Dave Johnson Gaming Journal: Unit 1 - Pre-production requirements of the creative industries

Unit 1 - Pre-production requirements of the creative industries
By Dave Johnson

When a computer game is in its initial stages of planning, there are a great many factors that need to be taken into account. The pre-production phase of games development is a time of planning that usually focuses on idea and concept development and the production of initial design documents. These documents cover a number of different areas. They usually cover aspects of business, finance, design, research and resources.

The overall goal of these documents is to not only achieve approval from the publisher, but to provide a clear workflow for the development team. The documentation usually describes all the tasks, schedules, time frames and estimates for the production of the game from initial idea through to it hitting the shelves.

This production plan is not usually funded by the publisher, since approval is required from them before any finance is granted. However it is not unheard of for a publisher to instantly approve an idea, invest money and then require the developer to produce planning documents during pre-production. There is clearly more risk creating a game this way, both from a financial and business point of view. Therefore, it often makes more sense to take a considered structured approach to games design to avoid potential problems, delays and design issues. It is also quite common for a publisher to request a playable prototype at this point so that they can visually see what they are investing in.

The latter stages of pre-production are often referred to as proof of concept or a technical review. This means that the idea, funding, resources and overall production timeline have been approved. More detailed development documents are often produced around this time, focusing on specific or elaborated details of the project.

Types of production

The type of production specifies exactly what the project is being designed for. In creative industries terms this could possibly refer to TV, Film, Radio, Advertising, Print, Web, Handheld media, Graphic Design and Games Design. I think it’s really interesting to think about how if a core production type is a video game, all the other mediums naturally feed into it as supporting campaigns For example, there will be TV advertisements alongside print and web campaigns. Similarly, a summer blockbuster film will usually have mobile apps, video games, merchandise and advertising to support it. I think it is really important to view the creative industries as a whole and how they can benefit each other.

Finance
Financial concerns and possibilities are addressed from the outset. They could refer to:

Equipment costs
Often in the creative arts industries new software or hardware is required. In gaming development terms, these could be used for imaging, photography, 3D and 2D animation, writing music, editing, graphics and many, many other examples. The demands of the project need to be met by the software and hardware. Another point is that the finished product has to match or exceed the quality of rival products.

If the game development team do not have these tools, it may not be possible to make the idea a reality. If this is the case, the equipment will need to be purchased to make the project a financial and creative success.

Personnel costs
Personnel costs could refer to the acquisition and funding of anybody who is essential to the success of the project. For example, this could be photographers, film-makers, artists, or scriptwriters. The gaming industries require coders, designers, animators, play testers and many other roles to make development a success. Every creative project has an essential workflow and a sequence of designated tasks for every single person involved. Without any one of these the project may not reach the director's visualised point. All of these people will be required to be paid for their time. It is therefore a critical task at the outset to financially take into account everybody who will be involved.

I think at this stage it is important not to compromise and get the very best people who are right for your project. Deliberately paying less for people who are less skilled may result in a project not achieving its potential or critically falling short. There is also a danger that it may not make it past the pre-production stage or meet the approval of investors.
Transport costs
Transport is an important asset and one which could easily be overlooked. This category could involve the acquisition and hire of vehicles for visiting research locations, traveling between studios, press conferences and meetings. In order to make progress with the project, each of these requirement needs to be met.
The aim of visiting research locations is to source visual imagery for an environment and will obviously require transport. This could be photographers or film-makers researching scenery for a music video, a games environment, a film script or a TV programme. The pre-production team may have a very specific idea of the kinds of material they are looking to acquire. Often if it is a planned franchise, this material will be stored in archives to be used later in the series. This is actually more cost effective than traveling to a location for every project in the series. Admittedly the internet, libraries and stock image archives are an incredible resource but there is no substitute for first-hand experience. The other advantages depend on the type of pre-production. If developers are making a film for example, it may not be just the look, but the sound, ambiances and ethnicity of a location. If it is a game there may be elements of architecture and sound effects that the creatives are interested and influenced by.

Location costs
Locations costs in pre-production terms can refer to the hire or purchase of environments or facilities that the development team do not already have. These could be filming locations that have to be hired out or booked. Location costs could also refer to the logistic feasibility travelling between locations, if this is necessary. Other considerations may be the availability of parking and facilities to crew and talent, along with keeping them safe and dry at all times.

