THE TRUE STORY BEHIND THE COLLAPSE OF WOLFADDICT SOFTWARE


I have been away from the Mac Wolfenstein community for quite some time, but now that I have temporarily returned, I wish to break my silence regarding a subject on which there has been quite a bit of speculation within the community: the collapse of WolfAddict Software. As one of the members of WolfAddict Software, I was witness to the events which people mistakenly believe to be the cause of the company's demise, as well as to the events which DID lead to its demise. During the years since that demise, I have never once spoken of this in public, and the very few people to whom I have revealed the truth were people who asked me and people whom I spoke to on the condition they keep the information to themselves and pass it on to no one else. Now I feel the time has come to make a public disclosure and let the full truth be known. So in this article, I will put all of the rumors and half-truths and lies to rest, and explain exactly what happened and what killed the company back in 1996.

There were two main reasons for the collapse of WolfAddict... and one of them was NOT legal trouble with iD. Many people believe, to this day, that WolfAddict was put out of business because of legal trouble with a game company. Not so. In fact, that trouble was NOT with iD in the first place. Rather, it was with MacPlay, the developers and distributors of the Macintosh version of Wolfenstein 3D. And that situation was resolved to MacPlay's satisfaction quite a while before WolfAddict bit the dust.

WolfAddict ran afoul of copyright issues, and MacPlay, with its distribution of the demo of DOOMenstein, a scenario by company founder Bruce Ryder. One version of this demo wasn't distributed as a level file that could be installed into a copy of the First Encounter application with Wolf FKEY, as were other WolfAddict scenarios. It was distributed already installed in a copy of the application. So in essence, WolfAddict was distributing MacPlay's game with its own levels, graphics, and sounds replacing those of MacPlay. It was an act that could be seen as someone marketing his own game using someone else's game engine without having licensed that engine first. Such derivative works are illegal and in violation of every game's license agreement. For example, every game company that uses one of the Quake engines for its games must license that engine from iD.

Of course, it had not been Bruce's intent to violate copyright. He had simply wanted to make things easier for the end-user and enable them to skip the step of having to use Wolf FKEY to install the levels. So he decided to distribute DOOMenstein already installed in the application. But despite his innocent intentions, MacPlay balked when they got wind of it, and they immediately notified him. There was some communication back and forth, some of which I was privy to, which eventually worked out exactly what WolfAddict could and could not legally do. At one point, Burger Bill Heineman became involved and interceded on WolfAddict's behalf, serving as a go-between. In the end, MacPlay had no objections to WolfAddict continuing to do business as long as these two conditions were met:

1) Copies of the game application with custom levels, graphics, and sounds already installed were not distributed;
2) External, add-on scenarios were distributed only for the Third Encounter or the commercial version of the game.

Here, I must take a slight detour and confront the issue of the First Encounter, Wolf FKEY, and MacPlay's terrible (and dishonest) marketing of the Mac version of Wolfenstein 3D. The original version of Wolf 3D, made by iD for the PC in 1992, consisted of sixty levels spread out over six episodes. When MacPlay developed and distributed the Mac version in 1994, they crafted a plan that they assumed would increase their profits, but it was a plan that mistreated the customer and which eventually backfired and killed the game. Instead of marketing the original PC version's six 10-level episodes as one game, MacPlay did the following: they took half of the PC version's sixty levels, made some slight changes, and called this the Second Encounter; they took the first three levels of this Second Encounter and released them as a demo called the First Encounter; and they repackaged all sixty of the PC version's levels as the Third Encounter.

The First Encounter demo could be downloaded free from the Internet. If the end-user liked it and wanted more, he could pay MacPlay for the remaining 27 levels and obtain the complete Second Encounter. At this point, however, the customer would own only half of the PC version's levels. So for the customer who had played through Second Encounter and still wanted more, MacPlay would sell him the Third Encounter, advertised as another 60 levels in addition to the Second Encounter's 30. But this was highly deceptive advertising, because Third Encounter was, in reality, the original PC version's six 10-level episodes. And since Second Encounter was a MacPlay creation that was a conglomerate of slightly altered versions of 30 of the original PC levels, the customer was paying twice for the same levels. Second Encounter was actually half of Third Encounter, with minor differences. What MacPlay billed as a total of 90 different levels between Second and Third Encounters was really only 60. In what they doubtless saw as a shrewd move, they transformed the original PC version's 60 levels into 90 levels. The following chart compares levels from Second Encounter with the Third Encounter levels from which they were derived:

If you open any of these Second Encounter levels with WolfEdit, then open its counterpart Third Encounter level with another copy of WolfEdit and compare the levels, you'll see they're nearly identical.

