作者：Josh Levine

如果你足够幸运，就会了解有段时间昏暗发霉的街机店是接触游戏的唯一途径。多数人看到的画面几乎相差无几，与其他放学后的勇士（游戏邦注：这里指街机店得其他玩家）肩并肩坐着，热切的期盼和过度的占有欲夹杂汗流浃背的场景，紧盯街机上价值25美分的硬币，那代表的是你可以用操纵杆成为冠军的时间。随着劲舞题材和满足战斗或竞速玩家诉求游戏的微弱复苏，尽管现在年轻玩家对此类游戏可能会带有些许崇敬之情，但那种等待游戏体验的短暂、紧张和昂贵（相对高龄玩家而言）的感觉并未再次浮现。现实确实如此吗？可能你还应该再考虑下这个问题。

这里我想提到的并不是骨灰级街机粉丝组成的地下Fight Club，或者某些亿万富翁所拥有的超未来主义虚拟现实街机，玩一次便要耗费10万美元，尽管这二者都可能存在。我想说的是游戏发行商所采取的各种方法，试图将那种驱动视频游戏发展的街机风潮重新在公众中流行，而载体正是玩家的口袋（游戏邦注：意指手机游戏）。你也知道，近来自己玩手机游戏、社交游戏和休闲游戏的程度几乎与上世纪八九十年代的街机不相上下。你不相信我说的话吗？以下将列举出一些为何当年的模式可完美融入现今的关键原因：

1、不时中断且昂贵

过去

当你将1枚25美分的硬币塞入《街头霸王2》的机器中，换来的是什么呢？假设你确实身怀绝技，可能会获得3到4分钟的游戏体验，随后就必须退出或塞进更多的钱币得以继续进行下去。这在周末可能成为一种相当奢侈的行为，因为每个周六难免都有大量如饥似渴的玩家排在你身后（游戏邦注：等待再次轮到自己体验必然费时费力）。而你的对手当然是角色健在的挑战者，他会嘲笑你的无能，打出个标准的Dragon Punch（游戏邦注：《街头霸王》中某技能名称）等待着队伍中下一名对手。

街头霸王(from sev1512.wordpress.com)

《吃豆人》、《小蜜蜂》、《Cruisin’ USA》、《火线危机》等所有街机游戏的玩法模式完全相同，让你沉浸其中然后吸引你从口袋中掏出钱币。但你依然时时选择回到游戏中，为什么呢？

部分原因是你在坠入爱河之前，街机游戏或许是用钱的最佳地方，但主要还是因为每次玩游戏你都会获得些许进展。毒贩子将其称为复原，但你的大脑识别到的是内啡肽，玩家就这样沉迷于游戏中。

现在

想想你最后玩过的手机游戏，《愤怒的小鸟》？《翼飞冲天》？还是《无尽之剑》？它们利用的都是这种中断式快速游戏玩法模式，由于你收到的挑战在慢慢增加，因而很轻易便沉迷其中。

翼飞冲天(from itouchblog.de)

而更为重要的是，每次你只能获得稍微的进步，而你的大脑希望能够尽量发掘自己的潜能（游戏邦注：指玩家想尽最大努力克服难题）。

现在，无需将大量的时间花费在某个固定的地点上，你可以将这个小“习惯”带到任何角落，这是种解放，不是吗？你的时间可能会产生其他的价值（比如，至少你应该在等车时把注意力放在公共汽车上），但你却把这么重要的资源用在游戏体验上。你会说玩这些游戏是免费的，对不？事实上并非如此，因为销售方花大笔资金让你注意到游戏，还花更多钱让你玩他们的产品。

从本质上来说，你玩游戏就是在免费替他们做工作，事情就是这样。

2、专业化控制

过去

如果处理得当，街机柜（游戏邦注：与iPad兼容的街机模拟器）实为美物。控制系统在整个游戏操作过程中地位独特，虽然控制方案从不相同，其所设计的控制盘却是完全相同。《真人快打》、《金牌高尔夫》和《Sniper Scope》在玩法上都有戏剧性的改变，跳舞机游戏甚至连控制器都不需要，只需要站在上面即可。这让玩家得到解脱，让游戏体验更为独特和直观，而且还不易遭其他游戏模仿。

现在

割绳子(from inlatest.com)

iOS和Android上的游戏尽管设计简单，但如果做法得当依然可以产生新鲜和独特的体验。单键游戏有可能在XBOX 360上如此流行吗？如果处理完美，可能某款游戏能够获得一定的名声，但整个控制器势必无法靠这种模式生存下去。因而，倾斜驾驶真正的《实况赛车》与《割绳子》间有很大的差异，它们与《植物大战僵尸》中的移动物体也不尽相同。这些控制不仅能让玩家畅玩游戏，也让他们觉得游戏充满“个性化”，产生独立于游戏设计之外的怀念。

3、统治世界

过去

当年，虽然征服某款街机游戏只意味着你的动作较快和时间较多，但这确实在当初算是引人注目的事情。你可以向外界声称自己是《NBA篮球》中的王者。当然，生活为学业或社交行为充斥的

学生几乎不可能获得此等荣耀，这通常属于那些无业人员（游戏邦注：多数人目前在撰写游戏主题博客）。尽管如此，能够打败朋友，在97年夏天确立《超级漫画英雄》王者之位，这无疑会令众人仰慕。

现在

随着社交媒体的出现，Game Center等交友功能似乎正在期待中缓缓降临这个世界，然而现在已是手机和休闲游戏的重要组成部分。现在你可以向朋友展示自己的技术，打败Facebook好友甚至全世界玩家，再次向外界证明你是《Scrabble》的王者或《Farmville》中太平洋西北岸最大的农场主。毕竟，只有让每个人看到你所取得的光辉成就，这份成就才能体现出应有的价值。

