2d Game Programming

Finding and choosing players Publishing near and far: legal, ethical and review board issues

Admin

● Quiz ● Project questions?

Players

● So now we've talked about choosing the platforms and chosen the purpose/genre ● Now we need customers and players – Remember customers and players sometimes same and sometimes not. – Who is your target demo?

Players

● So now we've talked about choosing the platforms and chosen the purpose/genre ● Now we need customers and players – Remember customers and players sometimes same and sometimes not. – Who is your target demo?

● Not 'everybody' ● Then you will get nobody.

Why players play?

● Players play for several reasons – Social interaction – Physical seclusion/boredom

● http://news.sciencemag.org/brain-behavior/2014/07/people-would-rather-be-electrically-shocked-left-alone-their-thoughts – Competition – Learning new things

● See news for today – Mastery/achievement – Escape the daily grind

– Addiction?? (more later) Player Types: multiplayer games

● Bartle Types – Dr. Richard Bartle:

● Early multiplayer game designer ● Paper: observed 4 types of players – Killer – Socializer – Achiever – Explorer ● Later expanded to 8 types with tie-ins to psychology

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Vals Psychotypes

● Method for evaluating personality types – Can target games toward one or more types –

Cultural Market Factors

● Many designers suggests thinking about all of your markets from the beginning – To make localization easier/better – Study out in mid 2016 with game revenue ranking national gaming markets – http://www.newzoo.com/free/rankings/top-100-countries-by-game-revenues/ – results from two years ago on next slide.

● United States of America North America 322,583,006 274,292,330 20,484,628,000 1

● China Asia 1,393,783,836 701,073,270 17,866,677,000 2

● Japan Asia 126,999,808 101,663,346 12,219,552,000 3

● Germany Western Europe 82,652,256 71,080,940 3,528,196,000 4

● United Kingdom Western Europe 63,489,234 55,476,893 3,426,259,000 5

● Republic of KoreaAsia 49,512,026 42,629,854 3,356,202,000 6

● France Western Europe 64,641,279 56,237,913 2,608,818,000 7

● Canada North America 35,524,732 31,890,552 1,717,991,000 8

● Italy Western Europe 61,070,224 36,886,415 1,514,067,000 9

● Spain Western Europe 47,066,402 37,370,723 1,489,366,000 10

● Brazil Latin America 202,033,670 118,593,764 1,339,375,000 11

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– US Market

● You are here and we've talked about it – Generational changes discussed in literature recently – 25% of gamers are now over 50 – 40% or more are female – Mixture of console, pc and mobile gaming

Chinese Market

● Large – but tricky – defer till legal section later

Japanese Market

● Heavy on consoles and handhelds ● Not as much online till recently – Broadband internet was expensive due to monopoly – Changing fast.

Korean Market

● Huge but different from US – Players often physically together in large internet cafes – Live streams and games as a spectator sport common – Top gamers as recognizable celebrities on par with athletes and entertainers.

German Market

● Lots of high speed broadband. – Much higher privacy standard – More censorship than Americans are used to

● Games involving Nazis and World War II are subject to significant restrictions ● Less violence allowed.

When publishing a game

● Need to consider not just the players you are targeting ● But the rules in place in those countries too. ● Games and software are big business ● Often big regulation.

In USA

● ESRB – Entertainment Software Rating Board – established in 1994

● in response to complaints about direction of games ● pac-man->mario->street fighter->grand theft auto (hot coffee) – purely industry group

● no government intervention.

ESRB ratings

● ESRB Rating Symbols – EARLY CHILDHOOD

● Titles rated EC (Early Childhood) have content that may be suitable for ages 3 and older. Contains no material that parents would find inappropriate. – EVERYONE

● Titles rated E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language.

Ratings II ● Ratings – EVERYONE 10+

● Titles rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) have content that may be suitable for ages 10 and older. Titles in this category may contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes. – TEEN

● Titles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language.

● Ratings III

● MATURE – Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language. ● ADULTS ONLY – Titles rated AO (Adults Only) have content that should only be played by persons 18 years and older. Titles in this category may include prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity. ● and finally the non-rating – RATING PENDING

● Titles listed as RP (Rating Pending) have been submitted to the ESRB and are awaiting final rating. (This symbol appears only in advertising prior to a game's release.)