In all, MacPlay distributed FOUR different versions of Wolfenstein 3D:

1) First Encounter -- the first three levels of Second Encounter;
2) Second Encounter -- all 30 levels;
3) Third Encounter -- 60 more levels, in six 10-level episodes;
4) Commercial version -- all 90 levels of both Second and Third Encounters.

The full commericial version is identical to the Third Encounter, content-wise. The only difference is you could buy the full commercial version at the store, while Third Encounter could only be purchased as shareware after purchasing the deceptive Second Encounter as shareware. It was more convenient to buy the commercial version than to buy the shareware Encounters one at a time, but it was no less of a rip-off content-wise, as 30 of its levels were still rehashes of half of its other 60 levels.

So let's get this straight. First Encounter is the first three levels of Second Encounter. Second Encounter is half of Third Encounter. And Third Encounter is the original PC version. When you buy Third Encounter, half of what you get is what you've already gotten in the Second Encounter, but you can't buy it until after you've bought the Second Encounter. And if you buy the commercial version, you get everything at once... but you're still getting 30 of the levels TWICE.

What compelled MacPlay to distribute and market the game this way? Whatever compelled them to leave out some of the enemies from the original PC version (such as Otto Giftmacher and Gretel Grosse), we'll probably never know. But the answer to the first question is, quite obviously, greed. They figured that they'd make more money selling half of the game twice instead of once, and in theory, this makes sense. In actuality, however, it resulted in their making LESS money than they would have had they done what they SHOULD have done. And what they should have done was market and distribute Wolfenstein 3D in the exact form as the original PC version (as has been done with every other PC to Mac port such as Doom, Quake, Duke Nukem, Unreal Tournament, and so on), then do the same with Wolf 3D's sequel Spear of Destiny. But they did what they did with the former, and never did anything with the latter.

At this point, I bring in Wolf FKEY. The three-level First Encounter demo was a self-contained game. Its levels, graphics, and sounds were built into the application -- unlike the Third Encounter and the commercial version of Wolf 3D, both of which had their levels outside the application as external files, and both of which could load user-made external level files as well. Also unlike the other two, First Encounter could NOT load external level files. This is perfectly understandable and makes perfect sense: you don't distribute a demo aiming to entice people to buy the full version, then make it possible for the demo to be customized. If you do that, people won't shell out their money for the full version if they can make add-ons for the demo. To get around this, the Wolf FKEY was created.

When the First Encounter demo hit the Internet in '94, it was a big hit in the Mac gaming community. I still remember vividly when I downloaded it, and how many times I played it on the Mac I had at the time, a Performa 475. That Performa ran at 25MHz, had 4 megabytes of RAM, cost more than a G4 iMac does today, and allowed me to run First Encounter only at 320x240 resolution and without sound. But I was hooked, and I wanted more. So I went out and bought the full commercial version of Wolf 3D. Forget about getting the game in stages and buying those Encounters separately. I wanted more and I wanted all of it at once. Others who had downloaded the demo also wanted more, and I'm sure some of them bought the game in stages while others bought the commercial version. But many more, for whatever reasons, couldn't, or wouldn't, buy anything beyond the First Encounter. And I suspect that they were turned off by having to buy the rest of the game in two separate stages, instead of just once. They saw that in order to get all the levels available, they'd have to pay some money to get some more levels, then pay some more money to get the rest. This seemed an awkward way to get the full game, and made it seem as if they'd be paying more money than necessary. And this was without their knowing that the Second and Third Encounters shared 30 levels in common.

So, many of the people who downloaded and played the First Encounter demo never bothered to buy the rest of the game in any version. And before any of them could break down and decide to shell out their cash, something happened which forever took Second and Third Encounters off their radars: the release of Greg Ewing's first WolfEdit level maker, followed by the release of Wolf FKEY. With WolfEdit, you could make your own levels, as many as you wanted; and with Wolf FKEY, you could install them into the First Encounter demo. Who needed to buy Second or Third Encounters when you could make your own levels and play them with the demo, and when you could download and play levels made by other people? With the release of WolfEdit and Wolf FKEY, the Mac Wolf 3D community really took off and multiplied as people made their own levels and distributed them over the Internet. And MacPlay's projected sales of Second and Third Encounters never reached the levels they expected.

