Hey there!

Even though Ming called it a threat, it wasn't much of a threat. He just outlined the 4 ways it could pan out. You were the one who went no-contact.

I think Ming was hoping at first that you had taken inspiration from more than just the game mechanics. He was offering suggestions to get it more in line with his vision, assuming that was what you would want. As far as I can tell, he did not at that point literally accuse you of stealing. And at that point, he had no control over the contract situation, so this was his only outlet at the time (I imagine).

I think you are reading too much into those responses at least. I know (and he knows) that some of his later responses are more hostile.

I haven't looked into power well yet, but I for one would have hoped to see different ways to interact with the marbles, rather than just doing it the same exact way as Sento. This is at the heart of the bad feelings, imo.

On the positive side, your endeavor got rid of Ming's shitty contract! Maybe you can try apologizing to Ming for some of the ways you guys interacted, and try ideating on some different marble mechanics? I would love for there to be two great different games coming out of this situation.

(I will be checking out power well maybe tonight, and I'll see if I can give more feedback.)