A Statement About the Current Situation of the Giantess Playground
Hi everyone,
I am very sorry that I have to write this post.
I originally planned to keep this discussion inside Patreon while I tried to figure out the next step carefully. But the situation has now changed. I have been removed from the developer side of the project, and public posts have already been made that describe me as greedy, as someone trying to cut Micah out, and as someone incapable of finishing the game.
I cannot stay silent while that version of the story is being presented publicly.
I want to explain the situation as calmly and clearly as I can.
Giantess Playground started as my own UE5 demo because I personally love GTS games and wanted to make something fun for this community. Over time, with support from all of you, it grew into a bigger project. I invited Micah to work with me because he had a destruction system that could fit the game well, and I believed collaboration would help the project become better. In the beginning, he was asking for 2000 USD, later raised to 5000, then asking for 50% of the income share of both Epic/Steam. I am just too nice to agree with this contract.
My understanding of that agreement is that I remain the owner and copyright holder of the game, while Micah would receive a share of Epic and Steam revenue in exchange for working on the game together and sharing development responsibilities and costs.
For a while, the collaboration worked. His destruction plugin was integrated, the game received more attention, and more people started supporting the project. I was genuinely happy about that. I wanted this to become a real GTS game with actual gameplay, destruction, exploration, and replayability — not just a quick tech demo or a simple fetish product.
But over time, our direction became very different.
I wanted to continue polishing the game, fixing bugs, improving the UI, expanding Tiny Mode, and making the overall experience more complete. Micah wanted to push toward Steam and Epic release faster. Since then, most of the actual ongoing development work has fallen on me: fixing bugs, changing UI, integrating new content, handling updates, managing helpers, and trying to make the game better.
At the same time, the publishing side and income control were not fully in my hands.
This has created a very unhealthy situation. The workload, costs, and pressure were mostly on me, while the public perception, publishing control, and revenue flow were not fully under my control. On top of that, part of the income I should have received has not been paid to me for several months.
(but I've prepaid him a lot before the EPIC release since he said he's no income and he needs to raise his family)
After that, he keeps trying to add more charged content to the game, like making the models charged DLCs, or splitting the game into a few mini games and charging several times. I rejected all of his suggestions as he seems not interesting with the game at all, but just making money out of it. We have had several voice calls arguing about this.
Since this year, I have received no further help from him at all. As you can see, the destruction has not been optimized for a long time. I asked him to fix the defris issue (as they are flying like paper), but he never really worked. So I'm pretty much become the only person updating this game. (but he still takes the EPIC incomes)
The last thing that put me on fire was 3 days ago, when I was asking him to fix an issue, he brought a helper with 400$ hourly consultant fee. I said ok I don't have cash for it since, according to the contract, we should split our development costs. And he told me, "This is a big problem".
After so many things had happened, I finally decided to stop this unhealthy collaboration. I also said clearly that I did not want the Steam release to move forward under this situation. I said I would finish the last update I had been working on, push it to Git, update for both Patreon and Epic since people did support me. I also grant the Epic income to him, since he has a family to raise. My request was simple: please do not continue releasing the game on Steam as if everything is fine. (Because I don't want him to take me as his ATM, and I don't feel I want to continue developing everything and give him free money)
After that, I was removed from the Epic/Steam development account. Then, public posts were made saying that I was blinded by greed, that I wanted to cut Micah out of development, and that the game’s problems came from my lack of ability.
This is my game. I started it. I have been working on it for a long time. I have carried a huge amount of the development, content, UI work, bug fixing, and project costs. I have also tried for a long time to avoid making this conflict public because I did not want the community to be dragged into a personal dispute.
But now that I have been publicly accused, I need to defend myself and make the situation clear.
To everyone who has supported the project on Patreon: I am truly sorry. You supported this game because you believed in it, and I never wanted things to end up like this. I know this situation is disappointing and painful to see.
For now, I cannot promise future Steam development or long-term updates under the current structure. I also do not agree with moving forward with a Steam release while the ownership, revenue, credit, and development responsibilities are unresolved.