I'm not going to discuss the legalities of creating a level maker and installation utility for a game demo... but I believe it's safe to venture that while WolfEdit and Wolf FKEY enabled the proliferation of levels for the First Encounter demo and made some people unwilling to pay MacPlay for the other Encounters, the truth is that right from the start, MacPlay shot themselves in the foot. Had they chosen to distribute a Mac port of the original PC version, along with a demo, not only would they have given their customers what they should have given them, those customers might have purchased the full version in greater numbers. But instead, as I explained above, MacPlay chose to deceive their customers, artificially turn 60 levels into 90, then devise a marketing plan that was awkward and which discouraged people from investing in all of the Encounters. Imagine if you go to your local video store to buy a movie, and instead of being sold the whole movie for $30, you have to pay $15 for the first half, go home and watch it, go back to the store and pay another $15 for the second half -- at which point you're told you can buy some extra footage not seen in theatres for ANOTHER $15 -- then go home, watch the second half of the movie, and then discover the extra footage is just alternate takes of scenes you've already watched. Instead of paying $30 at one time for the whole movie, you pay $15 for the first half, $15 for the second half, and then you're tricked into paying another $15 for "new" footage, for a total of $45. I'm sure that WolfEdit and Wolf FKEY cost MacPlay some sales, but MacPlay killed their own sales themselves. In a sense, they deserved WolfEdit and Wolf FKEY being released.

I assume that MacPlay was not at all happy with the existence of WolfEdit and Wolf FKEY, but to this day, I have never heard or seen any indication that they took any direct actions to stop their distribution, such as contact the author of those programs. They may have done so, but if so, I am not aware of it. They DID, however, contact WolfAddict regarding the distribution of the DOOMenstein demo. At first, Bruce Ryder agreed not to distribute DOOMenstein already installed in First Encounter and to distribute it with Wolf FKEY instead. MacPlay objected to that proposal and demanded that WolfAddict limit itself to distributing external scenario files to be played with either the Third Encounter or the commercial version. The following is the full text of an email (one of the few surviving WolfAddict emails I have) which I wrote to Bruce and other members of the company regarding the situation following the trouble with MacPlay. Quoted within the email is an email from Bill Heineman to Bruce:

To: WlfAdSoft@aol.com
From: filmman@pacificnet.net (LRojas)
Subject: Re: Fwd: Re: Bill Dugan
zuckerma@sfu.ca, greg@cosc.canterbury.ac.nz,
para-vin@inet.uni-c.dk, adamsjm@freenet.msp.mn.us,
radams@winternet.com, pizor@lclark.edu,
Chronon@aol.com
Bcc:
X-Attachments:
>Forwarded message:
>From: burger@logicware.com (Bill Heineman)
>To: WlfAdSoft@aol.com
>Date: 96-07-22 11:07:15 EDT
>
>According to my sources, you may create levels that require
>either Wolfenstein 3rd encounter or the retail version only.
>You cannot make levels for the shareware version and you
>certanly NOT alter any copyright notice for the 1st and 2nd
>enounter. These copyright notices also have ordering
>information since the 1st and 2nd encounter are pretty much
>advertisements to purchase Wolf 3d 3rd encounter or Retail
>version.
>
>You may however freely create and distribute scenario files
>that do not alter the MacPlay, ID or copyright screens. You
>may 'Add' some of your own text or art as long as the
>original text and art also remain.
>
>As far as making money, the precedent set down by id is
>that the levels you create must require a PURCHASED copy of
>Wolf 3d (3rd encounter or Retail) to run so that id/Macplay
>have already gotten their $$$ for the original work. You
>can charge a reasonable fee for your labors. Look to the
>!Doom level CD's that are distributed by !DZone for
>examples.
>
>The source can only be obtained after WRITTEN permission
>from id software AND MacPlay is secured. id probably won't
>be too hard (They released the PC source to the public
>domain) but MacPlay may be a little harder.
>
>I have not been with Interplay for over a year so my
>contacts are pretty dry.
>
>Burger Bill Heineman

This is more or less in agreement with my take on the situation. I think the whole problem reared its ugly head because Dugan got hold of the version of DOOMenstein which was an altered copy of 1st Encounter with the custom stuff already patched. This was definitely a violation of copyright because the game application itself was being sold.

Selling original scenarios is no violation because they are add-ons and we aren't profiting from actually selling MacPlay's product and getting the money _they're_ entitled to. No one is entitled to the money from our scenarios except ourselves, because we created them. MacPlay already made their money from selling the game application. When you buy a car, the dealer gets the money, and before the dealer, the manufacturer got it. If someone sells you a new engine to put in it, or air conditioner, or radio, or spoiler wing, is the manufacturer or dealer entitled to a cut? The answer is no.

