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My motivation seems to be a bit different than most people here. This is my first foray into add-on development, and since I was so hyped for ESO I figured I'd invest in more ways than just the usual, and started on my first add-on during the beta weekends.
I managed to get my first version up of my first add-on on the last beta weekend before early access, and, as a first time developer, I was shocked/humbled/excited by my ~500 downloads that I managed to get before early access. That, along with the feedback and climbing favorites number, showed me that people were enjoying what I did. So I kept working on it, refining my add-on and my knowledge and stuff. My numbers kept climbing. Someone asked if I had a donation button, so I added one.
Had a couple more ideas and suggestions, and made those. More success. My stuff is way more successful than I ever would have anticipated as a first-time add-on developer, but I think what really drives me is knowing that people really like my work. On one hand you can say it fuels my pride, on the other you could say it fuels my passion for creating things that people happy and dreams of being in game development in general. It could also be my relative newbieness in the world of add-on development.
It's kinda funny, though. I'm maintaining my subscription to this game not to play it, but to maintain my work. I haven't played in over a month now.
As for donations; I ask for them but I don't *need* them. Think about it this way: there are many personalities in the world. People love in different ways, hate in different ways, and even appreciate in different ways. Sometimes, the way people want to show their appreciation is by giving money. Maybe I'm taking advantage of that just a little bit, but would you decline if someone offered to buy you a beer after helping them with yardwork, even if you love yardwork? And yes, I've made some money on donations. Nothing really significant, but not trivial either.
TL;DR: I do it for the feeling of knowing that what I do is making people happy, if even on a small scale. And because it's a reach into my dreams of being a game dev. And monetary donations do happen.
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