Ballerium Re-cancelled

[Silencer]

Phat let us know that the game Ballerium, an Israeli MMOG which was supposed to get Interplay out of the rut, had again been cancelled, according to Gamasutra and a news post on the game's official site:<blockquote>Hi,

We're sorry to deliver this update that as for now we've come to a complete stop with regards to Ballerium.
Seems like Interplay had come into great difficulties realizing the contract with us.
Although we dearly hope that some day they (or anybody else) be able to re-ingnite the project, we're currently very passimistic regarding that.

We''ve received some interest from third parties that might want to license the technology and build their own gam with that, but it's really to soon to know if anything will actually grow of that.

We'd be pleased to deliver happier news, should we be able sometime.

Until then, thanks to all who have been with us.</blockquote>
New poll idea: 'Who didn't see that coming?'

 

[Silencer]

Odin||Kharn||Rosh||welsh - potentially move this to News, k? I wasn't sure if we wanted the coverage...

 

[Brother None]

Yeh, newsworthy.

 

[Ratty Sr.]

Ballerium cancelled? How did that happen?

 

[Corith]

What really annoys me to no end, is that instead of using the money he got from Bethesda to pay money that he owes, by law, to employees, Herve invested in Ballerium.

No offence to the people at Ballerium, but the game was not, in my opinion after 25 years in the game industry, going to be a big hit. The graphics were sub-par, and the game play did not appeal to a wide enough audience.

Its been a over a year, and I am still waiting for the thousands owed me for accrued, but unspent, vacation pay that Herve, according to California labor law, must to pay within 72 hours of my last day. Its been 8,688 hours past that window and I have yet to see a dime.

Kind of makes you wonder what other laws Herve, and his ilk, are willing and able to ignore.

 

[Per]

Kind of makes you wonder what other laws Herve, and his ilk, are willing and able to ignore.

S-something to do with natural preserves, maybe?

 

[Roshambo]

No offence to the people at Ballerium, but the game was not, in my opinion after 25 years in the game industry, going to be a big hit. The graphics were sub-par, and the game play did not appeal to a wide enough audience.

That is what kills me, really. There is nothing quite like selling "new technology"* by making it look like last decade's budget Warcraft clones.

*Debateable, really, with how spectacularly failing these chumps have been in design elsewise.

When warned about Interplay's track record, and the facts of the situation, all the Majorem folks would rather just grin while they were eating a shit sandwitch. It is a pity that "we were going to be published by Interplay" doesn't quite carry the selling weight it once did. Hopefully, now it will just raise a giant red warning flag to any publisher stupid enough to even remotely think of picking up this steaming load and the unscrupulous developers behind it.

We're unable to disclose the exact terms of agreement at this time, however I am able to say that at the moment there's a small but viable window of opportunity for this to happen.

Give us some credit and assume that Majorem is (and was) aware to Interplay's current position as discussed, however as explained we're interested in giving Interplay the chance to make use of this window of opportunity.

Well, there you have the exact reason, and that is why I don't care if this shit game is cancelled on this shit team, again. The development team obviously doesn't care about where said money came from or would be coming from (details about payments, anyone?), even if it means taking what should have been someone's rent money owed from months ago.

There goes your "viable window of opportunity", jackasses.

Now Majorem can die and rot for the jackals to chew on, thankfully before it manages to walk on the backs of even more people; the best part about this is their continued presence in the industry is further questionable with even a further soiled reputation.

That is double-plus karma paid back in full, in my book.

 

[The Bigs]

(...)There is nothing quite like selling "new technology"* by making it look like last decade's budget (...)

Last millenium, sounds funnier

By the way, has anyone gone to their forums to rub this on their faces? I remember some people posting warnings there when IPLY(E) announced it was going to support Ballerium

 

[4too]

Sympathy For The Devil

Sympathy For The Devil



Is there an MBA in the house?

Come on, all you clean cut , coat and tie, business majors out there, ...

Tell us what piratical ploys they teach you, in your covens of capitalism.


When the Permanent Republican Majority drops the Social Security Franchise into your tender hooks, will you milk it like all the other private pension pyramids,

or,

burn, rape , and pillage like your 'white collar' brother at Interplay?


I'm sure that a nation freezing in the dark will be for good character building.

Thanks for caring enough to lie.

Pirate.

Thief.




4too

 

[Roshambo]

(...)There is nothing quite like selling "new technology"* by making it look like last decade's budget (...)

Last millenium, sounds funnier

Good point.

