Q: Game designer stuck in a bad contract with a scammer who refuses to produce my games.
My contract stipulates that he has the rights to two of my games, and my next few. I've given him the games I'm required to, and he is optioning them (they will never be produced). The second game he has rights to is for a vague idea for a game that was never finished (he never provided the promised timeline). Would I be putting myself at risk for publishing a game with similar themes/mechanics as the unfinished second game? Name and most of the actual gameplay would be different, but overall theme would be similar. Obviously I don't want this scammer to get a hold of it, as it will never be produced, and he'll take a huge portion of the profit if I do all the work to get it out there.
This person seems psychologically disturbed and sends vaguely threatening emails every few months, and I'm not sure what to make of him. But based on a cursory Justia search, he's being sued by multiple other designers at the moment.
A: You need to consult with an attorney to review your contract to understand your risks and options.
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