我邀请独立开发者Dave Toulouse（游戏邦注：他是《Golemizer》和《Star Corsairs》的开发者）帮我完整体验从头至尾制作游戏的过程。这里我们将从基本构思和框架着手，然后根据讨论内容和读者评论组合出一款基本的手机MMO游戏。

我很高兴我们将目光锁定于手机MMO。我知道Dave能够阐述任何题材的游戏制作，但基于浏览器的游戏似乎是获得成功的捷径。若游戏能够适应浏览器，那它就能够搭载许多设备，包括智能手机，我们能够跳过整个应用制作过程、审核问题、时间限制及更新工作。简单性是整个项目的关键点。

那么我们的游戏将是什么样子？玩家将进行什么操作？虽然我们已顺利完成若干简单目标和机制，但要记住首个版本的游戏非常简单而直接。我们希望设计和游戏内容能够更多展示设计理念，而非最新画面或机制。浏览器具有简单性特点，所以我们也需要保持设计的简单性。我从《Die2Nite》、《Illyriad》、《Glitch》，甚至是若干社交游戏中获得灵感。

fullscreen capture 1 from massively.joystiq.com

我起初先构想自己期望的游戏操作内容。经过深思熟虑后，我希望游戏每天能够只容纳若干玩家，能够只涉及若干操作。虽然我们很不喜欢社交游戏的能量运用机制，它通常会在大约15分钟的体验后就要求玩家掏钱，但我发现能量其实是“精力”的代名词。在沙盒游戏领域中，精力是关键要素。《Wurm Online》及其他游戏允许玩家进行特定数量的操作，直到他们耗尽精力，需要进行休息。在很多社交游戏中，玩家的休息操作就是退出系统，进行等待，但玩家可以选择支付现金，从而跳过等待环节。一段时间后，社交游戏的能量机制就会让人觉得像是骗人伎俩，这是非常巧妙的招数，但依然只是个小伎俩。

full screen capture from massively.joystiq.com

我还希望游戏能够减少玩家的操作内容，因为这款MMO游戏非常简单。我们已将操作数量缩至1天1次。

在确定玩家将如何同游戏空间互动后，下面我们将论述其中原因。我们一直都很喜欢求生主题的MMO游戏（游戏邦注：通过少量工具和希望将玩家置于危险境地的游戏）。我希望这款小型MMO游戏的玩家能够努力争取某些物品，获得帮助其他玩家的物品。我觉得让玩家汇聚成小帮派，然后进行相互较量，以实现顺利存活是很棒的想法。那么要设立多少帮派？为什么帮派数量如此重要？

fullscreen capture 2 from massively.joystiq.com

我们最终设定3个基本派别。为将游戏变得具有可玩性，我们最终决定让玩家享有变成松鼠、海龟还是乌鸦的选择。每个种类都有其利弊，这有点像剪刀石头布原理。例如，乌鸦很快，但无法运载很多物品。海龟可以运载很多物品，但其速度很慢。松鼠则处于折中水平，在两方面的表现都还不错。此外，我们还给各种类引入不同的地形奖励。

玩家可以深入森林收集物品，以期从中获得尽可能多的物品，然后最终取得胜利。为什么是3个种类？想象下若是游戏只有2个种类。由于我们的游戏有时间限制，我们将融入“胜利”情境。3个种类不仅防止游戏过于简短，避免仅停留在一方比另一方持续更久的模式上，而且还能创制造张感，使游戏出现间谍和背叛情况。这就是设置3个种类的优点所在。

截至现在我们已把握游戏的基本构思及运作方式。把握基本可行框架是件值得高兴的事。

我们现已握有暂时的作品，暂时的美工元素及可行的游戏构思。我们的想法是所有用户都会登陆注册，加入帮派，融入到游戏世界中收集商品，推进自己的角色走向胜利。玩家可以随意注册，选择自己的角色。注意我们不会在项目之后保留你的邮件地址或相关信息。但在游戏过程中，我们可以运用你所输入的内容。