By the way, has anyone gone to their forums to rub this on their faces? I remember some people posting warnings there when IPLY(E) announced it was going to support Ballerium

I really don't think anyone would have to, and I personally wouldn't, as it would be a waste of time. It wouldn't be the first time I've stood over a developer house's ashes and verbally pissed upon the remains. It wouldn't be any fun to waste my time, since the more mature and intelligent of their fans would have seen to what lengths the developers would do in order to sign on with someone - at the expense of those who have been owed thousands of dollars in back pay.

When told of the situation, Majorem just smiled and nodded, and told us they knew what they were doing. Disappointment, disenfranchisement, and shame will replace what the fans used to hold for the developers. Majorem has discredited itself more than I or anyone else ever could.

 

[Corith]

By the way, has anyone gone to their forums to rub this on their faces? I remember some people posting warnings there when IPLY(E) announced it was going to support Ballerium

I really don't think anyone would have to, and I personally wouldn't, as it would be a waste of time.

I am not so magnanimous. They were foolish for not listen to those who had first hand experience. They were foolish for not bothering to investigate what, or more importantly - who, they were getting into. They saw only money, plain and simple.

 

[Silencer]

Heh. I <3 how info moderated "partially inflamatory links" at their forum.

BTW there's something on that topic by ReMzy in the Fan Art section

 

[Roshambo]

Now for the latest bits from the realm of idiocy and making an empire from stabbing the backs of others:

p.s@Corith: it's not that majorem chose to work with interplay, it's that they had no choice, and it's always better to have a faint hope than no hope at all, majorem have not lot anything from that deal, because they would've just died sooner.

Oh, you're right. One development company, who was already looking towards a demise and slimming down their development staff to a skeleton crew of twits (who probably are working on the title as a second job) with an over-hyped and dated "MMORTS" (which has existed before Ballerium as well) vaporware project, is more suited to have money thrown at them than those who are trying to recover the money they are owed for silly things such as rent and food. Money owed from months ago.

Do yourself a favor and do not presume to speak about the industry from this point forward, cockroach.

so i see no point in your complaint. but its' been discussed many times before and is irrelevant at this time, so let's leave it here please.

Your idiocy doesn't do you any favors, and neither does your presumptive ignorance. Amusingly enough, info introduces the concept of software development to the poor child who REALLY DOES need to lick cold metal to see what would happen. Though, at this point, I'm still not even sure if the kid would get it after personal experience, so explaining in text with big "words" can probably be regarded as a waste of time.

Actually there's some interest in our technology by more than one party already.
So even if the game won't come out as ballerium, there's still chance that theer will be another MMORTS game using our technology, although it's too soon to know if this opportunity will finalize with any of those interested.

If things progress, though, they might want to setup servers for one round, to test the game.
If that would happen, we'll naturally let you know.

To put it plainly for the clannie trash:
They could have declined the publishing offer, which anyone smart enough to look at Interplay and what it used to be can put together,

Instead of being foolishly greedy and try to soak Interplay like BioWare for NWN for even more procrastinated development time, they could have helped some employees recover the wages they rightfully are owed by declining to deal with Herve, and then do the same thing they are looking into now. That wasn't "prolonging the project", that was "sucking the money not legally yours". Time to invest in a better, brighter lawyer to represent you in court as they investigate more of Herve's money-funneling (laundering?). See, the problem that makes this a bit more complicated is that Majorem developers admitted to knowing about the situation when they were warned.

That makes you culpable as an accessory, kids. Even if it never reaches to the point of court, your name in the game industry is likely going to be "mud". You signed onto a poor publisher that abuses their own employees, at the expense of said abused employees.

You really can't get any more sleazy than that.

 

[DarkUnderlord]

It's not really the role of a Majorem to ignore financing and instead somehow magically "force" Interplay to pay what it owes to other people. Seriously, Herve would've found another company / development house desperate to have cash thrown at it and he would've willingly obliged.

His theory is presumably along the lines of "If it works and the game is even a moderate hit, I can pay off all those outstanding debts!". Akin to anyone with a gambling problem. "I know I've lost $20,000 but if I just spend another few I'm *sure* I'll hit the jackpot".

You can't really fault Majorem for that. Seriously, you think Majorem are going to come out and say "Oh yeah, we suck, our game is dated and we should be shot. Please ignore us"? Though the game does look like shite etc... etc...

As for their name being mud, if the game was decent, someone would pick it up - regardless of any prior dealings. The caveat of course being "if the game was decent".

 

[Roshambo]

It's not really the role of a Majorem to ignore financing and instead somehow magically "force" Interplay to pay what it owes to other people.

