And you know what the worst part is? I had over 10,000 downloads, mostly for Liminal Leap Chapter 1 and 2—but only when they were free.

I keep asking myself: What’s the big difference? Free or $1? Does that really make such a huge difference to people? Because for me, 10,000 downloads at just $1 would have made a huge difference in my life.

But no. People just want free stuff, as if good indie games are made in someone’s spare time for fun. The truth is, there’s a lot of hard work behind every game. And yet, it seems that even $1 is too much to ask.

There are plenty of videos about Liminal Leap on YouTube—but most of them are from people who downloaded it for free. So I ask myself: What’s the point of releasing more games?

Right now, I’ve lost all motivation. I honestly don’t feel like my work is even appreciated. At this point, I might as well make all my games free—because going from a few dollars in revenue to zero is basically the same thing. At least if I release them for free, I can enjoy seeing people play them on YouTube. That’s something.

You are one of those underrated game developers I've followed. I'm proud of all the games you made. No sugar coating, but your developed games match those popular paid games on Steam. I don't know why other people are like that, but I hope you still have that spark of hope in yourself. I can't even encourage you a lot because I was also struggling with keeping the algorithm right in the digital world like this. Just a little message: This is not your end; maybe it's just the start of something else. I hope you and your mom will be blessed even though you are in the hardest situation of your life, as you have said. Thank you, Wenudu. 

Hi, I just read about your departure in the GOG forum and had never heard of your games before. That's a problem these days, with so many games being released. To cut a long story short, I just bought two of your games (End of the Night + Liminal Leap: Episode One) to show you that there are people out there who are willing to pay for work. I don't know if or when I'll play the games because I have so many unplayed games, but the games seem worth the investment. I wish you more paying customers who appreciate your efforts. Best regards, Kult

Free or $1? Does that really make such a huge difference to people

Yes. This is Itch.

You are a developer and see it from a developer's perspective.

Let me give you a user's perspective. About Steam and Itch.

What do I think when I see a free game, paywhatyouwant game, a $ 1 game, a $ 10 game, a $ 20 game and a $ 50 game on these platforms? By price alone.

Steam

Free. Probably in-app purchases or selling my data

pwyw. Does not really exist beyond some dlcs like buy the dev a coffey dlc.

1$. Why. Is that a joke. Can't be good.

10$ Realistic price for an indie title. Let's have a look, should it fit into my usual games. Maybe there is good value.

20$ Indie game with higher expectations.

50$ Starting for aaa. Buy on a discount.

Itch

Free. Dev did not want to deal with money. Maybe links to other platforms like Patreon.

Pay What you want. Standard Itch scheme. If I like the description I might play it, if I like the game, I might spend on it.

1$. Why. Is that a joke. Can't be good. Seriously. That is barely paying the fees. Does the dev even know how Itch works?

10$ and 20$ Hmm. Either that is a good game or the dev is unrealistic. If there is a demo, I might try. If not, the dev seems to not understand Itch or is very famous and successful elsewhere.

50$ Suspicous.

My opinion is, that asking for 1 $ is not wise on Itch. Especially if you have no demo version. It is the minimum amount you can pay anyways and if people do take that at face value, the fees are hurting badly. There is no easy refunding on Itch, as it is on Steam. So I am very suspicious that the dev might have put out a shovelware game that is very bad and not giving a demo version, so people will not know, but asking 1 $, so some might buy it, and have little regrets and not ask for a refund.

Since you put your development activity on hold, you might try the standard Itch pricing scheme of pay what you want. It looks more inviting, at least to me, than having $ 1 games that are on 100% sale.

I would rather play a free game and maybe spend money on it, than download a $ 1 game that is on 100% sale. I would expect the $ 1 game to be a waste of my time, even if it were not on sale and someone had gifted it to me, so I would know: ohhh, that is a game worth 1 $. Also, my attitude of giving money to a free game would be shifted. I would have the attitude of having received a paid game for free. Business done. No more donations needed.

Find my e-mail address on the site in my profile. Let's talk.