I didn’t want to post this, or write it to begin with. Handling all of this amicably, privately, and internally could have been done very easily. The fact that didn’t happen, and that Juix felt his best angle of response was the one he took, and that we still haven’t heard a word from him as his friends or co-workers, is all very disappointing. But I understand why, and I’ll do my best to articulate that in the midst of everything I feel obligated to below.

It’s now been 24 hours since Juix’s very disingenuous PR letter: “Who, what, why”. I stated within the Darza’s general discord that if we didn’t hear anything in that time I’d release a response. So let’s begin to dissect his explanation piece by piece.

(If text is bold and underlined, it has a relevant screenshot when you click it)

“I love Darza’s Dominion”

No. You don’t. You’ve looked at it majorly as a source of revenue since you started it went live on the store. You have never had any strong passion toward the game, toward the key characteristics of its genre, or toward the people that enjoyed it. This is proven as early as March of 2017, when you sold Darza’s to a marketing company for a 50% revenue share and then with the subsequent introduction of revives to the game. You blatantly disregarded how you already know how players will feel about it, in fact fully knowing they would dislike it, then approaching it as fully business. You want player’s average paying cost up. Because revenue is important at the end of the day! And that’s fine! Totally fine! But you don’t then lead your PR statement with “I love this game”. Did you watch the Diablo Immortal reveal? That’s exactly what they did too. Even if they mean it in the literal sense, it’s so paper-thin and irrelevant to the action that presents it. There are better ways to express what value you do earnestly have for it.

“I quit my job to dedicate all my time towards something that I wanted to create.”

No. You didn’t. Not by any conventional means. You worked what you personally described to me as a summer job at what I recall was a restaurant, not that the detail is the important part. You told me this in full openness as we drove around in Utah during the process of searching for a house/office space. When I asked you about any references you might have for renters applications you said (paraphrasing): “Well I only worked really as a summer job and uh… I doubt anyone there really remembers me”. So was that just not the case? I know I’m not fully dismembering that situation. You worked with marketing companies on small apps previous to Darza’s as well, but those were situations where you made 10 minute games and let them market for you. You also said there that you were making pennies to their dollar and were being of taken advantage of. Other than that, I have no idea what you’d be referring to. Which makes what your response to Ster to his comment to you on the RotMG sub-reddit even harder to look at and accept.

“Wednesday I sent a message in Darza’s admin chat that specified what I have been feeling for the past months.”

An out of context way of saying: “I totally skipped my Monday and Tuesday obligations and meetings. Then also completely ignored making obligations for Wednesday. But then when I was already late for what I was asked to be there for I just dropped a 6–7 sentence excuse to drop my employee and then intended to avoid it completely afterword. Oh and this was also me avoiding the meeting that I was supposed to accept the legal paperwork to appoint Typ as COO so he can hold me to the things I’ll say to do.”

“I am foremost a developer, I am not a good writer, PR handler, or manager in some regards.”

This is why you typically wouldn’t fire your good writer, PR handler, and manager. I hope that the experience you have handling all of those responsibilities is easier than you remember them never being, because I have been doing this since the release of the game.

Which I’d like to point out is an fair novice reason to not understand the value of said assets, but not to double-down on the decision when you openly admit you’re probably not cut out to be responsible for those tasks.

“I love to create things that people enjoy.”

This is a wholesome sentiment. I believe it and like it a lot. I just wish everything that surrounds it wasn’t so seemingly paper PR.

“ I still stand by the action taken as it is part of a larger restructuring of my life and well-being.”

You are a business owner. Not a teenager. Part of both growing up and business management is being able to understand which steps were the wrong ones even when you’re walking down the right path. I don’t earnestly believe this to be the reason for sticking with it, however, so I’ll go into that more later.

“The past months have been especially bad, I felt like I hit rock bottom mentally. I was left with absolutely no motivation to work, sitting at the computer with the project open, but I could not think of a single line to write.”

