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It’s a shame what’s happened to the original creators of Wayside Creations. It seems that the company itself is having some internal problems, stemming from what appears to be investor fraud. To my understanding, the company had a Kickstarter to fund one of their projects, and the money has since vanished without a trace. The original creators of Wayside claim to have requested the Bank and Accounting records multiple times, but to no avail, despite being, at the time of requests, shareholders with legal right to see the records. There are rumors running about that Geek and Sundry, a company that characters such as Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day are connected to, have something to do with this fraud. Yet according to the original creators themselves, G&S didn’t come in until the shady business was over and done, meaning the odds of them being connected is pretty low.

An image from the creator’s series Fallout: Nuka Break.

According to one Wayside Creator, Becca Hardy, she wrote a “feature-length script” for the Legend of Grimrock, “based on Chris Avellone’s treatment”, and was told there was no money left to pay her, and that she’d have to wait for a budget. The original creators have no idea where that money has gone, as whatever went on behind their back was never brought up to them, and they were at no time given a choice in the matter. Tales from the Wasteland proceeded to move on without any of them, and their company isn’t what it used to be. Instead of suing, the creators have made the decision to drop all shares in the company, relinquishing them completely, and avoiding the stresses of the courtroom and a lose/lose scenario, as pursuing the legal route may very well shut down the series entirely, at which point, there are no winners.

One of the Kickstarter campaigns started by Wayside Creations.

This is a very unfortunate event, and my heart goes out to them. These terrible practices are beyond forgivable, and the practitioners should face legal punishment. However, I do understand the creators’ decision to walk away, and while I am the type of person to fight this to the death, I also can see the wisdom in this choice. They don’t want to see their creation fall apart, especially by their own hands, and I support their decision, though it may not have been mine. The creators were cheated, and just as important. The investors on Kickstarter have been cheated as well. Scrolling through the comments on the Legend of Grimrock Kickstarter, I can see people are not happy, and for a good reason. I believe the backers are in the right to ask and receive a refund.

legend of grimrock the series kickstarter

Hey, you know what they say: “The customer’s always right.”

These creators seem to have lost control of what was literally their company. They are no longer contacted by the company, for reasons possibly related to asking what happened to the money. It’s despicable. This isn’t how you run a business and whoever is behind these tactics should be ashamed. My only hope is that these creators find some closure and end up advancing their careers.

Source:
Gameranx
Wayside creations

Credit:
Robin Ek – Editor

***Disclaimer***
This is a personal opinion of the writer, and it doesn’t necessarily represent the other writers’ (nor The Gaming Ground’s) opinions.

***Disclosure***
I do not claim to know much about Wayside Creators before the controversy as I am not a fan of their work.