Year 1 - L3 Games Design Unit 78: Digital Graphics for Computer Games Assignment 2

Client's brief: Come up with your own design brief, it should have at least 5 levels or rooms and one main character and several monsters to avoid.

My brief: Create a level based 2D platform game that involves controlling Malzah, a 20 year old, who has an awesome super-power - he can glide and shoot energy beams (in order to destroy enemies). He can also jump onto platforms in order to avoid obstacles (such as fire and spikes) as well as destroy enemies (such as ghosts and banshees). His purpose is to defeat all the enemies and slay Ao Shin, the Evil Dragon God.
The game would be rated 3+, since it only contains mild violence in an appropriate context for younger children, but neither bad language nor frightening content is allowed. The game is appropriate for both male and female audience.

Here is some concept art of my brief:

close angle to Malzah's face

concept art of the basis of the platform game

Malzah's gliding animation possibility

alternative colours for Malzah

Hand drawn concept art of Malzah

Legal and Ethical considerations

Copyright law

"Copyright is a legal right created by the law of a country that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights for its use and distribution. This is usually only for a limited time." The time limit varies but it's normally 70~ years since the death of the owner.
This applies to both briefs, since the client wants me to "come up with my own design brief" - so basically, I can't just copy someones works, it has to be my, original idea.

Libel

Similar to the copyright law, libel is defamation - basically when someone tries to make you look bad by saying something that can ruin your reputation and that (hopefully) isn't true. People do this because of high competition in the industry. Libeling can be considered a criminal offense. This doesn't really apply to my brief, because no one is going to really defame me, since there is not reason to do so.

How are female characters represented in Games?

In a big majority of games, unfortunately women are portrayed in negative ways. They are often represented as objects, and they are even designed in provoking ways, in order to get more audience. They attitudes as well as personality are also affected. This doesn't relate to my brief, because there are no female characters on my game.

Intellectual property

Intangible property, a result of creativity and originality. It "refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce." It relates to this brief, because i came up with all the ideas for the work, so the intellectual property is mine.