P5 - E - Legal and Ethical Issues

P5E-Legal/Ethical Issues

While creating a video game there are many legal and ethical issues which need to be considered. One legal factor which needs to be considered in every media release is age rating. The age rating of my game is an 18 due to the graphic violence and nature of the game as it would be highly unsuitable for younger audiences. It would not be a sixteen as the violence is much more graphic than that of a 16 rated game. Also the graphic designs make it look similar to real life which is why it has a such a high age rating. The characters in the game also use profanity and bad language which is not suitable for younger viewers also. An ethical issue I have to consider is not misleading fans during the build up to the game. By this I mean that I cannot mislead fans in trailers and screenshots by making promises to hype up the game when in reality these promises will never be carried out. Therefore, I will have to always only feature in things which will actually be in the game. If fans are misled it can lead to a negative backlash such as poor reviews of the game which can ultimately put people off wanting to buy the game.

Another legal factor is copyright and royalties. In the game there will be music played through the cars CD player as well as the game characters’ portable music player. Therefore, when I choose my music I will have to contact the owners of the music and organise a contract which grants me access to use the music in the video game. If did not consult the owners of the music there would be a potential lawsuit for unpaid royalties. The games characters must not be similar to real life people as it can result in copyright.

For example, if my character looked similar to Rick from the Walking Dead which is a zombie TV show the company would sue for copyright due to it copying their character. Another ethical issue in my game could be to do with the violence. If there is an extensively violent scene in the game, it may be subject to complaints. For example, GTA V had a torture level which was frowned upon so in the game the scene where a character is slowly eaten by zombies may also be under fire due to the nature of the violence and how gory it would actually be. Also in the game it would be unethical to have all the characters as one specific race or subject any characters to stereotypes as It would offend a large group of people. Religion will also be taken into account as certain things may offend religious groups