Lighting on any creative project location is key, so the need for electrical generators and equipment is a necessity. In some cases, permission may need to be asked from the location owner and neighbours, local government and law enforcement. This can sometimes come with a price tag attached to it which the team needs to be aware of. Without due consideration of this, charges can be accrued or financial penalties applied.

Finally it is as an obvious statement, but the location cost needs to be weighed up against how much the project is expected to make long term. If there is a shortfall it is often wise to consider a cheaper alternative.

Case Study: Star Wars games and location influences

Star Wars was one of the highest earning films of 1977 and one of the highest earning film and game franchise of all time. Its vast scope and plot encompassed many alien worlds, races, cultures and planets that have captured the imagination of audiences ever since. However in its early stages, the sheer range of the environments and the atmosphere that George Lucas sought to create were not available in his native America. Because of this, pre-production teams scoured the globe seeking out locations that could pass for desert planets and forest worlds. Originally, the planet of Tatooine where much of the story takes place was to be a forest planet. However it quickly became clear that this would raise a concern:

“Gary Kurtz traveled to the Philippines to scout locations; however, because of the idea of spending months filming in the jungle would make Lucas "itchy", the director refined his vision and made Tatooine a desert planet instead. Kurtz then researched all American, North African, and Middle Eastern deserts, and found Tunisia, near the Sahara desert, as the ideal location.”

Lucasfilm Industrial Light & Magic - 1998 Pan Books

The Philippines location was kept and used for a short sequence later in the film and to a greater degree in ‘Return of the Jedi’. Lucas liked the look and feel of Tunisia so much in his films that he used the same location again years later in the Indiana Jones movie ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’. This interested has extended not just to the look of a location but also its culture and inhabitants. The North African style has informed characters and costumes in other Lucas projects such as ‘Phantom Menace’ and ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark.’ Without the efforts of the locations crew and the knowledge of what filming there would be like, several iconic movies may well have turned out very differently.

Traditional North African carving

influenced the Trade Federation droids in The Phantom Menace

Egyptian hieroglyphs, costumes, buildings and

lore appear in Raiders Of The Lost Ark

What I think is also interesting is the way that upon a projects release, and assuming it is successful, locations can become money making areas in their own right. They can also become inexorably tied to an intellectual property, becoming part of its visual language and culture. Foe example, people travel for miles just to stay in the Sidriss Hotel, the location that was Luke Skywalker’s home in the movie.

TheTunisian Skywalker home set in 1977

The Skywalker home set as it is today,
the fully working Sidriss Hotel

Tunisia / Tatooine as it appears in the original Star Wars movie

Pre-production artwork for a variety of Star Wars games that have featured locations from the movies. As is evident in the illustrations, the game developers have sought to retain the feel and atmosphere of the landscape to create a true player experience.

From a video game point of view, fans will buy the games because they want to travel to those same far off places that they saw in the movies. Specific level design, environments, characters and concept art all play a part in people paying money for the Star Wars experience. The location work that was done all those years ago has become lore and still informs pre-production in Star Wars gaming today.

Real Life locations that have inspired video games

Driver

The developers went to great lengths to recreate San Francisco, extensively photographing the city for research

LA Noire

The developers Team Bondi recreated the streets of Los Angeles including the famous Hollywood Boulevard.

Yakuza

The game is set in Tokyo's Shinjuki ward. The red light district of Kabukicho may be called Kamurocho in the game but it can still be recognized.

Resistance: Fall Of Man

A level later in the game features Manchester Cathedral coming under siege. Surprisingly, this led to conflict between Sony and the Church Of England.

Assassin’s Creed II

This game has painstaking attention to detail, recreating Rome, Florence and Venice as they would have been during the Italian period of Renaissance.

Fallout 3

Bethesda recreated the exact geography of the Washington DC and Maryland area re imagining it as a nuclear landscape.

Materials
Another key consideration would be packaging. Traditionally, games are sold in highly colored decorative boxes to capture the action and entice the buyer. This means there are print, artist and distribution and logistics costs. In many ways, packaging also falls under the banner of advertising. A well designed package can have as much presence and ‘spending power’ as a poster, billboard or TV campaign

It could be argued that the raw material for game development is imagination. Without the merit of a solid, original concept idea, a project may well suffer upon its completion and release. The next most obvious materials required are the technology required to make the project happen. This could be data storage, computers, software, art working tools for design and storyboarding or sound recording equipment. Other examples could be the medium that the game will be supplied on such as disc, cartridge, or digital download. Each of these in its own right represents a significant cost and is directly relative to the data size of the game. For example a next gen technology game may end up spanning a set of four discs. This will obviously be more expensive to produce than a one disc game. Therefore, careful thought needs to be applied when scripting, storyboarding, and deciding the scope of the game.

