Video games 5: Regulation


Regulation for the video game industry


Video game ratings are mandatory under UK law. The Games Rating Authority which is part of the Video Standards Council and they rate games using the PEGI rating system. These games which have a PEGI 12, 16 or 18 rating can't be sold or hired to persons below that age. The symbols above also are shown on games to show parents and kids exactly what the game has in store, so a game that features drug use has to have the drugs warning symbol so that audiences can see if the game is suitable.

When deciding an age rating the game needs to go through strenuous testing and the rating given then needs to be put on any packaging or the symbols given need to show the content of the game. Age ratings are put on games to make sure that games can be enjoyed and not cause harm to players,having ratings affects parents and players because parents can look at the content warnings of games and decide what games their children should play and children can become more aware of the content warnings on the games they like most as to make sure they are appropriate. Regulations are made for two main reasons: preventing harm and to protect intellectual property or copyright. These ratings make sure that products can't be resold or anything.

 


Assassin's Creed Odyssey has been given an 'M' rating and this means it contains mature content and is meant to be played by gamers 17 years or older. I think that this is an appropriate age rating as the game has certain features that aren't suitable for younger players, for example the characters pillage and wear clothes that aren't suitable for younger players to want to wear like short skirts for the female avatars. The age 17 rating is appropriate as this is also the target market for the game, the 16-20 age demographic is the key target market for most games as they are the demographic that buy video games most. The target audience for this game is teens from 15-20 who are most likely male, lower class or middle class.

An interactive game like assassins creed can cause potential harm to audiences as the audience can choose what they do so the actions they do in the game make the gamers see some graphic images, for example when the avatar smashes up a town or kills another character then the audience will be able to see the graphic images. Age rating prevents unlawful harm to younger viewers as they can't see the graphic killings in the game if they aren't allowed to buy the game. As the game is set in the historical world of ancient Rome there is a lot of slaughtering and murder as the main character tries to take down a villainous organisation. The decisions that the player makes means the character they are playing will be altered to make the game suit their avatars.

According to many game review sites the game should be suitable for younger players as young as 11 because the game industry has made it so that younger audiences are used to the gore and bloody scenes that most games offer. There are inappropriate words like the f word and all those words parents don't want kids learning, with escorts and a serious amount of nudity younger viewers might find the game disturbing.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Radio- introduction

The Radio component is based purely on industry and audience. Late night woman's hour: Modern themes Late night meaning that it isn't like safe for work hours 11-12 pm Loren Laverne Younger hosts and female panelists Patriarchy- men are in power and they kind of make the rules but this radio show is aimed at just women They have different topics every week  Questions and first listen Who is the target audience for this programme?(age, gender, socio-economic status etc.) The target audience is older than my demographic so its kind of for young adults aged round 20-40 year olds with specialised talks aimed at niche groups also. Women is obviously the idea listener but there is no way anyone would stop a man listening to it. Educated women are the quests and everyday women are the listeners and these days most women have had higher education such as university. How does it reach this target audience? (Consider guests, themes etc.) I think it reaches its target audience through not
Read more

23.9.19 Tide Advert 1950

Image
Facts This product was launched by Procter and Gamble and soon became a brand leader. 1946 character called 'the housewife' customer had high hopes for the brand  The advert uses the z line theory as the audience would read the text then look at the woman and finally they would look at the cartoon. The colours show a kind of patriotism as the American flag has red white and blue. The red suggests how the woman 'loves' this product. the mode of address for this ad is through many things such as the characters dress or the bold colours that are used or even the repeated 'w' sound. The advert has love hearts over the top of the characters head suggesting that she feels so strongly a feeling love toward the product. the advert is specifically talk to women as an audience as the advert literally says that its what women want. LANGUAGE The target audience is suggested to be enthused about the product as they use an exclamation mark at the end of the headi
Read more

Riptide analysis

Image
Analyse and apply semiotics and structuralist theory to riptide by Vance joy. research intertexual influences. MUSIC VIDEO approx 90 mins long They have so many beats per minute Can have a series of different images or a story but it doesn't have to be consistent Tend to not have natural audio like films do FILMS approx 4 mins long films have a story line with a beginning, middle and end films have bigger budgets Films have credits at the end Key term - celebrity  -  "The attribution of glamorous or notorious status to somebody in the public sphere" (Rojec, cited in Abercrombie & Longhurst, 2007:54) Lady Gaga has created herself as a celebrity as she wears the most controversial outfits such as her meat dress. In this music video the costumes are based on a neon apocalypse theme with space genre items. the lyrics of the sog go well with the concept as she is singing about being free and not wanting to not be herself which is shwon when she dress
Read more