Does this actually happen? Do people actually decide to pay?
People very rarely comment (ratings are more common), but they often add games to collections. And I don't remember numbers, but the old rule of thumb from publishing (and commerce in general) applies: maybe one in ten people will check out your game. Maybe one in a hundred will get it. Maybe one in a thousand will offer any feedback. Don't get your hopes too high no matter your price policy.
That's how Doom became the biggest game in its day by far. So few people paid for it. Almost no one! (Yes, I'm being sarcastic.)
Or take ZZT. People were still ordering copies 25 years later. Literally. Epic was already huge by then, it didn't even matter anymore.
If anything, you know what people don't do? They don't use the Donate button on web games. That's what doesn't work. You're welcome.
It is a fair point to consider how it would be to hold other people to the same standard that you yourself would feel comfortable to be held by!
Thing is, your way might be at odds with the vast majority of people. For person to person communication and connection, interpersonal values matters a lot! For a numbers game with sets of eyeballs with a wallet attached, things are pretty much whatever gets the most engagement.
Now; for expanding your brand with interactions and personality, then yes - you can introduce a tier where your value can be placed on a higher shelf where viewers no longer consume, but desire to play a part in things. That's realm of something such as Youtube Pateron supporters wanting to actively support something they already like and want more of.
I think many people associate shareware with the popularized apogee model where indeed the games were broken up to episodes
the thing is that before that became a common method many shareware games simply asked you to register and had full functionality
(maybe had a message or a counter or some reminder that you are not registered: like in total commander or winrar )
I'm sorry I should have been more clear about this in my post 😔
what I'm confused about though is isn't pay what you want the same as the donation system then?
and isn't holding back features mean just that you have a free demo?
anyway I guess I just don't get it 🤔
It's a bit more complicated because itch.io works with a tier system.
If your game is free without any extras, then yes, pay what you want is exactly the same as a donation and I dare say that the vast majority of people use this form.
So don't feel bad, if a game is free and asks if you want to pay for something, it's actually a donation.
This system also allows you to have a paid game together with the free demo on the same web page.
If you don't pay anything, you can only download the demo.
I've seen a few games that do this, but not many.
It may also happen that the full game (not a demo) is free or costs a minimum price and on top of that price you can add extra content, for example additional animations, extra levels, etc.
This last example is more similar to the DLC model that stores like steam offer.
In summary, pay what you want, it is more powerful than just a donation system and for the same reason it can be more confusing.
Excuses. This is a question. No time to play, can you move this to questions and support?