Just received a comment on my demo reel that I should remove the expletives. It's nothing outrageous, "Oh shit!" and "Frag these assholes!". Should a demo reel be rated PG?

I'm a complete outsider to the industry so this is just the personal opinion of a gamer that ponders making games.

I think if it is a demo of something, then it should give an accurate feel for what it is demonstrating. If the full product features lots of explicative use, then having some in the reel to show the flavour and usage of it seems to make plenty of sense.

This is a GREAT question! I do feel a bit of moderation is needed for demo reels. I have one trailer on my demo reel that is a bit vulgar. I struggled with putting it up at first because the last thing you want to do is offend potential clients. After thinking about it for a while, I went ahead and put it up because out of over 50 items on my demo reel and website, I decided one file on the edge would be fine.

The trailer is Shin Chan and really isn't that bad at all.

So back to my point: My advice would be to make your demo reel balanced. You don't want to only feature vulgar stuff because you might turn off potential clients. Show a wide variety so clients can tell you'll be efficient and effective in all kinds of situations.

Thanks,

Nathan

Helpful replies! Thanks!