What's Next (upcoming plans, potential new stuff, possible Patreon changes)

Note: there's a TL;DR version of this post at the bottom

Thanks for all the support after Graveyard Smash! I didn't expect much from it considering I only meant for it to a be small-ish Halloween project, but it turned out more popular than I was expecting, so thank you all for that.

Upcoming Plans

It's near the end of the year and generally I try to take it easy around the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years holidays. Partially due to a lot of IRL busyness, but also because I like to take some time to experiment with stuff that I don't normally have time to do when I'm focusing on finishing games.

I do intend to make something for Christmas as usual—an animation if I can, but at least an artwork. Aside from that, I will also look into updating my mascot's design, which is something I've talked about for a while. Additionally, I'm going to explore alternate engines to make my games in such as Unity or Godot and try to improve my 3D skills a bit in the process.

I'm not entirely certain what my next game will be, and I think the results of my experimenting with other engines will be part of my decision. Two games I've been considering for a while have been a game themed around the shortstack races of Warcraft, and the other a game starring Lapis & Peridot from Steven Universe. If I feel like things are going well with my new engine/3D tests, I'm thinking I'd first do a 3D remake of Whitemane's Inquisition as a proof-of-concept, and then make the shortstack game in 3D if things go well.

Again, these are all early plans based on ideas that I haven't tested yet. If the new engine experiments don't work out, then oh well, I'll return to it later and go back to making my usual games. And if I'm really out of ideas for games to make, then I'll look to my community for suggestions.

And yes, there's a chance I'll take some commissions near the end of the year. Please don't go hassling me about it right now, I'll let people know when I'm ready.

Possible Patreon Changes

You might've noticed when I uploaded Graveyard Smash that I also uploaded individual downloads for each of my older games. This was to experiment with Patreon's new shop feature, and partially to replace my Itch shop which suffered a bit due to its new policy for NSFW games.

Basically, I release my games in-browser for free, and I intend to keep doing that for the foreseeable future. The bulk of my financial support on Patreon comes from selling the downloadable versions of these games. My downloads have always been available on the Aurora tier and higher, which grants access to a folder with all game downloads, and then I also have most games for sale individually on both Itch and now Patreon as single purchases.

Originally, that worked out fine, but as I release more games, the MEGA folder has been more and more of an issue for me. Its price hasn't changed since I've started, but the amount of games it offers continues to increase. It's made it so that I've been making more and more games but haven't been meaningfully increasing my income off of that, and things haven't been great financially.

I'm considering moving access to the MEGA folder to a new tier, about $20 USD. Individual game downloads will still be available for $5 each on the shop, and I'll probably also sell a bundle of all games in the shop for the same price as the new tier, for those of you don't want to bother with a monthly pledge. I still want the $5 tier to have value in regards downloads somehow. If it's possible, I'd like it to give credit towards the shop, so every month you pledge let's you download a new game. If that's not possible, I'll consider having it always give access to downloads for whatever my latest game is, or something else.

None of this is set in stone, and I'll give forewarning if/when I'm going to implement these updates soon, but right now I'm just looking for feedback. Are these changes fair to you? Is there a new benefit you'd like to see added to the $5 tier? Do you think access to beta testing is worth more or worth less than access to all game downloads?

TL;DR

Part of my work in the next two months will be experiments and smaller things I've been putting off, including:

I plan on making something for Christmas—an animation if I can, but at least an artwork.

I'm going to try to update my mascot character's design.

I'm going to explore the feasibility of working in Unity or Godot, and learn some new 3D skills as well.

If the new engine tests go well, I'll try making a 3D game next year, possibly including a 3D remake of Whitemane's Inquisition and game themed around the shortstack races of Warcraft.

If the new engine tests don't go well, I'll try again later and keep making games as I always have, but I'm not 100% sure what my next game will be yet.

I'll probably do a few commissions near the end of the year, but please don't go hassling me about it until I'm ready.

I'm also considering some Patreon changes. My games will still be free in-browser, and these changes are aimed at the downloadable versions, because as I've released more games the $5 MEGA folder has become more of a financial problem for me. The changes I'm considering are:

Game downloads can be bought individually for $5 USD on my Patreon shop, but the MEGA folder with all games in it is moved to a new tier, about $20.

I want the $5 tier to still have value, and I'll see if it's possible for it to give credit towards the shop.

Otherwise, maybe the $5 tier will give access to downloads for the latest game, or some other benefit.

I'm open to feedback if there's a new benefit you'd like to see in the $5 tier.

None of these changes are in place yet, I'm just looking for feedback. I'll give heads up if/when I plan to implement them.