created by jenneygames.com
created for DOS Games End of Year Jam 2023

(executable and source code included in ZIP download)

Instructions

Requires DOSBOX or MS-DOS. Features internal speaker sounds effects!

Common Legal Issues for Gamers

As a gamer, you probably spend hours navigating through complex quests, solving intricate puzzles, and confronting various challenges. But some of the game levels of life can be even more complex, like intellectual property disputes or online harassment. Fortunately, comprehensive legal aid in Kingman has your back.

How Kingman Legal Aid Addresses Legal Challenges for Gamers

Kingman Legal Aid has been making great strides in providing critical legal support for various communities. This support has been particularly impactful for gamers tackling some of the industry’s most complex legal issues.

How Gamers Have Benefitted from Legal Aid

Many gamers have been positively impacted by legal aid services. The resources provided by legal professionals such as those from Kingman Legal Aid have helped many independent game developers protect their rights. One such example is AchievementsUnlocked, the first-ever legal assistance plan for indie developers combating lawyer threats and predatory practices.

The Role of Legal Aid in Protecting Gamers’ Rights

Legal aid can be instrumental in protecting the rights of all gamers. More than just providing a crucial safety net, legal services can even help boost the gaming industry. Recently, Microsoft settled a bitter dispute with Elite Games LLC over the term “Elite,” (some of the most iconic joystick controllers in gaming history). This agreement demonstrated that companies are willing to settle disputes if approached properly. Properly licensed Elite controllers are available on the secondary market, and all “Elite” digital assets are officially licensed, so gamers should not experience further confusion or disruption.

How Access to Legal Resources Can Encourage Game Development

When gamers can access comprehensive legal resources, it helps foster innovation. When game developers aren’t stifled by legal issues, they can focus on creativity. Indeed, gamers around the world are making strides in overcoming legal hurdles as well. For instance, open-source development projects such as Godot have grown dramatically and will continue to grow as more gamers dedicate their time and resources to these communities.

So When Should Gamers Seek Legal Aid?

Gamers should know which situations might warrant seeking out legal aid. Generally, you may need legal advice when:

How Legal Knowledge Can Benefit Gamers

The gaming community has been increasingly engaging with legal matters and understanding the implications of various choices. Ethical disputes, for instance, could be avoided if more people understood intellectual property laws, defamation, and other forms of regulation.

Growth of Legal Support vs. Other Industries

Support for legal endeavors is expanding throughout the gaming industry. It’s not just Kingman Legal Aid, either. Other platforms and programs are also emerging to help videogame developers connect with lawyers who have industry-specific knowledge. By contrast, other industries have been slower to grow. For instance, the cannabis industry has seen massive expansion on a global scale, but lawyers haven’t experienced the same level of growth.

Gamers should be able to benefit from all kinds of support against legal issues. Kingman Legal Aid can be an invaluable asset for navigating legal matters in the gaming universe.

Gamer’s of all sorts may have heard of the term “common law marriage” but do you know what it really means when someone asks if there is a common law relationship in ohio? To put it in perspective toward folks that love complex strategy games but may not be the most up to date on legal issues, consider your relationship with your partner as if it were a board game you were both playing together. You both agreed to the game and to play according to the rules as set by your chosen game.

You plan together, maybe achieve a deal that makes you both happy in the end, and go into the next game you end up playing together, whatever that may be. You invest in your lives together, work to get the pieces you both need to win the game, and do your best to keep each other happy enough that you aren’t summarily defeated in the current game you are playing.

Having a common law marriage in ohio is kinda like that. When it was first defined, you and your partner sat down to discuss it and agree to it.

Then you start investing in your relationship, like you both would for a quality game. You plan out how you are going to accomplish your goals together, such as making your home life better and more comfortable while finding ways to make being together better outside of the current game you are playing. In the past, obtaining a common law marriage meant that you would be considered “other half” of whoever you were with.

You didn’t need a marriage license to prove that you were living together as a couple, or to have a marriage certificate to prove how long you were together. You would have a common law marriage if you could meet the following conditions:

• You were together at the same address, for one, and you both acted as a couple toward each other as well.

