Ideas about how to make developers keep their motivation?

[skylas]

Believe it or not, sending an e-mail to the developer is actually too much to ask for. Very few people will do that.

Which is why a QR code solution would be "better", in that it would give more results. It is the absolute easiest-for-the-player solution you can do. No typing. Just scan. No obligations. Anonymous. Quick.

Could be done as an option in the main menu: "Gimme sum feedback!" -> "Please rate my game". Allow a choice of 5 stars or something, and then provide a QR code.
But could also be done as such a highscore solution. The more highscore uploads, the more people obviously like the game.

I know that few people would be send by few people. Also, your idea is is not bad.
But generally, I prefer qualitative measure that quantitative. Having a 2/10 or 9/10, a single number, cannot make the developer understand what was good and what was bad.
But, of course, people don't have time these days and they are taught to evaluate generally in numbers only. Useful, but not as useful as a little text!

[mr_lou]

I'm not disagreeing that an e-mail would be nicest.
But if you have to choose between nothing or a number.....?
Or, you could make the QR code present a textbox that the player could write something in - optionally.

[skylas]

I'm not disagreeing that an e-mail would be nicest.
But if you have to choose between nothing or a number.....?
Or, you could make the QR code present a textbox that the player could write something in - optionally.

Yes, I know you do not disagree, as I do not disagree with you!
Addition of textbox seems useful  to me.

[Optimus]

Interesting subject, biggest key to success is not skills to me but how to keep myself working on demos or any other thing. I am usually very low on that.
Now, I might be out of subject as the original answer revolved around how to motivate developers in the community in general, through financial ways or other. But my thought is how I manage to keep myself working on something.

Lately it has gone much better, despite the struggle of "I really wanna do the dream projects I have in mind but somehow I can't put myself to sit down and code instead of playing another run of Dark Souls". Also worse when working at home and then my home PC is at the same desktop.

But since last few months I found another way that made me more productive than usually and for several months. It started as a habit, some days of the week after work or an early Sunday, I'd put my laptop in my bag and head to some place in the city, first it was the local library, then a cafeteria. I'll order my coffee and I'll be in a relaxed mood where I might open my laptop and even stare at code. Usually the flow starts and I don't feel this dread of "I could finish this but I could also rest, play videogames or watch a movie". I am just there for a goal but also as a more relaxed free state, where I drink my coffee and open my laptop.

It might have been a bit awkward, but it works so well. I have done enormous work on some yet to be released projects (a big DOS Pentium demo, 3DO coding and whole ports of 3DO projects on PC) and of course my recent CPC demo. I look back, the first commit was late September. And I kept frequent updates in this project almost every day. Usually most of my project is some effect I worked for a month or a week, then abandoned, then a last week decided to connect things together in a lousy way. But this demo was a bigger more concentrated effort for almost 3 months. And imagine pure z80 assembly on winape32, and I am on a cafeteria in the UK as a frequent guest and someone might be peaking on the screen and see the familiar blue screen. Nobody asked me about it yet

p.s. I try to also recreate this by leaving my work/home PC desk, going to my living room and opening my laptop with some coffee. Sometimes weather is so cold or wet in the UK that I cancel my cafeteria visit. But sometimes I do it despite the weather because it's also psychology good to get out of home and then code flows better naturally without much pressure.

[GUNHED]

The secret of success is just to make the first step