作者：John Polson

Kent Hudson表示有些游戏花了太多时间不停地说着什么，而不是将其带进故事中。他的目标是伴随着其即将问世的游戏（《小说家》，结合了潜行游戏玩法与互动叙述）中的其它设计缺陷去处理这一问题。

上周，Kent提供了《小说家》游戏玩法的抢先版，即呈现出了玩家如何控制一个能够帮助塑造度假中的家庭的未来的幽灵。

the novelist（from indiegames）

关于这款神秘的游戏还有许多未揭开的细节。在此，Kent更详细地阐述了他的项目，提及了自己是如何在没有指导的前提下使用文本线索作为奖励，如何创造出没有过多文本但却更具有沉浸感的故事，分享了更多有关潜行游戏玩法和记忆探索的细节，以及他自己作为独立开发者所面临的心理和情感挑战。

哪些重要的游戏元素未出现在预告片中？

除了预告片中所呈现的，不管是从玩家能力还是AI行为来看，潜行游戏玩法并不只是如此。还有更多有关记忆探索的游戏玩法并未被呈现于预告片中（这也是我想再保密会的）。预告片并未传达玩家是谁，游戏玩法序列所揭示的内容也未出现在预告片中，玩家同样具有某些方法对主要决策以外的角色关系做出较小的调整。

你将如何知道自己过于接近人类？

游戏拥有一个基于视线的传统潜行模式，所以如果你玩过《Thief》，《骇客任务》或《分裂细胞》，你便会知道这是怎么样的一款游戏。如果你被一个角色发现了，他们便会停止正在做的事并开始寻找你（尽管与大多数潜行游戏不同的是他们不会尝试着杀死你）。这伴随着配音与搜索行为，从而让那些玩过带有潜行组件的游戏的玩家会更加熟悉。这里也有一些视觉效果将告诉你是否被发现了，但配音可能是最大的线索。

你认为什么是将人们带进侧重叙述类游戏的最大障碍？你是如何客服这一障碍。

在此我只能从我自己的角度来说，我认为最大的障碍应该是叙述类游戏花了太多时间在传达信息，絮絮叨叨地说着别人的故事。这是书籍和电影所做的。如果游戏丢给我一个不能略过的过场动画，我的本能便是放下控制器去作别的事。这可是一款游戏！我想要的只是玩游戏！

这也是为何《小说家》会将玩家带到故事中的原因。我尝试着扭转情节并让玩家向前推动故事的发展。这也是我将其设定为一款潜行游戏的一大原因；我希望玩家能够作为角色而住在游戏空间中，必须想办法接近他们并积极地了解他们（这与不采取任何行动而等着别人去告诉他们发生什么是完全不同的情况）。

最后，我应该指出的是，我认为比起叙述游戏，《小说家》更像是一款关系游戏。你在此所做出的叙述选择只是塑造角色间关系的一种方法。我希望玩家能够从角色的角度去思考自己的选择，这也是我为何创造出关于大多数人都会遇到的现实情境游戏的主要原因。

如果未听到或阅读到许多文本内容，玩家是否会沉浸于游戏故事中？

我确实是这样认为的，尽管离开了文本，你也可以快速增加自己的内容需求。你会在独立游戏中看到这么多文本的一大原因便是，从内容角度上来看它是相对便宜的。

也就是说，当你更多地依赖于文本时，它便不可能推动着你沉浸于其中。做到这一点的一种方法便是避免向玩家述说所有内容；如果你相信玩家能够想想出场景并填补空缺，你便能够吸引他们去表演游戏中的某些故事情节。在《小说家》中关于角色反馈的最重要时刻便是在不同地点进行离屏操作，如此玩家便能够成为场景设置的一部分了。

蓝色文本：是否真的有必要提供给玩家他们所执行的行动的两三个词语作为暗示？蓝色文本出现前的游戏玩法是怎样的，如果它并不是一直待在那里的话。

蓝色文本是对于游戏测试反馈的回应。

在玩家需要花费许多时间去阅读角色想法的章节的过程中，全白文本包含了哪些内容。这些想法提供了有关当前章节的信息，并确保玩家清楚游戏中的各种关系，所以这是根据玩家的兴趣去频繁地检查它们。

我已经进行了三轮游戏测试，在第一次测试中，因为使用了同样的全白文本而在视觉上未能与玩家之前所看到的内容区分开来，故导致他们漏掉了最后的线索。玩家知道在较高的关卡中自己需要做些什么，但却不知道如何机械式地做到这点，这便是个大问题。我需要一种方法去突出“啊哈”时刻，而蓝色文本便是对于这一问题的回应。

