游戏邦注：本文原作者是社交游戏开发商RockYou媒体高级副总裁Julie Shumaker。

玩游戏可以说是人类众多社交活动中的一种。人类玩游戏的历史已经有好几千年了，在这段漫长的历史中，人类把游戏当成了一种学习，分享的工具，更主要的是人类发掘出了游戏能够帮助人类进行交流沟通这一功能。这些社交游戏，例如桥牌，扑克，捉人游戏甚至是4300年前的骰子游戏都能够推动友情，社区和竞争的发展。

rockyou-logo（from zdnet.com）

为何社交游戏不够“社交性”？

比起那些经久不变的传统游戏，如今的社交游戏的社交性明显大打折扣。首先，我们在游戏中所交流的“朋友”并不是来自于我们社交版图中的现实好友，而是Facebook或其他社交网站中的“朋友”。我们会与大学同学分享喜欢的餐馆和教育经，但是他们却不会关心我们在《Farmville》游戏中的任何进展。我们经常会一个人进行社交游戏，有时候（或者经常）会希望他人也能够关心我们的游戏结果。因为比起在《魔兽世界》中的公会伙伴或每周一起玩扑克的牌友们，这种情况真的很让人无奈。

这也是本文将要展开讨论的内容。社交游戏玩家大多会花5至15分钟进行游戏。在Facebook平台上，玩家需要与任何朋友快速进行游戏，他们大多不在乎游戏的内容是什么，且这些游戏很少形成以游戏为中心的社区，玩家不能与朋友分享一些有意义的游戏体验。

使社交游戏更具有社交性

所以我们该如何做才能使社交游戏更具有社交性呢？简单来说，游戏环境和内容是根本。首先，游戏开发者必须使用一些新的技巧以实现游戏中真实且有意义的互动。社交游戏必须逐步发展成为一种同步的游戏体验，并且必须灵活地遍布于各个平台，供玩家随时游戏。游戏应该发生变化，不应只停留在异步，单一且孤立的内容上，不能只是出现于一个平台上或者仅支持少数人体验游戏，而应该发展成为能够以组队形式或者能够在公共场合随时体验的游戏。想象一下如果玩家能够在平板电脑上与他人进行面对面游戏，这种场景跟在时代广场上进行游戏比赛一样是多么激动人心啊。

除此之外，社交游戏还必须具有更多引人入胜的游戏内容。如今玩家能在进行其他工作的同时，或在办公室的电话会议期间玩游戏。因为人们并未完全投入于游戏中，所以很难在游戏中形成一个真正的游戏社区。如果Facebook上的游戏能更侧重故事性，且具有更真实的想法和策略，那么它们将能具有更多的社交性，且能真正吸引到更多的游戏用户。

未来，社交游戏将能形成以游戏为基础的社交版图。虽然现在Facebook上的玩家关系大多是建立在志趣相投的基础上，但是社交游戏的内容却还不足以使玩家形成强烈的社区意识。只有出现真正有影响力的游戏内容和有吸引力的游戏玩法时，社交游戏的用户粘性才会得到较大的提高。

社交游戏的意义

游戏最吸引人的其中一点是，它能让我们结交到很多之前没有任何交集的朋友，创造出一种有意义的用户粘性。就像你加入一个桥牌社，并在那结交到新的朋友一样。这对于游戏玩家来说是有益的，而且因为这些社交游戏是现代世界的社交游戏，所以很多广告商也能从中得利。对于玩家来说，游戏玩法多种多样，他们能在游戏中与其他玩家并肩作战，并与他人交流分享一些有意义的游戏经历。

广告商亦然。当玩家越来越沉浸于游戏玩法和游戏技巧中时，他们同样也慢慢抹去了虚拟世界与现实世界间的界限。而此时广告商正好能抓住这个机遇，与玩家进行更多的交流。现实世界中的交流与沟通和越来越多跨平台存在的游戏，使得很多品牌在提供用户服务时实现了更多有用价值。想象一下，如果未来玩家能够通过在《Gourmet Ranch!》（游戏邦注：一款农庄餐厅游戏）的第五关中用所收获的一颗咖啡豆换取一杯星巴克的星冰乐，这将会是让人无比开心的交易吧。

gourmet ranch（from facebook-games-list.com）

扩展社交版图，包括那些在游戏中与其他玩家分享游戏体验的玩家，将同样能给广告商带来利益。游戏开发者通过提供游戏机制使玩家能在游戏中与他人进行更深入的交流，同时玩家也通常会对那些朋友推荐的游戏更感兴趣。这就意味着玩家的影响是双重的，它能帮助广告商更深入地接触一个新的游戏社区。随着社交游戏玩法的不断完善，玩家将不再只是停留于与同事或大学同学分享所喜欢的品牌，他们将能够与一个新的社交版图，即游戏中的朋友们进行更深入的交流和分享。