Scrabble(from 5025488.net)

那么，有人会说游戏在循环发展，其中并无本质区别。现在可别这么想，但未来基于文字的冒险游戏可能会有大进步，但你可能需要耐心等待。这是否意味着硬核游戏会在将来退出游戏市场呢？当然不会出现这种情况。那是否意味着“玩家”这个词会有新的含义？确实如此，现在已经是这样的了。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Moblie gaming: following the footsteps of the arcade

Josh Levine

You may be lucky enough to know a time when the only real way to get your game-on was in the darkness of a musty arcade. The Image is strikingly similar for most people: packed shoulder to shoulder with other after-school warriors, sweating from a mix of nervous anticipation and a far exceeded maximum occupancy, glancing amorously at the quarter on the arcade box that represented your time to be a champion with a joystick. Although there may be some reverence among younger gamers today what with slight resurgences of Dance, Dance titles and niche appeals of fighters or racers having their way with popular opinion, there still is a missing appreciation for what it meant to wait for a game experience that was short, intense, and (relatively to an 11 year old) expensive, right? Maybe you should think again.

No, I am not referring to an underground Fight Club scenario of die-hard arcade fans, or some group of billionaires having an arcade of super-futuristic virtual reality arcades that cost 100,000$ per play (though either may exist), but in a lot of ways game publishers want to bring the arcade craze that drove video games into the public sector into your pocket. Mobile games, social games, and casual games, you know, the ones you’ve been playing more and more of lately, very closely emulate (Pun may be intended, depending on the game) the arcade experience of the 80s and 90s. Don’t believe me? Here are a few key reasons why this model makes perfect sense:

1) Punctuated, expensive Gameplay

How it was

When you jammed a quarter (or four if you’re not from the 30’s) into a machine of Street Fighter 2, what did you get for your purchase? Unless you had some real skills you may have gotten 3, maybe 4 minutes out of it until you were forced to quit or pump in more cash to continue, which was a luxury reserved for weekday afternoons as an inevitable lineup of hungry gamers would build behind you on any given Saturday. The alternative, of course was a live challenger who would laugh at your inability to execute a proper Dragon Punch while preparing to face the next sucker in line.

Pacman, Gallaga, Cruisin’ USA, Time Crisis, you name it, doesn’t matter, the gameplay models for arcade games were the same: get you in, and get your quarters out (of your pockets). But you came back, again and again, why? Partly because before you noticed (or can talk to) women arcade games were pretty much the best investment you could make, but mostly because you improved ever so slightly every time you played. Drug dealers call this the comeback but your brain calls this endorphins, and baby, you are hooked.

How it is

Think about your last phone gaming experience. Angry Birds? Tiny Wings? Infinity Blade? They all rely on this broken up, quick gameplay model that hooks you simply because there are slight increases to challenge, but more importantly, you are getter just a little better each time and your brain wants to test its new mettle.

Now, instead of investing lots of time in a finite location, you can take this little “habit” of yours wherever you go, which is really liberating, right?

Considering your time may be worth something (or at least your attention should be on a bus, for example) you are devoting a very important resource to this one experience. But, it’s free you say, right? Well, not really, because marketers spend a lot of money to get you to notice and even more to play their product. By doing this you are essentially doing their job for them, for free; mission accomplished.

2) Specialized controls

How it was

Arcade cabinets, if properly done, are a thing of beauty. What really puts a unique stamp on the whole operation are the controls, which are often designed with arguably similar though never the same control schemes. Mortal Kombat, Golden Tee, and Sniper Scope all have dramatically different ways to play them, heck Dance, Dance revolution doesn’t even have a controller, you just step on the damn thing. This liberates the player and makes the experience unique, intuitive to the game, and difficult to transfer between titles.

How it is

Games on IOS and Android can, if properly done, create experiences that are fresh and distinct, even if they are often simplistic by design. Is there a chance that one-button games could be so popular on the 360? Maybe one game would have some notoriety if done perfectly, but the entire console cannot survive on this model. So, tilting to steer a Real Racing car is far different from slashing to cut the rope, which is a far departure from sliding units in Plants Vs Zombies. These controls reach gamers in ways that not only make sense, but also feel “personal” to the game and create memories for the player that deviate from game design alone.

3) World Domination

How it was

Back in the day, conquering an arcade game didn’t really mean much more than having a quick hand before your Mom went to the Laundromat and a lot of time. What was really a mark of greatness was the almighty initial display, claiming your place as a god among mere NBA JAM men. This, of course was almost impossible for any kid bogged down by school or a social life, and was usually reserved for jobless losers (who nowadays write blog entries mostly). An admirable consolation, however would be the ability to beat the snot out of your friends, and claim the place as the Marvel Super Heroes king of the summer of ’97.

How it is

With the advent of social media, friend functions like Game Center seemed to arrive slowly by expectations, but are now a big part of mobile and casual gaming. You can now show your skills to your friends, fake Facebook friends, and the world at large, once again proving that you indeed are the lord of Scrabble, and the owner of the grandest farm on Farmville in the Pacific Northwest. After all, what’s the value of being great unless everyone can see just how great you are?

So, they say things go in cycles, and games are really no different. Don’t look now, but Text-based adventure games may be making big moves soon, though you probably should be patient. Does this mean that hardcore games will be absent in the future of gaming? Certainly not. But will the term “gamer” take on new meaning? Well, it already has. Now, where can I make change for a dollar? (Source: Gamasutra)