HA1 Task 9 – Development Plan

HA1 Task 8 – Showcase

HA1 Task 6 – IP

HA1 Task 5 – Budgets

Variable Costs – Gross profit and gross profit %

Variable costs are those expenses in your business that increase or decrease with the level of your sales. For instance, if you sell hamburgers, your variable costs would include the cost of the meat, the buns, condiments as well as packaging. As a general rule, your variable costs can always be expressed as a percentage of your sales. For instance, if the cost of buns, meat, etc. for a hamburger that sells for £1 is 60p or 60%, then you can assume that if you sell ten hamburgers or £10 in sales that your variable costs will be 60% of that or £6.

With this data you can figure your gross profit and gross profit percentage.

Sales - Variable Costs = Gross Profit

£1 – 60p = 40p

Gross Profit ÷ Sales = Gross Profit Percentage

40p ÷ 100p = 40%

This is a very important concept because it allows us to determine the net effect of increases and decreases in sales.

Fixed Costs – Net profit

Fixed costs are those which you will incur whether you have any sales or not. These would include such items as rent, utilities, certain labour, insurance, etc.

Unlike variable costs, fixed costs do not increase or decrease with changes in sales. Therefore, the greater your sales, the less of an effect your fixed costs will have on your net profits.

Here's how to determine net profit:

Gross Profit - Fixed Costs = Net Profit

Fixed costs are only valid within a certain range of sales or activity. If sales exceed that range, fixed costs will jump to a new level. For example, you may be able to produce 100 hamburgers per hour with one employee; however, to produce more than that you would have to hire more help.

Break Even Point

The break-even point is, as the name implies, the level of sales where you neither make money nor lose money.

It is the level of sales where the gross profit is the same as the fixed costs. Using our hamburger example, we will assume fixed costs are £400, we have £1,000 in sales and our gross profit percentage is still 40%. Since we sell hamburgers for a £1 each, we must sell 1000 hamburgers to break even.

The break-even point is important for two reasons: one, it lets us know what volume we must sell to keep from losing money. And two, with a little modification, it will also tell us how much we must sell to produce a given amount of net profit.

Monitoring

Once you have set up the budget, compare it to the actual figures every month, to look for differences and establish why they are there.

Adjust expenditure or sales efforts as you go along, to bring the next group of numbers in line with the budget.

HA1 Task 2 – Job Roles

HA1 Task 7 – Contractual, Legal, Ethical Issues and Professional Bodies

Employment Contracts

The purpose of this contract is to set forth the terms of your employment - what the company expects you to do for the company, and what the company will do for you in return. Employment contracts at game companies are pretty much like employment contracts at any other sort of company. The game industry employment contract is likely to include clauses about benefits, confidentiality, about inventions, and about not competing with the company during or shortly after the term of employment.

Development Agreements

Game publishers often hire game developers to create games for them. A development agreement is a contract that spells out the terms of the development deal.

Terms - This part of the agreement spells out how much the publisher will pay the developer, what timeframe the developer has to develop the game, and if there will be royalties, what the royalty rate is.

Ownership - It's important to clarify whether the publisher owns the IP or the developer owns it.

Warranties - The developing company has to swear that it won't use anybody else's source code and the publishing company has to swear that it has the right to ask developer to create this particular game. For example Activision will sign an agreement with Infinity Ward in order to develop the next Call of duty title.

 

License Agreements

When a publisher wants to make a game about a movie or something, the publisher and the movie IP owner execute a contract spelling out the terms of the license.

What's Being Licensed - The contract spells out exactly what the publisher is getting the rights to use.

What The License Can Be Used For - The contract probably specifies that the publisher only has the right to make a game that works on the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3.

Territory - The contract specifies what parts of the world the publisher's game will be published in. Publishers always want worldwide rights, of course - but licensors often charge more for that.

Term - The contract probably doesn't run forever. Most license agreements run no more than 5 years.

NDA and Confidentiality Agreements

Non-Disclosure Agreements, Disclosure Agreements, and Confidentiality Agreements are pretty much the same thing. One party, in order to do business with the other party, has to divulge (disclose) a secret of some kind (a plan to make a particular game, or a new technology or process for making games, or a business deal that hasn't yet been publicly announced), and has to tell this secret to the other party. The other party agrees not to disclose the information - to keep it confidential - else damage will be the result to the first party. In such an event, dire things will happen in a court of law to the second party.

 

Collaboration Agreements

The above types of contracts cover the most frequent types of contract in the mainstream game industry. But a lot of people are building indie games or hobby games, and for those folks a very important need is an agreement that cover the all-important issues of ownership and compensation in the creation of games that exist outside of the mainstream industry. Games that might or might not ever generate any money. The majority of hobby and indie projects fail, and a huge factor in those failures is who owns what, who's supposed to do what, and who's going to get what. A collaboration agreement sets forth in clear terms how the indie or hobby project is managed and controlled, who owns the IP, how the game is intended to be used, how any possible income is to be handled, and how termination of the project is to be governed.

