PATREON OF THE ARTS
Most core developers have set up Patreon accounts for their work on MiSTer, where they’ll often give patrons access to beta cores as they’re in development before releasing them publicly. This method has worked well for Nullobject and Jotego, the latter particularly prolific with 1,700 patrons. He finds paying followers a good motivator: “It gives meaning – it means that you’re not alone doing things that people won’t use.” Sorgelig doesn’t gate any of his work behind his Patreon on principle, and also because, as he says, “in reality it’s mostly hidden and dirty work which doesn’t bring many Patreon followers.” Kitrinx doesn’t have one for more personal reasons: “I feel like it should completely be a matter of my passions as to what I work on. I don’t want to feel influenced by people paying me, or getting money and all of a sudden I feel obligated.”