Case Study: Bioshock Infinite packaging

The makers of the 2013 first person shooter ‘Bioshock Infinite’, Irrational Games, faced a challenge when they released pre-production packaging artwork for the game. Largely, the fans hated what the studio had planned and responded with a negative backlash. They claimed that for a game that was so innovative in its setting and ideas – a floating city in 1912 America with themes of religion, fate and society – the box artwork was incredibly obvious. The original plan was to feature the game's protagonist Booker DeWitt in a battle worn pose against a flaming background. The reason for the fan disapproval was that it was so similar to the approach any other first person shooter would take. ‘Call Of Duty’, ‘Battlefield’ and ‘Modern Warfare’ all feature similar images. Bioshock is one of the best loved and most innovative series in games history and has always sought to set itself apart with its originality. The general feedback from gamers was that the box artwork did not stay true to this ethic.

Irrational Games then decided to turn a negative situation into a positive one. Releasing several subsequent images, the studio asked the fans to vote on which they would like as the box artwork. This served two purposes. Creating publicity and giving back the fans ‘ownership’ of the beloved franchise that they had adopted.

The final choice of artwork was surprising to the studio and even the results divided the fans. So it was that Irrational Games pulled one more master stroke. They made the box inlay artwork double sided and thus reversible, so the fans could choose between the best two final designs. The fans appreciated the gesture and the whole strange situation created a word of mouth buzz. Irrational Games must have had confidence that the game would sell well in order to spend money on such an elaborate campaign. They are estimated to have spent $100 million on development and another $100 million on marketing materials. The game sold well over 4 million copies upon release, ensuring its place in video games history.

The packaging choices for ‘Bioshock Infinite’ that show both the games protagonists

Facilities
Facility hire could refer to motion capture studios, editing suites, sound recording studios, media workshops, filming space, post production suites, and animation suites. A creative project is often a multi layered, complex task requiring the work and cooperation of many different professionals. Therefore not only is there an emphasis on distance between facilities but also what can be produced cost effectively. Ideally large development studios have everything they need on site, as they understand what modern elements are required to make a great product. This is not always possible for independent developers, so the scale and ideas used in the project may have to be compromised.

In many industries such as games design, certain elements have become expected by the public and the industry due to the success of pioneering games. Motion capture in games is becoming more and more commonplace to take full advantage of human emotion within a story. Real life actors use facial and physical movement to bring games to life and make them believable. Animators use this filmed footage married with rendered graphics to produce fantastic characters with human movement. In terms of sound, original musical scores are written and recorded to complement the story world. Speech, sound effects and music are key to conveying the message that the developers wish to communicate. All of these factors require custom made facilities that can cater to the large, movie like scale that many games in pre-production aspire to.

An excellent example is Rockstar's 'LA Noire', the technology behind which can be seen here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL9wsEFohTw

Case Study : Beyond Two Souls & Motion Capture

From its conception the idea behind ‘Beyond Two Souls’ was always going to be controversial and divide fans and critics alike. The game creator David Cage set out to make a new sort of video game, one in which players choose how their story plays out alongside the evolution of the main character, Ellie. Cage wanted the games’ emphasis to be on story and emotion, negating the traditional Heads Up Display for a more naturalistic film like approach. There were to be no energy bars, ammo counts, maps or power ups on screen. This traditional way of gaming, Cage reasoned, was not like a real life experience where our lives play out purely based on how we deal with situations and others. Life choices are key and would form the basis of how ‘Beyond Two Souls’ game mechanic would function.

Such an ambitious concept would require hours of filmed footage, with the decision having already been taken to cast real actors. Their performances would be integrated into the game world via motion capture, adding another level of realism.

