Blackmoor_Film
Explorer
Although I am merely a friend of, and not the Dave Arneson Estate. I am privy to a bit of what has transpired.
If you know anyone listed in the credits of the book, let them know to contact the Estate, as there are questions about whom is involved with decision making in regard to the book's release. In my own unprofessional view, it seems it is better to make friends now than to wait until you get a knock on the door.
Please refrain from making any harsh comments to anyone involved in the project, do tell them, we understand if they were not fully aware of any issues regarding licensing. As Dave Arneson's close family, the Estate, has a great deal of respect for people working in gaming as free lancers, Dave Arneson spent much of his life doing the same. They know what the life style is like and what a hussle finding projects is.
I talked to Malia briefly in messages this morning. She seemed hopeful there would be some kind of outreach by Ink Bat so this could be resolved.
I think it made her sad when I told her I was not aware of any effort on their part, since Chris Graves who is the Estate representative had not messaged me.
There is a lot of speculation about this event on the web. It's pretty simple. The Estate (Luke, Malia, and kids) was not asking for money, they were asking for proofs. They wanted to make sure of what was contained within the work before publication.
Chris Graves got to know the Arneson family through the process of making Secrets of Blackmoor. I am pretty sure Chris is known as Uncle Chris by Malia's younger daughters. We gave them a bunch of LEGO sets at the last Arnecon and that is a dear price to pay for his title. Anyone who has shopped for LEGOs recently will attest to this.
Because of a strong bond with Chris and also respect for his business experience, Chris has run several multi-million dollar enterprises in his life, the Estate asked Chris if he would take care of the business side of dealing with what we call "People making requests of the Arneson Estate." Thus he has became the Bridge Troll (a reference to an early Blackmoor Adventure) who vets what is a real inquiry and worth consideration, or simply someone who needs to leave Malia alone - to put it bluntly.
Things such as Age of the Wolf come up every now and then, and Chris decides whether to squish the thing, or talk to the family to see if they want to approve it.
In the case of Age of the Wolf, there is a long email chain of discussion. There are also emails from the law firm. All of this was pointed at getting Ink Bat to negotiate with the Estate. (FYI, I am not the Estate, nor do I represent it. I am Griff aka Toxically Nostalgic Grognard.)
Ideally, the goal was to get another Blackmoor book out there even if Dave had not written it. Well, now it is out there in all the wrong ways.
If you read the statement by the family in the Arneson Estate press release, the tone is very open to being amicable. No one wants to get into protracted conflicts.
Ink Bat tried to offer assets and money to the Estate, the Estate is not interested in mining Dave Arneson's name and legacy for profit, thus those were rejected. Their only goal is to tend to the memory of Dave Arneson and promote his life's work.
Here it is again:
www.enworld.org
Now that Studio Ink Bat has both, published in a physical form, and what may be worse choice, released the PDF on the web, I expect things are going to get even more complicated, which is not what anyone in the family was aiming for. It has been a needless head ache to everyone involved for months now.
In my estimation, I think if Ink Bat contacted Chris and simply apologized, they do need to do some groveling at this point, the Estate might agree to let all of this blow over. I am dreaming if I think this will actually happen, but there may still be a chance for them to fix the situation and the window is closing.
I will keep posting actual facts that I am allowed to share. There is no need for drama here.
I asked Chris if I can post specific links to laws covering estate law and also tradename law, and some other related items. If I get those I will leave them here so you can see how cut and dry the situation seems to be.
If you know anyone listed in the credits of the book, let them know to contact the Estate, as there are questions about whom is involved with decision making in regard to the book's release. In my own unprofessional view, it seems it is better to make friends now than to wait until you get a knock on the door.
Please refrain from making any harsh comments to anyone involved in the project, do tell them, we understand if they were not fully aware of any issues regarding licensing. As Dave Arneson's close family, the Estate, has a great deal of respect for people working in gaming as free lancers, Dave Arneson spent much of his life doing the same. They know what the life style is like and what a hussle finding projects is.
I talked to Malia briefly in messages this morning. She seemed hopeful there would be some kind of outreach by Ink Bat so this could be resolved.
I think it made her sad when I told her I was not aware of any effort on their part, since Chris Graves who is the Estate representative had not messaged me.
There is a lot of speculation about this event on the web. It's pretty simple. The Estate (Luke, Malia, and kids) was not asking for money, they were asking for proofs. They wanted to make sure of what was contained within the work before publication.
Chris Graves got to know the Arneson family through the process of making Secrets of Blackmoor. I am pretty sure Chris is known as Uncle Chris by Malia's younger daughters. We gave them a bunch of LEGO sets at the last Arnecon and that is a dear price to pay for his title. Anyone who has shopped for LEGOs recently will attest to this.
Because of a strong bond with Chris and also respect for his business experience, Chris has run several multi-million dollar enterprises in his life, the Estate asked Chris if he would take care of the business side of dealing with what we call "People making requests of the Arneson Estate." Thus he has became the Bridge Troll (a reference to an early Blackmoor Adventure) who vets what is a real inquiry and worth consideration, or simply someone who needs to leave Malia alone - to put it bluntly.
Things such as Age of the Wolf come up every now and then, and Chris decides whether to squish the thing, or talk to the family to see if they want to approve it.
In the case of Age of the Wolf, there is a long email chain of discussion. There are also emails from the law firm. All of this was pointed at getting Ink Bat to negotiate with the Estate. (FYI, I am not the Estate, nor do I represent it. I am Griff aka Toxically Nostalgic Grognard.)
Ideally, the goal was to get another Blackmoor book out there even if Dave had not written it. Well, now it is out there in all the wrong ways.
If you read the statement by the family in the Arneson Estate press release, the tone is very open to being amicable. No one wants to get into protracted conflicts.
Ink Bat tried to offer assets and money to the Estate, the Estate is not interested in mining Dave Arneson's name and legacy for profit, thus those were rejected. Their only goal is to tend to the memory of Dave Arneson and promote his life's work.
Here it is again:
Press - The Arneson Estate views The Age of the Wolf as a fake Blackmoor Publication
Here is the full design team behind the product: The Design Team Behind Blackmoor Age of the Wolf What's absolutely shocking is seeing Ari Marmell's name attached to this. It's difficult to believe someone like him would be roped in to such a dubious production...
www.enworld.org
Now that Studio Ink Bat has both, published in a physical form, and what may be worse choice, released the PDF on the web, I expect things are going to get even more complicated, which is not what anyone in the family was aiming for. It has been a needless head ache to everyone involved for months now.
In my estimation, I think if Ink Bat contacted Chris and simply apologized, they do need to do some groveling at this point, the Estate might agree to let all of this blow over. I am dreaming if I think this will actually happen, but there may still be a chance for them to fix the situation and the window is closing.
I will keep posting actual facts that I am allowed to share. There is no need for drama here.
I asked Chris if I can post specific links to laws covering estate law and also tradename law, and some other related items. If I get those I will leave them here so you can see how cut and dry the situation seems to be.
