting anyone to find it on the site.

Some interesting things on this site https://www.patreon.com/creation?hid=1319315

I see it's been over two years since you posted last. There's only about 5 people left who still frequent CP. If you actually want to start a discussion you should probably take it over to SlimeSalad.
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Nepenthe




Joined: 27 Sep 2004
Posts: 132

PostPosted: Tue Feb 03, 2015 8:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the reply, TMC!
TMC wrote:
I saw that Slashie is on Patron. He's one of the most well known roguelike devs: creator of DoomRL and many other games. Looks like he uses a monthly payment system, and posts new versions of his current game as 'creations'.

Some interesting things on this site https://www.patreon.com/creation?hid=1319315

Thanks for the links. Still trying to wrap my head around the pros/cons of various subscription structures and rewards so every little bit helps.

TMC wrote:
I see it's been over two years since you posted last. There's only about 5 people left who still frequent CP. If you actually want to start a discussion you should probably take it over to SlimeSalad.

Has it really been that long? I lurk this place all the time, but I guess I haven't had anything to say in a while. I still tinker with the OHR though. Also, I don't see how we're going to improve activity here by sending everyone to a different forum. Raspberry!

Releasing Dev Diaries as "creations" with game releases as bonus content seemed like the obvious model to me as well, but initially I couldn't find anyone who had tried it that way. I have seen a few now though, and they are getting patrons. The sticky part of that method though is essentially the artist is getting paid for the diary not the game so if one month it comes down to writing a blog post vs. adding content to the game, the diary is probably going to win.

My other huge question is if people are able to secure funding for a creative lifestyle rather than a particular project. For instance, what if someone goes a few months creating video games then the next month posts an adventure for a tabletop RPG? Will all the patrons revolt and cancel their subscriptions? would it be better (or even possible) to run a separate page for each medium? I'm not expecting instant answers to these questions, but if anyone happens across a campaign like that I'd like to hear about it.

Finally, it seems like Patreon might be a good fit for OHR (the engine) development. It looks like patrons can set their own monthly donation cap, so $1 per nightly would pull $1-$30 a month per patron.
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Bob the Hamster
OHRRPGCE Developer




Joined: 22 Feb 2003
Posts: 2526
Location: Hamster Republic (Southern California Enclave)

PostPosted: Tue Feb 03, 2015 8:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello!

I only recently heard of patreon. I am doing a tiny $1 per month support of https://www.patreon.com/ansimuz?u=495287 because I was so impressed by his recent game "ElliotQuest"

It seems like it can be pretty hard for people to convince others to support them. Even someone like Ansimuz, with a recently released high quality critically acclaimed game has only managed to find 5 supporters :(
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Nepenthe




Joined: 27 Sep 2004
Posts: 132

PostPosted: Wed Feb 04, 2015 8:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks James!
Quote:
It seems like it can be pretty hard for people to convince others to support them. Even someone like Ansimuz, with a recently released high quality critically acclaimed game has only managed to find 5 supporters Sad...
Yup, I've seen that a lot. It seems that the impetus is entirely on the Creator to find and secure his audience. Though that is apparently a top priority for Patreon moving forward.

If you don't mind my asking, have you considered becoming a creator there?

Also, it seems I completely misread how monthly vs. per creation pledges work, which renders some of my previous reservations moot.
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TMC
On the Verge of Insanity




Joined: 05 Apr 2003
Posts: 3240
Location: Matakana

PostPosted: Thu Feb 05, 2015 5:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm not trying to pressure people into moving to SS; I just feel obliged to mention it, but obviously you already knew, so that was silly.

I wasn't suggesting releasing dev diary entries as creations, but just as 'activity' (blog) entries. Marking dev entries as paid content and putting out a lot of them certainly wouldn't work, as it'd annoy anyone who doesn't want to give you lots of money. And I agree and it's a bad incentive. I meant the regularly (even daily) putting out entries proves that you're getting stuff done and excites fans. However using the 'activities' on Patreon as a daily blog seems incredibly unsuitable; any reasonable person would maintain a blog elsewhere. Which is really too bad.

In their FAQ Patreon do mention that you can create separate accounts for different types of output if needed.

Also, to me $1 per creation seems like a lot if it's something that the artist might put out several items of per month. It leaves me wondering "why don't I increase my monthly recurring donation to charities instead?" Also, in their FAQ they do say that if you put out something at a rate of several a month, you should probably use monthly donations instead.

I should try out ElliotQuest. I think I might join Patreon as a donor too.
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Nepenthe




Joined: 27 Sep 2004
Posts: 132

PostPosted: Thu Feb 05, 2015 2:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

TMC wrote:
I wasn't suggesting releasing dev diary entries as creations, but just as 'activity' (blog) entries. Marking dev entries as paid content and putting out a lot of them certainly wouldn't work, as it'd annoy anyone who doesn't want to give you lots of money. And I agree and it's a bad incentive. I meant the regularly (even daily) putting out entries proves that you're getting stuff done and excites fans. However using the 'activities' on Patreon as a daily blog seems incredibly unsuitable; any reasonable person would maintain a blog elsewhere. Which is really too bad.

Yeah, I was being dumb (partly because of a misleading blog post I read).

I've been thinking about what I'd like to see as a patron. A fairly content-rich dev diary every other week or so with exclusive early/beta access would probably do it for me.
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TMC
On the Verge of Insanity




Joined: 05 Apr 2003
Posts: 3240
Location: Matakana

PostPosted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 7:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd agree. But realistically, the most important thing is probably to already be familiar with the artist/game developer and his previous work (but having been 'sold' on impressive screenshots counts too). In other words, they'd have to be a fan. It's possible to make someone a fan with an impressive enough dev journal.
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BlastedEarth




Joined: 05 Oct 2009
Posts: 243

PostPosted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 5:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi, I haven't been active for a while but I've recently launched a Patreon... Our content is NSFW though and our model depends on monthly support... It's like we will continue making our stuff when there's funding as their donations would keep us from doing other jobs in case they reach a sufficient amount. And the milestones promises better things for us and for the work if it somehow reaches that eh...

Here's our Patreon if you want to see our stuff ^_^ Not much donors for now but I hope it takes off eh...

https://www.patreon.com/Hornblase?ty=h

I realize these posts are pretty hold, how is your patreon doing now? Maybe you can share some tips as well. Thanks.
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Arwym
FooBAM! Games (Formerly PF Games)




Joined: 13 Sep 2008
Posts: 33
Location: Puerto Rico

PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 8:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have myself heard of Patreon. I currently support 2 creators there, and am also working on becoming one. I just need to make sure I can give something back regularly, commit to release dates.

I encourage people to use Patreon. It is a good platform.

I'll check everyone's Patreons out, by the way. Happy
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Ronin Catholic
Deadliest of Fairies




Joined: 23 Jul 2007
Posts: 530
Location: My Girlfriend

PostPosted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 3:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't support anyone through Patreon first because I am poor, and secondly because I have never used electronic payment methods for anything and can barely comprehend the concept.
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Nepenthe




Joined: 27 Sep 2004
Posts: 132

PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2015 6:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I ended up not making one. Or, at least, I never launched it. My original query was posed in anticipation of suddenly having a lot more free time and a lot less income. Thankfully, I was able to keep my day job, so it didn't come to that.

I still think Patreon is a good model and hope to revisit it at some point in the future. But for now, good luck to you all in your endeavors!
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