首先，游戏是否应该属于特定题材？你是否偏好科幻题材？你觉得现代背景如何？记住我们将会逐步更新美工内容，Dave会对内容做出相应调整。

接着，确定游戏要融入何种类型的持续性。持续性在MMO中非常关键，但其呈现方式多种多样。我们无需拥有包含持久美术元素的三维空间。我们是否希望运动场变成游戏的持续性元素？我们是否应该允许玩家相互战斗，将他们所呈现的数值和影响变得具有持续性？若你开始考虑这方面，不妨想想持续性在不同游戏中的运作情况，你会发现这是个非常复杂的问题。

最后，你应该思考这些基本设计构思如何在你最喜爱的作品中呈现。仅通过邮件沟通，我就发现讨论开发工作是件非常有趣的事情。我还发现自己颇钟情于某些题材、风格及机制。我喜欢硬核机制，但我不是复杂游戏的粉丝。游戏内容可以简单而富有趣味。

下面是读者对我们两项问卷调查的回复。

genre(from massively)

你偏好什么题材？

* 现代题材（Modern Day）——24（13.0%）

* 科幻题材（Science Fiction）——48（25.9%）

* 梦幻题材（Fantasy）——68（36.8%）

* 科学奇幻（Science Fantasy）——45（24.3%）

persistent(from massively)

游戏应如何保持持久性？

* 帮派拥有供各玩家添加的众多商品——27（14.4%）

* 玩家在运动场的某些领域里互相较量——35（18.6%）

* 运动场随玩家的互动而发生改变——126（67.0%）

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

MMObility: Let’s make a mobile game, part one

by Beau Hindman

I thoroughly enjoy reading your comments, especially when the discussion turns to game design or suggestions for development. I decided it was high time that I sat down and experienced, even if just a little, how the design process goes. I’ve had plenty of peeks at different studios, but I wanted to know what it is like to actually make a game from basically beginning to end.

So for the next four weeks, I will be doing something special. I invited indie developer Dave Toulouse, maker of Golemizer and Star Corsairs, to help me in this journey. If you’d like to find out more about Dave, you can visit his official website, follow him on Twitter, or even read an interview I did with him a while ago. He really is the epitome of the indie spirit, and I am so thankful that he volunteered to do this with me.

The goal is to start with a basic idea and framework, and using input from our discussions and from reader comments, assemble a very basic working mobile MMO. So let’s get started!

I am really glad Dave and I decided to go with a mobile MMO. I knew I could get him to make me almost anything, but a browser-based game seemed to be the shortest route to success. If we made the game fit within a browser, it could be played across pretty much any device, including a smartphone, and we would skip the entire app-making process and issues with approval, time constraints and updating. Simplicity is the key word with this project.

So what would our game be? What would players be expected to do? While we have arrived at some pretty simple goals and mechanics, bear in mind that this first version of the game is very simple and direct. We want our design and game to work more to show off design concepts instead of the latest graphics or mechanics. The browser keeps it simple, so we had to keep the design simple as well. I am drawing inspiration from games like Die2Nite, Illyriad, Glitch and even a few social games.

“While I am hardly in love with the common social game mechanic of energy usage that begs players for money after maybe 15 minutes of gameplay, I nevertheless realize that energy is just another term for stamina.”

I started by imagining what I would want the game to do. After much thought, I knew that I wanted it to be from the school of design that limits players to only a certain number and type of actions per day. While I am hardly in love with the common social game mechanic of energy usage that begs players for money after maybe 15 minutes of gameplay, I nevertheless realize that “energy” is just another term for “stamina.” Inside the world of sandbox gaming, stamina is a key component. Wurm Online and others allow players to perform only a certain number of actions until they run out of stamina and need to rest. In many social games, you will also “rest” by logging out or waiting, but there is a cash option that cuts the wait down significantly. After a while, a social game energy mechanic can feel like a real gimmick. A brilliant gimmick, but still a gimmick.

