Advise on pricing.

So I've recently finished a project, and I want to upload it for people to play.

I was also hoping to, if possible, make profit from it. The thing is, the game itself is more of a concept. Basically it's a demo that's a taste of what the game is, to see if people are interested in the idea. If so, then I would want to make a full version.

I think it's a pretty substantial demo, and would probably take around an hour to complete. I've worked on it for almost a year, so a lot of hours have went into it. The idea that I might not see any profit from that year of work it a little disheartening. This would happen if I released it for free, but asking for money for a concept demo feels a little tacky and I'm worried people would completely bypass it if I charged to play.

Now, websites like itch io have options for donations, meaning that if the demo was free, then people could donate if they choose too. This seemed like it may be a better idea, but that is relying purely on people choosing to donate, which of course isn't guaranteed.

So basically there are two options:

1) Release the project as a paid demo, which may alienate players as they may not want to pay for something that is in fact a demo, even if a fair amount of work has went into it.

2) Release the project for free, which would make the game more accessible, and rely on potential donations.

I'm not sure what the best option is, so I wondering if anyone had any advise/experience on what would be the best approach, or if any other methods would be better.

Thanks!

From the sound of it, the demo would be a nice support to a crowdfunding campaign where you would get the funding to make the complete game, isn't it ?

That is a good idea. I would however be somewhat fearful about setting up a full campaign, since I feel like there would be a lot of pressure if several people put large sums of money in. This is my first game, and I don't think I have the experience to do something on that scale. I've seen paid campaigns sometimes be really successful, but sometimes fail terribly after getting funding. Realistically, I feel that with my personal skill set it would be irresponsible to ask for money before the game was done. I'd need more experience first. Thanks for the answer!

I do have other income, which means I don't really need funding to make a full version. That doesn't mean I wouldn't want to make a profit though, since time and work has went into making it.