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大众需消除对Facebook游戏玩家的偏见

发布时间:2011-08-21 09:09:02 Tags:,,,

作者:Tami Baribeau

《旧金山纪事报》上曾发表了一篇有关游戏《FarmVille》开发商Zynga的长文,声称该公司是整个城市中成长最快的公司之一。与任何主流出版媒体上有关社交游戏的文章一样,评论版块中迅速出现大量诋毁那些Facebook游戏玩家的留言。

通读这些评论之后,我总结出如下几种情况(游戏邦注:括号内是作者对这些评论的反驳):

1、他们为那些玩家浪费时间来玩这些弱智的游戏感到惋惜。(说出这番话的是那些“浪费时间”对这篇新闻文章上发表评论的人)

2、为何这些玩家不去户外种植一片真正的菜园?(你自己亲自种植过菜园子吗?这并非易事,不是所有人都可以做到的)

3、这些玩家都是那些在现实社交生活中被排斥的人,他们不会同屋外的真实好友进行交流。(但他们为何会在Facebook上有这么多人一起玩游戏?)

4、这些人只是沉迷于游戏并感到压抑,他们讨厌自己的生活,社交游戏可以弥补这种空虚。(当然,如果没有喜欢的理由,没有人会去玩这些游戏)

5、在Facebook上玩游戏的人胖而且懒,他们对社会丝毫没有贡献。(这不是在歧视肥胖者吗?)

6、花1分钟时间来玩《FarmVille》就会放慢你的节奏,降低你的办事效率。(你知道,快节奏并不是很酷)

7、我需要去做工作,而这些Facebook游戏玩家就知道坐在家里,领着政府的失业救济金(我就是个有着自己工作的Facebook玩家)

8、这些游戏有害玩家的健康。(你无权管他人的健康问题)

9、这些人都是些无知的消费者。(你也无权替他人做决定)

farmville-english-countryside(from pocket-lint.com)

farmville-english-countryside(from pocket-lint.com)

通常情况下,我根本不在意这些评论,因为我正是玩这些游戏的玩家之一。当然,我也有着属于自己的特殊情况。我以制作这些游戏为生,所以我玩游戏既处于生意目的也属于个人爱好,而且我玩这些游戏的机会可能也超过大多数人。但是,这些都未能改变我通读这些评论后的感觉,我根本不认为自己完全是在浪费时间,因为玩Facebook游戏带给我很多乐趣。

社交游戏关注易用性,这也是为何它们变得如此流行的重大原因。它们是免费的,如果玩家不想,完全可以不花一分钱从中体验到快乐。相对于零售价高达50美元的主机游戏或月费为15美元的订阅类MMO游戏而言,任何能够联网的人都可以享受它们带来的乐趣。这些游戏向那些可能无法承受购买奢侈游戏的玩家开启了休闲游戏世界之门。别欺骗我们自己了,视频游戏确实是非常昂贵的。如果你足够幸运,能够买得起最新的主机设备,你仍然还需要花大量金钱购买每款游戏。更不用说,如果你想要DLC或额外内容,你就要为这种游戏体验付出大量资金。玩电子游戏的人非常多,你知道为什么吗?有些人可能从不走出家门。其中的原因五花八门,可能是社交恐惧导致他们不出门,或者他们可能因身体原因必须待在室内,或者他们无法承受起外出之类事情而产生的费用。现在他们可以在整天待在家中照看孩子之余,抽空玩玩《FarmVille》然后小睡一会儿。社交游戏玩家可能无法种植自己的菜园,因为他们或许有身体上的残疾而无法这么做。那么,那些让人们种植真正的菜园子而不是玩游戏的人是谁呢?

我如何处理自己的个人游戏时间是我的事情,为何那些我根本就不认识的人要来关心我如何使用这段时间?为何将我支出个人时间的方式定性为“浪费”?为何他们会认为我是个无知之人,认为我缺乏自己做决定的能力,并且只知道盲目地消费产品?这些人似乎完全无法明白社交游戏很有趣这个想法。我之所以玩这些游戏,是因为我觉得它们能够带来乐趣。我确实足够幸运,

因为我可以玩自己的Xbox 360,或者其他更为厉害的电脑系统上的游戏,或者Wii,但是我选择了玩Facebook游戏,因为它们所需的短期游戏时间与我的日程安排相符。

我是个社区管理员,我总是听到玩家在称赞我们的游戏,因为这让他们在轮椅中也能够与其他人产生联系。他们通过我们的游戏来结交朋友,合作完成共同的目标。我也听过有玩家称赞我们制作出了让他们用残疾抚恤金或退休金也可以玩得起的游戏。我曾经听玩家跟我说,玩我们的游戏能够帮助他们暂时忘却现实生活中的悲惨遭遇。我听说过有玩家同自己的孩子一起玩我们的游戏,他们整家人每天晚上上床前都会聚集在游戏中。社交游戏以某种有意义的方式让人们聚集在社交网络上。在Facebook上玩游戏很容易,这也使得玩家世界的成员规模不断壮大。

