P2

Stimulus
What is a brief?
A brief is a short piece of writing or statement, which gives the outline of a task, and a set of rules to follow. Briefs can be very straight forward, or they can be suggestive. Client Briefs are usually loose, so they let a person be creative- a games designer should come up with their own brief, for example they should decide the features of the game which a client brief has no specified. You should also do some market research, so you can determine what games will be popular and what games will not of been done before. A client would research what games would make the most money- its a games designers job to make the game stick out amongst the crowd, as well as being  successful financially.

Ideas Generation

• Brainstorming- Brainstorming is a great place to start when creating a game, a good way of brainstorming ideas is writing them down of paper- or on a text document on a computer- a mind map is a commonly used way of brainstorming, it is effective because a person can write down all the ideas in their mind, no matter how brief they are.
• A mood board is similar to a mind map, it's a little bit more complex, as mood boards can include images, text, materials, and whatever a person feels like. A mood board is supposed to inspire a creative project, and concepts and styles.
• Thumbnail Sketching- a thumbnail sketch is a very basic sketch which gives the general outline of an idea, it can just be a doodle of anything relating to the game. Thumbnail sketches are used as a starting point, they can develop into more detailed sketches, and progress towards artwork.
• Concept Drawings- Concept drawings are sketches that have developed into more serious ideas, these ideas are turned into artwork, this artwork will not be the final design, but it will lead to the end product. Concept art can include: backgrounds, sprites, characters, weapons, vehicles, and environments.

Legal & Ethical Considerations

• Copyright law- Copyright is a law which protects creators of original work, this law stops people from copying ideas and selling, features of other peoples work. In video games, there are many games which are similar, for example sporting games are based around real world sports, so FIFA could not sue Pro Evolution Soccer for copying it's ideas, because they are both based on football. "Copyright gives the creators of some types of media rights to control how they're used and distributed. Music, books, video and software can all be covered by copyright law."

• Libel- Libel is when damaging statements, which are expressed through print, writing, pictures, and any other form of communication, these statements are libel if they expose someone or something to public hatred, which can damage a person or business.
• How are female characters represented in games- The act of discrimination, and use of stereotypes in video games can be considered offensive to some players, a common argument is how females characters are portrayed in video games, they are often represented as sexual objects, or just generally sexualized when it is not necessary to a characters development- or the storyline of a game. Female characters are also not commonly portrayed as the strong character in a lot of games; however this is becoming more common. A game needs to have a good amount of Equality and Diversity so it can relate to many different types of player, and to allow anyone to enjoy the game without any prejudice, or discrimination.

Intellectual property

Intellectual property refers to creations of mind which include: illustrations, written work, inventions, designs, symbols, names, and images. If a person creates something they have intellectual property rights over it, if they have released it to the public it is theirs, and no-one can steal it.