P5 E

P5 E- Relevant legal and/ or ethical issues


When looking at the development of my game, it is clear how there are several possible legal and ethical issues which may be identified throughout the production process.

One issue which would need to be strongly considered when producing a new game includes the legal factor of holding an age rating. This however, is not necessary for my game as it is targeted at the young minority of teenagers, meaning that no content is involved which could cause harm or offence to my target audience. The characters in my game have been designed in a particular way as to be appropriate for a younger audience to view. This means they are in discreet clothing and will not use any phrases that can be considered as offensive or inappropriate.

A second legal factor which needs to be considered is Copyright and Royalties. During the game, there are times at when music is displayed after characters carry out certain actions or the layer has completed several tasks. I have ensured that when choosing the music being used, I will have ownership over this or permission from the current provider. If I was to disregard this, there would be several issues with a potential lawsuit being involved for unpaid royalties. This would have a clear damaging effect on the production stages for my game.

Another issue involves the use of Copyright, which advises that any game developer must take into consideration how you cannot copy other company’s tools. For instance, I need to ensure that when designing my characters, they do not show similarities by their looks or designs.

It would also appear unethical if my characters were to be categorised in one way. This means that they must not all come from the same social class or religion. If this was the case, some game players may be offended.