It was a lot of the same sorts of rules that you would follow for a video game where you were on the same team and had to work together. In a lot of states, the common law marriage was allowed, so long as you could prove that you met those same conditions, along with having been able to pickup rights, such as community property rights.

In ohio, however, things have changed a lot more since the 1800s than in other states. In ohio, there is never any common law relationship. Once the state established licensing for marriage, it eliminated the idea of common law marriage. There is never any chance of classifying a relationship under anything similar to a common law marriage in ohio nowadays.

So overall, if someone asks if there is common law marriage in ohio, you can explain what it is but then point out that there is no chance of establishing a common law marriage. Ohio laws run a lot more modern than other states and require a licensed, legitimate marriage. In a way, it’s a little unfair for gamers, but it’s what it is.

As any loyal reader of this blog knows, we offer legal analysis and strategy on a range of FOTL issues, from severance agreements to how to negotiate a higher severance package to calculating damages under a severance agreement. But, just as it is good game design, we don’t often get a chance to link that strategic analysis with fun pop culture references like “The Game.” But today, we get to do so as we’re going to take 10 common ideas from gaming and show you how they are analogous to finding and identifying warning signs in severance agreements.

Red flags in an employment contract (or severance agreement) can be a terrible thing – if left unchecked, you may end up stuck in an extended post-separation battle with your former employer costing you money and a lot of time. That’s why we’ve put together this simple guide to identifying red flags in severance agreements, now available at this resource.

Why They Matter

First, we’ll take the obvious one – we’re attorneys, and red flags in an agreement could cost you a lot of money if not caught. But even aside from that, you should know about red flags in severance agreements because knowing about them is half the battle (just ask G.I. Joe). Almost nothing will throw a wrench into a strategically planned post-termination battle more than your surprised enemy using actions or words that should have tipped you off. If you know there are certain signs that your employer may be setting you up for one of those surprise moves, you can develop a strategy to both expect and be prepared to counter it.

Power-ups in Disguise

But we’re not talking only the obvious examples. We’re talking in-game scenarios that might appear at first glance that it might not be important, but after thinking about them hard enough, you realize that there’s something really significant about them. Severance agreements are, surprisingly, full of those power-ups in disguise. Here are a few of the common examples:

Read the Manual

It’s easy to think that the rulebook and instructions that come with a new console or game are superfluous. It’s easy to think that the instruction manual that you sign when finalizing a severance agreement are the same way. Even really sophisticated gamers who consider themselves experts can miss out on pieces of gameplay information that would help them overcome challenges, and you probably shouldn’t be thinking any different of a severance agreement.

Skip The Tutorial

One of the first things people do when playing any type of game is jump ahead and begin the next mission or level. On your first day playing a game, how often do you read the tutorial? If you’re like most players, probably rarely. But you don’t then think that there’s anything wrong with the game, and you shouldn’t think the same thing about the severance agreement you’ve been provided. If you skip the tutorial, you’re probably going to miss something that would be very helpful for you later in the game. Similarly, if you rush in and sign your severance agreement thinking that you’re ready to go, you might be missing something that will come back to ‘bite’ you (a.k.a. hurt your financial payout).

Stealth 101

Stealth-focused strategies in games are some of the most difficult to pull off, but are equally rewarding to try. However, not having the right timing for a stealth move is nearly always detrimental to the player’s strategy. Similarly, you don’t want to wait too long to address any red flags in your severance agreement – if you do, you run the risk of damaging your strategy.

Game Breaking Bugs

In every single game that has ever existed, you can find bugs, glitches, and inopportune things that disrupt gameplay. The longer you play, the more bugs you find. The same thing goes for red flags in severance agreements – the longer you let the agreement sit on your desk, the more bugs you might find.

Downloadable Content Day One

The day a new DLC pack comes out for your favorite game, you jump into the couch and begin playing for the next 12 hours. You can’t get enough of the new content, features, and gameplay elements introduced in the DLC pack. When you get the first Wen Agreement post-termination, you read through it and jump on it immediately, thinking you can’t get enough.

What Are These Easter Eggs?

The worst ‘Easter eggs’ in a level involve a scenario that you couldn’t have seen coming. But once you’ve seen it once, no matter how long you spend revisiting the level, you know where to expect the Easter Egg. Severance agreements are just the same – once you identify a problem in a particular agreement, you can probably bet that you’ll see that bug in agreements for a long time.

