Invalid characterset or character set not supported So, who operates a Patreon page?





So, who operates a Patreon page?
November 25, 2016

Directly inspired by HonestGamer, and his website, I started a Patreon which features the creative goings-on of the ACME Resource Pack for Minecraft, which I co-develop and manage with Tumbleberry. We've been at it for five years now, and we have over 8 million downloads, reviews, third party listings, first party listings, affiliates, YouTube reviews and more.

For the curious, here's our homepage: http://www.nudgeworksdesign.com

I decided also to throw my novelist leanings into the mix, because, it's something I do that keeps me going. Additionally I've included my reviews for this site, because that's blossoming rather nicely into a great tool to polish my writing skills.

HonestGamer responded to a suggestion that I had about Patreon involvement, but suggested that any of us who have Patreon pages could link them here to foster our work done on this site.

If you have one, would you share it? If you haven't, would you make one? Does the idea of living at the whim of others bother you? I'm aware this smacks of the commodification of creativity, which doesn't always work well ... cough, cough, EA/Atari/Ubisoft/Others ... ahem ... but since we're going to be writing anyway, it's worth a try.

If it doesn't work, so be it, but we won't know until we give it a shot.

Thoughts?

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honestgamer honestgamer - November 25, 2016 (10:58 AM)
Great art throughout the ages, which we enjoy today without often thinking about its roots, was made possible through the support of patrons. That's where Patreon got the idea.

Today, we have the concept of the "starving artist," and people believe that such a miserable existence is somehow noble and even the way things always were. But that's not true. There is some art that wouldn't be possible if the artist responsible weren't a tormented soul, but a lot of art benefits more from the artist not having to spend so much time worrying about how to put food on the table.

I believe J.K. Rowling, who wrote the Harry Potter books, had ideas for years before a $50,000 grant (I read somewhere) allowed her to finally make those ideas a reality. Now she is worth hundreds of millions, and she apparently funds programs so that other artists can earn money.

I really don't buy the argument that art is ruined if it is produced with the expectation of money. I do think that CAN happen, but I also think that money can and should allow artists to produce great things.

Personally, I have ideas that could sustain 15 or 20 novels, just rattling around in my head and not being put to use because the stress of trying to keep my life from crashing spectacularly takes up all of my energy. I bet the same is true of a lot of writers, artists, musicians, and game developers. How many J.K. Rowling types could be producing great things, if only the money to sustain a reasonable lifestyle could find them?
hastypixels hastypixels - November 25, 2016 (11:10 AM)
That's a darn good point, and games are a very visible example of that. Because of YouTube, Steam, Twitch and Patreon, we are able to have personal relationships with "the creator" of the experience we get to enjoy. What's more, is we get to encourage their creativity, directly.

I don't think it de-mystifies the creative process at all, but puts us in touch with the time line of creativity and the personal lives of the creators. Kickstarter has shown us that just because a creator wants develop an idea, doesn't mean that it will become the winning formula that we all hope for.

Realities set in, and if we neglect those close to us we have a lasting regret that will overshadow the potential of our creative desires. I love that some of the most successful games in the industry right have the word "heart" in their descriptions and associations.

I relate to you ... having ideas isn't so much the conundrum, it's being able to determine which are of value, and then putting the appropriate priority on them. So many stories I've written have been for my benefit more than anyone else, and I will never try to publish them. It's part of the creative process.
jerec jerec - November 25, 2016 (12:55 PM)
Nah, money is not my issue. Time and motivation get in the way of my writing a lot more.
honestgamer honestgamer - November 25, 2016 (03:07 PM)
Jerec, the more stress I have, the less motivation I have for anything. And most of my stress comes from issues that better income would immediately resolve (things like medical bills, trouble paying the rent, taxes, and so forth). So that's why I say that money is my issue. When my finances are square, historically, I crank out fiction and reviews and other sorts of writing like nobody's business. And when my finances are in tougher shape, I might write a couple of short stories and a few reviews over the course of an entire year.
hastypixels hastypixels - November 25, 2016 (03:25 PM)
I think you guys just took what I was saying from different angles. Money worries have never gotten in the way of writing, but they've actually needed to. Prioritizing wasn't one of my strengths not so many years ago, but I've learned that taking care of family and business means that I have the freedom to write as much or as little as I want, as HG just said.

Harlan Ellison said that he couldn't stand the genre identifier "Sci-fi", and called it "Speculative Fiction" instead. The idea was that a good story asks a question, and that's a good writing tool. Understanding why you're writing is more important than anything you produce.
bwv_639 bwv_639 - December 16, 2016 (09:12 AM)
Real artists fly. Money funds is a gravity-like force that pulls them down on to the earth.

Then they exist on earth, and can reach all the others who are on earth too.

Earthly existence reached through reduction, with ups and downs, and more and less fortunate cases.

See what Goichi Suda had to do after Flower, Sun, and Rain and killer7.
He had to give up to gravity force, but before that he somehow managed to fly for a while.

See what happened to Nintendo. But before that, they put out the N&$ and GC instalments of Super Mario and Legend of Zelda.

Money is never for free.
In the body of compositions of even the greatest past-centuries composers you will find pieces that were made to suit the court's mundane mood, to serve as background music for festivities and balls, ... which it's easy to argue were composed without enthusiasm.
The money earned that way allowed those composers to express themselves in other works of theirs afterwards.

The battle is between sticking to the soil and flying. This is what the initial scene of Andrey Rublov, possibly the best film in the history of cinema, conveys.

Try to fly well before you must land.

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