RPGM Game dev Questions about art and finance

[EddyGordo]

Hello fellow gamers, game devs and artists alike

I have some questions concerning art and the financial aspect of an indie solo game dev project

To give more context :
I've been working on a game for approx 10 months
This has been a passion project that I really wanted to do for a couple years, and here I am realizing this dream but I have a small "issue" (mostly concerns concerning the marketing & financial aspect)
I am hoping to have a commercial demo in a couple months
I have done the writing, level design, few scenes, and am still working on the gameplay, character design and all around game polish to have a sweet demo

I know art is one of the most important aspects and it is the reason why fans usually pledge to help a project come to life
I can draw, but I am not where I'd like to be art wise to have that "professional" look
I found an artist that I like and budget wise it seems pretty reasonable

My question is, would it benefit me if I commissioned an artist and made the project work with Patreon with regular updates
Or should I do the art by myself to have everything 100% original even if it takes me a while to become the artist I wanna be

I initially thought about this, since art is mostly the selling factor
Even if good writing, music, sfx, general game atmosphere, gameplay is also an important factor for sure, but it's generally not what is pushed forward to "sell / market" the product in the H industry
I am mostly concerned that the Patreon traffic would go towards the artist and not the game dev, which is why I'm asking you this

Even if this is a passion project, I really want it to succeed, make a great game to play and hopefully make a living out of it and keep doing this for years
Eventually releasing a completed game on steam with a Japanese translation to release it as well on DLsite and other platforms
And ofc, to keep making more games

Sorry for the wall of text, I really hope some of you guys could help me figure out which path I should commit to !
I wish you all a wonderful weekend / week
Thanks for reading

Ps: here is the top of my 1st town shown below

 

[SpiteWorks - Cassian]

In my opinion, it all depends on what your objective is. If your goal is to become an artist then you should make the art yourself. If your goal is to create the best game possible, then it may be worth it to hire an artist.
I wouldn't worry about traffic going to the artist. At the end of the day, I love the art in games like CQ and KoD, but i still follow the devs because even if they lack the artistic ability to create those pieces of art, it's their vision that I enjoy.

 

[EddyGordo]

In my opinion, it all depends on what your objective is. If your goal is to become an artist then you should make the art yourself. If your goal is to create the best game possible, then it may be worth it to hire an artist.
I wouldn't worry about traffic going to the artist. At the end of the day, I love the art in games like CQ and KoD, but i still follow the devs because even if they lack the artistic ability to create those pieces of art, it's their vision that I enjoy.

Thanks for your input !
I agree, I'm probably just overthinking it
I should probably work with an artist for this game and keep practicing to eventually do the art myself for a future project
It's just there are so many unknowns when wanting to create a business for the first time
I want to follow my vision and make the best game I can, as well as making the business side of things work

 

[LoveCauldronGames]

I have seen some text-based games being sucessful on Patreon, so art is just one of many aspects of sucess.

Either way, don't be afraid of the artist getting attention. That's very unlikely to happen, and if it does, that will not take way the attention from your project. You will be able to cross-promote with them, and don't forget people value nsfw games WAY MORE than the nsfw game assets. It's not just about the art, it's the "experience".

Do whatever you believe will create the best possible game. That's the key to sucess.

 

[EddyGordo]

I have seen some text-based games being sucessful on Patreon, so art is just one of many aspects of sucess.

Either way, don't be afraid of the artist getting attention. That's very unlikely to happen, and if it does, that will not take way the attention from your project. You will be able to cross-promote with them, and don't forget people value nsfw games WAY MORE than the nsfw game assets. It's not just about the art, it's the "experience".

Do whatever you believe will create the best possible game. That's the key to sucess.

Thanks for your input as well
I agree, I’ve seen success too from games which had real porn, text-based or even AI focus
But I had worries about 2d CG games, since the artist usually seem to be the game dev for lots if not most of the projects I’ve noticed
I’ve rarely seen cross promotion from games on this platform which is why I was starting to doubt my plans for my project
Anyways, I’d be glad if my future artist gets recognition from the my game
I just hope it’ll work out for both of us
But hey, I guess it’s impossible to know before hand how things might turn out, I guess I’ll just go for it and see

 

[Emperor4919]

What comes first for many people is the art style. If the game has visual they enjoy, they will be more forgiving if the gameplay, writing or other aspects of the game lack in quality. Is there no middle way you can take? If you want to develop your drawings skills, you need to do one thing: draw. Since you have found an artist with a good price/quality balance, I would let him create the core visual (sex scenes, backgrounds).

However, you can always try to draw a few characters yourself, and give them a place in the game if you're satisfied with the result. The artist you commission might even give helpful critique and tips on how you can improve.

I wish you a good weekend as well. Good luck with the development of your game, you have already shown determination by continuous development and not abandoning you idea after a few months.

 

[EddyGordo]

What comes first for many people is the art style. If the game has visual they enjoy, they will be more forgiving if the gameplay, writing or other aspects of the game lack in quality. Is there no middle way you can take? If you want to develop your drawings skills, you need to do one thing: draw. Since you have found an artist with a good price/quality balance, I would let him create the core visual (sex scenes, backgrounds).

However, you can always try to draw a few characters yourself, and give them a place in the game if you're satisfied with the result. The artist you commission might even give helpful critique and tips on how you can improve.

I wish you a good weekend as well. Good luck with the development of your game, you have already shown determination by continuous development and not abandoning you idea after a few months.

Thanks !
I try to stay motivated and keep my focus on the objective
I can’t say I’ve been always regular since I started the project, got lost in some mmorpgs / games and other media, but I guess that’s to be expected as a solo dev
Having a break once in a while can be refreshing and give ideas so it’s all good
I can’t wait to bring that experience to life, so I’m going all in hoping for a release in the upcoming months, thanks for the encouraging words !

I try to stay motivated and draw every day, but I’ve had big breaks
I have to learn to push through the “bad” results, and just keep doing it for now
I feel comfortable copying references, but I don’t wanna do my own art yet since I don’t have the mental library and the capacity to change the perspective on any desired subject / art idea, that skill will take some time to develop
But ofc I plan on doing my own concept art, that will be the fun part

Thanks again, I’ll keep striving to make a fun game
I hope the final results will be enjoyed here on F95 and other platforms !