Unit 4&5 – Game idea development – Task 5.2 Considerations including Legal, Ethical and Professional Bodies

5.2 Address constraints that may be placed on your game: Time – Can you complete all the required elements in the time give? Costs – How much are the software and hardware likely to cost? How much royalty’s do you have pay to Epic for a game released on the Unreal Engine? What will it cost to release on Steam? Personnel – Who’s making this game? What is there availability? Resources – What elements do you need and why? Models, textures, sounds etc Legal and ethical considerations, e.g. privacy, libel law, defamation, race discrimination law, data protection, freedom of information. Codes of practice e.g. PEGI age rating system, intellectual property rights and licenses, consumer protection, advertising laws, data protection and privacy (e.g. GDPR), gambling legislation. Copyright - requirement, owner, clearance, cost.

Legal - Regulatory requirements and complying with them Legal and regulatory considerations which games and software developers must consider: Intellectual property rights and licenses Consumer protection(Consumer Protection Act 1987) Age ratings and classification(Pegi) Marketing and advertising laws  Data protection and privacy Gambling regulation Intellectual property rights and licenses: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/licensing-intellectual-property Consumer protection: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1987/43 Age ratings and classification(Pegi): http://www.pegi.info/en/index/ Marketing and advertising law: https://www.gov.uk/marketing-advertising-law/overview Data protection and privacy: https://www.gov.uk/data-protection/the-data-protection-act Gambling regulation: https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/gambling-regulation Website links in notes section of PowerPoint

Legal – IP, Copyright & Patents Copyright only gives you rights over the actual work you’ve created It doesn’t give you a monopoly over the idea underlying the work. Copyright law gives you specific rights over your copyright work. Sell, buy and licensing others or your own. Stops others from exploiting and copying your work. Different countries have different copyright systems. Free in the UK but must be registered in the US for example. Patents give the original creator or creators exclusive rights to an idea or concept. This has given Namco exclusive rights to minigames on loading screens and Nintendo the rights to a plus sign D-pad design till 2005 when the patent expired. IP: https://www.gov.uk/intellectual-property-an-overview Copyright: https://www.gov.uk/copyright Patents: http://www.gamesradar.com/12-unbelievable-video-game-patents/

Trademarks Something that identifies your product. Such as brand names or logos: To be fully effective, they need to be registered. If you operate internationally, you may need to get foreign trade mark protection too. They can last indefinitely, but need to be renewed every 10 years. Can sell/assign/leverage them Use them to stop trade mark infringement by a rival (aka ripping you off).

Legal considerations: Privacy and data protection: : Consider what data is being collected form the player Libel law and defamation: Not mouthing off against people you are working with or in general. Adversely affecting the reputation of others. Race discrimination law: Not discriminating because of race, sex or disability Freedom of information: Understanding that Players have the right to access recorded information held Privacy and Data protection:: https://www.gov.uk/data-protection Libel law and defamation: https://www.blakemorgan.co.uk/news-events/news/brief-guide-tort-defamation/ Race discrimination law: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-guidance/race-discrimination https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equality-act-2010-guidance Freedom of information: https://www.gov.uk/make-a-freedom-of-information-request

Ethical considerations issues: As games designers creating games for mass consumption you have a moral responsibility with regards to what your game contains. Games can influence people like any form of media. This is why we have age ratings, however consider how many of you have played games rated higher than your age. Consider your artistic intent when making games, is it necessary to have highly sexualised characters, stereotypes or have a section where you kill innocent civilians or authorities. Does this actually add anything to the game? Using the links provided in the notes of this slide discuss ethical issues and/or considerations within your game linking to real life examples when possible. Ethical: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/2181/ethics_of_game_design.php?print=1 https://www.igda.org/?page=co