Through a process of discussion and negotiation, the actors Willem Dafoe and Ellen Page were cast to play principal roles in the game. ‘Beyond Two Souls’ actively sought to close the gap between cinema and games, so casting two recognizable faces helped considerably. From the actors point of view, creating a story with branching narratives and multiple choices was extremely challenging. On average, each actor had to read 30 pages per day from a 2000 page script. This attention to human nature and detail also meant many camera angles and tracking shots. As such a custom facility had to be built to accommodate the games filming and motion capture. The game’s choice system was in fact so complex and deep that a player could finish the game and still not have seen everything. The only way they would find that out would be by comparing game playing notes with other players.

The actors Willem Dafoe and Ellen Page, and Willem Dafoe’s’ digital equivalent

Ellen Page in ‘Beyond Two Souls’

The games’ naturalistic in game movie style

Upon release, the game divided the public, some applauding and some deriding the game's lofty goals. Either way, this ambitious gaming achievement cost an estimated $27 million to make, with further undisclosed costs for marketing and talent.

Clearances

Clearance is a financial, legal and logistical consideration. The term refers to personnel, talent, locations or resources being available at a given time. For example, if a celebrity has been short listed to lend their voice or likeness to a project they need to be available around their existing work schedule. If a location is required that is maybe busy or heavily populated then it needs to be made completely available for the purposes of the project. This may require permission from local or national authorities and closed to the public for a short time.

An example of a clearance in a video game could be to get a well-known actor or actress to lend their vocal talent and/or likeness. If the actor is a well-known celebrity, their agent will often be approached with an outline for the script and story of the game. This is the first clearance, as an agent often has a good idea of the kind of work that will best suit their client. There is also the matter of the actors beliefs, personal principles and ethics. In many ways this is the second clearance. Once agreements have been reached between the game's director and the actor / actress they are invited for a read through. On agreement with this, the final part of the clearance must be resolved which is to work around the actors existing work schedule. Many other actors / actresses who are not celebrities will possibly be approached in the same way. On average a performer involved within a video game can expect to receive:

Voice Over Talent and Voice over Announcer: $42,707.

Voice over Actor: $50,506.

Voice Coach: $58,109.

Higher paid voice actors can make up to $90,000 a year. The top paid actors can potentially make significantly more. Celebrity voice actors can receive up to $750,000 for one hour’s work.

Figures taken from: http://thegamerguyrants.wordpress.com/2012/03/22/voice-acting-in-video-games/

The obvious advantage of having a celebrity on board is to endorse the game. Potential buyers will hopefully be impressed by the star pulling power and be happy to part with their money. Also having a great voice for a character brings a power and spirit to its development process like nothing else possible. Instantly it will have sound, personality and character, helping the developers to confidently steer it in a direction that the audience will understand. A professional actor in a video game can also bring depth, gravitas and knowledge in a way that enthuses the production team and excites the audience. Several examples are listed below with the take that they bought to the given character:

Case Study: Famous actors who have voiced video games

Mark Hamill

Hamill has done many, many video game voices but has perhaps become best known for his portrayal of the Joker in the Batman TV series and the Arkham video games. On the Joker’s trademark laugh, Hamill say: “His laugh should be like a musical instrument. It should illustrate his mood.”

Liam Neeson

Neeson has not done a great deal of video game work but was attracted to the role in ‘Fallout 3’ due to its’ deep story. Whilst still in development, the role was actually written with Neeson in mind as the game makers felt his voice had the right gentle, commanding tone and level of drama for the character.

Sean Bean

Bean has done only one video game voice that of the prince in 2006’s ‘Oblivion’. His contribution however brings a depth and gravitas to the game that has lifted it to a legendary status. Bean himself thoroughly enjoyed the recording experience saying: “It was a good, stylish and successful piece of work and if a sequel came by, I’d definitely be up for it.”

Kiefer Sutherland

Sutherland is not a gamer but agreed to lend his voice to the role of Snake in the upcoming ‘Metal Gear Solid V’. He also used his acting to supply facial capture to further add believability to Snake. He says “It’s an honor to be able to play this character. This character has an unbelievable legacy, but there’s a real personal quality to the character that I’ve connected to.”

Clearances could also refer to agreed milestones for the development team from funders or financial backers. It is not unheard of for developers to receive the next piece of funding that they need only upon completion of a given set of tasks.

