Acquring Media Assets

• In the previous lesson we looked at the different types of media assets that are required for a game (although bear in mind the list was not an exhaustive one and there are many other media types used in video games)
• In this lesson we are going to look at how these assets can be acquired for use within a game rather than being made from nothing
  

• Much like the movie industry, the games industry will often reuse assets from older games or from a free library of resources.
• There are several reasons for this:
  • These assets will have been tested and tried throughout games and have a proven track record of working correctly
  • These assets have already been made and therefore do not need to be remade
  • These assets may already suit the purposes of the game
    

• Games, similarly to films, also reuse assets from time to time.
• These assets will have been sourced from the same free to use sources.
• For example, Pixabay offers free images that are completely royalty free, meaning that developers can use these images without ever having to worry about legal disputes arising from their use or having to pay for them.

• Assets can be found by simply typing the requirements into Google Image search and finding an appropriate one, but it should be noted that a lot of what is on Google Images is actually copyright material and should not be used without permission of the original creator.

What law covers each of these types of media?

What law covers each of these types of media?

• Some restrictions under the act include:
  • Copying the work
  • Renting, lending or issuing copies of the work to the public
  • Performing, broadcasting or showing work in public
  • Adapting the work

• This law allows individuals and corporations to register their designs as their own intellectual property.
• The law also states that IPs that have not been re-registered after their expiry are either free to use or transferred to someone else.
• It also states that individual parts of a product are bound by the same copyrights and that using parts of a product is a breach of copyright.

• This act introduces penalties for sharing copyrighted materials online.
• It also extends criminal penalties for online copyright infringement to match those of physical copyright infringement.

• There are a number of ways you can use copyrighted items legitimately in your game:
  • The copyright has expired (70 years after last surviving creator)
  • Your use of work is covered under a licensing scheme that you have subscribed to and the copyright holder is a member of
  • The copyright holder has given you permission
  • Your use of the work comes under fair dealing

• There are ways that you can legally source materials that do not infringe copyrights such as:
  • Sourcing from a website such as Pixabay or Pexels which both of free and copyright free images and videos
  • Create our own