一开始我有点纠结是否要使用彩色的文本去吸引玩家注意线索，但你必须听从游戏测试者的观点。在相信玩家能够填补空白以及阻挡重要信息的传达而让他们受挫间存在着一条细线。作为设计师，你必须创造一个公平的游戏场地并让玩家清楚他们的选择是什么，如此便能够刺激他们去推动游戏的发展。

对于我来说，大多数游戏中的彩色文本只是为了变得更明显，或者是为了那些不想思考文本在说些什么而只想回到“游戏中”的人所设置的。

在预告片中我可以看到这是如何做到的，但在正常的游戏过程中它却不是这样的，主要有两个原因：

1.你只能在彻底搞清楚特定角色在章节中的情境才能打开线索。这里并不存在什么方法能够让你略过前面的内容而到达这里，所以如果你缺少足够的背景知识便不可能看到它们。让我们着眼于预告片中的一个例子，如果你未花时间通过阅读Linda写给其他角色的信件，摸清楚她的想法，阅读她的日记，探索她的记忆等等，你便永远都不可能到达Linda想要做下记录并与Dan一起放松休息的时候。所以当你看到真正的线索时，你将会花大量的时间去理解为什么Linda想要花时间与Dan在一起。

2.线索只能解释玩家在每个章节选择路径所需要采取的特定行动，但玩家的角色是基于其广泛的调查以及他们想要做出的情感选择。让我们在此使用预告片中的Linda线索作为例子。实际上，她想要与Dan一起获得记录并不是什么出人意料的事，他们可以轻松地约会，一起看电视或分享一瓶红酒。重要的是在了解Dan和Linda在做些什么时，作为玩家的你必须决定他们的关系是否值得你牺牲其它事。将他们记录下来只是你制定这样选择的特殊方法。

所以我不认为蓝色文本线索是一种欺骗或可略过的机会。线索是一项纪录，所以当玩家在了解一个角色，与其产生同感并决定在章节中选择他们时，他们便知道该做些什么而让事情发生。但是你关于一个角色的真正体验是更深入的，就像你将感受到他们的个人想法和欲望。

为什么《小说家》的主角是男性？你是否能够轻松地使用一些与性别相关的词语及图像而让角色也可以变成女性？

这是个很棒的问题。这里的关键词是“轻松地”，但不幸的是要这么做并不像想象中的那么轻松。关于让玩家选择主角的性别我做出了许多考虑，但是当我深入研究这么做需要什么元素时，我发现这是像我这样创造小预算游戏所做不到的。我意识到自己需要做：

重新编写大多数文本内容。只是进行他/她的置换是不行的；为了确保内容听起来就像《科学怪人》那样的结构，我还需要更新大量背景内容。

编写和记录任务几乎是VO的两倍。

大概需要双倍的动画预算。我必须为Linda绘制动画，还要为Dan创造动画等等。

这只是其中的一些例子。虽然我很希望能够创造出可置换的性别，但事实证明这真的太费钱了。这是具有更大的预算以及更少限制资源的人有能力触及的领域，但当你是一名独立开发者时，你有时候就需要做出一些困难的选择。

你离开了AAA级开发世界并致力于《小说家》中。对你来独立开发所面临的最大挑战是什么，你是如何客服它们的？

我想要说的是几乎所有的挑战都是来自精神上和情感上。我花了十年半的时间与不同规模的团队在主流产业中打拼着，在大团队开发项目中存在着许多假设与过程，并且这都不适用于独立开发中。

与团队合作最棒的一点便是其他人将不断添加新内容到游戏中。你将时不时获得最新的架构并看到游戏因为一些新功能而突然变得更出色。看着其他人的贡献也是不断的灵感来源。

这是与独立创造游戏完全不同的情况。也许听起来很蠢，但如果我并未致力于游戏中，那么就没人这么做了。如果我暂时离开一周，那么当我回来时游戏将变成我所想的那样。这种节奏上的改变是极具心理挑战的，因为你可能想要执行三种不同的功能，但一下子你却只能做到一种，所以你必须具有耐性并相信自己最终能够获得一切。你最终获得了信念上的巨大飞跃，并添加了一个月前你不能评估的功能（游戏邦注：因为它们依赖于你还未执行的其它功能）。

从根本上来看，创造一款独立游戏需要具有极大的耐性和心理耐力。我并未准备好迎接独自待在一个房间里致力于创造一款没人知道的游戏，并且没有团队的友情或者来自共同工作中的鼓励。我们总是很难每天都保持着注意力并维持着一开始投入于项目中的热情。在致力于游戏的过程中，我打印了一些激励话语和提醒事项并将其挂在显示器上，如此我便能够经常看到它们并因此受到鼓舞。

最大的挑战是来自情感。当你是一支团队中的一员时，你并不需要独自承担一切。这是关于集体的努力，人们是寄希望于你不需要完全承担个人责任的项目中。而对于《小说家》，我却需要承担所有的项目。如果游戏很糟糕，或者如果人们认为这一理念是在浪费时间，这便都是我的错。如果人们抵制这款游戏，他们便是在抵制我所认为的最佳作品。将游戏与我自己的创造能力和自信分割开来是不可能的事。

