StudioWhy
patreon
StudioWhy - A look to the future! (Survey)
🕑 Added 2022-01-24 20:15:19 +0000 UTCJust over four years ago, three individuals decided to start a studio dedicated to the lewd equine arts. In the time since then, it's hard to believe just how much we've grown. There are now over a dozen individuals involved at least part-time with the studio, some of whom are volunteers. What used to be manual game builds and collection of images on Google Drive (which could have been deleted by Google without notice) is now an automated deployment and release process and a self-hosted storage solution integrated with open-source SSO. We feel much more like an actual studio now.
None of this would have been possible without the love and support from you, our Patrons, and for that we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Nevertheless, making games is expensive, and in order to keep the content flowing I (Scion) have had to inject large amounts of my personal tech-job savings into the company.
This isn't to say we're in danger of running out of funds any time soon, we're not, but rather that StudioWhy does need to become sustainable eventually. As such, there are a couple ideas we have brainstormed about what we could do to better monetize the technology and processes we have developed. Our pony parody games will always be released for free, that can't change, but we have outlined several potential future prospects below:
Option 1: Build an original lewd furry game to release on platforms like Steam.
- This is the most straightforward solution. We have had a couple of ideas for original games floating around, and do believe that we could build a game you'd all love. Development would happen alongside our other games such as Pony Waifu Sim, but you'd see updates for both.
Option 2: Seek out contracts to build visual-novel style games for 3rd-party clients.
- This is actually fairly common practice in the games industry. Companies like WayForward accept branded deals to fund their passion projects (Shantae). We have our own reusable visual-novel engine built on top of Unity we could use to quickly create high-quality interactive VN's. They provide the assets, and we make the game.
Option 3: Scion gets a full-time tech job again.
- This option would definitely provide a consistent stream of funds for the company, but would leave me with a lot less time to dedicate to programming, management, and running infrastructure. I have learned a lot of very valuable skills while running the company, however.
Option 4: ???
- If any of you have any interesting or creative ideas, feel free to let us know.
We have created a survey for you all to give your input on these options as well as provide suggestions. As a reminder, these are just ideas. We very much look forward to hearing what you all have to say.
Thank you all so much for your continued support, we couldn't do it without you!❤️
Comments
Floof
Yeah I actually noticed that about 5 minutes after I posted that- So when I get payed in a few days I definitely think I'll pay more since I didn't notice earlier, and it's all good! I've been following this project for a few years now but never had a steady source of income until now and so now I'm exited as is reasonably expected-
StudioWhy
Thanks a ton for the kind words! We do have higher tiers, and there is no limit on the amount you can pledge if you want.
Floof
Well I can't say we'd all like furry stuff (like me, nothing against them but the way they look sets something off in me, and not something good) BUT I will say if there was a higher teir I could support I would, even if the only benefit is that I'd get my name credited in projects I'd still pay up to 50 bucks a month just to see y'all grow.
sheq2
Why does it have to be a furry game? Why not something with quadrupeds, like TFH? Or some other non-human species?
StudioWhy
We're hesitant to go on Steam (for now). If you're interested in volunteering, send an email to scion@studiowhy.net with your related skills and general availability. (We don't require any work from volunteers, but it's good to know with)
FapMage
Another question is if you already reached current potential of patrons. I saw some ads on e621, but I believe you can reach next goal without doubt. But for that Steam option: On Steam is already one "pony" game by TwistedScarlett60, it have around 50 000 estimationed owners (via SteamDB), I bought it myself. So there's a lot of potencial. If you need volunteers, I can help. How? Idk, but you have my email and Discord. :D
Jushawn Lawson
Well, I'd go for options 1 and 2. If you do need any help with ideas, I do have experience writing scripts and am currently helping a few others with their creative ideas. I also have a few creative ideas as well. I only work for free too because I want to better my skills.
CocoLoco
My vote would be for an original lewd furry game
Applestone
While I would enjoy the game, I voted against it in the survey because the survey is about solving your money problems and I'm afraid that realistically speaking the competition on the gaming market is just waaaaay too crazy for it to help with your money problems at all. But go ahead and try the other two options.
Applestone
Also steam takes a 30% cut IIRC, while on itch.io you can choose their cut to be anything from 0% to 100%.
StudioWhy
We've thought about trying to, but Steam is stricter than other platforms like Itch.io when it comes to parody. We have heard of some creators getting banned permanently after Steam declined their game, so that is what has been keeping us off of Steam for now.
Munkyboy
My vote is for an original lewd furry game because I think with the quality of work StudioWhy has put out so far that such a game would be awesome :)
Buck_Harding
I could see y'all releasing PWS on steam for free, but also building side character expansions as a quick, relatively easy stepping stone towards option 1