Now, You Can Fight Me

Fighting games are notorious for having players become very accustomed to a particular fighting style, so they don’t anticipate moves or attacks that contradict that style. The same thing can happen to you if you accept a severance agreement and don’t read the fine print carefully. You may be so thrown off guard by a particular move that you lose track of your goals and end up getting knocked out.

Team Comms

Without a Discord (or TeamSpeak) chatroom, you wouldn’t make it through the mission. There are too many moving parts to not have some sort of dedicated comms system. The same goes for a severance agreement – without a strategy to approach, you’re likely to miss out on a potentially damaging piece of information.

Finding the Right Lawyer for Your Case

One of the things that we love about some of the most popular PC and mobile games is that there are so many ways to strategize. Take an action RPG like Genshin Impact, for example, where hundreds of hours can be spent leveling up the right character and Singh artifacts to challenge the hardest bosses in the game. Many designers and companies know that when a player comes to the game, they’re much more involved in the outcome if, rather than simply pressing buttons to unlock new abilities, they imagine themselves as the hero forging their own path. This can be done in many other genres as well; games such as The Sims even allow you to build & renovate your home. And even MMORPGs prompt you to study the game world around you so that you know where you can and cannot go until your character reaches the right level.

In a lot of ways, finding the right lawyer for your needs is about strategizing. Getting the right character is half the battle fought, and you won’t have to spend hours of your life making the second half if you perform a little research first.

Figuring out what sort of lawyer you will need is similar to classes or jobs in many role-playing games. There are classes that specialize in law, specializing in criminal, assault, family, etc. If you need a lawyer, it’s likely you’ve been harmed in a way that may be classified as one of these types or another feature of your life needs to be addressed by one of these aspects of the legal system. Finding a “lawyer class” for your needs is important to ensure that your needs and the expectations for your legal team line up. For instance, if you need someone to defend you against allegations that you committed a crime, you’ll want a criminal lawyer as your main representative in the case. On the other hand, if you need to sue a conglomeration for medical malpractice or unsafe housing, you will want to get a team of lawyers that specializes in this area, as well as some that may focus in other needed areas. In the exact same way, these lawyers are “classes” and “builds” unlocked by experience.

In some games, it is possible to graft new abilities onto your character after a certain level, enabling a school of gameplay that the standard character is not as effective in. This is the same in the legal world; while a law firm may be focused on one area of the law, almost every set of lawyers has a utility player that focus in every area, ready to be activated to pitch when necessary. For instance, if you have to face a large conglomeration, you might need an anti-trust lawyer to ensure that you can win. Similarly, a lawyer at a variety of firms may specialize in criminal defense, white-collar crime, and even medical malpractice. At major law firms, there is a variety of lawyers, and while one or two may specialize in one area, there is always someone who can help you with negotiating a settlement, as well.

In some games, especially MMORPGs, you can build a “party” and go into an arena together, defeating “bosses.” Much like this, going to court is its own arena or dungeon, with rules and specifics. You’ll want to know what times you can enter, if you can take in equipment, how to overcome the boss’ defenses, what the “buff” is, and even what you should wear. Additionally, you’ll want to know if anything in the rule set can help, or hurt you.

Having all of this information is similar to the knowledge that you would use in game-play to prepare for options that are available to you.

In many games, power-ups and other boosts are important to reinforcements and status effects. If you’re able to work with a personal injury attorney or family lawyer who knows what to look for in the evidence to make your case stronger, and seeks to gather this evidence no matter how long it may take, you will have the power-up to guarantee a strong legal case.

It should also be no surprise that there is a very specific order to completing a quest. Just like sales: It is important to qualify your lawyer before you hire them for an opportunity to ensure they can do the job as needed. This is the process of discovery in legal terms; it can be where you check reviews, see previous client portfolios, and interview the lawyers that would be available to handle your legal needs. If there is a question about how effective the overall team will be, it is easier to change leads than if you were to drop a missing piece of a puzzle from your inventory. The same can be said for the skill level of the “party” being activated for a case.