What I still want is simple:
I want the truth to be known.
I want people to understand that I am not abandoning the game out of greed. I am trying to protect myself, my work, and the project from a situation that has become unfair and unhealthy.
If you want to help, please help by sharing the facts calmly. Please do not harass, insult, or attack anyone. I do not want this to become a hate campaign. I only ask that people do not accept a one-sided public story without hearing my side as well.
If you have supported this project, shared it, commented on it, or believed in it, thank you. I am deeply grateful.
I am very tired, and honestly, this has been extremely painful. But I still care about the game, and I still care about the GTS community. That is why I am writing this instead of just disappearing quietly.
Thank you for reading, and thank you for giving me the chance to explain.
Comments (57)
Just a heads up. I made a superhero city game (free, open source) where one superpower is grow/shrink (immediately available in sandbox mode). City is fully destructable. https://apps.futuremagic.de/scale/
So now if i buy it from epic games store it's not good right? I'll also risk losing my money?
A little unrelated topic, but will this game be available on other platforms as well? I really do not want to use EPIC to play this game, and it has been regionlocked in my country.
我能通过patreon购买Giantess Playground吗
我个人认为，开发一款游戏，以多人合资或是多人合作来看是不长久的，每个人的小九九，必须要以商业形式开展项目制作，创立制作组，并且明确 工作领导人=策划，技术员提供更新以及bug修复，同时以雇佣形式，作者等于策划+老板，其他人以及后来者以合作为目的加入进来的人，不能进入决策层，同时他们制作的插件或是贴图提供报酬一次行买断。由作者个人决定是否加入游戏，同时任何人退出这个项目有权带离自己的插件是不可能的，报酬已经付清交易结束，停止雇佣关系，任何人做出有意义的资源可以加钱看重要性一次借钱，没有分红或是股份的待遇，比如说我请A加入团队以为A对我提供帮助事实如此A制作了精美动画提升游戏质量但是导致游戏fps下降，必须要由A进行修复bug，验收完后我支付一笔金额给A，但是A后面要离开我的队伍他的东西已经完全融入我的项目一旦剥离会有很多bug，但是根据协议员工A已经在做完的时候完成买断，这个更新已经属于项目组,故A离开后无法提出要求禁止使用他的程序,正所谓人善被人骑，
兄弟你这个巨人游乐场好久没更新了，情况还好吗，米卡是哪根葱啊，我想知道那个洋人的插件用在什么地方了，还有他怎么有权力拿到为你提供法律支持的人的信息啊，洋人一肚子坏水，女巨人游乐场的ip有没有被他注册版权，我目前还在研究ue5开发，我之前看过任天堂起诉幻兽帕鲁侵犯宝可梦ip的专利，与你这个插件侵权很相似，我看幻兽的做法是完全剔除控告侵权的部分，比如原告帕鲁从帕鲁球里面出来，侵权精灵球，幻兽帕鲁在正式版就准备修改从玩家身边生成，然后就是精灵外形酷似的部分使用ai生成，这就意味着在正式版中这些侵权的项目不在使用名单列不构成侵权 结合目前来看我们需要明确，ip问题，插件使用是否可替代或是剔除，还有就是若是你不准备干到底能不能把你的ue5的蓝图工程给我一份参考研究 只需著名洋人的插件位置引用什么函数和运行条件就可以了，我今天照视频做了一个FPS蓝图工程，准备把之前完成的变大变小的功能添加进去，同时目前还在弄开火部分，ai巡逻的逻辑还在研究
My advice is to hire a professional corporate litigator to resolve this. It doesn't have to end in court or be adversarial, but you need someone to speak sense to the situation and help rebuild the trust so you can move forward. This isn't unusual - small team projects often run into insurmountable hurdles completely out of the blue that they don't understand or have the experience or resources to resolve immediately, and your situation very much sounds like one of those. It's not right for your business partner to react like this and quite frankly it's libelous. You can also choose to use that as a lever to bring him to a discussion where things can perhaps be repaired. Right now you sound like you're being reasonable, while he sounds like he is not. You have no control over what he does in the end, but you can open up the opportunity for him to take some outside advice. To be clear, just because you're engaging a corporate litigator doesn't mean you're intending to sue. They're also used to help facilitate mediations for a positive outcome for everyone.