The only violation of copyright our scenarios could possibly make is the replacement of the MacPlay and Id Software screens, because their authorship of the game is being removed. Recently, we figured out how to replace these screens, and the simple solution is not to do so.

WolfAddict is at a crossroads, but the road ahead is obvious. We continue making scenarios for 3rd Encounter and the commercial version (which, if I'm not mistaken, is the market most of our orders come from anyway). I myself have targeted this market with my scenarios, simply because the possibilities WolfEdit 2 offer are wasted on scenarios for 1st. And as we know, there's not much difference between scenarios for 2nd and 3rd Encounter. A 3rd Encounter scenario that's sold as such and doesn't include the four ghosts can be used by 2nd Encounter with the Wolf FKEY. If I'm correct, MacPlay is most pissed off by the proliferation of 1st Encounter levels floating around on the net and online services, because (as I've offered to Bruce before as a possible explanation for slow sales) a lot of Wolf fans have never bought either 2nd Encounter or 3rd. They still play 1st, and are content to play only 1st Encounter-compatible levels. I suspect Greg's creation of the first WolfEdit for the creation of 1st Encounter levels took a large bite out of MacPlay's Wolfenstein profits. This is why DOOM 1 shareware won't support custom WADs. So as long as we don't mess with 1st Encounter, there shouldn't be any problem.

In addition to making 3rd Encounter scenarios (that can be used by 2nd Encounter owners if they want), we can branch out in an entirely new direction by making Wolfenstein WADs for DOOM. The response from my WolfenDoom survey has been very positive, and there definitely seems to be a market for it. Bruce and I are at work porting over 2nd Encounter and it should be ready in a few weeks. The only problem I can anticipate from this is that we'll be selling recreations of copyrighted levels, but if that's the case, we can create WolfenDoom WADs with our own custom levels. I'm already considering porting over scenarios I've already made for Wolfenstein such as Astrostein, Hitler's Graveyard, etc. The current versions of Demon and Hellmaker are quite stable now and WADs seem to work without any problems. The only problems have come from Deimos, the sprite and sound editor, but I've painstakingly worked around its bugs and finished the patch WADs that contain all the Wolfenstein enemies, objects, wall textures, and sounds. So the only work needed to make WolfenDoom scenarios is creating the levels themselves.

So, rather than this being a setback for WolfAddict, this is an opportunity to concentrate our efforts on specific markets and try to excel at these. 1st Encounter-compatible scenarios can be relegated to the status of free scenarios and just given away. Projects like DOOMenstein can be upgraded for 3rd Encounter compatibility. And remember, a 3rd Encounter scenario can still contain only 1st Encounter sprites and textures, so DOOMenstein can be sold as it is as long as it's converted to a 3rd Encounter scenario file.

Laz

This email pretty much covers the state of WolfAddict after the run-in with MacPlay. And it is at this point that I rejoin the story I began at the beginning, the story of what REALLY led to the demise of WolfAddict Software. The REAL reasons for WolfAddict's demise were:

1) MacPlay's poor sales of Third Encounter and the commercial version;
2) Bruce Ryder's personal legal troubles.

The first reason was directly MacPlay's fault, for the reasons I cited above, and they suffered directly as a result. WolfAddict suffered indirectly. Since MacPlay had asked WolfAddict to sell scenarios only for the Third Encounter and the commercial version, WolfAddict's sales dropped in relation to MacPlay's sales. By stopping WolfAddict's distribution of scenarios that could be played with the First Encounter demo, MacPlay hoped to stop the damage being done by WolfEdit and Wolf FKEY. But in truth, I highly doubt that anyone who had not yet purchased the Second or Third Encounters by that point suddenly went out and finally bought them. What happened instead was that the majority of the Mac Wolfenstein community became cut off from WolfAddict's products, unable to play them, while sales of the Second and Third Encounters didn't increase. In effect, MacPlay had interpreted WolfAddict's sales as a threat to them, instead of realizing their lack of sales was due to their awkward and deceptive marketing plan, and they sought to remedy a secondary effect rather than correct the real problem. Truth be told, WolfAddict scenarios probably helped MacPlay sales. Had there been no WolfAddict, MacPlay might have sold less copies of Wolf 3D. Bruce Ryder was savvy enough to see this, and he went so far as to propose to MacPlay that they distribute WolfAddict's scenarios along with the other Encounters in order to boost THEIR sales. But MacPlay ignored the proposal. So MacPlay's sales continued to go down, and WolfAddict's started to go down right alongside.

