P5

Annotated images-

Legal and ethical issues- 

Overall the game is rated a Pegi 18, meaning the game is designed for people 18 and over. 

The reason the game is rated this is due to quite a few different reasons.

Blood and gore- 

Skyrim has a fair amount of gore included in the game. It includes things like, 

-POSSIBLE cannibalism

-Body parts often come of character's bodies

-Human and animal sacrifices

-A few be-headings

Due do these aspects of the game, it would present a big ethical problem as to if children should be able to see things like these. Most people would say that they shouldn't see things like that, therefore, to avoid the problem, Bethesda made the blood and gore a reason why the game is an 18.

Intense violence-

To go along nicely with the gore, the game has alot of violent aspects to it. 

As players fight creatures and people in the game, sometimes the battle ends with slow-motion effects, particularly for decapitations. Also, sometimes in the game, sequences allow players to injure/kill characters, including prisoners chained to a wall; they scream in pain and splashes of blood or fire can appear when you hurt them.

Like the blood and gore, the violence in the game presents the same ethical issue, should children be playing a game where your character can decapitate his/her enemy with two axes? probably not. This is another aspect that adds to the game's rating. 

Sexual themes- 

In the game there isn't actually alot of sexual themes, this sexual stuff can be PG, but in addition to the other things like the violence, gore, it all adds up to the game getting a Mature rating even things as little as a naked statue. Bethesda made this a factor as nowadays,  you have to list everything, some people are ok with the violence and not the sex. On the other hand, some would be fine with the sexual stuff and the violence would be unacceptable. So its better to make this a factor as to why this game is an 18 rather than having to deal with the issues with people that thing the sexual themes are bad in the game.

Use of alcohol-

Alcohol is an big part in the lives of Skyrim's characters, however there is a love-hate relationship with it, which can be seen as many people enjoy it, and some people abuse it. Regardless of if people like it or not, in the game, alcohol is still a big factor and can be found in hundreds of places around the map. This presents an ethical issue and potentially a legal issue as the game is promoting alcohol use. Which is illegal for children to consume and buy. This is something that Bethesda doesn't want to promote as it could get them into trouble. Because of this issue, it is a factor that makes the game an 18 as it is legal to promote alcohol to people above 18. 

Merit task-

The regulatory body for Skyrim is Pegi, which rated the game an 18. The game never faced any issues with the regulatory body, and was never changed. This is because all the aspects of the game made it clear to Pegi that the game should be rated an 18. For example the amount of violence/gore in the game is clearly for an older audience.