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Regulatory, Legal & Ethical issues in Games, Animation and VFX


Regulatory, Legal & Ethical Issues in Gaming


Regulatory

Ever since the beginning of video games, there has had to be restrictions on who can play what. These are now known as age restrictions. In the majority, these are well used and fair. However, there are problems. There are different policies all around the world depending on which country you live in, and difference policies for all states in the USA (The ESA).

Legal

Ratings of Games

PEGI 3+ games won’t have a violence descriptor but may contain “Tom and Jerry” slapstick violence if it is not considered disturbing.
PEGI 7+ games flagged with a violence descriptor may include “non-realistic violence towards fantasy characters” or “implied violence”.
PEGI 12+ will have the Violence descriptor to signpost “violence towards human like characters” but this must be non-realistic so that bodies don’t remain when killed. This may also include violent sports like boxing providing there is no blood.
PEGI 16+ games are flagged for “violence towards human characters” who react to being shot as they would in real life. This will often include blood and bodies will remain once they are dead.
PEGI 18+ games are flagged for including violence towards humans that may make you “wince” or your “stomach churn”. This includes gross depictions of heads, arms, and legs being removed by way of chain-saw or shotgun. It also includes sexual violence such as rape and mass killings of civilians.


Developers of games are definitely affected by legal issues. Lawsuits could set-back, or even bankrupt studios for as small as saying one wrong word.
Ethical


The main areas that ethical debates revolve around are:
Violence (Graphic, physical, sexual, non-physical)
Rating (how regulation is applied?)
Education(do games educate? Should they be relied upon?)
Stereotyping(Age,race,gender,disability,class)
Addiction(how do gamers become addicted? What does the industry do to help this?)


It becomes the responsibility of both the industry and the consumer to be aware of the issues in gaming and act accordingly.
Legal & Ethical Issues in Animation
Legal
Copyright and Ownership


Globally, copyright laws deal with a very basic yet important issue – who owns the idea, characters, shapes, objects, graphics.
Trademarks and Branding


Trademarks and branding are synonymous terms, as both refer to giving your business a unique name and ethos that stands you apart from your competitors in hte industry that your business belongs to.
Defamation and Causing Disrepute


When the reputation of an individual or an organisation is damaged – so much so that livelihoods are lost – then defamation has occurred.
Ethical
Intellectual property
Nondisclosure
Image content
Business ethics
Trust
Privacy
Truth
Data Protection


Privacy is a big thing in animation. For the members of staff involved in the film, and the high ranking businesses. Somebody has the role of keeping their personal lives safe and not to broadcast any of this information.

Regulatory Issues in Visual Effects
Regulatory
Unpaid overtime
Miscalssification of employees
Illegal usage of billing purposes
Non-existent transferable healthcare benefits and savings plans
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