Look at the Back

This is the back of the popular game Halo for the xbox360.  Halo is a sci-fi shootem-up that currently has the same maturity rating as Saints Row 3, a game about fighting drug cartels. When viewed next to each other, they have different content descriptors, but they are both M-rated games.

My intention is to redesign the warning labels to better emphasize that not all M games are created equal and encourage parents not to rely on the 6 categories of ESRB ratings alone to judge the content of the games. The image below is from the ESRB's website, indicating where the warnings are currently placed.

Reworking the Warning Label

In my reworking of the labels, I decided to try a darker background. I thought the 'M' should glow to draw your attention like the other information on the box shown below.

I also decided that since the letter warning should be shown on the front and the back of the box, that I would redesign the labels to wrap-around the spine. This way, if the game are stacked vertically, back-to-back, game employees and parents would be able to identify the rating at a glance. This was my next design for the ESRB rating.

This design lets the M stand out more than the big white block around it in the other design. It blends in better when actually seen on the box. The colour bars are a bit distracting, and after feedback from several people, game employees and gamers, I'm reconsidering attaching colours to each content descriptor and instead, attaching a specific colour to each of the 6 ratings, like E for everyone and M for mature.  I also had an EB employee point out that the location on the spine that I placed the 'M' is where the developer's logo goes. This led to this new design:

This design is ALL red because that would be the colour at the top of the scale for severity. An E for Everyone game would be designed in all green, EC for Early Childhood would be a soft baby green or blue, and so on. Also, the colour is carried over to the spine without interfering with the spot that the game developer's logo would go, while still identifying the rating. I think this design is the best so far for integrating into the design of the back covers while still drawing attention to the rating and content descriptors.

Rough Prototyping

I did some paper mock-ups utilizing gold as well as red to draw attention, and embellished the front and back with my icon.  Some user-testing input was that the "M" was too big, the QR code should be on the front as well as the back, and that maybe something over the plastic, like a sticker, or something sealing the games would be valuable.

I went on to print this design for purposes of final prototyping. It used the red to indicate the warning and the gold to draw attention across all platforms. I did find a way to sneak a gold M onto the spine without interfering with the title and developer information. I also removed the gold stripe from the front and used it as a sticker over the cellophane instead.

Retail Environment

These are a few shots of the printed prototype in the actual retail environment. I spoke with both the employees and shoppers in a local EB and Futureshop. They were asked if it drew their attention more, if the scale made sense and if they had any useful advice on improving the design. The photos include placement next to current rated M games and placement in the "Family" section. Feedback from testing included:

"The M is too big and so is the QR code, but that's ok because it doesn't need to be that big."

"Anything that would help and explain it (the ESRB) to parents is good. We get dirty looks from the kids."

"One thing that would be helpful is letting parents know it is a CONTENT rating and not a difficulty rating. Lots of parents just think it indicates an age recommendation based on how hard it is."

"Check out Australia and Germany's ratings. In Germany, there's no killing. And no Nazis. You're not allowed to see Nazis there. And stuff gets banned in Australia, like all the time,  like Manhunt 2."

"The current black rating doesn't draw any attention, you have to really be educated, you have to be looking for it to see it's there. The red is a good choice. And seeing it on the spine is good."

"Having something on the spine will really help us organize. It would make it easy to see if one was in the wrong place."