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Crowdfunded game "Ant Simulator" cancelled

E

Enter the Dragon Punch

Banned
first off, here's the kickstarter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IWl29BNawg

- refund offers will be going out
- both the kickstarter money and his personal investment money were spent on liquor, restaurants, bars, and strippers (his business partners behind his back, not him)
- doesn't want his career associated with him
- business partners will sue him if he releases the game without them, and he signed an LLC so he can't get out of it
- he was the programmer, and has cancelled the game
- still going to develop games, keep youtube channel

secondly, here's the kickstarter.
wasn't entirely only for ant simulator, but it was popular enough that they (he) kept working on it.
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...tutorials-make-your-first-video-g/description

last, here's some gameplay from the alpha prior to the beta being cancelled two months ago. it looked fun! like... sim ant in first person!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBSe2r7a30g

...that about sums it up.

and holy shit, does that fucking suck.
 
sakipon

sakipon

Member
Sounds like the usual story. This is why plenty of people end up doing as much as possible by themselves even if it's hard. There's always some leech pretending to be a friend but only interested in draining your money and fame.
 
H

Huw_Dawson

Member
If his business partner(s) were fraudulently using company money for personal gain, I can't see why there isn't a lawsuit possible.
 
J

Justinh

Member
Wow, that's incredibly...shitty.

I feel sorry for the guy and hopefully things work out for him in the future (and he finds better friends).
 
SRTtoZ

SRTtoZ

Member
Jazz573 said:
What is this? A Kickstarter for ants?! :p
Click to expand...

Zoolander-Movie-GIFs.jpg
 
poodaddy

poodaddy

Member
In all honestly, you gotta know someone pretty well to decide to go into business with them. You're telling me this dude had no idea these dicks would do this type of thing? All parties are at fault here. His partners are dick cheese for sure, but he should choose his company better.
 
N

neonglow

Member
poodaddy said:
In all honestly, you gotta know someone pretty well to decide to go into business with them. You're telling me this dude had no idea these dicks would do this type of thing? All parties are at fault here. His partners are dick cheese for sure, but he should choose his company better.
Click to expand...

He says they were his friends for 11 years. Pretty disappointing to have your closest friends betray your trust like this and threaten to sue you.
 
P

perorist

Unconfirmed Member
Listening to that video made me angry for him. Hope this incident follows his partners and they never find work again.
 
A

Alienfan

Member
The refunding speaks volume to his character, he could have easily let $4000 just vanish and not refund anyone - I doubt anyone aside from the 149 backers would have cared. Or alternatively he could've blamed it on the business partners and left it at that. I wish his future all the best, he's clearly very passionate and caring, you can't help but root for the guy!
 
poodaddy

poodaddy

Member
neonglow said:
He says they were his friends for 11 years. Pretty disappointing to have your closest friends betray your trust like this and threaten to sue you.
Click to expand...

Jesus Christ! What the hell man, how did they just transform like that? It seems too weird. I give the guy credit though man, he's handling things right. Fuck his friends with spiked chair legs though. Hope this fucks with their future investment prospects big time.
 
K

knkng

Member
Jazz573 said:
He signed a contract.
Click to expand...

The LLC contract? That would mean that the game and related materials belong to the company, hence why he can't release it. I'm not sure how that would negate any action against partners in the company misappropriating funds (aka stealing from the company).

But honestly, I'm not too familiar with the operations of an LLC. I know it's different from a corporation in some way, but surely the owners can't just use it as a personal ATM machine?
 
nkarafo

nkarafo

Member
Can someone post a small paragraph of what happened? I can't figure out how he got scammed exactly.
 
J

Justinh

Member
nkarafo said:
Can someone post a small paragraph of what happened? I can't figure out how he got scammed exactly.
Click to expand...

Well, in addition to the stuff in OP, there was this comment that he wrote on the video page.

ETeeskiTutorials said:
A lot of people are telling me to seek legal advice. I have.
The problem is that these guys covered their asses in the contract. They'll say the drinks were for business meetings, and they have the paperwork/minutes to prove they had meetings (even though I know they were bullshit meetings).

They went over the contract line by line with me and I reviewed the whole thing twice. I just didn't realize they had protected themselves, screwed me (like the fact that they listed themselves as consultants, so they aren't legally obligated to work on anything, but still have the rights to spend money ect.), and I had no idea what their plan was until it was too late.

I could try to sue them, yes. The problem is that the most likely outcome is that things will end up more or less the same as they are now.
The only difference is that I would have wasted a lot of time and money on court and lawyer fees. Cutting ties with them is just faster, simpler, and safer.

Besides, I'm really damn good at making games. I will make other games. They won't. And thank you everyone tremendously for you support! It helps out so much to see everyone's comments of support.

I've been in a really dark place for over two months because of this, you all have really made a difference for me. I was afraid to go public with this information, but it's really good to be able to talk with everyone here again.
Click to expand...

perorist said:
These guys

http://www.eteeski.com/
Click to expand...

