s_anima
patreon
Moontouched - Decision Made!
🕑 Added 2024-08-20 23:32:45 +0000 UTC
Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and ideas about the question of which path to take for getting Moontouched funded. After reading through and taking some time to consider I’ve decided to keep moving forward here on Patreon!
While it would be nice to have the funding totally squared away (in Kickstarter’s case), I think the flexibility and more intimate relationship that Patreon offers is the more attractive of the two options for many reasons. So in light of this, I want to state again that everyone here can come and go as they are able or want to. I know you all know this already, but making sure the exchange feels fair is an important thing for me.
So we march on, here on Patreon! I’m very excited for the future of the project. I’ll be making an announcement on the changes to the tiers after this post.
A few more updates:
-Moontouched had its first new hire join the team! Ironwolf, a long time member of the pack, has agreed to join the team to help me with the writing of the novel. He and I shared some really inspiring worldbuilding and plot forming sessions over the months leading up to the demo so his influence is already in the project! He’s an incredible writer and I look forward to showing you guys what we cook up.
-Moontouched has reached 4.5k downloads on itch.io and roughly $200 has been donated to the project there!
-An optimized build is in the works! A few people have come forward with performance issues when playing the demo depending on their rig. I’ve looked into it and I’ve found a route that I would like to explore to optimize Moontouched further. There might be a slight drop in fidelity, but it shouldn’t be egregious and will hopefully allow for a much more modest file size and game load. The game will be long and robust in terms of assets, so getting things optimized now is a high priority.
-Once that optimization happens, an Android version of the game will begin development! I don’t currently have an Android phone myself and the emulations that Renpy offer only allow testing on the desktop GUI variant, so I’ll be looking into trying to grab an old hand-me-down somewhere to test the builds firsthand. Quality of the builds is important to me.
I’m currently working on those optimizations and then eventually the Android demo. Once those things are squared away I’ll be jumping back into the development of Chapter One, where the new tier benefits will start rolling in.
I want to close this by saying how grateful I am to have you all here supporting this project. I think we can make something really special together and I’m more fired-up than I ever have been! Awesome things are on the horizon for the project and it’s all thanks to you! Awoo
Comments
S Anima
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Northie, I agree with a lot of these points. While the idea of having the funding secured from the get go and the lower investment costs for supporters sounds appealing, I think the losses and risks involved ultimately outweigh the benefits. I feel it will be a much more intimate and rewarding experience to develop the game alongside it's community and have it be more of a journey together. Thank you for being here and supporting the project, and of course, come and go as you need to! Looking forward to the adventure at hand!
Northie
I can't speak for others but I very much prefer the patreon approach you chose. I doubt I'd have given a dime to a kickstarter as I've been burned by way too many of them. I'd have waited for the finished VN. I can always cancel if patreon development takes a turn for the worse. I don't regret the money already spent because it's just a small sum per month. I already got something for it if the project steadily produces development builds, lore entries, and/or art. For a kickstarter it's all frontloaded. If the kickstarters fails, changes scope, or takes a wildly different turn form the sales pitch, it's all lost money and regrets because of the higher initial investment. There's also a greater risk for the developer misbudgetting (or outright misusing funds) because of initial influx of money. I may end up paying more through patreon in the long run but paying in small installments with ability to cancel is much more appealing choice.
S Anima
Thanks Zelf, stoked to have you!
MistaZelf
Looking forward to being here and supporting throughout the development!!