I also wanted to limit the player’s actions since this MMO will be very basic. We have limited the number of actions to one per day. We can adjust the number after you, fair guinea pigs (I mean readers) tell us what you think. So the mechanic that represents fatigue is basically set.

After we settled on how the players will interact with the world, we wanted to decide why. I have always loved survival MMOs, games that shove a player into a dangerous world with nothing but a few tools and a bit of hope. I wanted the players of this tiny MMO to have to go out and get something, something that might help other players. We thought that having players gather in factions or groups and then compete against other factions for survival would be cool. So how many factions? Why would the number be important?

We came up with three basic factions or groups that players would join. For the sake of bringing the game to a playable point, I decided that players could be either a squirrel, a turtle or a crow. Each race or faction would have strengths and weakness, sort of like a system of rock-paper-scissors. The crow, for example, is fast but cannot carry a lot. The turtle can carry a lot but cannot move that fast. A squirrel is the middle man and can do it all decently well. We could also include different terrain bonuses for each race or faction.

Players would go into the woods to gather goods in the hopes of gathering the most, thus winning the game. Why three factions? Well, imagine if there were only two. Since our game is going to be time-limited, we will have a “win” scenario. Three factions not only prevents a short game by allowing one side to simply outlast the other but creates tension and the possibility for spying and betrayal. You know, the good stuff.

“Indie training is sort of like Jedi training, but it occurs only while sitting in a chair.”

So far we have a basic idea about what the game is and how it will work. It was good to arrive at the point at which we had a basic, working framework. Of course, I am simplifying our email conversations as well as making it sound like he was able to create what I wanted with a flick of the wrist. The truth is that he was able to work with me pretty easily as a result of his years of indie training. Indie training is sort of like Jedi training, but it occurs only while sitting in a chair. Seriously, he works hard, and it was nice to ask for something and have it delivered. So what did he deliver so far?

If you go to this official link, you will see the basic game. We have a temporary title, temporary art and working concept. The idea is that each player will sign up, join a faction, and go out into the world to gather goods to propel his side to victory. Feel free to register and choose your side. Note that we will not retain your email address or information after the project for any reason. Along the way, however, we could use your input.

First, should the game belong to a certain genre? Do you prefer science fiction or fantasy? How do you feel about a modern-day setting? Remember that I will make updated artwork as we go along, and Dave will adjust the guts accordingly.

Next, decide what sort of persistence there should be. Persistence is key to an MMO, but it can come in different forms. We don’t have to have a three dimensional world with state of the art graphics to be persistent. Do we want the playfield (the woods, the space station) to be the persistent character in the game? Should we allow players to combat each other instead, making their stats and the effects on the environment to be the real persistence? When you start to think about it and imagine how persistence works in different titles, you can see just how complex an issue it can be.

Last, you should think about how these basic design concepts appear in your favorite titles. In even just our email conversations, I have discovered just how much fun it is to discuss development. I’ve also realized how I enjoy certain genres and styles, as well as which sort of mechanics I adore. I love hardcore mechanics but am not a fan of overly complex gaming. It can be simple and a lot of fun.

Before you go, take a moment and answer the two polls I have attached at the end of this article. Feel free to leave a comment with your suggestions. Remember that this is just for fun; nobody will make any money from the game. The goal here is to have some great discussion about design, to make a working MMO (even if it is a simple one), and to dig a bit deeper into the world of game development.

What genre do you prefer?

* Modern Day 24 (13.0%)

* Science Fiction 48 (25.9%)

* Fantasy 68 (36.8%)

* Science Fantasy 45 (24.3%)

How should the game be persistent?

* Factions have a store of goods that everyone adds to 27 (14.4%)

* Players fight each other over certain areas of the playfield 35 (18.6%)

* The playfield changes as players interact with it 126 (67.0%)

（Source：massively）