Uggggh, those sloppy tie knots...
and is that a black suit?!
 
S

SeanTSC

Member
Justinh said:
Well, in addition to the stuff in OP, there was this comment that he wrote on the video page.
Click to expand...

Has he or can he at least out who the partners that fucked him were so hopefully no one else gets tricked by them? Or are their identities legally protected somehow?
 
J

Jiraiza

Member
One of those times where I wish I was stupidly rich so I could extend a helping, financial hand to the guy.

Uh, probably.
 
H

hydragonwarrior

Member
Are there a list of names of the guys who screwed him over? I will make it a personal note not to purchase any games even remotely supported or accredited to these vile creatures.

Edit: Just saw the link above - thx perorist
 
Z

ZeroX03

Banned
He should've known something was up when his business partner looked exactly like Patrick Bateman.

I feel for bad him.
 
R

Rembrandt

Banned
knkng said:
The LLC contract? That would mean that the game and related materials belong to the company, hence why he can't release it. I'm not sure how that would negate any action against partners in the company misappropriating funds (aka stealing from the company).

But honestly, I'm not too familiar with the operations of an LLC. I know it's different from a corporation in some way, but surely the owners can't just use it as a personal ATM machine?
Click to expand...

I don't see why he couldn't still sue them for fraud or embezzlement. Might depending on his ownership of the company, but even then. he should definitely talk to a lawyer.

perorist said:
These guys

http://www.eteeski.com/
Click to expand...

Seems like a website that might disappear in the coming hours.
 
K

knkng

Member
ETeeskiTutorials said:
A lot of people are telling me to seek legal advice. I have.
The problem is that these guys covered their asses in the contract. They'll say the drinks were for business meetings, and they have the paperwork/minutes to prove they had meetings (even though I know they were bullshit meetings).

They went over the contract line by line with me and I reviewed the whole thing twice. I just didn't realize they had protected themselves, screwed me (like the fact that they listed themselves as consultants, so they aren't legally obligated to work on anything, but still have the rights to spend money ect.), and I had no idea what their plan was until it was too late.

I could try to sue them, yes. The problem is that the most likely outcome is that things will end up more or less the same as they are now.
The only difference is that I would have wasted a lot of time and money on court and lawyer fees. Cutting ties with them is just faster, simpler, and safer.

Besides, I'm really damn good at making games. I will make other games. They won't. And thank you everyone tremendously for you support! It helps out so much to see everyone's comments of support.

I've been in a really dark place for over two months because of this, you all have really made a difference for me. I was afraid to go public with this information, but it's really good to be able to talk with everyone here again.
Click to expand...

God, why do people do this? Don't ever give up power in a business contract. At the very least they could have put the company funds into an account that requires authorization from all members. Have some kind of security for yourself.
 
R

Rocketz

Member
Rembrandt said:
I don't see why he couldn't still sue them for fraud or embezzlement. Might depending on his ownership of the company, but even then. he should definitely talk to a lawyer.
Click to expand...

Here is what he said on YouTube:

A lot of people are telling me to seek legal advice. I have. The problem is that these guys covered their asses in the contract. They'll say the drinks were for business meetings, and they have the paperwork/minutes to prove they had meetings (even though I know they were bullshit meetings). They went over the contract line by line with me and I reviewed the whole thing twice. I just didn't realize they had protected themselves, screwed me (like the fact that they listed themselves as consultants, so they aren't legally obligated to work on anything, but still have the rights to spend money ect.), and I had no idea what their plan was until it was too late.

I could try to sue them, yes. The problem is that the most likely outcome is that things will end up more or less the same as they are now. The only difference is that I would have wasted a lot of time and money on court and lawyer fees. Cutting ties with them is just faster, simpler, and safer. Besides, I'm really damn good at making games. I will make other games. They won't.
Click to expand...
 
S

SeanTSC

Member
I kinda wish this thread had a more descriptive title that included the scam happening. That'd help alert more people to those two disgusting guys. I kinda just clicked on this on a whim thinking "I wonder if this was like Sim Ant?".
 
H

Hedge

Member
This is crazy. Poor guy. I hope he gets a chance to rebrand his work and put distance between him and those two filthy people.
 
F

Foffy

Banned
Real talk here: can't they sue him for defamation of character by being this directly honest with the audience?

He's essentially calling them deviants and untrustworthy, which in an employee situation is burning their homes, more or less.
 
A

akira28

Member
lol, those guys look like douches. I bet he could post an ad on craigsfist, and someone would kick their asses for free.
 
K

knkng

Member
Foffy said:
Real talk here: can't they sue him for defamation of character by being this directly honest with the audience?

He's essentially calling them deviants and untrustworthy, which in an employee situation is burning their homes, more or less.
Click to expand...

If he has no proof that they actually spent it on booze and strippers specifically, and is just making an assumption, then yeah maybe. Like he said, they had full access to the company funds, and they have all the documentation to back up their spending, so it's probably best that he just walks away from this one.
 
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