Timescales
A vital consideration for any creative project is time. Timescales between production and release are probably the first. Time is not infinite on any project as it is often a product in a money making business that is at stake. There is a usually a very definite deadline that developers must adhere to if the goal is catch a target audience. It could be that a product has to be timed to compete with a rival or synchronize with a seasonal release or event. It could also be that timescales have the purpose of adhering to a budget. Every person involved needs to make money from their time, and an awareness how long the project can be funded for is essential. Not taking this into account can result in financial loss, project failure or even bankruptcy.

If talent, artists or developers are being outsourced, their availability needs to be taken into account and built into the overall production plan. Similarly if facilities or equipment are required, the use of them must be predicted via timescales. This is to ensure that they are available to use and do not clash with previous or prior users projects.

The concept of clearances as outlined above in 'Finance' is also one of extreme priority. If the actor / actress the studio wants cannot commit at any stage, the development team need to know. This is because to not do so risks the project being stalled, affecting finance. Similarly, if the actor / actress cannot commit straight away but would like to be involved a timescale for the clearance process needs to be put into place.

The same concept applies to milestones, and is a simple one; to complete a set of tasks the pre-production team needs to accurately estimate how long it will take to achieve them. To do so could risk funding, further finance, or the project running over budget.

Occasionally, failure to keep within an agreed time frame can lead to events spiralling out of control, as was the case with 2014's disastrous 'Alien: Colonial Marines'.

Case Study : The 2014 ‘Aliens: Colonial Marines’ court case

In 2014, Sega went to court with the developers Gearbox Software over issues surrounding the release of the game ‘Aliens: Colonial Marines’. The main issue concerned claims of false advertising with Sega claiming that the game looked nothing like prerelease versions that were being shown at trade shows and to the press. These early developments were revealed to be produced by a completely different development team, Timegate Studios. It was later heard in court that Timegate failed to meet development milestones, so the project was handed over to Gearbox Software. Gearbox effectively took the work that Timegate had done and altered it to suit their own creative vision. The public outcry and overall negativity led to the game being a huge commercial failure. Fans were looking forward to the definitive ‘Aliens’ experience that early versions of the game promised. The version that was released bore little to no resemblance to this work, leading to claims of false advertising and squandering of Sega’s funding. Gearbox contested this case, but despite this Sega eventually agreed to an out of court settlement for £75 million. An expensive claim, a disastrous release and chiefly because Timegate initially failed to adhere to timescales.

Personnel

The term personnel refers to the individuals that will be involved in the production of the project. An independent developer may have a team of 3 – 5 people on board, whereas a large developer may have hundreds of team members skills at their disposal.

This will dramatically affect the budget and project plan of any creative tasks. If the team does not already have the required skills in house, these could either be hired or outsourced. Personnel roles could refer to writers, art workers, modellers, designers, and programmers as well as administration, marketing and advertising staff. All of these people play a key role in the development and launch of any creative endeavour.

The correct skills and experiences are essential to realizing any creative vision. Often a team is hand picked or put together based purely on their skills and work on previous projects. For example, some team members come from a film background, others from art, and some from music. Regardless of the project, a mutual understanding of the project brief from everyone involved and the correct contributions is vital.

In the modern digital age, there are numerous ways that personnel can be acquired if they are not already in-house. Outsourcing websites such as People per Hour, O Desk and e-Lance are all places that professionals can be acquired for a reasonable cost. The advantage of this is also that clients and employers can work over huge distances via the internet.

This also solves the issue of availability since people can work on projects to suit their own schedules, within reason.

This way of working is also a great way for independent practitioners to showcase what they have already worked on and potentially make inroads into the industry. Creative people have never been more blessed for opportunities to grow and work on high level AAA projects.

Case Study : Ross Dearsley – Illustrator and Conceptual Artist

Ross Dearsley is a freelance illustrator and concept designer working in the fields of movies, games and comic books. He works from his home studio in Lincolnshire, and Sony's London offices. His work as an illustrator is often concerned with the pre-production or conceptual stage and the generation of ideas for the project. Ross’s designs and thought process are often triggered by a rough outline from the creative director. From here he draws many designs that elaborate on an idea or theme, refining it until he reaches a workable solution. In the designs above you can see artwork samples for sci-fi characters, a Batman video game and the Jane Eyre and Harry Potter movies. Not all of these ideas for the projects were used, in fact many were rejected. The goal of the concept designer is to continue to research, draw ,and develop themes and thinking until fresh and original solutions are reached.

