Personally I disagree with the notion that quality is paramount. One should never settle for second best after all.
Instead we should all be pushing every single Developer of every single game to improve themselves. To be better artists.
We should be asking for quality AND quantity. We should be pushing Developers to be faster AND to write better stories.
Yes we should recognize good work when we see it but then we should also ask for more!
As someone who is learning, and attempting to do his first novel, i have learned tht it is truly amazing the work these devs do. this shit is hard, and time consuming. I am at minimal ability with the art and scripting, so look at even the bad games in awe, specially if it is a single dev. Yes, I wish they could go faster, and put out more chapters, but have realized, in most cases, it is not possible. These people putting these things out rock, so as bad as waiting is, it is usually worth it.
I understand its not easy. I am saying we should always push for more. To do otherwise is to enable laziness and greed.
As much as many Devs are honest and hard working, there are also some that abuse the system and forgiving long dev times makes it easy for dishonest devs to milk their patrons.
Also practice makes perfect... therefore over time, as the Dev grows more experienced, their development times should be improving as should the quality of their art! As I said quality AND quantity!
Personally, I think Patreon is a very flawed system. Devs should only be paid when the Art is completed. Paying them per month just encourages people to take their time. They should be paid only when their customers are happy and they should receive a bonus if certain goals are met (such as delivering their AVN update before 6 months pass).
Going unpaid until they complete their project is also important. That way if they are lazy, they get nothing. If they work hard, they get to eat and pay their bills.
I completely agree with your point, and it’s true that some developers, once they reach a certain level, start milking their supporters or at least stop giving their all or showing the same level of devotion to their project.
One thing I do disagree with, though, is the idea that time makes you faster. For me, the opposite is true—every time I try to improve, it slows me down. Whether it’s trying new techniques, discovering better methods, or adding features, it all adds to the development time. If it’s not about the quality of images, renders, or videos, it’s about coding, branching, or improving the overall user experience.
Unfortunately for my supporters, this means every single update takes me longer to produce the same amount of content. But I always aim for the best I can deliver.
That said, I know there are developers out there who milk their supporters, don’t care enough, or simply stop trying. For me, this is my main and only source of income, so my entire focus is on this project. I usually work between 8 and 12 hours a day. When I first started, I worked about 14 hours daily, including weekends and holidays, but that took a serious toll on me. So I decided to take weekends and holidays off to rest and spend time with my family, who deserve my attention too.
I do get the point as well, but it falls on the subscribers to decide what to do. It was like when dc universe first came out. They had titans and doo patrol, and not much else, although the animated series were nice, I had seen the all too many times. I chose to keep the subscription for a year between releases. I personally know someone who cut it off and turned it back on when the new episodes came out , his choice. Neither of us were right or wrong, and universe was not altered,it did not speed up or slow down production. Unfortunately these things take time.
One lesson I am learning is one mistake in the scripting can screw you up for weeks, once you finally realize you made it. I am hating scripting with every fiber of my being at this point. I know it is due to my very slow learning curve, but it has given me a new respect for the devs, specially when a but is discovered in a release, and they fix it in a few days. To me, that is amazing. Ok so I am a 60 year old dev fanboy... lol.
Hmmmm an interesting perspective. Food for thought.
I guess it comes down to finding a balance between progress and meeting expectations.
I think unless an improvement in the code is necessary due to lack of support for the current version of the code, that perhaps one should simply leave well enough alone.
I guess one should seek a peak state and try to stay there.
I appreciate this discussion too. Not just interesting but important.
In my opinion there needs to be critics as well as supporters and no one should ever be immune to criticism.
like I have stated, I am nowhere near an expert, so I could be doing it wrong, but new code is needed for everything you do. Every scene, the dialog, music or sfx. The coding gods laugh at me every time I forget a bracket, symbol, or even a space.
You are correct about criticism being a good thing, if it is done properly. It can inspire change, or point out flaws that can be corrected. I am a breakfast cook, and I have received more ignorant criticism than correct criticism. I say this to make a point that it becomes hard to filter through to bs to find the good stuff. On the other end, it makes the real criticism so much better when you find it.
