BBVG--Lesson-11

Welcome to The Business Behind Video Games!

COVER ART-WORK

All video games that are released for sale come in one of two forms; download or disc/cartridge.  No matter which one you purchase, Cover Artwork is a great way to let the user know what they are purchasing, and also as a form of advertising, pre-sales, etc.

Video Game Rating System (ESRB)

(SOURCE:  https://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.aspx)

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) ratings provide concise and objective information about the content in video games and apps so consumers, especially parents, can make informed choices. ESRB ratings have three parts:

• Rating Categories suggest age appropriateness

• Content Descriptors indicate content that may have triggered a particular rating and/or may be of interest or concern

• Interactive Elements inform about interactive aspects of a product, including the users' ability to interact, the sharing of users' location with others, if personal information may be shared with third parties, if in-app purchases of digital goods are completed, and/or if unrestricted internet access is provided.

As a supplementary source of information, boxed video games have Rating Summaries that provide a more detailed description of the content that factored into the rating assigned.

Branding Video Game Covers for Different Consoles

In today's video game market, most companies that produce high-quality games will release them for multiple consoles.  Nintendo seems to be one of the last holdouts keeping many of their own characters as proprietary content. (You never see a Mario game available for PS4 or Xbox One)

One of the ways that video games are brand-packaged is by their outer case.  Looking below, you can see the same game two different ways (Madden 15).  

• • The one on the left features the green bar with the XBOX ONE Logo on the top.

  • The one in the center features the blue bar with the PS4 Logo on the top.

  • The one on the right (Madden 13) features the green bar with the Wii Logo on the top.

Your Turn - Create the Cover-Art for your Video Game

Now it is time for you to create a cover design for your video game.  Some things to keep in mind for this assignment are: 

• • font selection

  • background images (scenes)

  • characters

  • rating logo

  • console branding

You need THREE (3) different cover designs for this assignment.  One for each of the three major consoles.

• XBOX ONE

• PS4

• Wii

This assignment should be turned into Google Classroom once it is completed.  Be sure to check your spelling, grammar, and punctuation before turning in your design.

I have given you some logos (below) that you can use on this assignment.  Copy and paste as you see fit.

Homework - FINISH everything, and start thinking about a theme for your final Marketing Campaign Presentation.  We will pull everything together in Lesson 12.