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[Chocky]

Hey. The programming company I work for has said that I'm not allowed to make freeware games in my own time and upload them to the Internet. I was told in the interview it was okay but things have changed now.

I'm creating games under this pseudonym because I still want to make them. I don't have the money or skills for another job like this yet. And I would love to make money from developing my own indie games.

Do you think I'm stupid? Would you do this?

[Capntastic]

If your name isn't on the building then what you do in your free time is morally fine

Of course, you already signed the contract, so don't get caught

[Fat Pug Studio]

If you've got a family to feed, don't screw around.

[Bad_Dude 2017]

fuck your company
i hope they make some sort of security/engineering/other services software, if its startup, theyre just fucked.

[ProgramGamer]

Coitus with corporate entities is strictly prohibited. You have to invite them to dinner first.

[Oskuro]

First things first: Ask a lawyer about your contract and what it implies

Now, I see you might be in one of the following situations:

• You signed a non-compete agreement/clause that specifically considers any software development on your part to be in violation: Again, check with a lawyer, but if this is the case, you might be screwed. Publishing under a pseudonym will only get you in trouble if they ever find you out.
• Your signed a non-compete agreement that only specifically mentions software development in the same area as your company: First, check with a lawyer (yes, I will insist on this), then this might be a case of the company overstepping the bounds of the contract, and you might be in the clear.
• You signed a vaguely worded non-compete agreement that could be interpreted either way: Yes, get some lawyer-time, and this might be the most important case to get lawyered up about, as it will boil down to interpretation. You might be screwed anyway, as a company willing  to fight this issue has the resources to see it through.
• You signed no non-compete agreement at all: After checking with a lawyer (not giving this up), this would clearly be the company being in the wrong, specially if there was a verbal agreement beforehand stating you could develop games on your own time.
• You are developing your games on your free time... On the company's premises, using their equipment: A Lawyer will probably tell you you're screwed, as anything developed using the company tools is, generally, understood to belong to them. So stop doing that and develop games at home.

Keep in mind that you're the one in the most vulnerable position here, and doing things that violate your contract could land you in pretty serious trouble down the line.

Picture this, if by any chance you release something that gains traction with an audience, and make a game development career out of it, you company could show up somewhere down the line suing you because the beginning of said career was in violation of a contract with them.

If they are set to make a profit out of this, they will do it, and yes, stuff like this has happened before.

Learn to protect yourself from legal trouble. Ask a lawyer.

[eyeliner]

The programming company I work for has said that I'm not allowed to make freeware games in my own time and upload them to the Internet. I was told in the interview it was okay but things have changed now.

Did you sign anything about this shit in your contract? If you did, you better stop, or else you can expect to be shafted if you get caught (though if you make freeware trite like most of us do, there should be no problem).

What company is that, anyway? I wanna hate them because of that alone.

[Geoff Moore]

What company is that, anyway? I wanna hate them because of that alone.

OP probably shouldn't reveal that for obvious reasons. 

[Chocky]

I don't want to say what my company is. I just want to upload freeware games and practise my game design skills until I'm ready to try bigger things.

I thought more people would be in the same situation as me. The more experience developers at my work said this is normal.

[ProgramGamer]

Ok, so I found this a while ago, and I thought it might be useful in this situation.

https://www.quora.com/Can-someone-work-on-side-projects-while-at-a-software-company

[Chocky]

Ok, so I found this a while ago, and I thought it might be useful in this situation.

https://www.quora.com/Can-someone-work-on-side-projects-while-at-a-software-company

My contract says they own all my ideas in and out of work. I don't think there's much I can do unless I get legal advice and it seems at the moment to just stay quiet and keep doing this.

[Zorg]

As long as you are doing your work, free time should be up to you? Except you are doing something in your free time which is interfering with the work you are paid for (contradicting the goals of the company).

Is your company programming games, too?

[ProgramGamer]

What you should be doing if you want to make games outside of work is to negotiate a better contract with your work. That, or stop development outside of work altogether until you find better employment. This isn't legal advice, just telling you not to take unnecessary risks.

[Chocky]

As long as you are doing your work, free time should be up to you? Except you are doing something in your free time which is interfering with the work you are paid for (contradicting the goals of the company).

Is your company programming games, too?

They are for small games. But the restriction is for working on anything to do with programming.

What you should be doing if you want to make games outside of work is to negotiate a better contract with your work. That, or stop development outside of work altogether until you find better employment. This isn't legal advice, just telling you not to take unnecessary risks.

I did try to discuss it but it was just a blanket no to everything I was saying. Maybe I could speak to the top boss man as it's a smallish company and say that I am not happy with it.

[DireLogomachist]

This policy feels kinda common honestly - a standard non-compete. Perhaps a little too restrictive but enforcement is probably nonexistent. It may look harsh but in reality they don't care about your freeware games made on your own time. Every programmer has side projects and many contribute to open-source ones. They just want to make sure you don't try to found some startup with a killer app while still on their payroll.

I wouldn't worry about it.