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Professional Bodies

UKIE - 

UKIE is the only trade body for the UK’s wider interactive entertainment industry.  They help ensure that their members from the videogames and wider interactive entertainment industry have the right economic, political and social environment needed for this expanding industry to thrive. They provide a range of services to meet the shared needs of members and to further the interests of the interactive entertainment industry as a whole: UKIE build strong working relationships with parliamentarians and policymakers to ensure industry needs are met through appropriate Government support. Their dedicated intellectual Property Crime Unit seeks to minimise the damage caused by intellectual property theft and catch those responsible for this criminal activity. They also act as a public information resource, to help consumers and the media better understand gaming.  Providing advice to budding IP creators and sellers on how best to pursue careers in the industry. They tend to work with European partners, ISFE to ensure members are aware of key EU developments and to promote the priorities and interests of the industry in Europe.

IGDA -

The International Game Developers Association is the largest non-profit membership organization serving individuals that create video games. The following elements constitute the identity of the IGDA:

Their aim is to advance the careers and enhance the lives of game developers by connecting members with their peers, promoting professional development, and advocating on issues that affect the developer community.

An example of an IGDA member in action can include exploring and addressing significant issues within the industry affecting game development: Quality of Life, Recognition of Talent, Diversity.

Women in Games –

Highlight academic and industrial perspectives on ground-breaking work in computer games research, games development and games education. Focus attention on issues of special interest to women in the games industry and through this seek to address the games industry's gender imbalance and develop a fuller understanding of games and game playing.

Aims

1. Give a voice to women and men in the games industry and in games education with interests in supporting

    and encouraging the role of women in the games industry.

2. Support and disseminate research into games, games culture, games education, games industry, games

    technologies, and other game related areas, especially (but not exclusively) with reference to the

    experience of women playing, developing and responding to games and game culture.

3. Provide networking opportunities for women and men working in the games industry and researching game

    related areas.

Objectives

1. Hold regular Women in Games conferences and events.

2. Support events and conferences that promote the Women in Games aims.

3. Provide information and relevant links on the Women in Games website.

4. Provide online opportunities (forum/blog) for Women in Games related discussions and dissemination of

    ideas.

5. Support individuals and projects that further the Women in Games aims.

BAFTA

The Academy is proud of its expert membership of approximately 6,500 individuals in the UK and the US and of its vast collective experience across film, television and games. The Academy identifies, rewards and celebrates excellence at its internationally-renowned, annual BAFTA Awards ceremonies whilst providing many opportunities for the public – as well as industry practitioners and emerging talent – to find information and inspiration through its year-round programme of events, initiatives and activities.

The Academy is committed to sharing insights into the crafts of the people who work in film, television and games by staging over 200 public events a year across the UK and beyond. This wide-ranging programme of events gives members, the industry and the public at large many opportunities to learn first-hand from the finest practitioners in the business.

Access to this wealth of inspiring knowledge extends online, at www.bafta.org/guru . Through our Awards, events and online resources, we help drive standards ever higher, seek out and encourage new and emerging talent and inspire practitioners whilst celebrating the very best creative work in film, television and games today.

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Ethics in Games

Violence - possibly found in 12+ games as violence can cause many problems however instead of physically hurting someone anger/ violence can be taken out on a virtual playground where no one really gets hurt. Many people believe violence from games and films can influence on people and then take it further however it’s really depending on the person. If they have no control over a game they shouldn’t play it.

Rating - PEGI

PEGI Pan European Game Information

Age ratings are systems used to ensure that entertainment content, such as films, videos, DVDs, and computer games, are clearly labelled by age according to the content they contain. Age ratings provide guidance to consumers (particularly parents) to help them decide whether or not to buy a particular product.

Computer and video games are now enjoyed by millions of players throughout Europe. In the UK, 37 % of the population aged between 16 and 49 describe themselves as ‘active gamers’ (defined as currently playing games on a console, handheld or PC). In comparison, in Spain and Finland 28% of the population aged 16 and 49 are defined as ‘active gamers’ (Nielsen report 2008). While most games (49%) are suitable for players of all ages there are many that are only suitable for older children and young teenagers. There are also some games (4%) that are made for adults only (over the age of 18).

The rating on a game confirms that it is suitable for players over a certain age. Accordingly, a PEGI 7 game is only suitable for those aged seven and above and an PEGI 18 game is only suitable for adults aged eighteen and above. The PEGI rating considers the age suitability of a game, not the level of difficulty.

PEGI is used and recognised throughout Europe and has the enthusiastic support of the European Commission. It is considered to be a model of European harmonisation in the field of the protection of children.

Education

Games such as brain training can be used as a successful example of educational games. The question is do you play for leisure and entertainment or to actually learn something? I personally believe educational games cause no harm to anyone however i wouldn’t play them for entertainment.

