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DaWojinator
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« on: January 17, 2012, 11:11:06 AM » |
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So I've found someone to hire for work on my game, but I don't have much experience writing contracts. That being said, I wrote a contract, and was wondering if you guys could tell me what you think. I'm not gonna go crazy looking for loopholes or flaws, but I don't want someone telling me later on that it's not a valid contract. That being said, here is the censored version of the contract: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/26300675/Game%20Contract%20Draft%20Public.docx |
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turgoz
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« Reply #1 on: January 17, 2012, 08:22:33 PM » |
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Something is better than nothing but I think you could do more here. For instance, you don't talk about Non-disclosure. You don't talk about who actually OWNS any of the work. Also you kind of have Scope of Work mixed in with other aspects of the contract. You should be *much* more thorough to provide a list of responsibilities they might have. You might want to define what "the game" is too. For instance, if you release a new version of the game on iPhone, when it was originally a PC game, does that count? What if he didn't do any of the work to get it on the iPhone? What about the end of the contract where "The provider must sign" etc... You don't actually say what the terms are. You should just agree to them before hand.
Contracts are the most useful when setting expectations for a relationship and when relationships fail; kinda like breaking up with a spouse. It is rare that anyone is in the mood to do anything but stick it to the other if you're getting a divorce.
Depending on your budget you should probably head over to Tom Buscaglia's website (thegameattorney) and purchase his indie game dev contract package 300 dollars. He has the most relevant set of contracts I've seen so far.
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DaWojinator
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« Reply #2 on: January 18, 2012, 07:05:50 PM » |
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Thanks for the reply, that's some important stuff I messed up on there. As much as I'd like to get a lawyer to do this stuff, me and the people I'm working with are in this to build a portfolio, and as such have no budget. I just wanted to make sure that whatever money this game does make (whether it be $0 or $1,000,000) is sorted out.
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Vino
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« Reply #3 on: January 20, 2012, 04:25:28 PM » |
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How should contracts be handled?
With a lawyer. If you're serious about making games for profit, save up some money and hire a good lawyer. |
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Craig Stern
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« Reply #4 on: January 21, 2012, 12:47:27 PM » |
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How should contracts be handled?
With a lawyer. This. |
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DaWojinator
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« Reply #5 on: January 21, 2012, 01:49:40 PM » |
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Gotcha. I suppose I'll have to get a budget before I can put together any real projects, then.
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Vino
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« Reply #6 on: January 21, 2012, 07:10:44 PM » |
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You have other options.
A) Don't expect to make money. If money is not involved then that reduces the need for contracts. If your project is wildly successful then you can go back and think about monetizing it, and then you can afford a lawyer.
B) Do it yourself. Find a way to make your game that doesn't require help from others. No contractors, no contracts. No contracts, no lawyers. Games are easier to make than ever these days, there are lots of packages (GameMaker, UDK, Stencyl, etc) that require no programming experience. Once it's released, if it makes money, then you can afford a lawyer.
Focus on making an amazing game. Don't worry about the legal mumbo jumbo, it's only a distraction.
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DaWojinator
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« Reply #7 on: January 21, 2012, 07:44:24 PM » |
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lol at not needing to program, I AM the programmer. I wish I had the patience to sit down and modify each and every pixel like some people did. I may join a team, but the issue is that while I can learn pretty much anything, people are interested in what you already can program in, and the only "professional" programming experience I have is in c++ allegro, while the rest of my experiences lie within Flash AS3 and GML as far as games is concerned. (I know Java, but never programmed in it)
In other words...
Making my own game seems to be the best route right now, but I'm no spriter or composer.
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Vino
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« Reply #8 on: January 21, 2012, 09:54:43 PM » |
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Oh. Well the same thing applies if you are a programmer and you need an artist. Minecraft was made without an artist. So was VVVVVV. Also a bunch of other games I can't be bothered to think of right now. You can do it too.
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DaWojinator
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« Reply #9 on: January 22, 2012, 12:16:36 AM » |
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True, I suppose. Well, in the end, I revised the contract and signed it with an artist. Dangerous though it may be, I don't expect to make much money, and it can always be overridden by a contract written by a lawyer in the case the game is somehow a hit?
At any rate, being the restless programmer that I am I'll probably take your advice and program something of a smaller scale on the side to release for free and see how people like my ideas.
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Developer