Hi Addie! Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed advice. I really appreciate you taking the time to respond so carefully. To give some current context: the situation has escalated significantly. I recently received a formal settlement proposal from the Micah’s lawyer demanding a $500,000 USD buyout for him. There are also instructions not to pursue certain actions like DMCA notices or threaten I’ll lose the game. Given that I am based in China, lawsuit him has become particularly complicated. I’ve already found a lawyer and will try to schedule a talk with him tomorrow for further actions I could take. Meanwhile, thank you for offering such level-headed perspective. I really appreciate all the help!
you should find someone from the gts community that is competent to help that has similar passion to you , congrats on dropping the toxic peopls
It’s become quite obvious that I’ve made a poor investment. I’m not sure who I’ve given money to but I’d like a refund of it.
Your money comes to Patreon and I will refund you now.
If he's not programming anymore, cannot you set up a lawsuit for fraud ?
Our contract was made very wacky... there's no bad leaver policy... So he can literally do nothing and still take the money...
Firstly: Hello there, beautiful project. This is the best GTS game to have ever lifted off the ground. Despite the current state of affairs, I sincerely hope that you (and Micah) can celebrate this accomplishment. Secondly: I humbly do not believe that greed is the problem. Rather, the conflict of interests is likely the core problem: you each seem to view the path to "success" differently, and a compromise has not been or cannot be agreed upon. Thirdly: Things like this happen in every kind of business/project development: there is a risk in conflicts in interests between shareholders/team members. As a company founder or property developer, one faces such dilemmas: if you take too long, the project rots faster than you can build it (you lose focus, the market loses faith, your funding dries up); if you invest too much capital or sell too much of your equity, you begin to lose control of your own project (either from internal chaos, or having it stolen/"bought"/"revived" from your legal ownership). Fourthly: A great product by a silent craftsman is more meaningful than an unfinished product by a charismatic salesman. Micah may likely be leveraging your fear of slander as a bargaining chip; you have done well to state your side of the story. Nothing more needs to be done on the political/propaganda front. Indie devs cannot afford to waste time on trying to "win the crowd"; they need focus on developing a serviceable product. We, the jury, can judge for ourselves on our own time. Finally: Your options: A) Settle as a solo developer, accepting the responsibilities of whatever Micah was doing. It might be a lot, but you have full control. B) Renegotiate terms with Micah as a professional shareholder (we don't have to like or forgive people to work and develop together) - if he is still has the interest and capacity to provide service to the project. C) Enlist a replacement for Micah: either another business partner, technical assistant, intern, etc. I would give option B a visit if you believe there is still negotiable ground between you two. Otherwise, I recommend operating with option A, while planning for option C. What happens next depends on your willingness to do what needs to be done. I will simply support as long as I see progress. o7 Thank you again for creating this project, and doing what needed to be done to bring it to its current state thus far.
He offered privately to buy him out after insulting me on X. I really don't want to pay him anymore since he's already earned quite a lot as a plugin provider (more than I do, since I paid all the costs). Also, he has been holding my profit share since February. On the other hand, according to the Contract, he still owns the plugin, so I can't use his plugin in my game anymore. I plan to at least get off the Steam page first, then maybe recreate a new game based on what we have right now. I can work out a new destruction system myself.
This is incredibly unfortunate, that some random guy is essentially killing the project, but hopefully this will be an important lesson to never sign over any ownership of the game or project to anyone else. They will inevitable screw you over.
A plugin for a fixed share of all future revenue without cap!? That's fxcking predatory.
He said he's going to co-dev, but what he has been providing so far is just the plugin... and it's been untouched for half a year at least...
想給你擁抱一下!!委屈了... QWQ
somehow i don't believe someone like gamedevmiach have serious income problem. his skill could already make sufficient income as senior game dev. besides, how much money does he expect to make from this nich NSFW game?
