Thanks a ton to those of you who have checked in to see how we’re doing and what’s up with the site and the podcast. We have news!
In an effort to help cover expenses for hosting here and for the podcast, we’ve opened a Patreon account for the community! I want to state right up front, this will not take anything away, nor put any expectation on podcast listeners or site readers. The site will see more regular content and the podcast will approach a more regular schedule as costs get covered. This is simply an opportunity to support what we do, get earlier access to special content, and even get a chance to help us determine what topics to discuss!
On our tiers and goals
If you decide you’re interested in participating in the patron community, there will be a variety of ways to do it. Here are the tiers we’re starting with, we’re bound to add to these and modify as we get acclimated.
- Friend of the Show – This is a tier for anyone who just wants to say thanks, throw something minimal our way, and help make the site and the podcast possible. It’s also a great way to try out the patron community and see if it’s for you. In return, you’ll get entry-level access to the patron feed, meaning you’ll get to see some of the new content each month, to get a look at what we’re doing.
- All-Access Pass – This is the tier for you if you want access to the full patron feed. Great for creators and anyone looking to expand their creative skill set.
- Writers’ Room Pass – If you’re enjoying the patron feed and seeking a little bit of mentorship, try the Writers’ Room Pass! You’ll get full access to the patron feed, and once a month, you get to choose the topic of a post! If there’s something you’re struggling with, something you’re curious about, a new game engine you’re considering, it will need to stay somewhat broad for the sake of other readers, but we’ll go looking for answers!
- Show Partner – Got something to promote? The Show Partner tier gives you full access to the patron feed, as well as a monthly podcast plug for your team or your project. Get the word out to hundreds of listeners in your targeted audience each month!
- Producer’s Pass – The Producer’s Pass gets you full access to the patron feed, one monthly post topic of your choosing (we’ll include a plug for you), and one monthly podcast plug for your team or your project. This is awesome for anyone nearing a project launch or looking to generate some buzz!
And finally, let’s look at the goals we’ve set:
- Podcast costs covered – Hosting for the #GameDev Breakdown Podcast requires audio hosting, and we did not go the cheapest route, because we wanted listeners to be able to go as far back in the catalogue as they desired, any time they wanted. We’re happy to do it, we currently have no plans to let it disappear, but we could do even greater things if the podcast cashflow headed the other direction. If we get podcast costs covered, we will commit to a steady recording schedule (one weekly show minimum), and will not miss but for emergencies or other very good reasons. We won’t skip a week because we just didn’t happen to record a show.
- Site costs covered – Pretty similar situation here. CodeWritePlay has been around for nearly four years and has cost money to maintain consistently. I love running it, I want to continue to do so, but I could justify greatly expanding site activities if costs are covered and we were able to establish a small budget for it. I’d love to do more in-depth features on development and creative topics, better tutorials, exclusive events, guest posts, etc. If we can get costs covered, I’ll commit to making it happen.
- Community projects – This is something I’ve been discussing with people behind closed doors for a couple of years now. I’d love to establish a small budget beyond the other costs to start some community projects. If we can cover some minimal development costs, I’d love to gather pitches from the community, put it to a vote, and tackle projects that we all openly discuss, cover on the site and the podcast, and follow start to finish to show the entire process, then put it out for the world to see. Small games, prototypes, soundtracks, we could go a lot of directions with this. We’d finish one and move on to the next.
So again, no pressure on anyone, this initiative is just intended to provide a way forward and potentially allow us to tackle some things we’ve wanted to do for a long time. We’ll get there when the time is right. Feel free to check out the Patreon page any time to see changes and updates, or to see how we’re stacking up against our goals. We’ll provide updates from time to time. New content, new opportunities, everyone wins!
Let us know if there are other tiers or benefits you’d like to see, or what goals you’d like to see added. This is your community too!
