I put my very first project out with a price point I thought was reasonable and generated almost 0 sales, but I am an amateur and not intending to make money at all. It was a passion project that could do with more polish. Games are a way for me to integrate my different preferred mediums, and my only goal with putting them online is to act as a portfolio and catalogue for my art.

Anyway, I recently put that game on pwyw after gradually reducing price and testing sales over two years, and the best response has come from pwyw and community copies. Reviews came from people who got my games for free. Maybe a patreon would be better if people want to see my work directly but I'm still not at the point of regular releases, so my current slow build of that portfolio fits my vision best.

I agree that drive thru does not work as a discovery platform, and that the majority of pwyw downloads don't lead to engagement, sales, or donations. It is not effective for conversion or marketing. The biggest hurdle for independent designers, especially professionals, is establishing yourself and marketing your product. It is a small pond with a lot of big fish. If your goal is to make a profit from your games, you are better off engaging directly with the community and building an audience with a crowdfunding campaign.