About polls (Patreon)

So I’ve made a post two days ago about improving my tiers rewards—I’ve read all the comments, by the way, I’m just really busy, so I couldn’t really answer everyone—and the most suggested reward by far is poll privileges. I won’t lie, I have quite a few reservations with the idea of polls determining contents in the game. I’ve voiced often that I wouldn’t let anyone decide what I write, so anything story related would probably be off the table. There are also a few technical issues that come with making polls which are particular to my situation. Still, if people are fine with very occasional polls that are more on the esthetical side, then I don’t mind at least trying.

When it comes to the story

As I said, anything that involves influencing the story is a big no-no for me. But you could give an argument that certain things—like the location of certain events, for example—don’t change the story much, and I can agree with that. But one thing that needs to be understood is that a larger part of the story is already written—that’s one of the multiple reasons why I’m able to keep releasing updates every month. So if I started making polls for that kind of content, it would be for part of the story that is farther away in the future, and that would probably be a lot less engaging in that sense.

A few technicalities

One of the details I don’t mind is things such as which outfit Laura would wear during a sex scene (or just for corruption purposes). That you guys decide on that type of detail—unless I have something specifically planned—doesn’t really bother me. The thing is, I don’t have dedicated artists per se. I can’t really ask one of my artists to draw multiple sketches, wait a few days for the poll to end and then make him draw the final product. They need to make a living, and it would be pretty hard to set up a working space where they have to sketch multiple different scenes, for example, so they can keep getting paid while waiting for the result of a poll. Maybe that kind of set-up could work if the poll lasts only 24 hours, but then some people wouldn’t have the time to enjoy their privilege. Another thing, the artist who drew the sprite of APBLU is often busy, so I can’t just ask him for one single outfit at any given time.

So yeah, my biggest concern is that I might end up only being able to make that kind of poll every two months, and maybe those polls would be underwhelming. Maybe I’m worrying for nothing and I could find more original ideas to keep you guys involved, I just don’t want to promote a feature that ends up barely existing.

If you guys still believe that adding poll privileges as a reward is worth it even while taking all of those issues into consideration, then of course I don’t mind trying. As long as people keep their expectations in check, then I’m open to try lots of different things.