Would I take money from someone who has no legal right to said money? If I do, knowingly, that makes me an accessory in laundering said money. Herve had a legal obligation to pay back employee responsibilities long before he pursued new business ventures. He still does.

That is simply Business Ethics 101, and also the law.

Seriously, Herve would've found another company / development house desperate to have cash thrown at it and he would've willingly obliged.

Too true, and there are enough desperate developers out there who will not care at whomever's expense their game is published, as long as it is published. I simply do not give a shit about those people, either.

You can't really fault Majorem for that. Seriously, you think Majorem are going to come out and say "Oh yeah, we suck, our game is dated and we should be shot. Please ignore us"? Though the game does look like shite etc... etc...

While I can't fauly Majorem for Herve's poor business ethics, greediness, crotch lice, and overall mental retardation, I can fault them for being unscrupulous jackasses who will knowingly take what is not rightfully theirs, has no right to be given to them, in order to further their own selfish gains. They obviously didn't care that those who were working for Herve were going unpaid (as if this wasn't a clue enough to not deal with him), as it gives them their "viable window of opportunity", without any care as to whom really pays for their "opportunity". Seriously, all the fuckers cared about was money coming towards their direction, as obviously little else mattered.

I suppose they also kind of figured the same thing as the Fraudulent Frenchman; they don't live natively to the USA and therefore wouldn't be held accountable to fraud committed in the USA.

I end with this:

i cant belive you all are giving up on the game i can see 1000 ways to keep this project runing i dont understand you guys have a great game and i mean one of the best games i played (and i played like 300) so you got a good game youo should do anything you can to keep it a live even if it means to ask all your fans for a donations and if you have problem with this look at it as a loan and keep record and return it when the game will go out and be a 5 out of 5 rank in x-play or any review there is just putt the word out and let the gamers help you ever since the beta stoped there is a void in my gamer life nothing compares to this game dont let other guys take the fame and proude you guys worked for

Hopefully, this news will have put enough of a void in thier life that they will create a void in the world of their life.

 

[Ratty Sr.]

i cant belive you all are giving up on the game i can see 1000 ways to keep this project runing i dont understand you guys have a great game and i mean one of the best games i played (and i played like 300) so you got a good game youo should do anything you can to keep it a live even if it means to ask all your fans for a donations and if you have problem with this look at it as a loan and keep record and return it when the game will go out and be a 5 out of 5 rank in x-play or any review there is just putt the word out and let the gamers help you ever since the beta stoped there is a void in my gamer life nothing compares to this game dont let other guys take the fame and proude you guys worked for

This is pure comedy gold.

 

[MrMarcus]

... Business Ethics ...

Isn't that an oxymoron?

 

[Jovan]

lol@Marcus

As for Hideki Hitler:
The first thing I thought of when I saw the screenshots was a Warcraft ripoff. Why the fuck are there so many of them too? It's not like they'll make as much money as they wasted...


This game was a failure before it was made ~fin

 

[Chromosome 25]

Would I take money from someone who has no legal right to said money? If I do, knowingly, that makes me an accessory in laundering said money. Herve had a legal obligation to pay back employee responsibilities long before he pursued new business ventures. He still does.

You know, in all of this hypothesizing about Ballerium, no one really knows what deal was actually done. If I had to guess, no cash ever changed hands (unless it was some minor amount like $10,000). No way in hell was it $500,000 (or more). Interplay hasn't had that kind of free cash on hand in years. If it was anything like their other developer deals, it was probably all in stock. I can see the deal now "hey, we'll give you $1 million in IPLY stock, and all you have to do is use that as leverage to get investors to ante up $1 million in cash in YOUR company. You continue working on the game, and the second we announce any reasonable beta test, our stock will recover to the point that your IPLY stock will be worth $4 million!". They've done it before, and it has worked many times for them in the past. It is a classic gambit I like to call the corporate "other people's money" strategy.

 

[orionquest]

If you haven't read my reply on the raging bull message boards than here it is again:

Here is what I think is going on: After Herve Caen licensed Fallout 3 to Bethesday for 1.175 million, he needed a way to quickly move that money into his bank account. Ballerium was part of the MMORPG new business plan ruse that he used to bid more time in keeping IPLY afloat so he can continue to liquidate it.

Herve Caen struck a deal with the Israeli developer wanna be's who have real jobs other than developing games.

He'd give 'em a cut of the 575,000 in an effort to launder the whole amount that he can. The other 500,000 is his salary. This way, he pays himself twice that bastard.

Do you guys get it now how it happened? If you want to, email enforcement@sec.gov.

I've already done so. If enough people do it, the SEC might go after that slimmy rascal.