He has already made way much more than a plugin maker should get… and still not satisfied 🤦 but he’s not taking his responsibility as a co-dev at all… instead, all the bugs I’m asking him to help with, he’ll find someone else and ask me for consulting fee…
I am sorry to hear that this has happened. I have been following for awhile so it is sad and shocking to see this. You have done a lot of work on this and I can tell your passionate. I am just baffled/appalled that not only did he keep raising the price even though you guys have already agreed but it also changed from a flat rate to a whopping 50% !!!??? I'm sorry, a few grand / a one-time price is one thing but 50% is a MASSIVE cost. He is not making 50% of the game and I'm sure he was as surprised as me to hear you agreed. If he learned he could get that from you, I'm sure he was thinking what else he could take. I understand that you are kind. But kind people can also be firm when they need to be and have healthy boundaries. If some people learn that they can take more than they should from you they will keep doing it. They do not feel sorry or guilty about it, to them its just a opportunity to easily take something that was never theirs. He may have a family, but so what? So do millions/billions of other people. Having a family does not entitle you to take from others. YOU WORKED ON THE GAME, he only helped in a small part of it. Sorry again, sucks this happened and I just hope in the future you don't underestimate/undervalue your effort and hard work so others wont be able to take advantage of you.
🤦I signed that contract, I thought he’ll help with developing… back in that day he did help with the game… but after we start making money on epic, things just changed…
My advice: Leave the swamp behind as much as possible. Don't waste energy in this dispute, it will not make you feel better and i'd wager that your situation will also not improve from it. Look forward, ponder what is salvagable. This patreon is yours, right? Maybe that can be the base for a fresh start. I would certainly be willing to keep supporting you if you keep working on this. Only go into fights (for steam and such) if you see a clear path to win, whatever winning means for you, if not... file it under lessons learned and move on. Easier said than done of course. Just wanted to give my perspective.
Thanks… rn the only thing I’m working on is to stop him from publishing the steam. As people will still expect long term maintenance of this game, which I have no control at all…
If you had an actual contract, you should consider taking him to court.
I’ve already asked lawyer to write him C-A-D letter.
竟有如此厚颜无耻之人……谁都得养家糊口，拿这个当理由太low了。不过能看清此人的本质也好……塞翁失马，焉知非福。虽然去年才了解到这个项目但是以后你做下去我会一直支持。
We are with you since the beginning. It is your game which means it should be your decision that determines which course to take in creating it.
Going to have to chargeback my payment then
I can refund the Patreon. But I have no control of the epic…
Idk who this dude is,but hes a fucking milioner) keep going and never give up bro! Only u know whats the best designition for u and your fans)
It really sounds like Micah was just taking advantage of you. Especially with the whole "family to raise" sob story. The laziness when it came to the destruction shows too. I hope you find someone better to work with. This is still literally the best gts game on the market and its a cash cow so sticking to it is the best thing to do. You're health is the most important thing so we understand if you wanna take a mental health break from all this drama.
Hey man, I’m really sorry to hear about this. I can only imagine how frustrating it’s really been dealing with this jerk. Now, I don’t know where you live, and I don’t need to, but if you filed the proper patents and went through proper channels, then you shouldn’t be able to be removed. Stuff like this, regardless of location, should have proper laws in place to prevent developers from being ousted from their own project, especially in the event a contract is being violated. This sounds like a similar situation with Krafton and Unknown Worlds, with the inverse being that this guy wants it out sooner so that he can make more money, not caring about the still unfinished state. To me, a game that has true passion behind it is worth more money than a game that had its development rushed just to meet a deadline. Whatever you plan to do, I’d advise start by contacting Epic/Steam Support and ask for advice on how to handle these types of situations. I’d also get in touch with a lawyer, because being removed from development for “greed”, sounds a lot like unlawful termination to me. Ultimately though, whichever path you take, you have my support, completely.
He’s been verified on steam/epic as the creator of this game. I am working on to remove the page. But yea that’s my current situation. I’m reaching for a lawyer but hasn’t responded yet
Ok well i had watched this game develop for a while, but I'm not going to gamble my money, on a product with the potential to now become an unfinished product. Good luck with your future development
Yes, I could refund you if needed.
