next »

[SeiferTim]

I didn't see another topic on the subject, so I thought I would make one to ask this:
The game that I'm working on is Browser-based, requiring people to register, and log-in to play.
I would really like to keep it a free game, while at the same time, keep ads off the site as much as possible - this means that I'm probably looking at some type of Donation system.  I would like to have it so that people can donate a few bucks and get some kind of bonus - access to a special forum, a special in-game reward item, something like that.
My question is this: can anyone give me some information, or point me towards some information regarding this method?  What do I need to be careful about - obviously, I have to be careful of what the donation money is spent on (no buying cars, houses, video games, etc with it, right?), but what can the donation money go towards?  How do I keep it legal with the government?

[Michaël Samyn]

We use Paypal for donations. It works quite well.

The legality depends on your country of residence. But in general, if this doesn't become a large stream of revenue, I wouldn't worry about it. Nobody will bother to find out.

As for what you use the money for: to buy you time to develop your game further, of course. Or develop other games. It's really funny that you think of asking for money without knowing what you're going to use it for -I wish I had that luxury.  :D

[SeiferTim]

We use Paypal for donations. It works quite well.

The legality depends on your country of residence. But in general, if this doesn't become a large stream of revenue, I wouldn't worry about it. Nobody will bother to find out.

As for what you use the money for: to buy you time to develop your game further, of course. Or develop other games. It's really funny that you think of asking for money without knowing what you're going to use it for -I wish I had that luxury.  :D

Well, I know in general that it would be going towards hosting, but say that my computer decided to burn out and die, or the artist's tablet stops working - would getting these things fixed/replaced be crossing a line?

[Alec]

90000 euros.

[TeeGee]

100000 euros!

Anybody gives more?

[Zaphos]

Well, I know in general that it would be going towards hosting, but say that my computer decided to burn out and die, or the artist's tablet stops working - would getting these things fixed/replaced be crossing a line?

I'm not a lawyer but unless you specifically say the donations are only for hosting, it's probably fine to use them for anything.  You're (probably) not a non-profit or anything, so donated money should still just be income I think.
I think most people don't get much from donations anyways, so it's not a real concern.

... but if you're worried about it, you'd have to ask a real lawyer or at least someone who knows what country you're in!

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

"obviously, I have to be careful of what the donation money is spent on (no buying cars, houses, video games, etc with it, right?), but what can the donation money go towards?  How do I keep it legal with the government?"

I don't really understand what you mean. Why couldn't you use donation money for anything you wanted to? A lot of games have something like 'donate 5$ to buy me a beer!' and people still donate and that's still legal.

[Guert]

If I remember well, donations count as personal income. Depending on your country and state/province, there are some tax lawas about this. For instance, some places allows you to have a certain amount of personal income without being taxed (Ex: if you get less than 5 000$ they don't tax you on it). It really depends on how you get that donation: it could be a donation straight to you (which could be concidered like a gift or something) or it could go through the hands of a company (yours). It's really hard to tell rigth now since I don't have alot of info on your situation.

The rule is simple: if you want this to be legal, you just have to make sure that A)You and the other party are not exchanging this money with illegal products or prostitution from your behalf (this wouldn't be a donation anyway) B)that you follow the taxing laws about personal income. Of course if you want to exchange this money afterward for illegal products or prostitution with another party, that's another story.

All in all, when people give you some money, you can do whatever the hell you want with it. If you say to people "Hey, gimme some cash so I can finish my game" and you spend this money on beer, well, your bound to make enemies but it's not illegal (altho they might end up doing somethign illegal to you). On the other hand, if you say "gimme some money so I can buy me a keg of beer" people won't mind. It's really more a moral/ethical thing.

Later!

[SeiferTim]

If I remember well, donations count as personal income. Depending on your country and state/province, there are some tax lawas about this. For instance, some places allows you to have a certain amount of personal income without being taxed (Ex: if you get less than 5 000$ they don't tax you on it). It really depends on how you get that donation: it could be a donation straight to you (which could be concidered like a gift or something) or it could go through the hands of a company (yours). It's really hard to tell rigth now since I don't have alot of info on your situation.

The rule is simple: if you want this to be legal, you just have to make sure that A)You and the other party are not exchanging this money with illegal products or prostitution from your behalf (this wouldn't be a donation anyway) B)that you follow the taxing laws about personal income. Of course if you want to exchange this money afterward for illegal products or prostitution with another party, that's another story.

All in all, when people give you some money, you can do whatever the hell you want with it. If you say to people "Hey, gimme some cash so I can finish my game" and you spend this money on beer, well, your bound to make enemies but it's not illegal (altho they might end up doing somethign illegal to you). On the other hand, if you say "gimme some money so I can buy me a keg of beer" people won't mind. It's really more a moral/ethical thing.

Later!

Thank you for the information, everyone, that really cleared it up.
I plan on using PayPal for the actual transactions, but I'll double check all Tax rules just before I actually implement any donation system.

[PHeMoX]

100000 euros!

Anybody gives more?

100001$ !

Seriously though, would be interesting to know though what the more realistic figure is. I suppose people like the guys behind Soldat could know sort of what we can expect from donations? I mean their game basically is free with a tiny limitation, so it's almost like donation-ware, right?

[team_q]

I know "The Toady One" Operates wholly on donations, then again, he writes personal ascii stories to people who donate a certain amount, and every time they donate the story continues. If you send a check in the mail to him, he might send you a crayon drawing of dwarves. He also has a "Champions of Bay 12" for people who donate a bunch of cash.