In order to win, you may be able to overcome a “boss,” but often, as in some games like Assassin’s Creed, it may be necessary to speak with the boss & reason them into not throwing the minions of the dungeon at you. The latter option often does offer better rewards. When dealing with a lawsuit, sometimes it is a case of bluffing, persuading, and enduring a barrage of verbal wits before being able to reach a reasonable settlement. Many video games encourage the tactical use of words & reasoning to get the single-player character through a battle. Make sure that your lawyer is able to outwit the other lawyer. It is a balance of persuasion, intimidation, strategy (i.e., knowing when to stand up to the lawyers legally and when to step back), and the ability to argue from the right perspective. Once the lawyer has answers to your questions, it’s time to hire them.

Once you’ve found the right lawyer, you’ll want to select them as the right lawyer for your team, and get through the case. Some of these choices may even point towards your next step of the game. And much like a save-game option, even if you don’t win the case, you will have all of the preparation and storytelling behind it as you go into the next game against your favorite – and perhaps new – opponent.

How many times have we pulled out the ol’ game rulebook only to flip through and wonder what it was that we were looking at? By the fifth stage, we somewhat figure out how the game works. If we’re lucky, we’ve adjusted our strategy to work for the game. In that vein, it’s time for a mix of Jenney Games and the Cherry Team!

Enter: what are entity documents? When you’re establishing a company or corporation, you’re going to need a lot more than just a good business idea (and some gold coins). You’re going to need rules – the “how-to” guide of your new company. This “game rulebook” is known as an entity document.

Wait what??? You mean I can’t just draw up some plans on a napkin, hire some henchmen, and figure out what’s what when we get there?! The answer is, unfortunately, no. But don’t worry – we’re right here with you because, just like in a video game, the rules and regulations can definitely be over-complicated.

Entity documents lay out how your business is structured, how the business must operate, how management will work, and how the members will work together. These documents may even specify how financials are handled! Depending on the type of entity you choose, the documents associated can range from all encompassing to purely the game-spawn of your registrar and the state (and sometimes even those can be complicated!).

Got it? Easy-peasy, right?! Well… Just like not reading the entire game book when it comes to Super Mario Brothers (as you mindlessly flick your controller), skipping over the details of an entity document is not the best idea. Even if you’re hip to the game scheme, you may still need some guidance as to how to set up your rules and what you can and cannot do in this setting.

Some common pitfalls in entity documents range from forgetting some clauses, to adding ones that shouldn’t be missed or are completely contradictory to the nature of your business. But it’s not all doom and gloom! Sometimes, amendments (or “upgrades” as we’d prefer to call it!) are all it takes to keep your company moving smoothly along.

TL;DR – Here’s what you need to remember: entity documents (like articles of incorporation, operating agreements, bylaws, etc.) are like the cutscenes at the beginning of every video game. You’ve gotta know what’s in them (and future spoilers). You won’t be able to keep your goomba-fighting ways off-screen if you don’t know how to fight well. Also, nobody wants to have to pause the game to read the rulebook. Just don’t go tossing it off to the side when you know it’s right there with you.

If you’ve got yourself an Iron Man-style strategy for your entity documents, awesome. Let’s look at the data! If you don’t have a plan in place for how to structure your rules in the game, then it’s time to get our superhero team – the Cherry Team – to help you get set up. Check out our new article on the topic – what are entity documents.

For more information on business entity types and their requirements, you can visit the SBA website.

https://youtu.be/LFnJT3oOOfg

Help Celeste escape and find a better place to claim as her own. But don’t get caught or you will have to restart from your room! Find catnip to trip out and glitch through obstacles in your way!

Game Concept by Debra Jenney
Game and Music by Josh Jenney

jenneygames.com
created for the PSP Re:Start 2022 GameJam

Installation for PSP

The game engine has a hardcoded absolute location, and the menu does crash when the engine/assets are not available/wrong location. (ie: timidity midi instruments, database, map files, title screen images, ect.) 

The easyrpg engine requires the game in ms0.

Inside the ZIP file “Kitty Must Escape > PSP > GAME” there is the folder “easyrpg” . Move that folder to your /PSP/GAME directory.