Contributors

Contributors in pre-production terms refers to any actors, general public or industry experts, depending on the type of production. For example, if the aim of the project is to create a music video the contributors would be the artist and any actors that will be used to tell the narrative story within the video.

A second example may be the production of a documentary. For this, it would require people to interview such as experts or members of the public. They would all be required to answer questions, give accounts or relate opinions in order to make the documentary a useful and interesting piece of work.

In terms of video game production outside of the developers’ studio, contributors may be voice actors or motion capture actors. They could be musicians to compose the soundtrack or even an agency to produce TV adverts or short films for advertising purposes. They could also be equipment, research or field specialists. For example the production of ‘Call of Duty’ and ‘Modern Warfare’ games has required real combat veterans who advise the developers on weapons, combat techniques and military history. This has lent the franchise an air of authenticity that makes the experience believable and sets the games apart from competition.

Another example could be the use of drivers, technicians and racing industry experts to contribute to a motor racing game. A racing car is a vastly complex piece of equipment with a rich history and a worldwide following. To create an experience that is the virtual equivalent is a huge undertaking. The game will most likely be bought by fans who expect authenticity and want the same thrills, dangers and challenges that they would find on a track. It is therefore imperative that to maintain realism and credibility, racing experts and historians must contribute their knowledge. This attention to detail could ultimately be the difference between the game being a commercial success or just another racer.

Codes of Practice

This term can be broken down into many sub sections, and it is necessary that developers and publishers have a complete understanding of it all. Failure to do so can result in prosecution or criminal charges.

Copyright

All creative projects are intellectual property and cannot infringe on or steal the ideas of others. It is therefore imperative that any concepts, designs or ideas are the work of the developers or production team and not directly taken from any other source. Similarly, it is vital for developers to protect their own intellectual property to prevent others plagiarising their ideas.

Health & Safety

The creative developers have a responsibility to guard the safety and well being of anyone who is involved in a project. If the project is a music video, the production team must make sure the location or studio is safe for the artists, dancers and crew. If the project is a video game involving motion capture, the developers have a responsibility to make sure that the actors can work in a safe sound stage environment, free from hazards.

Insurance

This term could involve public liability or completion insurance. Public liability is a vital consideration for any business that deals with the public. It means that if a member of the public was to suffer an accident due to a companies product or activities, the company could cover the cost of legal and compensation expenses. A company that trades and deals with the public needs to know that if the worst should happen, the customers property, medical bills and possessions could be replaced or paid for.

Completion insurance refers to a company covering themselves being sued for supplying a creative product late. The repercussions of late delivery could mean loss of client earnings, extra moving / storage costs, or additional interest / penalties for failing to complete on the contracted date. A contract is legally binding so any deviation from this agreed set of timescales could result in a serious financial impact as well as legal proceedings. For example, if the project was a video game that is scheduled to be bundled with a new console, failure to produce at the launch of the console could lose sales for the manufacturer. This could result in court action for loss of earnings, which the developers need to be prepared for. It is important to have a thorough understanding of every aspect of the project during pre-production so as to avoid this.

Regulatory bodies

Regulatory bodies concern a legal requirement for if the creative project has adult, violent or mature subject matter. They are necessary to warn the consumer of what kind of content they can expect when they purchase or view the product. The regulatory bodies are also in place to make sure the creative project is suitable for a mass audience and is not any way offensive. The bodies also deal with fair use of advertising, sales and distribution. The regulatory bodies concerned with all forms of creative media are :

OFCOM – The Office of Fair Communication

PCC – Press Complaints Commission

ASA – Advertising Standards Authority

The regulatory bodies concerned with the rating games pre release and trade unions are:

PEGI – Pan European Game Information

ESRB – Entertainment Software Rating Board

TIGA – The Independent Game Developers Association

ELSPA – The Entertainment and Software Publishers Association

BIMA – The British Interactive Media Association

In gaming terms, many software titles can deliberately contain strong language or violent subject matter. Many games use this in a responsible narrative manner, whilst others use it purely for shock value. The gaming world is already viewed by many in the public eye as a corruptive and negative influence on children and adults. This is not necessarily always true but the dark matter of many games is undeniable. Scenes of violence, profanity or blood and gore are commonplace, so the public needs to be forewarned when buying software. Children or those of an unfit or nervous disposition need to be warned in advance so as to avoid trauma. From the developer’s point of view, every step needs to protect themselves and avoid legal action.