That's annoying. If you have the opportunity to distance yourself from that person, it's best to reach an agreement and stop wasting money on someone who doesn't honor their commitments. Keep your spirits up, sir. We'll continue to support you until the end.
Maybe this is actually a good thing. Before this, I was still trying to leave him some dignity and avoid making things too ugly. But after I spoke out, he started fabricating so many lies about me. In a way, that only made me feel more certain that ending the collaboration with him was the right decision.
I'm a gamer and nothing annoys me more than a dev that pushes a game out too early or doesn't fix glaring mistakes/bugs and releases anyway. Id rather have a game take a ton of time to be developed right that get a shit product. That being said I don't choose sides without proof and seems to me that he didn't follow the agreement. The most important thing in my eyes is who owns the copyright for the game as owner and what they want. Most games I can't play cause they don't release on the platforms I play on but it is what it is. You have to make the decision that best works for you at this point and nothing else matters.
thanks... I wish to start on Patreon first, polish the game better, and then publish on Steam/Epic. But yea... I've been pushed to publish the game to early
Hey Noteable here, Just gotta say something because there are other people just like this “Micah” person and I can name a few but i’m only going to name one, Chaotic Helleaven. Now i don’t mean to bring others into the fray or name call/finger point. But these people are greedy and just want the money without putting in effort, it’s the reason why the GTS community is in such a bad spot atm. Greed has been a problem for my experience with the GTS community and many others for quite some time Especially if people like Micah take the money and use it for worthless things like AI content like CH has done for quite some time. *Not implying Micah has invested into AI just similar worthless things* You were in the right to end your collab with this person, Keep up the development of this game, (It’s the closest thing to Sizebox) -Noteable🐢
難怪Giantess Playground已經一段時間沒有更新了，原來是遇到這些問題。 我很喜歡GTS主題，以前就一直希望有個能自由操控GTS破壞城市的遊戲，這遊戲雖然有不少Bug，但不僅實現了我的願望， 也是有不少改進與發展潛力，但現在遇到了這種事，只能說可惜了.... 希望未來有辦法解決並且繼續經營下去，加油！
感谢，我还是会继续做游戏的，可能会换一个新的地图，去掉他的破坏插件，也许我自己可以搞出更好的破坏效果？谁知道呢哈哈
Does this mean this patreon money goes to you or micah or is it just doen?
This Patreon money goes to me. He was taking 50%. I paid all the development costs out of this, like buying models/paying voices/hiring people for help. According to our contract, he should split 50% of the costs with me, but he never did.
never give greedy corpos control over game development. It will always turn into a DLC Gacha nightmare. Sorry this has happened to you, but hey on the bright side you can take everything you've learned from this game and the next game you make you will already have the Experience. Stay strong
Thanks, I need to fight for my rights now. I thought giving him EPIC income is enough, but apparently he wants way more than that.
You have my support too. I'm so sorry you've had to deal with all of that stress. You're very passionate about this project and I see it every time I play Giantess Playground. Don't give up your dream and most importantly, your passion for the Giantess genre. Take as much time as you need to focus on health and then get working on the game piece by piece. I believe in you.
I'm sorry this is happening. The work you have both done is impressive. This kind of thing is sadly common in indie games and it sucks. Just know you are not alone. If you want I'm always down to chat and maybe we can cross over stuff in our games one day. NSFW game devs together strong ❤️
Literally one of the worst things that could happen to a game developer. You have my full support, and I hope you'll be able to bounce back from this mess.
I need to work on getting him off the Steam page first!!!! I don't want him to make money out of my game!!!
When art is used to make a profit, it is no longer art. I’m sorry the situation has spiraled out of control.
I really wish to develop a good game, that's all I want. I never expect it could end like this
大佬加油！！！抱抱
From the outside looking in, it really seems Micah is not backing up anything he's said while you have receipts. I could be wrong but....it really doesn't look good for him. I'm sorry all this is happening.
he is making everything up!!!!!