Chapter 19: Business Plans

Chapter 19: Business Plans

(Want to read ahead of what I've posted so far? Go to my patreòn and get early access chapters.

As of this chapter, the patreòn is 11 chapters ahead at chapter 30. I took a day off yesterday, but I'll be writing 2 more chapters today. /AlienWarlord

Get on Discord https://discord.gg/JhVeZn5)

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"You're evil..." MJ states as she sees the many micro-transactions built into the game.

"???" May and Grace were confused as they didn't know what MJ was talking about.

"We've joined the dark side." Ned says in a slightly deeper voice than usual.

"Can someone explain what's going on?" May asks as Grace nods alongside her.

"Ned and I made a pay-to-win mobile game. It's pretty much a game that you can play for free but requires payments if you want to speed up your progress or unlock certain perks that the free players don't get access to. If you open the shop by tapping the bank icon, you'll see the in-game currency that can be purchased. From 10 gold for $0.99 to 1000 gold for $74.99. I've started you all out with 1000 gold for free." Peter explains as MJ starts playing the tutorial.

As Peter walks everyone through how the game works, they all begin playing. What truly surprised him was MJ's focus on the game. She seemed to like this 'mainstream garbage' more than she originally let on. MJ, May, and Grace immediately became glued to their screens as the room went quiet. All that could be heard was the sound effects and music of the game from multiple perspectives.

Peter didn't get a chance to explain that they were testing the game for him, but he didn't want to interrupt so he and Ned started playing the game as well.

As time flew by, Peter ordered pizza for everyone as payment for testing the game. Throughout the day, any bugs or glitches were brought to Peter and Ned's attention and listed down to be fixed later on.

Since Candy Crush isn't a game that needs too much focus, Peter played some movies to watch in the background as they played.

Soon enough, the sun set and MJ put her phone down before looking at Peter, impressed by his work.

"Did you just trick us into testing your game for you?" MJ asks as realization dawns on her.

"Yeah, pretty much." Peter nods as he sets his phone down as well.

"How long did it take you and Ned to make this?" May joins the conversation.

"Well, Peter did most of the work." Ned says, knowing he only had a hand in about 10% of the game.

"Don't sell yourself short. You helped a lot, Ned." Peter says reassuringly as he turns back to May. "It took a little over a month to make everything. It's a fairly simple game to develope after you get the visuals and sound out of the way."

"Alright, you've convinced me. Do I need to do anything to help since you're a minor?" May asks as they separate.

"Well, we need to do a few things." Peter sighs knowing the paperwork is going to be annoying. "We need to register a business under the Parker Games name and copyright Candy Crush. Then file Parker Games as an LLC and open a business account for the money we make."

"What's an LLC?" May asks.

"It basically makes Parker Games a company that's a separate legal entity from its owners. An LLC or Limited Liability Company has looser filing requirements, regulations, and fewer taxes to worry about. If we didn't file under an LLC, the taxes from all of the money we make would be counted as personal revenue and taxed at a much larger percentage." Peter explains.

Although Peter originally didn't want to start a company, as it would be too time consuming, the LLC will only make Parker Games a company in name. He has no plans to make this complicated. Parker Games would merely make digital games, which would be released in online stores. No random employees, towers with his name on them, or factories pumping out goods.

Peter's too busy for all of that and wants to enjoy his new life.

"Wow, you really did your research..." May mutters, impressed by Peter's commitment to this.

"Yeah, I spent some time looking into it. Though, there is a downside to this. We would have to mark ourselves as employees of the company and get paid that way. The money Parker Games makes would belong to the company, which will be paid out to us as employees in a monthly or weekly paycheck. I can't just pay myself some crazy number either, as that would not make the IRS very happy." Peter explains the few downsides.

Though that doesn't mean Peter can't use company funds for anything business-related. A company car, jet, properties, and supplies for future projects. Pretty much anything worded as a company expense can be paid for by Parker Games, which Peter would be the majority owner of.

Peter planned to give Ned and May a small piece of the company. Ned, because he helped with the first game and May, for always being there and taking care of him. Who knows where Peter Parker would be without his Aunt May. Spider-Man may not exist in that parallel universe.

Though everyone that tested the game would be put on payroll. MJ and her mother Grace would be receiving paychecks as Parker Games official game testers, so they won't be left out. Peter just has to wait until Candy Crush launches and starts picking up traction. Once the money rolls in, Peter would share the profits with the few friends and family he has.

"You impress me every day, you know that?" May says genuinely.

"I do my best to impress."

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-1 Week Later-

After a week of game testing and bug fixes, Peter has officially finished the development of Candy Crush.

May hired a business Lawyer, who was a friend of hers from college, to help with all of the paperwork. The lawyer gave them a good discount for her services too. She got all the paperwork together for them and walked Peter and May through filling it all out. Once they were finished, the Lawyer filed all of the papers for them.

Parker Games was on its way to being a real company while Candy Crush would be copyrighted soon enough.

A/N: 1677 words

[DONT FORGET MY STONES! Or I'll do nothing because I'm lazy... ????]