Patreon Post Frequency

Howdy! A few people have reached out to ask, "When will you post to Patreon again?" and I wanted to share some insight into my thought process.

As you're doubtlessly already aware, Yandere Simulator usually updates twice a month, on the 1st and 15th days of the month. Often, the volunteers and I will try to schedule our time so our latest tasks are complete by the 1st/15th and that our work makes it into the game in time for the next build. This means that "big features" usually get added to the game about 1, 2, or 3 days before the update.

I know that many people subscribe to my Patreon because they're looking forward to sneak peeks at upcoming content. However, when I'm sitting on a big pile of super-exciting new content, it's usually less than 3 days until the next update. I think to myself, "Why should I bother posting this on Patreon? It's going to be revealed to the world in 3 days, anyway."

I guess I assume that "exclusive previews of upcoming content" simply aren't exciting or interesting when the period of exclusivity is extremely short. Do you get my logic?

I'll give you an example. Right now, if I ask myself, "What kind of cool stuff could I post on Patreon?" I think of the most exciting additions I've made to the game recently:

• Amai is getting a new hair model

• Amai's task has been updated and improved in several ways

• The cutscene where Senpai meets Amai is getting new animation and new voice acting

• The Occult Club are getting new chokers

• I refactored a bunch of the game's code and improved the FPS

• The cutscene where Toga thanks Ryoba is getting some new animation

• The game is getting a new bookbag model (because the current one is a store-bought asset)

Cool stuff, right? However, most of those additions were made within the past 5 days. When deciding whether or not to make a post about the above content, I immediately think, "...eh, there's no point in making a Patreon post about it. The next update is coming out in less than a week, anyway..." And then, I just don't post anything to Patreon at all. This is almost always the case for every "two-week update cycle," meaning that I very rarely ever feel like it's "worth it" to make a post on Patreon.

Of course, there are some very obvious downsides to going for long stretches of time without posting anything on Patreon. People will presume, "Oh, I guess he quit working on the game..." or, "Oh, I guess there's no point in donating to this Patreon..." which are both really bad for the game's long-term health.

So, I guess I'm kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place. My two options are, "post nothing to Patreon," or, "post exclusive sneak previews...of things that are mere days from being public knowledge anyway." And, I don't like either of those two options!

I'm not prepared to offer any solutions or commit to any promises at this point in time, but I still felt that it was better to say something rather than just continue saying nothing.

Well, perhaps this is a good time to ask for your thoughts. I'd be interested in hearing your answer to this question:

If I post an "exclusive preview of upcoming content" on Patreon, and then it is revealed to the whole world just a few days later, would you feel like there was nothing exciting or valuable about that exclusive preview?

You're welcome to share your answer - or just suggestions for alternative benefits that I could offer to patrons - in the comments below.

Thank you for continuing to have faith in me, and thank you for supporting the development of Yandere Simulator!