当我开始投入一个项目时，我还未准备好迎接如此多的情感风险。我个人的责任感是完整的。这是我所坐过的最大的情感过山车，并且现在我还找不到其它方法去摆脱它；系上安全带后我能做的便只是继续待在这里直至跑完全程。对此我唯一希望的便是自己所处的这辆车不要脱轨。

（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）

The Novelist Interview: how to avoid a game “telling me someone else’s story”

By John Polson

Kent Hudson says games spend too much time talking at him instead of involving him in the story. He aims to address this issue along with other design pitfalls in his upcoming game, The Novelist, which combines stealth gameplay with interactive narrative.

Kent offered a first look at The Novelist’s gameplay last week, showing how players control a ghost who can help shape the future of a vacationing family.

Many details have yet to be uncovered for this mysterious and clever game. Here, Kent opens the book wider on his project, touching on his use of text clues as rewarding and not hand-holding, his making a game’s story more immersive without too much text, more details on stealth gameplay and memory exploration, and Kent’s own mental and emotional challenges of being indie.

What important gameplay elements are not conveyed in the trailer?

There’s more to the stealth gameplay than is shown in the trailer, both in terms of player abilities and AI behaviors (especially when the player is spotted). There’s also more gameplay related to memory exploration that isn’t shown (and that I want to keep under wraps for a little while longer). The trailer doesn’t touch at all on who the player actually is, which is revealed in gameplay sequences not shown in the trailer, and the player also has ways to make smaller adjustments to the character relationships outside of the major chapter decisions.

How will you know when you are too close to humans?

The game has a traditional stealth model based on line of sight, so if you’ve played Thief or Deus Ex or Splinter Cell you’ll have an idea what it’s like. If you’re spotted by a character they’ll stop what they’re doing and start searching for you as you try to get away (though unlike most stealth games they’re not trying to kill you). This is accompanied by voice acting and search behaviors, which will make it familiar to anyone who’s played a game with a stealth component. There are also visual effects that let you know you’ve been spotted, but the voice acting is probably the biggest clue.

What do you think is the biggest hurdle for getting people into narrative-heavy games? How have you overcome that?

I can really only speak to my own perspective here, but for me the biggest hurdle is that I feel like narrative-heavy games spend too much time talking at me and telling me someone else’s story. That’s what books and movies are for. If a game throws an unskippable cutscene at me, my instinct is to put the controller down and go make a sandwich or take a bathroom break. It’s a game! I want to play!

That’s why The Novelist involves the player in the story. I’m trying to turn that scenario around and ask the player to drive the story forward. That’s also one of the reasons I made it a stealth game; I wanted the player to inhabit the same space as the characters and have to get close to them and be active to learn about them (as opposed to sitting back and being told about them).

And finally, I should point out that I think of The Novelist less as a narrative game and more as a relationship game. The narrative choices you make are really just an avenue for shaping the relationships between the characters. My hope is that players will care deeply about their choices from a character perspective, which is why I made the game about real-life situations that most people can relate to.

Can a game be immersive with its story without having to hear or read a lot of text?

I definitely think so, although as you move away from text you start to rapidly increase your content needs. One of the reasons you see so much text in indie games is that it’s relatively inexpensive from a content perspective.

That said, when you rely more heavily on text it falls on you to try and make it as engaging as possible. One way to do this is to avoid spelling everything out for players; if you trust players to imagine scenarios and fill in the blanks, you can draw them in and play out some of the story in the theater of the mind. Some of the biggest moments of character feedback in The Novelist are written as off-screen action in different locations so that the player becomes part of setting the scene.

The blue text: was it really necessary to cue players into the two or three words that they need to act upon? How was the gameplay before the blue text, if it wasn’t always there?

The blue text was definitely a response to playtest feedback.

Over the course of a chapter the player spends a good amount of time reading characters’ thoughts, which are in all-white text. These thoughts provide information about the current chapter and keep the player up to date on the various relationships in the game, so it’s in the player’s interest to check them out frequently.

I’ve done three rounds of playtests, and in the first playtest people missed the final clues because they used the same all-white text and were thus visually indistinguishable from the thoughts players had previously seen. Players knew what they wanted to do at a high level but didn’t know how to do it mechanically, which was a big issue. I needed a way to make that “Aha!” moment stand out more, and the blue text was a response to that problem.

I was hesitant at first to draw attention to clues by using colored text, but you have to listen to your playtesters. There’s a fine line between trusting your players to fill in the blanks and frustrating them by withholding critical information. As a designer, you have to create a fair playing field and let players know what their choices are so they’re empowered to drive the game forward.

