‘Ant Simulator’ Exterminated After Crowdfunding Squandered on Strippers and Booze

Erec Tereshinski’s Ant Simulator has wilted beneath the magnifying glass of two of his closest allies.

Erec Tereshinski loved SimAnt. The formicine simulation from 1991 inspired him to create a modern reproduction of the concept for one of the Ludum Dare game creation contests — in a mere 48 hours — back in April of 2014. The game was played more than 100,000 times and spawned hundreds of YouTube videos. This popularity inspired Tereshinski to try and make a much more expansive version of the game available.

He reached out to the willing public for funds and to two of his friends for help. Tyler Monce was made “Director of Finance,” and Devon Staley dubbed “Director of Operations.” Unfortunately for Erec Tereshinski, the operations involving his project’s finances were reportedly composed of booze and strippers.

In a video posted to YouTube on Saturday, an audibly discouraged and subdued Tereshinski explained that he’d found out that his “ex-business partners were secretly stealing company money.” Allegedly, they’d spent the “overwhelming majority” of both Kickstarter crowdfunding and investor’s money on “liquor, restaurants, bars, and even strippers.”

This — among many other reasons — is [why] it has become exceedingly clear to me, that I cannot have my career associated with these guys.

The situation would be bad enough, but Tereshinski’s former comrades have decided to double down on villainy. They’ve explicitly told Erec that if he attempted to complete and release the game without them, they’d sue. How? Because Tereshinski made the mistake of trusting friends he’d had for more than a decade, enough to sign an LLC agreement that they’re now abusing to shut down Ant Simulator altogether. Considering their hand in the collapse of the company and the project itself, that’s some serious gall.

Erec has concluded that “resigning, and cancelling Ant Simulator, are really the only options available” to him at this point. Even though it’s a “huge and disappointing setback,” he’s resolute in is goal to “continue forward, and continue to develop games.”

The video also states that he “will send an email shortly to the people who preordered the game about getting a refund.” Tereshinski followed the video with another personal note to his fans and supporters, via the comments section.

For now, Ant Simulator joins Empire of the Undergrowth and Formicarium in the tiny, yet steadily growing, little hill of failed digital ant colony simulators. We can only hope that some of these creators remain as intrepid as their tiny subjects.

We’ve reached out to Erec Tereshinski and Eteeski for comment, but have received nothing in response thus far.

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