EDIT for new page:
What a mess.
So there's finally an update, and it's a happy one, fortunately:
EDIT: Wait what
What a mess.
So there's finally an update, and it's a happy one, fortunately:
EDIT: Wait what
I mean... I sort of get it? Sinoc seems kind of unbearable on twitter.
Yes, but also we don't know with this new developer infighting.
soooooo basically the musician and artist are being stingy and seized the assets from the game, continuing the IP hold in a new form? is that what I'm getting at? They could dump the ost and redo a new one I guess but how will the game exist if the artist is mad? isn't the art still owned by the dev? redoing the entire art would just basically lead to the game being dead. Then again it could be like Starr Mazer and they just continue on anyway despite attempts at dmcas or whatever happens
Nothing about that statement says "stingy" to me, just that they're sick of that guy being a jackass in public and no longer want their work associated with him.
A dispute between Sinoc and the two other people involved in the game, clearly Sinoc's messages in the past about this whole ordeal do not represent the sentiments of the rest of the team.Qwesta (@Qwesta6) Tweeted: PLEASE do not buy Devil Engine or Devil Engine's OST on Steam, I, nor any of my other collaborators aside from Sinoc are seeing any of that money.
https://twitter.com/Qwesta6/status/1349006676603580423?s=20
So whats happening here?
This is pretty much where I'm at. Dangen's side always seemed jacked up but Sinoc never seemed to be a reasonable person or even truly seeking resolution. How unfortunate.I mean... I sort of get it? Sinoc seems kind of unbearable on twitter.
A dispute between Sinoc and the two other people involved in the game, clearly Sinoc's messages in the past about this whole ordeal do not represent the sentiments of the rest of the team.
I'm not sure how much I'm comfortable saying publicly but basically the entire team save for Sinoc got exhausted with his impatience with the Dangen situation. We had several deals lined up to close things out with Dangen and move on with new publishers, but essentially Sinoc began lying to press/industry people behind our back repeatedly. At first it was mostly highly exaggerated versions of our grievances against Dangen, then it became outright horrible slander towards other developers he deemed his enemies. He began posting my private information and claiming I was his lawyer or told him that doing xyz things was okay.
While I understood his anger, the way he chose to continue lashing that anger out publicly was beginning to be impossible to work with. By this I mean his methods were counter productive, in violation of any of the contracts I was trying to negotiate, and potentially harmful for the team's reputation as a whole. He was no longer someone I felt comfortable helping for nearly free. I was offered essentially any price I wanted in order to continue managing the situation, but money had never been my concern. He was supposed to be a dear friend I was helping out of a sticky situation, but it became clear how little he valued us as people beyond what we could do for him.
We repeatedly told him to stop posting that kind of stuff in private over the first half of 2020 but it became clear he had no intention to stop and no remorse for the trouble it caused. He used his mental health as an excuse and I had great sympathy for that until I realized he was essentially determined to continue to throw a tantrum for as long as he didn't get exactly his way on exactly his schedule.
Finally we gave him an ultimatum regarding his habit of posting NDA/private info/lies/insults in public on Twitter/4chan. He kept thinking if he deleted it after getting caught it'd be no big deal. We told him we'd quit if he did that one more time. He tried to post my private emails on 4chan less than 24 hours after this. So, we all officially quit.
Sinoc tried to give up access to the official Protoculture Twitter account as a way of proving that he was really actually definitely sorry this time, to try and keep the team working on their next project. But after 6+ months constantly begging him to stop causing trouble, and even less than 24 hours later reposting the exact same private email alongside some insults about another developer, we just couldn't really deal with it anymore.
I referred a lawyer to Sinoc and I tried to maintain contact between us and the lawyer in order to close the situation out gracefully. But after months of negotiations it became apparent Sinoc was going around telling people I'd stolen his money and that he was planning on tricking the artist and musician into signing a contract that would cut them off from further royalties.
We tried discussing it with the lawyer and he suddenly claimed that they had the right to sell the team's work without their permission. Which begs the question why was he even speaking to us for months about acquiring our consent lol.
So that's sort of the rough overview of what's happening there. Obviously everyone involved finds it all to be very unpleasant. For me I feel really ashamed to have enabled and defended Sinoc's behavior in the past but haven't had the good health to really involve myself much more.
I only wrote about things I personally witnessed or had concrete evidence regarding Dangen's actions, so I stand by what I wrote regarding them. However, I've deeply regret trying to defend Sinoc for roughly a year now. I truly didn't think he would turn around and slander us after all of the effort and support we put into supporting not just Devil Engine as a project but him as our personal friend.
But, I was wrong to defend his behavior, so I wanted to say as much and apologize for that now. I wish Devil Engine Ignition could've come out with everybody happy, but I don't foresee that happening.
The artist, musician, and I have all moved on to other projects/pursuits and don't really want to manage Sinoc's tantrums any longer. That may be harsh/unprofessional to admit but personally I feel like I've lost years of my life solely due to the stress of constantly managing his outbursts, so my patience has worn very thin on the subject. I hope Sinoc just purchases new assets and moves on as well.
So, looks like the game is up on Steam once again.
Are the assets new or the same? Would be nice to know if things are actually resolved, everyone's getting paid their share, or what?