Today’s special guest lecture was brought by the very animated Arthur Parson
Gaming Director
Traveller Tales
Arthur Parson works for Traveller Tales, made famous by the very successful Lego franchise, such titles as Lego batman, Lego star was and recently the much a waited Lego Lord of The Rings, Arthur Parson came in today to touch on the subject of IP, and then leaving on a few words of wisdom. Arthur Parson owns 15 years of experience at Traveller Tales, before that he was QA testing everywhere and doing bits and bob until he was able to put the foot in the door.
What is IP?
The term IP or Intellectual Property, is briefly explain, it refer to creational subjects such as literature and artist work. Using IP in the game franchise could be described as not Disney creating a Disney game but Disney having the final word.
Arthur Parson labels that most IP games as awful, often described as;
- Lazy
- Rushed
- Poor
- Lack-Luster
- cash in
- Buggy
- Disappointing
All in all not a good rap, this could be down to short development time and Approval issues. IP games like this does in turn have a knock on effect, frequently putting game industries in trouble, where typical games are released every year with without fail e.g. Fifa / COD, which often over shadows smaller companies.
Next Arthur Parson clarifies IP & Legal, and how its key to involve the license as much as you can;
Know the IP.
Learn it, watch the films, read the book / comics, really indulge yourself in there word, of what your creating, really surprise the fans on how much you got right.
Use the IP.
After getting know your source, use it! If there is a small point in the book which describes how the environment looked or a character acts, use it.
Involve the Key State Holders.
Get them involved, they want this game to work more than anyone, get there ideas too.
Think as a Fan of the IP.
Fans that love the brand get clever references toward all sources of its media and a great final product. Everyone is a fan of something; make something that you could love to play.
Most importantly, be faithful; make sure the Lego represents the same as the film represents, and pay close attention to the IP. Whatever you end up making, even if it’s Lego Twilight, it has to be done with love and care, it’s someone IP, someone is a fan do both of them proud.
Finally AP gives some word of wisdom about the industry;
- “With iphones and everything it’s a good idea to try and make some games,”
- Get a QA job, its experience, it’s something in the industry
- Don’t pigeon hole your self
- Be diverse, create characters, building and environment both in 2D & 3D
- Sadly, it’s also who you know
I found this all very eye opening and interesting, I often fell that to create a game with an IP would be very limited and no room for experiments but having a theme and something to work from sounds exciting and fun, as the idea of making a Lego Terry Pratchett is amazing.