Publishing in Australia

● Australia game ratings – one of the most regulated in western world – official government agency

● Office of Film and Literature Classification ● http://www.classification.gov.au/Pages/Home.aspx – makes policy

● game must be rated – illegal to sell or play if not – rating can be withheld ● usual due process

Australian Ratings

● Review codes – E (Exempt from Classification) - These films may be sold without a specific classification.

● grey code – G (General) — These films and computer games are for general viewing. However, G does not necessarily designate a children’s film or game as many of these productions contain content that would be of no interest to children.

● green Australian Ratings

● Review codes – PG (Parental guidance recommended) — These films and computer games contain material that may confuse or upset younger viewers under 15.

● yellow code – M (Recommended for mature audiences) — These films and computer games contain material that requires a mature perspective, but is still not enough to be deemed too

extreme for younger players.

● blue – note Recommended Australian Ratings

● Review codes – MA15+ (Mature Accompanied) - The content is considered unsuitable for exhibition by persons under the age of 15. Persons under 15 may only legally purchase or exhibit MA15+ rated content under the supervision of an adult guardian. This is a legally restricted category.

● red – R18+ (Restricted) - People under 18 may not buy, rent or exhibit these films. – X18+ (Restricted) - People under 18 may not buy, rent or exhibit these films.

● both black codes Australia

● RC – refused classification

● banned for sale, hire or public exhibition, carrying a maximum fine of $275,000 and/or 10 years jail. ● legal to own unless child porn ● except: – illegal residents of Western Australia to possess Refused Classification Video Games ever since the Liberal Party came into power in WA in 2008, where the breach of this law incurs either a hefty fine or imprisonment.

China

● Massive market – very protectionist – lots of restrictions. – government hostility

● Beijing Reformatory for Juvenile Delinquents claimed in 2007 – third of detainees were influenced by violent online games or erotic websites when committing robbery and rape etc.

Foreign games in China

● Any foreign game that sells in China banned for – * Violating basic principles of the Constitution – * Threatening national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity – * Divulging state secrets – * Threatening state security – * Damaging the nation's glory – * Disturbing social order – * Infringing on others' legitimate rights

China III ● Massive piracy in china – most foreign games online

● pay per use subscriptions – Nintendo

● China biggest source of pirated/stolen games ● won't sell anything original there. ● The great firewall of China ● blizzard WoW china issues from a few years ago. – different government offices power feud hits gaming – Lich King reskin.

● plans to treat mobile phone games as online games Game addiction

● in recent years – game addiction buzzwords – Internet addiction

● real or 'temporary insanity'? – Europe and China very concerned –

Gaming Related deaths

● Several gaming related deaths in last decade – Korean man obsessed StarCraft

● died after playing over 50 hours – stopping only to sleep for short time and use the restroom. – The exhaustion, lack of food -> collapse in Internet café – Mr. Qui: Shanghai

● sentenced to life in prison for stabbing gamer (Mr. Zhu) ● over virtual sword – Daniel Petric : ELYRIA OH

● so angry that his father would't allow him to play Halo 3 that he killed his mother and tried to kill father, tried to make it appear to be a murder-suicide, Game related violence

● Some game related violence – clan v. clan beating death in Moscow – Vietnam: killed for subscription money – October 2008: 43 year old Japanese woman

● online 'marriage' to a man in Maple Story. – never met in real life ● when the man 'divorced' her without warning she became very angry – She hacked into his account – deleted his character. ● picked up by police

– faces up to five years in prison or more likely a fine of up to $4,000. Perspective

● Violence – video game inspired? – loose cannon's and gangs? ● Law and punishments? – existing laws

● hacking etc – virtual property

● habbo hotel 'thief' – games and RMT

● taxes second life example Perspective II

● South Korea's legislation and judiciary committee: moves a law forward to – Ban children under 15 from online games from midnight to 6am. – Discuss. –

Games and War crimes

● Study out couple years or so ago. – games permit (or reward) war crimes. – army recruiting/training. – good citizens – games vs literature/movies

● look at site.