Hello again!
As some of you might have seen over on the now-locked Lilith's Throne Patreon page, I made a post an hour or so ago saying that it was to be shut down due to containing content which Patreon objects to. To avoid repeating myself, and for posterity's sake, here is the message in full:
Dearest Patrons and viewers of this page,
I cannot emphasise enough how much I have appreciated your support over the many months which I have had this page here, and I am eternally grateful not only for all of your financial backing, but also for all of your kind comments, suggestions, and feedback.
Alas, you might already suspect that something is afoot from the note of finality in this message, and I can confirm that Patreon's sanctimonious censors, steadfast in their belief that the sexual rights of fictional characters are sacrosanct, have issued the ultimatum that Lilith's Throne must be censored in order to remove all non-con and incest content, or else face immediate removal from this platform. If you do not have the time or inclination to read the rest of this post, please know two things; one, I have opted for the latter of these two options; two, development of Lilith's Throne will be continuing at full pace for quite some time yet, even if its Patreon page is no more.
After Patreon set out on the course of censorship a long time ago now, I have seen many adult projects either shut down or adjust their content in order to adhere to this platform's moral sensibilities. I assumed that as Lilith's Throne contained purely text-based, literary content, it would not fall foul of the zealous censors under Patreon's employ, but I was wrong. As is often the case with these things, a little removal of "incorrect views" here and there inevitability soon expands to widespread censorship of all content which is regarded as disagreeable to those in a position of power.
As mentioned above, I have been issued an ultimatum by Patreon's "Trust & Safety" division; censor my game, or have my page removed. By censoring my game I would continue to have financial security, even if by a lessened amount due to those of you who would quit my page or the platform itself in protest. What would it cost me though? Undoubtedly the original vision I had for the game would be a casualty of such censorship, but I fear that it would be somewhat more than that. To censor my game would not only be a reprehensible betrayal of your trust, but it would also send a message that I support the concept of censorship, the suppression of literary artistic expression, and the belief that adults must be protected from their own thoughts. Following on from that, it would mean forever living with the fact that I would be willing to sell out and abandon my ideals.
This price is far too great for me to pay, and as such I have opted to let my deadline for censorship of Lilith's Throne expire. Today, 8th March, at 5pm Pacific Standard Time, my page is scheduled to be locked and later deleted by a loyal member of one of Patreon's "Trust & Safety" division.
In the context of this being nothing more than an obscure adult game in amongst the vast sea of information we love, hate, and know as the internet, I appreciate the fact that my words may sound absurd, and some of you are no doubt of the mind to cry out "Oh, what pitiful stuff" and dismiss them as the result of mere passing passion. Regardless of how you choose to take them, know that my words are written in complete sincerity, and that I would choose to withdraw and finish my game at a slower pace with no support than to be a party to the censorship of literary works.
Please also know that I have not been frivolous with your financial support, and, fearing that this day might come, I have saved enough to allow me to continue full-time work on Lilith's Throne for several months yet. After receiving Patreon's ultimatum, I have also established correspondence with the support team over at their competing service, "SubscribeStar", and all signs of Lilith's Throne being accepted on their platform seem promising so far, so if you were interested in supporting me elsewhere, look out for an announcement on my blog/discord regarding that. (Which will hopefully be within the next few weeks.) Please do note that this is not the end of Lilith's Throne, but merely the end of its Patreon page.
Once more I wish to express my thanks for your support from the bottom of my heart, and I will always fondly remember the kind messages, comments, and feedback that you posted here. I also apologise for the suddenness of this message (what would a message from me be without an apology?), but I only received the 5pm deadline a couple of hours ago.
I have been, and shall always remain, faithfully yours,
Innoxia
P.S. You will always be able to find me on my blog (https://lilithsthrone.blogspot.com/), or on the Lilith's Throne discord (https://discordapp.com/invite/nDRvMXH). I can also be reached at innoxia7@gmail.com if you would like to correspond by email (although be warned that I am sometimes slow to respond on there). For those of you who are, or were, Legendary or Epic supporters, and who do not yet have their name in the credits, please do send me an email to the aforementioned address, letting me know of your Patreon name, along with what name you'd like me to use in the game's credits.
As I say in the message above, thanks to the past support of patrons, development of Lilith's Throne will continue as normal for at least the next 6 months. If I am unable to get onto an alternative support platform in that time, development will still continue, but at a slower pace due to inevitable new work commitments. No matter what, I will complete development of this game.
I will post an announcement here on the blog, as well as over on discord, when I have any news regarding a new support platform. Hopefully that will be within the next few weeks.
P.S. I am still planning on making another post regarding this week's progress before I sleep.