The drop in WolfAddict's sales, however, didn't lead to its demise. Had the company continued to exist longer than it did, it might have died eventually anyway for lack of sales, but that's one thing we'll never know. At the time that WolfAddict went defunct, it was still selling scenarios. (Some of its scenarios continued to sell AFTER the company's demise, but I'll talk about that later.) Less scenarios than before, but still enough to justify its existence. Likewise, legal trouble with MacPlay didn't kill the company. MacPlay didn't run WolfAddict out of business or forbid it from doing business. It told WolfAddict it could sell scenarios only for the Third Encounter or the commercial version. So the true reason why the company suddenly died when it did is #2 listed above: Bruce Ryder's personal legal troubles.

I found out about those troubles in an email sent by Bruce's wife to all members of WolfAddict, the contents of which came out of left field and totally stunned me. In that email, Bruce's wife informed the members of WolfAddict that she had thrown Bruce out of the house because he had molested her two young daughters, his stepdaughters. She was very upset and didn't know what would happen with the company, and she wanted to let us know about the situation. Naturally, I was shocked and appalled, and I imagine the other members of WolfAddict were as well.

A few days later, Bruce contacted me by email from the computer of a friend at whose house he was staying. To this day, I have no idea whether he also contacted other members of the company, because I did not discuss what was going on with any other members. In his email, Bruce confirmed what his wife had revealed, and I have to say that I admired the fact he had chosen to be honest with me and didn't try to deny it or cover it up. He seemed genuinely sorry and upset about what he had done, and desperate to make amends and get things back in order. He didn't come across as some sort of pervert or sicko, but as someone with a problem that he wanted to overcome. He told me that the court would decide whether he would serve jail time for his offense, or be made to undergo therapy instead.

I appreciated Bruce's candor, and I felt it was not my place to pass judgment on him, but despite this, I simply couldn't see him the way I had before and I was totally disgusted by what he'd done. For a few days, I wrestled with my conscience and tried to decide what to do regarding my involvement with him and WolfAddict. At the time, I had already been losing interest in designing scenarios for Wolf 3D and wanted to pursue more of my WolfenDoom ideas so I could push the Wolfenstein concept further than the Wolf 3D engine could permit. I had been feeling quite held back by the limitations of that engine, and I wanted to explore all the things I could do with the Wolfenstein concept using the Doom engine. I had been at that crossroads for a while, but I still hung on at WolfAddict and hadn't seriously considered leaving the company. In fact, instead of striking out on my own with my WolfenDoom, I was determined to make WolfAddict convert entirely to WolfenDoom material. The situation with Bruce, however, was enough to push me over the line and compell me to move on.

I contacted Bruce and informed him that I could no longer work with him knowing what he had done. He became very upset and felt I was abandoning him. He insisted that regardless of what I felt for him personally, it shouldn't affect our professional relationship because it had nothing to do with business. I responded that I simply couldn't detach one from the other, that what I thought of him personally WOULD affect my professional dealings with him, and that I wouldn't be a hypocrite about that. He became more upset and seemed to think I was betraying him, and I got the distinct impression that he felt my "betrayal" of him was worse than his betrayal of his wife and stepdaughters. From his reaction, it seemed to me that he was not as sorry about what he'd done as he had appeared, or that it wasn't as serious to him as it should have been. He should have been far more concerned with his personal legal problems, and with his ruined relationship with his family, than with the company and whether or not I stayed. He should have put the company furthest from his mind and concentrated solely on fixing his life and atoning for what he'd done. Instead, he was bemoaning my "betrayal"of him. This made me more determined to leave the company.

The fact that Bruce begged me to stay with the company during this time puts the lie to the rumor that WolfAddict died because of legal problems with MacPlay or iD. The problems with MacPlay had been resolved earlier, and even though sales were dropping because of the limitations imposed by MacPlay, the company was still functioning. Even with Bruce's personal problems and legal situation, he wanted to maintain the company and wanted me to stay aboard. But I simply couldn't stay with the company, and I resigned. How other members of WolfAddict reacted to Bruce's situation, and whether or not they chose to leave as I did, I do not know. I only know what I did.