We knew this internally. As your friends we wrote very personal responses when you told us the details of what was/is going on with your private life. I still wholesomely wish the best for your mental health as it revolves to your personal situation. There is not proper line that is has been crossed for me not to empathize with you. There has been no words spoken that invalidate the two years we’ve spent working and playing together. It’s the lack of words spoken in good faith that bring us closer to that line, and the less we have to write back and forth the better.

However, sadly, the truth of how you have handled these emotions in your business isn’t excusable. You are still paying yourself full-time+. That work is not getting done. Not in the slightest. When you’re a high-schooler working on an essay it’s okay to take a day, even a week or two on some occasions, to figure things out with your health. When you’re a CEO of a 6-figure+ revenue earning company it’s just not something you can use as an out for not showing up for the “past months”. It’s just not.

“ However, I write about this in past tense because I feel that I’ve have and will continue to climb out. I’ve gained a new perspective on life, causing me to want to rebase myself and the game. These actions have been the major step in that direction.”

You say this. But within private channels all you’ve done is make that sentiment sound like… a total lie. When did this happen? When you were not meeting deadlines last week even though you fully committed to them being done? This last weekend when you completely avoided us entirely and then of course nothing got done? Monday-Wednesday where you completely avoided all hint of responsibility up until the moment you fired me on Wednesday? Or was it Friday morning when you read my letter and knew you had to write a PR response to handle the fire?

I’m all for you rebuilding yourself, Tucker, but please remember the absolute golden rule of success: If you speak of a success before you achieve it you never will. I don’t know where any part of your quote above came from. You surely didn’t ever tell us you were suddenly feeling better.

“ I will continue to develop Darza’s full time. It will be my only project for the coming years.”

Well you sure went from “this isn’t good enough for my time” to “I have decided to stay on this project full-time even though I just made it infinitely harder on myself to do even the level of work that was done previous to these rapid 180 degree decisions. Are you going to rely on volunteer teams for everything? All love to the Spriters but their unpaid turn-a-round times were always one of your biggest upsets of the entire game development process. Not sure why you think you’re going to get better results of people writing / designing / handling media / managing teams for you.

If you’re intending do this all by yourself now, you’re only human. You’re a great developer, but nonetheless a human that heavily separates his personal and work life. I can’t help but fear in the back of my mind you’re not going to suddenly just take to being involved every minute of the day. I don’t believe you will at all, honestly. It’s not fun and it’s tiresome.

“ I hope that my future actions will validate, to you, my re-commitment to the game and community.”

If there’s one thing you should have learned over the last two years, it’s that you shouldn’t say this until you have already proven it. Which, if you go ahead and scroll two quote breaks up, is very well not the case. I wish it was.

“ I will be reaching out to Typ and Linqx regarding my actions and hopefully be able to keep communication alive between us.”

It’s been 24 hours since this was said. 72 hours since we asked you for response on the internal channels we’ve been removed from. I should really be questioning why it hasn’t happened yet.

But i’m not.

Juix’s main inspiration for handling everything the way he did was simple. He did not like the tension of having people expecting him to do something, also then having him be relied on or called upon actively to do those things. He also didn’t value me to the extent that I was paid or wanted to be compensated in the future. Best way to solve both of those issues if you don’t think past the surface immediate result of doing so? Drop em both. Don’t have to pay anyone a living wage, or talk to them about it either.

So, going into the perspective of Juix for a second. If you’re him, what do you say afterword? What could make things somewhat better while I still get what I want? I’ll separate some hypotheticals and why they wouldn’t work even though they might seem like they would from the outside.

These are obviously not real quotes. They are hypothetical.

“This was a mistake, i’m sorry for doing thinking that would be the right choice. It was impulsive and not the correct path.”

Couldn’t do that. Doesn’t solve either of the major issues. Who would feel trusting immediately coming back to work for someone who just dropped them like that? That would leverage me and Linqx to be more able to negotiate things like wanting more money or security in their service.

“If you would both be willing maybe it would be best to reconsider this and tentatively step down while Typ oversees operations in the minor development with Linqx.”

Couldn’t do that. That still involves giving me job security and paying out more money. Of course I’d also be very vocally unhappy with this being so close to beta/release. The maintaining tension of obligations wouldn’t be worth it from his perspective at all.

