Quote: "I Have to agree.Despite the fact that FPS Creator is rated 12+ at least here in America just about any FPSC game would be rated M for mature by the ESRB (or just about anybody else).
And a bad game deserves an additional disclaimer.
When my game is finished I will have a simple disclaimer:
This game contains adult content."
This is a good idea too. I mean at the very least, if a developer is not going to use a rating board they could at least do this. The reason why Tigrs was developed as stated on their website, was so that any developer had a option to place a raitng symbol they deemed fit. That left no excuse as to why a game did not have a rating. So, that is a good idea what you said Fred P. Its the very least someone could do for their content.
Quote: "ahh yes but you could rate your game anything with that. Good luck with this PAS, rivaling ERSB will likely never happen but you never know.
*Slayer_2"
I agree which is the point of this rating board. I like the way Shadow Heart did the ages, so each game rated would go into each age. So if it was age 14 and up, instead of saying T for teen, like the ESRB, it owuld specifically say 14+. It would be more specific then the ESRB on age and it would also have other things like N, V and other abbreviations. For 18 months it would also have its own review page on the rating boards website, where the records could be viewed publicly. On the rating label it would also have a website link for that specific games rating and a tracking number. There are some other benefits being put together and I was also considering seting up to capture small video shots of some parts of the content so they could also not just read about the content, but see some examples of it. That way the parents could decide if it was truly somethign they would want to shield or not. I am puting other things together tied with it as well, but overall, the rating would be there to protect the developer from being declared as not being responsible for labeling precautiosn to their game like content, as well as providing consumers and parents information regarding age appropriate content for their games. By using this approach, it is more likely that parents would consider buying the game if they know the specifics of the games content and can see some examples that are not graphic of what this content looks like. I named this Independent Informed Rating, because it is independent, and it is a free service to keep people informed on age appropriate content. It costs a devleoper or publisher nothing, and the only limitaitons is that it may take some time to get your game reviewed as it is done in order, however all reviews will be done as quickly as possible without sacrificing the integrity of the review. Unlike Tigrs, this is not a self review. This is a third party review. There is a big difference, and the review is on content only, not on game play etc. I am thinking of maybe down the line making a game review service for gameplay, but that would be down the line if it ever happened. Anyways, so this would provide custome labels as well. Like on the review label, the games website, if applicable, the games review link, the age that it fits, abbreviated content, and a written letter of the review to help the devleoper bring it to stores or anyone else they want to present it to. There are other things that will be involved, but this is a very brief description of how this review board would differ from Tigrs and any other self review a publisher or developer could or would give themselves. After I get everyhting fully planned then I can point out specific points.
Quote: "rivaling ERSB will likely never happen"
Yes, I have accepted this. That is why thios would be for free. I am not charging and am doing this for the good of trying to contribute something to the gaming world on aindependent level. Even if it does become popular, I will keep the system the same. Its good to help out where you can. So that works for me and makes this 100% worth it.
Quote: "PAS, You are like the buisness man of this forum. I swear. Looks nice, I might consider."
Thanks.
This one is non-profit but I do run several other non-profit things and several profit things not involved in gaming or even animation. So, I am glad to help out where I can.
Quote: "man that would be very useful i tried to join esrb but they never sent my password!"
They have submission guidelines. Did you read them and follow them?
Quote: "good luck i hope this works out"
I am not trying to make any money off of this so it should work out fine. People may have to wait a bit to get their game rated, but, thats the price of free sometimes. I will be contacting you shortly about the graphics for the ages you made. I could use those if you are still open to that.
Quote: "I am wondering how it is that a rating that is not ESRB will be recognized by the game browser in Vista. That has to happen for people to see their games listed there so they can choose to start them."
I have never looked at Vista, but I would think that they would have aprogram in Vista that checks the records of all the games rated form the ESRB or something else to verify the games rating. I am not sure about this, but it is somehting like that I am sure.
Quote: "Unless an "i-rating" were something that would be recognized by retailers or more importantly, Windows Vista, I'm not sure I see the point when a developer could slap on their own recommendation and have the same practical impact.""
The difference between using self raitng and the i-Rating, is that the i-Rating is from a third party with a unbiased review. I already have several different people who are from different organizaitons that believe in game rating. Now you must understand why this is important. Yes, I will more then likely never have the i-Rating compare to the ESRB, but that is not the intentions of this program. If that were the cas eI owuld have made a paid service. I did not even make a paid service to get a game reviewed priority. This is because there are so many independent games that avoid ratings because A)Self Rating is pointless as it can be rated naythng. You might as well do what Fred P said and say it has explicit content or adult themes and content. B) Because of this there are many independent games thta are not rated that slip through parents hands. It is impossible for parent sot review everything that doe snot have araitng fo rtheir kids. Now with the ratings so frequent, lots of parents expect to see osmehting and when they do not, many make the mistake its appropriate because if it wa snot it would say so. Many people sya use Tigrs, but if thta was the case you might as wlel make your own rating board for your games because it would be the same thing, self rated. So, this will not be comapreable to the ESRB, but it well goes above being self rated. By trying to join allegiances with these different advocates, it will help build a great deal more credibility with the i-Rating system then a self rated game. I have even pitched the idea to one person that their group could help rate games to make it even more credible. So, some may think it is worth it some may think it is a waste of time, but i dont see how it oculd a waste of time since it is free. However, I am open to criticism to this like anything else.
K.L. Phair
