Adventure Gamers needs your financial support in 2022!
Happy New Year, adventure gamers!
After yet another crazy, hectic, thoroughly insane year, we’re already looking ahead to an even busier and more bonkers 2022. The catch is, if we’re going to make that happen as we’d all surely like, we’re going to need your support.
Adventure Gamers has offered free coverage of our beloved genre for more than two decades, becoming more and more extensive with each passing year. We’d like nothing more than to continue doing so, but we simply can’t keep doing it at the level of professionalism you’ve come to expect at our current funding levels.
We know times are tough for everyone, and asking for money is the last thing we want to do. But the pandemic has taken a serious toll on our income as well, from dwindling returns on affiliate programs to radically reduced advertising revenue. And the simple fact is, over the past year-plus AG has been running at a deficit every month, and that simply can’t continue.
Several years ago we launched a Patreon crowdfunding page and were blown away by the initial response. Since then, however, backer commitments have dropped off and no longer adequately help us pay the bills each month, so we once again come to you asking for your assistance.
It doesn’t have to be a lot, as every pledge counts and they all add up if enough people contribute. And that matters, because if we’re not able to raise our monthly funding levels to at least the break-even point, both the quality and quantity of work we’re able to provide is going to seriously suffer.
Over the years, other once-thriving adventure game magazines have faded and even disappeared completely, leaving AG the only major English-language news and review outlet left for genre coverage. We’ve diligently shouldered that responsibility as best we could, but now the same fate awaits Adventure Gamers without help. We don’t want that to happen; you don’t want that to happen, but the only way to avoid it is with your financial support.
Along with giving you the satisfaction of knowing that your pledge is making an important difference to the welfare of the site, we’ll also provide a number of tangible benefits for making a monthly commitment, including exclusive behind-the-scenes access and even (at higher tiers) some great loot(!), which we're sure will make your AG experience even more rewarding.
The simple fact is, the future of Adventure Gamers is in your hands. Please consider sharing what you can.
What is Patreon?
Unlike other familiar fundraising alternatives, Patreon is designed to be an ongoing, subscription-based model (payable either through credit card or PayPal) that benefits both the recipient – that's us – and the patron – that's you. One-time donations are wonderful and welcome (and we'll get to that option shortly), but a monthly commitment offers the assurance of cost certainty, and we wouldn't need to keep coming back asking for more when those single donations run out (Wikipedia users know what we mean).
But hey, why keep explaining when we can let Patreon do it in style:
Patreon may not have the name recognition of Kickstarter, but it's a legitimate fund-sharing vehicle with a proven track record, so you can rest easy in the knowledge that your information is confidential, your donations secure.
We have various reward tiers to choose from, but ultimately the real "reward" here is ensuring that Adventure Gamers carries on delivering all the same great (and even better!) coverage you've come to expect. Without that community support, something's gotta give. So let's do something about it.
Should your financial circumstances change, you are free to cancel your subscription at any time, no strings attached.
Is there an alternative to Patreon?
There is! Glad you asked.
For those who would prefer to make a one-time offering, we have set up a PayPal option through which you can contribute any amount, at any time. There are benefits to monthly subscriptions, which is why we'd prefer Patreon if possible, but we are no less grateful for single contributions. Every little (or not-so-little) bit helps!
Outside of Patreon there is no formal mechanism for ensuring PayPal donors receive the same rewards as monthly patrons, but we will be glad to extend the same offer to backers who donate the equivalent of one year's subscription for any given reward tier. (You'll just need to let us know who you are at the time of your contribution.)
I can't afford to donate. Is there any other way I can help?
Another great question! (Leave it to adventure gamers to work all the different angles to a problem.) And again, the answer is yes! There are two ways in particular:
1) Everybody hates ads. We get it. That's why an ad-free experience on AG is one of our first Patreon rewards. But they're a necessary evil for online magazines like Adventure Gamers. So if using an ad blocker, do please consider adding our site as an exception. We strive to make our ads as unobtrusive as possible, as we want to minimize anyone's inconvenience. (And if you see any that are particularly objectionable, do please tell us!)
2) Adventure Gamers has several affiliate relationships with online retailers, which means we get a (very) small percentage of each game sale originating from the site. We add new purchase links as soon as they become available, so when buying games from our partner stores, you're supporting us by using the links provided on AG. With just a couple extra mouse-clicks, you're helping us out! Better yet, just bookmark our general affiliate links to GOG.com, Humble and the Epic Games Store we'll get a commission from every game included in your subsequent order. It's win-win for everyone!
3) Walkthroughs, walkthroughs, walkthroughs! Preferably of the written variety; old games or new; they're all welcome. Since walkthroughs are the gift that keep on giving, they're consistently among our most-visited pages, which in turn helps increase advertising income. They're also, of course, a massive benefit to adventure gamers everywhere! (We all hate using them, but we all need to from time to time!)
Why support Adventure Gamers?
Hopefully, this is the one question that doesn't need to be asked, but we truly believe a healthy Adventure Gamers contributes to a healthy adventure genre. The success of any niche market is dependent on a dedicated grassroots community keeping the faith. We’ve been doing just that for nearly over twenty years now, and during that time the genre has emerged from its oft-proclaimed “death” throes to where it is today: flourishing at an unprecedented level of independent development. With your help, we can continue to lead the way in providing ongoing coverage of this genre resurgence, but from this point on there’s only one way that can happen: together.
