I'm curious: would people prefer a single upfront cost on a game, in-game purchases, or for the game to be free but you need to support the developer through voluntary donations (which carry no reward)?

Most people would prefer the third option - and would be very, very quiet in online discussions as to why.

@Katana314 @Narrrz i do games as an hobby and using the last one.

I’ve made some very small games as a hobby for game jams, but the main reason I’m not charging for them is that I know they wouldn’t be worth any tangible amount of money regardless.

If they contained, say, hours of voice acting, a wholly unique gameplay concept, and visuals that took hundreds of thousands of man-hours, then for its business model I’d suddenly be more doubtful of that “donate if you enjoy” model.