The idea behind GoFundMe was that people fund me as a person instead of the game. The funding goal would be lower and people wouldn't get any direct rewards, the game would be free for everyone and that's it.

Deciding if the advice is good or bad is up to you. But you need to think about some critical questions:

What is your goal? Are you trying to run a business? Are you trying to launch a hobby project? Are you intending to get money as payment? Are you looking for sponsors and gifts? Are you giving this to the public?

Also, why are you doing it? Why are you trying to market it? Merely posting something to a video sharing platform is unlikely to yield many sales, it is a single step in what is typically a much larger marketing plan.

From the description of the advice, you're looking to publish a story about development, but not do actual marketing tasks on the story. It looks like the advice is also not about marketing the game itself, merely to post and hope that viral marketing magically happens. (Hint: it won't.) Then the advice was to not make money from the product, somehow this would “lose sales” even though you aren't actually selling anything. The only way I see this making sense is if you're planning on doing it as a personal hobby with no intention of anyone seeing it. Perhaps some friends or family members might happen to see it, but in no way will this plan be a commercial success.

If your goal is a personal project that will cost you a bunch of money and time, will never see a dime except perhaps from your mother or a generous friend (the same kind of person who would give you $20 because you looked down on your luck) then you're on the right path.

If your goal is to create a successful business venture, you need to dump your advisor and go get advisors who have successfully launched small businesses. Even better if they've successfully launched software businesses. And better still if that software business was in games. That business-minded advisor will explain that nearly everything you do must simultaneously create value, build the business, and lead to more business. Initially that means asking questions like how you can double your revenue every day, or double your exposure, and later how you can boost it by 50% that day, until you are making a steady profit. Creating products is creating value, marketing is about sharing the value, and those who pay you enable you to create additional value. They'll be asking questions about market research, identifying market opportunities, developing ways to incrementally promote and market, to continuously develop feedback that aren't about what people say they want, but to actually identify their real needs and real value and the things they really will pay money for.

frob said:
What is your goal? Are you trying to run a business?

Yes.

frob said:
From the description of the advice, you're looking to publish a story about development, but not do actual marketing tasks on the story. It looks like the advice is also not about marketing the game itself, merely to post and hope that viral marketing magically happens.

Yes, that's what he suggested. Simply telling the story on TikTok. (And the rest with GoFundMe and the free game.)

frob said:
Then the advice was to not make money from the product, somehow this would “lose sales” even though you aren't actually selling anything.

Compared to an actual marketing plan it would probably lose sales. Many people who play the game for free would have bought it anyway. But they obviously won't buy it when it's free.

frob said:
The only way I see this making sense is if you're planning on doing it as a personal hobby with no intention of anyone seeing it. Perhaps some friends or family members might happen to see it, but in no way will this plan be a commercial success.

That would be a very expensive hobby, it already cost me at least $100,000.

frob said:
If your goal is to create a successful business venture, you need to dump your advisor and go get advisors who have successfully launched small businesses.

The thing is, he apparently has launched small software businesses. But that was 30 years ago, in 1990. From his profile it seems he wasn't CEO of any company after 2010. A lot has changed since then, the Internet wasn't that much of a thing until around 2005.

On top of that the businesses are targeting business customers, not consumers. Things like managing a car fleet, simple printing for multiple people in an office, etc.

frob said:
Creating products is creating value, marketing is about sharing the value, and those who pay you enable you to create additional value.

You seem to know a lot, can't you advice me?

@undefined I meant more detailed ? And why are you undefined?

I'll give advice occasionally as one of many people on the forums, but no, I have neither the time nor inclination to do more than that right now.

Since you're already in this to a sum of 100K, you really need to get someone skilled and experienced. There have been many small successful projects that have launched with that kind of budget you've already spent.

Another little tidbit: Usually development costs (including time costs) represent about 1/3 of professional projects. Marketing represents another 1/3. Other costs for business administration, support, governmental stuff, etc., account for the other third. So if you've got a 100K budget on development, you could plan the total costs at around 300K. If you volunteered your time, consider equal that time or equivalent wages as well.