未来趋势和走向

在未来，游戏将不再只是一种用于消遣的工具，而将变成一种更加成熟的社交娱乐体验。在未来，游戏将普及各种设备，并成为一种全天候的服务，而且游戏社区也将不再只是围绕着当前的朋友群展开。新的游戏社区将更加注重用户粘性，更加关注游戏的故事性和一些有意义的用户交流。在未来，游戏开发者将使用各种技术使游戏更加贴近现实生活，更具有真实性和社交性。现实世界与游戏世界相互影响，品牌为游戏用户提供了越来越多有价值的体验，逐渐成为游戏与用户现实生活中不可或缺的一体。是的，社交游戏在未来还会更具社交性。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Making social games more social

By Julie Shumaker

Playing games is one of the first known “social” activities of humans. We’ve been playing for thousands of years, using games as a mechanism to learn and share, and at the heart of this has always been community. These “social games” – think bridge, poker, tag, and even dice games from 4,300 years ago – drive camaraderie, community and competition.

Why social games aren’t social

In comparison with these timeless traditions, today’s social games are hardly social. First and foremost, the people we play games with are typically not our entire social graph as defined by Facebook and other social networks. Sure, you may want to share restaurant preferences or parenting tips with your college classmates, but they probably don’t care about your progress in Farmville. We mostly end up playing social games alone, occasionally (or frequently) pinging others who may or may not care. Compare this to a raid with your WoW guild, or a heated weekly poker game, and you catch my drift.

It’s also about the context. Social gamers play 5-15 minute bursts to kill time. The context of the Facebook platform, which encourages quick play with any of your friends, not specifically those to whom the content matters, has not fostered game-centric communities connected by shared, meaningful experiences.

Making social games more social

So, how do we evolve social games to be more social? Simply put, context plus content will be king (or queen).

One of the first steps will involve using new technology to allow true, meaningful interaction. Social games must evolve to become synchronized game experiences that can be enjoyed across multiple platforms anytime, anywhere. Games will shift away from being asynchronous, solo, isolated affairs, tied to one platform and played in small increments, and instead will become playable in groups and enjoyed on-the-go in public. Just imagine players being able to fight head-to-head on tablets, in real time, with live game-offs in Times Square!

Additionally, moving forward, social games must deliver more compelling content. Right now, players are able to play games while multi-tasking and on a conference call at the office. People are not fully immersed in the game, which makes it difficult for a true community to form. Facebook games will become more social as they become more story-driven, require actual thought or strategy, and truly engage users.

In the future, social games will foster the establishment of a gaming social graph. Currently players are connected to like-minded peers on Facebook, but the content of social games has not been powerful enough to create a strong sense of community among fellow players. As true game content emerges and gameplay becomes more captivating, social engagement among game buddies will grow.

Why is this good?

One of the most compelling things about games is that they bring us together with people who we may not have been friends with before, and create meaningful engagements. You join a bridge club, and you make new friends. This is good for the player, and in the modern world of social games, it’s good for the advertiser.

For players, the gameplay is richer, and they play alongside those who want to compete, connect and share the experience – meaningful interactions.

Advertisers win, too. As players become more immersed in gameplay and technology erases the boundaries between virtual worlds and real-life experiences, advertisers will see opportunities for more meaningful interactions with players. Deep, real-world ties and integrations, plus ubiquity via cross-platform play will become possible, enabling brands to add more value to the user experience.

Imagine a future where players can receive a free Frappuccino from a Starbucks barista after just conquering a coffee bean plantation in level five of Gourmet

Expanded social graphs, made up of people who are sharing the play experience, also benefit advertisers. As game makers provide mechanisms for players to engage more deeply with others in-game, users will be more interested in recommendations from fellow players. This means a user’s influence potentially doubles, giving advertisers the chance to reach a new community. Users are not only sharing opinions and advice about their favorite brands with peers and college buddies, but now have influence over a completely new social graph—their gamer graph—which emerges as relationships among game buddies strengthen during increasingly social gameplay.

What does the future look like?

There will be a shift from time-killing games to full-blown social entertainment experiences. In the future, games will be playable across devices, available 24/7, and the game community we build may reach beyond our current group of friends. New gamer communities will emerge around engaging, story-driven games that foster meaningful interactions. Technology will allow the games to be integrated with real-life experiences and augmented reality will make games more social as gameplay is woven into everyday life. The real world becomes the game as much as the game influences the real world, as brands offer more valuable experience to users and become more seamlessly woven into the fabric of the games and users’ reality. Social games will actually become, well… social!

By Julie Shumaker, SVP/GM of Media at RockYou.

We love social games over at RockYou and we’re continuously thinking of ways to make them even more social. Not only are we looking to create a better experience for players, but we’re also thinking of how an improved social game experience benefits the advertiser and how brands can add value to the user experience. -Julie（source:gamezebo）