Would you fund via PayPal or prefer Kickstarter?

[Lockvia]

Hi!

This is just a survey of which option people would prefer to fund/donate to make a game available for free. I personally don't have a credit card so I can't really use Kickstarter, but I was just wondering about other people's opinions. Would you fund for a game via PayPal or you'll still stick to Kickstarter?

[Asceai]

Kickstarter (and other crowdfunding sites) have a framework set up for funding these kinds of projects, they do some (basic) vetting in advance and they do some amount of due diligence in terms of shutting down projects that are revealed as scams. They also ensure that you don't end up transferring anything if the funding target is not met.

I would find that immeasurably preferable to sending money to someone's Paypal account, to the point where I do fund Kickstarter (or Indiegogo etc. etc.) projects but I wouldn't just paypal someone money in the hope that they would then use that to make a game.

I guess I sort of see it as a bit of a weird question because Kickstarter is a crowdfunding site while Paypal is a payment processor. They do different things so choosing between them feels a bit odd!

So, is the question 'crowdfunding site vs send some stranger money', or is it 'credit card vs paypal', or..? I mean, Indiegogo for example lets you pay with Paypal, so how would that fit into this question?

[saguaro]

Unless you have a strong online presence and you are regularly releasing content, I think the odds of people actually clicking a PayPal donate button are extremely low.

[Mazz0ne]

Kickstarter all the way. Their payments also go through Amazon.
On top of that you can use KS to send to increment traffic to your page and use a Paypal button there.

[papillon]

An unknown person putting a paypal button on a random webpage somewhere saying 'Hey! Give me an abitrary amount of money with no tracking or oversight whatsoever, and I might eventually make a game!' is not going to go down well.

[TheTraveler]

This is just a survey of which option people would prefer to fund/donate to make a game available for free.

Personally, I wouldn't fund a "free game" through either channel. No offense intended, but there are more worthwhile projects in need of funding than a "free game" by an unknown author with no track record.

If you're serious about being funded, (which is why you're asking this question I presume) I'd suggest you establish yourself in the VN community first and get some good reviews and critiques on your works. Then you'd have something concrete to showcase your skills and commitment to support your request for funding.

Cheers and good luck.

[SundownKid]

I don't like the idea of "donationware" or a Kickstarter for a free game. If you are confident about the quality of the game, release it for money and make sure it's up to par. And if it's released for free, release it with no strings attached. Donationware just devalues your work as a developer and makes me feel like you are not confident at all that anyone would pay for your work.

On that note, however, I would prefer Paypal as a means of donation because it's easier than donating to a Kickstarter.

[Ginger]

The better idea if you decide you still want to release your game for free but given the option of people paying would be a "pay what you can" option. This gives people the ability to play for the game before paying for, or being able to pay their desired amount.

[sake-bento]

I've never used Kickstarter, but I did have a PayPal donation button on my site for a while in an attempt to keep my games free. My site generated a decent amount of traffic, and I did get some donations, but it took three years to earn enough to produce a single free game (with myself not being paid for writing or art assets).

As mentioned above, a pay-what-you-can system might work better (especially if this is your first time), or a PayPal "tip" jar on your site could also do the trick.