Future Public Releases? (Patreon)

First, an explainer, in case you haven't heard the term before. A public release is any release of a visual novel that does not require a pledge or other payment to get. A lot of visual novel developers, though fewer these days thanks to things like Steam releases, do public releases weeks after a release to patrons. It is a personal choice for any dev based on a ton of factors, so I pass NO judgment on how anyone else chooses to do it.

For the longest time, I was against public releases. I mean, I put in hundreds of hours of work for each release (this is NOT an exaggeration, and it is not because I have no idea what I'm doing). Don't I deserve at least a few dollars from someone to play the latest release? But my thinking has evolved. Now I feel that the promotion ability of regular public releases outweighs the lost dollars that someone might have otherwise pledged. In fact, I like making as much of my work as available as I can.

If you like it and want to continue to see more of it, hopefully you'll be able to support me on Patreon for at least a few months. You also get other benefits, like polls that determine game content, if you pledge. Patreon, at least for me, isn't about paying for content. It is very much about supporting small, independent creators so they can cover some or all of their costs and perhaps be one of the rare people who can turn their passion into full time work. There is some stuff that I like to reward my patrons with exclusively, especially things like polls. But past that, know that if you're pledging, even for just a time, I appreciate it very much. It's one reason I try to communicate regularly on here.

I did a public release of Chapter 5 of To Be A King several weeks after its Patreon release. I was curious to see what would happen, and I also wanted as many people as possible to see all the new content and game direction. Chapters 1-4 were definitely when it was a side project, so just playing those wasn't going to give anyone a proper idea of what to expect with future releases. I'm sure my YouTube channel has also helped here, but Patreon numbers have been steadily rising each month since the public release of Chapter 5.

Now for me to actually make the announcement you've probably been skimming this post for. At least for Chapter 6, I do plan to offer a public release. When? October 8. I think those supporting me monetarily deserve to get some exclusivity on releases (yes, I know about pirate sites all too well…). If you absolutely can't wait, but you don't pledge currently, you've got the option to pledge for a month to get the latest release.

Tell your friends about the magical world of To Be A King. We have princesses, shady advisors, a petulant prince, and a whole lot of hot chicks. There might even be a wedding sometime soon. Who can say? Well, I guess I can, but I ain't saying nuthin' on that right now. Chapters 1-5 will remain public with Chapter 6 being added to the public release on October 8.