Understanding the Requirements

Structure of Briefs.

Formal Brief: A Formal Brief is a type of brief that takes place between two parties which discusses the content of the project, and it finalises the contract so both parties know what they are doing. This process is recorded either by Paper or recorded via camera.

A Formal brief is used when there is a lot to discuss with the parties and if the projects is big enough there needs to be a written document which tell you what to do. A formal brief is more liable in court as all the details have been recorded.

In relation to the games industry, Publishers would have Formal Briefs with studios which outlines what the publishers want and they are able to discuss everything about the project so nothing is left in the dark.

Informal Brief: An informal brief where two parties meet to discuss a projects that they want to do although this is not formal as there will be little to no recording. This would be used for smaller scale projects as there is not much on the line.

An informal brief is not liable in court as there is no recorded contract between the two parties. An informal brief would never be used in the games industry as games have to be carefully created to make a good game, they could be used for small apps as they are quick to create.

Contracted Brief: A brief between a Company and a Client where specific guidelines are structures that they have to follow as it is stated in the contract. This is used when the Contract giver wants a product that is 100% to their liking and the client has no say in the matter.

This would be good for the big media company as they know what they are getting and they could just let the client do their things as they know what they are doing as everything is stated in the contract.

This is bad for the client as they have to follow the contract and they have no creative influence so they make the game with no other influences on the end product which limits the freedom of the client.

Negotiated Brief: This is a brief that would be discussed between the Company and the Client to find equal ground between them and this creates good quality games and the client will have more freedom to create a better product. 

This is good as there is a lot more freedom for the client 

Commission Brief: A Commission brief is used when a Company employs a client to produce a piece of work. Upon the completion of the work the Company would pay the client for the work for use in their other products. Commission Briefs are not negotiable between the Company and the Client.

The client could also outsource this projects to someone else to help create a better project.

An example of this would be Activison creating a Commission Brief with another company so they create the game for Activision which allows them to avoid the game making process.

Tender Brief: This is a type a brief that is created by a Company that is advertised so companies could apply for this contract. This gives the Company many different choices so they can choose the best idea from the bunch.

This is good as the company have a big choice to choose from, and this ensures that the clients will produce high quality work.

It could backfire as the client could create a great idea which lures the company into hiring them although it was a ploy which made the company choose that client over other real clients which wastes a lot of time.

A big company like Warner Brothers will look for clients what would create a good game from them and they would choose from different clients to see which one they want to pursue further.

Competition Brief:  This is a brief in which a company would advertises in the public for a client that would work on a project. When advertising to the public a prize is introduced to lure people to it.

A game company would possibly want people to send in art to win something 

Reading a Brief

Reading a Brief:

When given a brief you will need to read it through carefully so you fully understand the information.

When reading this you have to keep in mind the different factors that are relevant in the brienf and the project such as the…

Demographics,

Geographic's,

Market Competition,

Use of the Product (Marketing/Advertising),

Style of the Product,

Technical Specifications (FPS, Aspect Ratio),

Whether it’s the games industry or the film industry you should always read the brief closely to understand everthing in the brief.

What's Crucial:

The Creator of the game has to understand all of the factors of the game and its production, it must follow the agreed contract or there would be problems either financially or legally.

Things relating to this can also be planned in terms of…

Timescales, Resources

Locations

Crew and Post Production

In games everything has to be [planned for it to work well together upon its completion.

Negotiating a Brief

Negotiating a Brief: There should always be negotiation when working on a project when it’s available as it allows the client to suggest changes and ideas to further improve the products and it give the client more freedom to create a better product. Although this is not the case with contracted briefs as they are unavailable for negotiation.

A company like Blizzard may negotiate with a client to create better work

Discretion: Discretion is used to interpret the brief as there may be times where some things are interpreted in different ways than others, this may cause problems so it’s necessary for there to be clarity between the client and the company.

Constraints: There are constraints present in briefs such as the Legal, Ethical and Regulatory. Its crucial for these to be taken into account when creating a product because products could be restricted in various countries as their constraints are different and they could see something different and take action against it.

Negotiating the fees: You have to be very specific for the money, you have to be exact when negotiating fees, you never be vague

Opportunities

Amending the Contract: this is what happens when the Company changes what they want in a project even tough it may go against the contract signed by both parties. If this were to happen the client would then produce a sign off sheet which would get the client out of this contract.

Amendments to a Budget: This Is a change to the budget that could be asked for if there are problems which would be solved by getting more money such as a new computer or having more money to create a better game

Amendments to Conditions: This is where the contract is amended to different circumstances that have come up such as the office being broken into and this delays production, this would amend the contract as there is no control over it

Opportunities for Self Development: This allows for a company to learn new skills when partnered with another company, you could lean of them.

Opportunities for Multitasking: This is where you work together with another studio which helps speed up process and it allows the studios to lean new skills.

Contributions to a Project Brief: This is where the creators of the brief has a big say in the projects so the company would work with the studio closely so they have the most input possible when creating the game. This is where you get your ideas into the project.