This is a rant.
You have been warned.
About a year and a half ago, having worked on an original card game for some time and even having gotten demo copies printed at a local digital printer, I started trying to get the game printed in volume for actual sale in game stores. I contacted a web-based consolidator/game store, who directed me to a POD service. It turned out, as we negotated and I waited for them to get their act together (should have been a clue) that they weren't going to be able to print card games on demand after all, but they would be happy to handle getting the game printed in China and shipped to the distributor. I'd looked into doing this myself in the past, and it generally involves having to deal with seaports and customs and stuff like that, so I thought, ok. And the price seemed within what I thought should be reasonable.
Then, of course, things started to go wrong. Lots of little delays. I don't actually suspect fraud... just incompetence. And by the time I asked for a refund, having foolishly paid up front, the business was going under and there wasn't money to pay me back with.
Over the next couple of months, accusations and fingerpointing between the printer and the consolidator who had recommended him got quite interesting,
and after filing a complaint with the BBB (and threatening to take legal action) I did get some of the money back-- less than half.
Last fall the printer informed me that he was being bought out, and would be able to pay me back as soon as the financing was completed.
Anyone read the news lately? Unsurprisingly, I haven't heard from him since. No response to emails, phone disconnected... but his website's still up!
I rummaged around on Google for a while, but couldn't find enough info to track the guy down. Finally I used the phone directory assistance, and got someone with the same first initial and last name in the town the business was listed in. I got an answer, but the incoherent person was only able to tell me that the person I wanted would be back in about an hour. (He sounded like he'd started a bit early on the Zany Carters, or perhaps he'd simply been up all night enjoying said substances.)
I just got a call back from that number. The guy on the phone had the same last name, all right, but a different first name, and had never heard of the guy I wanted.
Now it's getting to be tax time, and I sure would like to know if this guy has filed for bankruptcy or what. I had come up with a plan for him to work off what he owes me by programming an online version of the game in Flash (which it says he does on his oh-so-helpful website), which could actually make both of us some money, but that does no good if he's unreachable.
Alright. My rant is done.
Anyone out there want to work on a project with me using Flash or Java? The game is designed, graphics done, the software spec is written. But I don't have any money to pay with up-front.
Otherwise, maybe I'll try writing it this summer. (I can code, just really slowly.)
Thanks for listening/reading.