Hardware PSP ms0:/PSP/GAME/easyrpg

Place a copy of the game in the PPSSPP’s game directory for ms0.

PPSSPP in Windows %USERPROFILE%/Documents/PPSSPP/PSP/GAME/easyrpg

PPSSPP on Linux ~/.config/ppsspp/psp/game/easyrpg

Understanding the Right to Know Law

You’ve seen the term before, but in reading extensive material on the topic, most people don’t have a broad understanding about what this kind of law is. Depending on the type of information, the comprehensive right to know law definitions basically requires companies to be upfront with their product information, and that consumers should have access to certain data regarding it. Often, this type of legal language is associated with food products, but it’s taken root in other industries as well.

So what does all of this have to do with the game consumers who visit Jenney? Well, if something is available in the gaming world, you ought to be able to get more information about it beyond just the advertisements you see. Right? The right to know law has been utilized by various groups to promote transparency in the corporate world, so that companies admit to problems with their products and, at the same time, make things right with their customers.

It’s not anticipated that there will be or can be much use of right to know laws within the gaming industry, but there’s enough overall to suggest some potential impact on Jenney Games’ audience. One of the most likely uses of this law is to focus on the quality of a game product and whether a developer did everything they needed to do to fix bugs, or any other problem that could come up.

The kind of information you may want to know is whether gameplay lags because the developer didn’t spend enough time working on the program to work out abnormal technical issues. Many video games, particularly popular ones, tend to get sequels, and this is a place where the right to know law could possibly help the gamer. What’s the likelihood that a sequel will have fewer bugs than the original? You might want to know that, right? Or maybe you want to investigate further to see whether the developer is implementing information about the locations of the bugs and how they can be fixed.

It’s also possible that the right to know law could be used to explain how bugs are fixed. Developers may want to speak with consumers about whether there is a process for bug fixes or whether the customer needs to take a certain step to get a fix implemented. It’s not necessarily going to be easy for consumers and companies to implement a right to know system based upon legislation, but if the key is informing the public, and ensuring customer awareness, there’s always room for discussion here.

This law has the potential to be a real game changer, and while it may not have relevant implications at this point for the gaming industry, it could be something that the industry has to cope with in the future. Many of Jenney’s user base are huge fans of video games, and they’re always looking for ways to improve their gameplay. For example, there are always ways to improve video functionality, or ways to figure out why sound functionality doesn’t work right on a particular device.

Jenney often provides the kind of information that gaming consumers need to make decisions about their purchases, or to talk to developers about how to customize or even help with a distribution problem. The right to know laws are just one more way to inquire into the things you’d like to know about your games. Games should be fun, and gamers should be allowed to know everything they can about their favorite products. That’s where the right to know law could be useful, even in ways that haven’t been previously applied to the gaming world.

Just like when you work as a team to achieve something, being a stepparent is much the same-as you all work to reach that same goal of being a family. However, when you’re getting there, you must first understand your role, just like when you choose a character in a game. For example, if you choose the wizard, your husband or wife take up the paladin role. If you’re the paladin, then your partner plays the great axe wielder. The home dynamic revolves around how each person adapts to their position. Now, much like with different characters in a game, you have several options when it comes to the legal arena of family life. This is where the levels and experience come into play. Although you can achieve some of the same goals with less experience, you need to understand the laws to see what solutions are possible. Teamwork is also essential. When you work together in a co-op way, you’re ensuring that your entire family benefits and wins in the end. You do not want to have one person win in the process while the others feel they have lost. That was always the difficult part of gaming-when you play with someone that does not share well. You can spend hours upon hours battling monsters and looting items only to find that they will grab whatever you get on the floor and sell it for their personal gain. Then, you end up not being able to afford that magical weapon because your friend sold it out from under you. They did not mean anything by it and they didn’t cheat you on purpose, they simply did not consider how it might affect you. In the same realm, when you work together as a family, you can help and defend one another, providing support for one another throughout challenges-such as when new children drift into your life and you need to protect them against the outside world that has been so hard on them.

