Want to Work on a Flash Game

So, basically, the reason I've seemingly disappeared off the face of the Earth is because I've been working on a fan-based Flash Game.

And actually, by "working", I don't mean making art...or programming...or even design. I mean just getting past all the legal stuff!

What legal stuff, you might ask?

Well, in terms of getting permission from the owners of the media that the game is based off, that's no problem. In fact, they openly encourage fan-based projects! So that's a plus.

The real thorn in the side is that I work at a game company. This means that any work I do on a game, whether it's official to that company or not, is going to belong to said company. It's simply in the employment contracts. Which means that if I want ownership of the game I'm trying to make, I have a lot of negotiation to do with the CEO and his attorneys. It means paperwork, laying out terms and conditions, signing agreements, and a whole bunch of other ugly stuff you normally don't think about when doing simple stuff like making a fun Flash game.

Things are further complicated by the fact that I'm writing new technology for this game that my company would obviously like to get their hands on. And then, of course, what about when I leave the company? Is stuff I make still going to be mine? Or will the company still nab it up because it was built using technology I developed while I was employed there.

So, you can see the big mess now. It's all fun legal stuff that comes with the territory of making hobbyist games while working at a game company. So, just a little insight to what I'm working on at the moment. All part of the fun of games!