CYBERLOUS'S PROFILE

author=Sooz
Taxes are easy enough, especially if you get a program like TurboTax.

But y'know, in the future if you have legal questions, you should probably not bring them to a forum full of non-lawyers. You can pretty easily find out this stuff by consulting a lawyer or even just some googling about things like copyright.

Try doing your own research before using the forum as your personal encyclopedia, if only because mostly we don't know much better than you.

author=eplipswich
Good luck then. Remember, you need to pay a one-time fee of US$90100. And you need a bank account of your own. Both for Steam Greenlight.

I don't know where you're going to get the $90100, though. Unless you're already working.

EDIT: Make that US$100. $90 is for my country. Check here: http://steamcommunity.com/greenlight/faq/ for all the terms and conditions.

author=Liberty
You know, if you add it to RMN there'd be documented history for you to fall back on since we time-stamp everything AND you'd have witnesses who know for fact that you made x game.

Also, people aren't going to steal your ideas when they have a billion of their own. Quite a few newbies worry about this and it's not something that you need to worry about that much. People will be inspired by your games, but that's true of games like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy Whatever, but the chances of someone stealing your game and slapping their name on it is slim. I think we've had maybe two instances of it in the past 10+ years, if that. So... I think you're safe.

author=pianotm
You're worried about somebody stealing your content. Nothing on Earth can prevent that. Plagiarism is a fact of nature.

You own everything you create; this is the concept of copyright. As long as you can prove that you created the content in question, you don't need to file with the state: that is merely a fee so that you can have the government's endorsement of your work. Filing for copyright is ideal, but if you can publish the game with someone like Steam, that is equally effective in securing proof of copyright. The point is that if somebody plagiarizes you, you need definitive documentation to show to a court. You don't need the government's copyright office for that: it's just an extremely convenient service they provide. State and federal law allow anyone of any age to file for copyright (though I do believe that you are a minor, you do have to have somebody act as Power of Attorney. A parent is sufficient Power of Attorney in this regard.) If you choose the government copyright office, it's the best way to protect your work, but it costs money, $35-55 if you do it yourself, or $250-500 if you hire an attorney, so really, have something worth copyrighting.

As for private organizations such as Steam, terms like "Power of Attorney" mean nothing. Unlike the government, if restricting you based on age is one of their arbitrary rules, then you cannot publish with them until you are of age, and that's that.

author=Davenport
My guess is age 18+.
What an ambitious thing to contemplate even without
computer programming knowledge.