Legal rights are another aspect of the game or level of the family life, if you want to continue the video game analogy. You need to understand what you have the right to, as well as what is encouraged to promote the best home life for each member of the family. Where legal rights come in is vital because it can mean the difference between a child receiving the love and attention from everyone in the family or being excluded. This is especially important when some of those family members are not blood-related. Now, as for the frequently searched keyword, the legal rights of stepparents? Well, there are many intricate aspects to the question, but here’s a short answer: When it boils down to it, stepparents do have some of the same legal protections and rights when it comes to raising your children. An added measure is that you only want what is best for the children, which means that you are not more likely to want them to stay in a difficult or abusive situation. Boss fights require strategy and planning. So, when you determine what the best legal route is, you need to be wise about the decisions you make and the options you choose. Otherwise, you might find yourself facing a difficult situation, such as being left out of the decision process or returning the child to your spouse rather than gaining the custody you intended. So, to answer the question, does a step parent have legal rights? Yes, the advantages go both ways, but it is vital that you approach the situation with caution and planning.

Here are a few stories that give examples of legal rights cases, that you get to choose your own outcome for: It’s important to win the battle of creating a happy home environment that everyone can appreciate. Then, you keep the multitude of lives in this house happy until everyone has reached level 100, and winning is the ultimate reward.

Just like any video game, when it comes to real world business transactions, you have to know the rules and strategies of the game so that you can avoid any unnecessary “game overs” (or financial ruin). Enter the purchase and sale agreement wa state (or “Agreement”). Picture it as the rulebook for any sale of assets or stock, where either a single entity or an entire company is being passed from one owner to another. Just like any video game, if you don’t understand the rules, you are going down the path of a loss just as you would when trying to defeat a monster with a paper shield.

What is the Purchase and Sale Agreement?
Without getting too into the weeds, an Agreement is just that – it is the actual contract that details the specifics of what exactly is being “purchased” and “sold” (e.g., the actual assets and/or stock), together with the terms and conditions of the sale that are being transferred from the seller to the buyer. The agreement should also include the specific purchase price and payment terms of the transaction. Think of it like this: if you wanted to create a game just like Jenney and the Chippy (and I know you do), you would want to include not just the game mechanics (no, not the game engine), but also the specifics on what your avatar can and cannot do within the game (e.g.; if I am able to throw bombs at boulders and chips, and blow them up, then that is a lot of fun).

What is different about Purchase and Sale Agreements in Washington State?
Not all Agreements are created equal! If you are in Washington State, there are certain statutory requirements that come into play when you are entering into an Agreement to sell your company’s stock. For example, this includes obtaining approval from the shareholders for selling the company – requiring more than a simple thumbs up, thumbs down type of approach (so no pressure!). In addition, other local rules may apply if you are qualifying as a domestic stock corporation, or are undergoing a business dissolution.

What are some agreements that a buyer or seller should be aware of?
All this text is confusing…let me tell you how you really win! For all you gamers (you should know that term by now) who are buying or selling your company, you should have a solid understanding of the various terms that can be included in a Purchase and Sale Agreement. This also includes ancillary agreements that can be assigned or included as part of the purchase and sale of the business. This will help you avoid those loss avatars going down throughout the game as you face the wrath of angry customers (just Google “angry customers” if you aren’t aware).

To make things simple, here are the terms you will likely come across and need to pay attention to:
Buyers & Sellers need to know these Terms and Definitions:

Avoiding Loss Avatars in Your Business Transactions
So how does one make sure they can fully enjoy the gaming fruits of their labor? By knowing what type of risks to look out for when drafting and signing your Agreement!

Risks to Consider – for Purchase and Sale Agreements
Risks for Buyers:
Risks for Sellers:

How Do I Protect Myself?
Remember that your overall business and gaming strategy should be about finding what works for you. You want to find a path that will advance you through all of the levels (from the first iteration of the game to the final level) of the running the race. Chief among those considerations is making sure that you budget for proper legal counsel during all aspects of an investment or sale (so that you don’t get caught in the dungeon). Or, to make sure that your negotiations with buyers or sellers are protected down the line (long after the angry customers have become happy again).

So takeaway gamifiers: a Purchase and Sale Agreement, WA State edition, is a full battle plan and rulebook as to how you are going to navigate your gaming success (or doom).

For more information on business agreements, you can visit the Small Business Administration.