To me, the colored text in most games is just to make it blatantly obvious, or for those who want to skip thinking about what the text is saying, and want to get back into “the game”.

I can see how it may come off that way in the trailer, but it doesn’t happen that way during the course of a normal playthrough for two reasons:

1. Clues are only unlocked after you’ve fully investigated a specific character’s situation in the chapter. There’s no way to skip ahead to them, so you’ll never see them without lots of context. To use an example from the trailer, you would never get to the point of Linda thinking that she’d like to put on a record and relax with Dan without having spent time learning about her by reading letters she’s written to other characters, reading her thoughts, reading her diary, and exploring her memories for clues. So when you see the actual clue you’ll have spent enough time with Linda to understand why she wants to spend time with Dan.

2. Clues only explain the specific action the player needs to take to pick a path in each chapter, but the player’s decision is based on his broader investigation and the emotional choice he or she wants to make. To use Linda’s clue from the trailer as an example again, the fact that she wants to put on a record with Dan isn’t a huge revelation or twist; they could just as easily go on a date or watch a TV show together or share a bottle of wine. The important thing is that after learning how Dan and Linda are doing, you as a player have decided that their relationship is worth sacrificing other things for. Having them put on a record is just the specific way you enact that choice.

So I don’t think of the blue text clues as a cheat or a skip-ahead opportunity. Clues are a reward, so that when the player has learned about a character, developed sympathy for them, and decided to choose them in a chapter, they know specifically what to do to make it happen. But the actual experience you have with a character is deeper, as you’re exposed to their personal thoughts and desires.

Why is The Novelist’s main character a male? Could you easily swap out gender-related words and his artwork to allow the main character also be female?

That’s a good question! The key word there is “easily,” and unfortunately it wouldn’t be as easy as it seems on the surface. I gave a lot of consideration to letting the player choose the gender of the protagonist, but when I dug into what it would take I found that it was unfortunately out of scope for a small-budget game like mine. I realized that I would have to:

Rewrite most of the text. Simply doing a he/she swap wouldn’t work; there’s a lot of context that would also have to be updated to keep the writing from sounding like a Frankenstein construction.

Write and record almost twice as much VO.

Nearly double the animation budget. I’d have to have typing animations for Linda, painting animations for Dan, and so on.

Those are just a few examples. I was excited about making the gender swappable at a high level, but the low level impact proved to be too expensive. This is one of the areas where having a larger budget and less constrained resources would have opened up more possibilities, but when you’re indie you sometimes have to make difficult choices in the interest of building something you can finish.

You left the world of AAA development behind to work on The Novelist. What were the biggest challenges of independent development for you, and how did you overcome them?

I’d have to say that almost all of the challenges are mental and emotional. I spent ten and a half years working with teams of different sizes in the mainstream industry, and there are a lot of assumptions and processes from large-team development that simply don’t apply to independent development.

One of the best things about working with a team is that other people are always adding new things to the game. Every now and then you’ll grab the latest build and see that the game is suddenly better because a cool new feature’s been checked in. Seeing other people’s contributions is a constant source of inspiration.

It’s a completely different situation, though, when you’re making a game yourself. This sounds stupidly obvious to say, but if I’m not working on the game then no one is. If I take a week off, when I come back the game will be exactly how I left it. This change in pace can be really challenging mentally because you might have 3 different features you want to implement, but you can only do one at a time so you just have to be patient and trust that you’ll eventually get to everything. You end up taking big leaps of faith, putting in features that you won’t be able to evaluate for a month because they rely on other features that you haven’t implemented yet.

In general, making an indie game takes an incredible amount of persistence and mental stamina. I wasn’t prepared for how hard it would be to sit in a room by myself for over a year and work on a game that no one knew about, without the camaraderie of a team or constant encouragement from coworkers. It can be really hard to stay focused every day and maintain the enthusiasm you had at the start of the project. Over the course of working on the game I’ve printed out a number of motivational messages and reminders to myself and hung them above my monitor so that I can always look up and get a boost.

The biggest challenge, though, has been emotional. When you’re part of a team, nothing is ever completely up to one person. It’s a collective effort, and while people are hopefully invested in the project you never have a sense of complete personal accountability and identification. With The Novelist, it’s all on me. If the game is bad, or if people think the concept is a waste of time, that’s entirely my fault. If people reject the game, they’re rejecting the best work I know how to do. It’s impossible to separate the game from my own creative ability and self-confidence.

When I started out I wasn’t prepared at all for such an incredible amount of emotional risk. My sense of personal accountability is total. It’s the biggest emotional roller coaster I’ve ever been on, and there’s no way to get off now; the lap belt is locked down and all I can do is stay on til the end of the ride. Here’s hoping it stays on the tracks.(source:indiegames)