Games fulfil a number of educational purposes. Some games may be explicitly designed with educational purposes, while others may have incidental or secondary educational value. All types of games may be used in an educational environment. Educational games are games that are designed to teach people about certain subjects, expand concepts, reinforce development, understand an historical event or culture, or assist them in learning a skill as they play. Brain fitness games etc.... There is lack of education in games of such because it may be perhaps too easy but people play for entertainment.

Stereotyping

Games these days need to be careful of which groups they portray as they don’t want to cause any offence to other people. I learn a lot from playing games which reflect other people’s lives for examples of stereotypical games -

5) All Italians are either plumbers or in the mafia. These stereotypes come basically from the Mario games and the Grand Theft Auto games. While I'm sure that there are many excellent Italian plumbers and mafia hit men out there, Italians can do a lot more than rescue princesses from giant creatures or drive around the streets blowing away rivals.

4) All Asian people know karate. This may come as a surprise to some video game designers, but not everybody from an eastern country is a martial arts expert. Yet in game after game we see Asians depicted as Bruce Lee types, complete with howls and hi-yahs. There are plenty of things to be interested in (and design games about) concerning the cultures of Asian countries aside from martial arts.

3) All men want to do is kick butt, score chicks, and drink beer. You might reply, "You mean they don't?". It turns out that some men enjoy things like spending time with their families, reading books, or even have a cup of tea. Sure, video games are meant to be fantastic in nature, but it wouldn't kill game makers to insert normal men in games every now and then. It would add to the realism and (I believe) attract a wider audience the way the Sims series of games has.

2) All aliens are maniacal death mongers. I know that many video games need some good enemies, but the over-reliance on megalomaniacal aliens has really gotten old. At least zombies and vampires are kind of cursed to be evil by forces beyond their control, but aliens could be decent, upstanding citizens, right? To be honest, in some games, aliens do assist humans, but the vast majority of time they are bent on our destruction. I blame it on Space Invaders.

1) All women are hotties who love wearing barely any clothing. This is an industry-wide stereotype that does not seem to differ depending on game genre. If you think about some famous female video game characters, you will quickly realize that they are all as thin as Lara Croft and as buxom as Bayonetta. They are all young, as well, which is forgivable. It would be difficult to imagine an 80-year-old woman shooting up enemies and dodging falling boulders. However, the lack of clothing and sometimes impossible measurements of the women in video games is sad, as most of the kids playing these games could potentially develop warped views of women.

Addiction

Some people who may be addicted to games and do not lose control, care about their health and actually get some exercise can be compared differently to people who don’t even move from their seat. People complain that being addicted to games is dangerous as it leads to death (to the most extreme situations). Gamers can often be described as "No life’s" when however they are having 1000's of lives through there virtual gaming. There are many different types of gaming addicts however it can cause problems. you could start believing you have extra lives and jump off a building or that you live in a forest surrounded by war craft beasts however it will be an ill illusion. Video games addiction is use of computer and video games to make life bearable. Instances have been reported in which users play compulsively, isolating themselves from family and friends or from other forms of social contact, and focus almost entirely on in-game achievements rather than other life events, and exhibit lack of imagination and mood swings. There is no formal diagnosis of video game addiction in current medical or psychological literature. Inclusion of it as a psychological disorder has been proposed and rejected for the next version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

Photosensitive epilepsy is another dis order people can get from gaming. This is where you find it difficult when flashing images move across a screen.

Sources-
Ukie logo - http://zombiegamer.co.za/ukie-pushes-for-online-safety
IGDA  - http://kotaku.com/igda/
GameBaftas- https://twitter.com/BAFTAGames
Pegi age ratings/ restrictions - http://forums.mariosworld.org/showthread.php?p=340
Employment contract - http://www.rentalagreementtemplate.org/employment-contract-template/
Infinity Ward - http://www.totalpcgaming.com/general/respawn-entertaiment-9-infinity-ward-0/
Addiction - http://healthland.time.com/2011/11/18/brain-changes-in-video-gamers-addiction-or-just-people-having-fun/
Mario - http://www.onlinesupermario.com/

HA1 Task 5 - Project Management

Project Management

Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, managing, leading, and controlling resources to achieve specific goals.

Project Lifecycle

The project lifecycle is a path you follow to take your project from start to finish in the most efficient way. Its like a road map that follows to get from where you are now to your destination, with some very distinct landmarks along the way.

Agile methods in project management

An Agile method in project management is repetitious or frequent method of determining requirements for projects in a highly flexible and interactive manner.

Milestone

A milestone is a special event that recieves special attention. it is often falsely put at the end of a stage to mark the completion of a work package or phase. They are rather to be put before the end of phase so that corrective actions in case or problems can still be met and deliverable can be completed in time.

Management tools

Which is designed to assist a project manager in developing a plan, assigning resources to tasks, tracking progress, managing the budget, and analyzing workloads.

Risks

Identify these associated with setting up a business. This also applies in the case of an existing business that intends to expand, diversify or grow.

Contingencies

Reduces the likelihood of problems occurring, and secondly ensures that should the something happen, the impact it has to the project is minimised.