“I’m going to stick with this decision as I think at least right now it is best for me, I’d like to offer you both exit packages relative to your involvement with the project”

As much as I’d love to be able to pay rent next month, he still couldn’t feel comfortable doing that. Involves paying out a very large amount of the Darza bank account. That’s counter productive.

(I really would like to be able to pay rent though, that’d be major cool. If he wanted to go this route and it was a sum I could live off of while I got onto my feet, I would feel completely okay. Still emotionally crushed, but at least I’d feel like I know how I’d live and stuff. Timing on this whole situation was really bad.)

“If you’d have it, I’d like to give you (Typ) the ownership of the Darza’s IP. You’d have to create your own LLC. and representative accounts to take full ownership first, however. And i’d still like to hold some ~40% share of revenue in order to make sure I’m still fully reimbursed outside of being a developer for the project.”

Now obviously. This is some silly unruly dream that Juix would never even think of being realistic. But what it would solve is every major problem for every person involved, except for the Juix having full control of this one specific IP. But, for examples:

Consistent revenue stream even when Juix feels he can’t bring himself to work? Solved. You’re getting that decided share of revenue into your pocket every month without obligation to any long-term work.

Juix’s own proclaimed issue of being unable to have a team right now? Solved. It’s my team and you can dedicate yourself to part time contracted work or other projects.

right now? Solved. It’s my team and you can dedicate yourself to part time contracted work or other projects. The issue of tensions between the team on communication? Solved. Juix is getting his money from pure cut of revenue and is no longer expected to work with the hours or level of communication of a business owner.

Juix being able to take time off and deal with his mental health? Perfectly fine. He’s not expected to work full-time anymore, additionally he wouldn’t be responsible for the IP anymore but would still see the benefits of it’s growth.

Juix having times that he’d be back and passionate for working on the project for an unforeseen amount of time? Perfect. Lets map out the work you can do and set up an additional contracted compensation for getting it done. Not at all like we’d be barring you from working with us. We love working with you when you like doing things. More importantly we just like having you around.

Juix wants to do other things with his life and just drop every responsibility he has out of nowhere? Sure. That’s for me and my team to worry about, you’ll still see his very fair portion of revenue til the game dies.

Even if Juix still wanted to work full-time as a developer? This is still the best choice. Bring down the direct revenue share he gets from the proposition and bump up his working wage to accommodate. There will be a very passionate player and long term employee behind the game.

And for everyone else involved?

I don’t have to worry about my living costs

I can continue to work on a game i’m very passionate about

I get to see everything I wanted to see in the game come to life

I get to continue to hold people accountable to a standard of practice when obligated to

Linqx will be able to gradually come into employment as his skills develop

Linqx will still be able to develop work experience

Linqx will be able to come back to the project he’s seen grow since the start as well.

And of course, this should all go without saying, but they are the most important parts:

It would amend everything within the team that happened since Wednesday and even set path to grow

It would change the dynamic of the old team to a far healthier one

It would be the fresh start that Juix is looking for in his life

Tucker, if you make it this far into reading. I’m sorry that I feel obligated to say the things I did through the meat of this text. I can forgive the level of impulsive actions that were displayed on Wednesday and since. But I can’t sit and watch you destroy the meaning of your word when your intentions to help yourself and your health are those I believe to be good and earnest. I care enough about you in this arrangement to still hold you accountable for each word you say.

You have no reason to go through with my proposition. I have no leverage to demand it of you. But I wish to think that maybe its really what you would think best in the long term. If you choose to contact us with either of the hypothetical propositions that I mentioned most previously above, talks can absolutely stay alive. We’re all human, and I am certainly no exception to having said and done many things I wish I could take back or change. I wish the best for your health.

I’ll be ready to communicate and set forward on any proposition as soon as you’re ready. Or maybe you think they’re preposterous with the words I’ve said on you here. I could understand that. But I value this level of integrity and I would expect to be checked for the same from myself.

Let me know where we can go from this. I hope you find your way in being open to the public as soon as the fastest man ever has. I know that’ll be a big step in you becoming a better you. I want that a lot more than I want some form of monetary compensation.