As it turned out, Bruce didn't receive jail time for his offense, but he was ordered to undergo therapy. He was also ordered not to sell games to minors over the Internet or have any contact with minors over the Internet. And THAT is what killed WolfAddict Software -- the judge's order in Bruce's molestation case. The company didn't die because of legal problems with MacPlay, or with iD. It didn't even die because I left and abandoned Bruce, or because other members also quit and Bruce was left alone with no employees. The company died because the judge's order killed it. By prohibiting Bruce from selling games on the Internet and having contact with minors, the judge ended WolfAddict's ability to do business. Had I chosen to stay with the company instead of leaving, it would have been pointless anyway, because soon the company would have been defunct.

So let it be known here and now in no uncertain terms, that WolfAddict Software came to an end because a judge, responding to Bruce's molestation of his two young stepdaughters, enjoined Bruce from selling games to minors over the Internet and having any contact with minors over the Internet. If anyone in the Mac Wolfenstein community has heard differently, he has heard rumors or lies. This is what happened, I was a witness to it, and I stand by it.

The story doesn't end there, however... because although WolfAddict was officially over, Bruce chose to continue its activities on his own, clandestinely, and in violation of the court order. Some time later, I found out that not only was Bruce still taking orders for Wolf 3D scenarios via his AOL account, he was selling scenarios I had created while I was a member of the company. In addition to violating the judge's order concerning his activities on the Internet, he was violating the terms of the contract I had signed when I started working for WolfAddict. That contract specifically stated that in the event I should leave the company, all rights to material I had created for the company would revert to me. In other words, if I left the company, I could continue to sell my WolfAddict scenarios on my own, but WolfAddict could no longer sell them. Indeed, after leaving the company, I continued to sell the scenarios I had created during my time with WolfAddict, at a reduced price, until I finally offered them as freeware. Imagine my shock and anger when I discovered that not only was Bruce still selling my scenarios, he was pocketing the money and doing it behind my back. And to make matters worse, I also discovered he was still selling Greg Ewing's WolfEdit 2 and pocketing the money behind Greg's back. And all of this despite the court order. This proved to me, on top of the molestation of his stepdaughters, that I had never really known Bruce Ryder at all.

Before I continue, I will explain exactly how I found out Bruce was still operating on the Internet. In the days after he had emailed me to confirm he had molested his stepdaughters, during which time I was struggling with whether or not I'd stay with WolfAddict, Bruce had given me his AOL password so I could check his account and take care of a few things while he was staying at his friend's house. After I quit the company, I stopped doing this for him... but a few weeks later, something in the back of my head told me that if I checked his account again, I'd find something wrong. Call it a nagging suspicion, or even clairvoyance, whatever. I couldn't resist and the curiosity and suspicion were killing me, so I logged onto his account. And that's when I found new emails between him and customers discussing orders for scenarios, including mine, and orders for WolfEdit 2. Whatever compelled me to check the account again, my instincts couldn't have been better.

I immediately contacted Greg Ewing and informed him that Bruce was still selling WolfEdit 2. I then contacted Bruce and informed him that I was aware of what he was doing and that I would sue him if he didn't cease and desist selling my scenarios. To this day, I have never heard a word from Bruce again. He seemed to disappear from the Internet. If he did disappear, it would have been a very wise thing for him to do, because if he persisted in his activities, he would have exposed himself to serious legal trouble. I had every right to sue him for violation of my contract, but that would have been the least of his problems. As soon as it became evident that he had violated the court order barring him from selling games on the Internet and having contact with minors, he would have received a jail sentence for sure. Selling his own scenarios would have been enough to land him in serious legal trouble. Selling my scenarios, along with Greg's program, would have just added more weight to the trouble. So if he did disappear at that time, and stopped selling Wolf 3D material, it was the smart thing to do.

But DID he disappear? Recently, this has been in question, as there have been rumors that Bruce didn't vanish completely, but simply continued to operate under a different identity. Certainly, someone who had behaved the way he had behaved would not be averse to perpetrating additional fraud. Someone who had not been deterred by a court order would likely seek a new way to continue operating in secret. Not long ago, it was brought to my attention that this may, in fact, be the choice he made. The evidence was brought to me inadvertently by someone in the community who mentioned someone else in the community, and I realized that this someone else was a pseudonym I knew Bruce had used long ago before I had even joined WolfAddict. But at this point, I am not going to delve into THAT situation. This article concerns itself with the true reason behind WolfAddict's collapse, and it has been enough for me to extoll on that subject after all these years. The continuation of the saga will have to wait for another time.

Laz Rojas
11/04/02