我对那些贬低Facebook游戏玩家的人感到厌烦。在MMO游戏的发展史中我们也听到过类似的观点,有人觉得这些玩MMO游戏的玩家很懒而且具有反社会人格。然而,荒诞的是这些发表评论的人并没有肢体残疾或其他阻碍他们走出室外玩彩弹游戏的问题,这种对特殊情况的无知使得他们产生了一种优越感。他们能够负担得起购买昂贵游戏和月费等费用,但其他人只能将微薄的收入花在自己的兴趣之上,这样方能养活自己和家人。

我并不讨厌那些不玩Facebook游戏的人,因为他们只是无法体验到其中的乐趣。但是这些人对社交游戏玩家的嘲笑和奚落也应当到此为止,因为他们也只是在做自己喜欢的事情而已。

游戏邦注:本文发稿于2010年11月19日,所涉时间、事件和数据均以此为准。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

Facebook games and the privileged people who oppose them

Tami Baribeau

A long article was released yesterday in the San Francisco Chronicle about FarmVille game developer Zynga, claiming that the company is one of the largest growing firms in the city. Like any article in any mainstream publication about social games, the comment section quickly turned into an insult-fest of people throwing around privileged-filled comments about the kind of people who play Facebook games.

Reading through the comments, I saw the following statements:

These people are absolutely pathetic to be wasting all of their time playing these mindless games. (Says people who are ‘wasting time’ commenting on news articles)

Why don’t these people go outside and plant a REAL garden? (Have you personally planted a garden before? It’s not exactly easy, and not everyone can do it)

These people are all social outcasts who cannot communicate with real people outside of their houses. (Although they have plenty of friends on Facebook to play games with?)

These people are just addicted and depressed, they hate their lives and social games have filled a void. (Ah yes, no one could possibly be playing these games because they ENJOY it)

People who play games on Facebook are fat and lazy and contribute nothing to society. (Of course you bring out the fatphobia, you can’t possibly forget the fatphobia)

You have got to be a “retard” if you spend one minute playing FarmVille. (Ableist slurs make you cool, you know)

I’m going to go run my “real business” while these Facebook gamers sit on their asses and collect unemployment checks. (Don’t mind me, I’m just a privileged asshole who owns a business)

These games are unhealthy for the people who play them. (Weee-oooo weeee-ooooh, the health police are here!)

These people are mindless consumers. (Here, let me make your decisions for you since you are incapable)

I normally ignore these comments, because I’m one of those people who plays these games. Sure, I’ll completely own up to my personal privilege here – I make these games for a living so I play them for business purposes as well as a personal hobby, and I get more chance to play them than most people probably do. None of that changes the fact that reading through these comments makes me almost feel like a complete waste of space because I have fun playing Facebook games.

Social games are all about accessibility, which is a huge reason that they have become so popular. They are free to get started and players can enjoy them without ever spending a dime if they choose not to. Anyone with an internet connection can enjoy them, compared to a console game that costs $50+ just for the retail box, or a subscription-based MMO that requires a $15/month fee. These kinds of games open up the world of casual gaming to people who might not be able to afford the luxuries of buying games. Let’s not fool ourselves, video games are freaking expensive. If you are lucky enough to afford the latest console, you still have to pay out a lot of money for each individual game. Not to mention if you want the DLC or additional content, you can be paying an awful lot for your gaming experience.

A wide variety of people play video games, and you know what? Some of them might not leave the house. This can be for a huge variety of reasons – they could have social anxieties that prevent them from going outside. They might have health reasons for staying indoors. They might not be able to afford to go out and do much. They might be taking care of their kids all day at home and stopping in to play FarmVille now and then while they’re taking a nap. Social game players might not be able to plant a garden because they have a disability that prevents them from doing that. And frankly, who are they to tell someone to go plant a real garden instead of play a game?

What I do with my personal gaming time is my business, and why do people I don’t even know care about how I can spend that time? Why is it a “waste” when it is my personal time to spend the way I choose? Why do they assume that I am a mindless person who is blindly consuming products because I am incapable of making decisions for myself? People seem completely unable to grasp the idea that social games are fun. I play these games because I find them enjoyable. I’m fortunate enough that I could be playing my Xbox 360, or another game on my rather beefy computer system, or the Wii, but I choose to play Facebook games because they fit the kind of short gaming sessions that work with my schedule.

I’m a Community Manager, and I hear from my players all the time that they appreciate our game because it gives them something to do in their wheelchair that connects them with other people. They make friends through our game and work together on common goals. I’ve had players thank us for making a game that’s affordable on their disability income, or their retirement income. I’ve had people tell me that playing our games helps them get their mind off of a recent tragedy in their life. I’ve known players who play our games together with their kids, and their whole family comes together around the game every night before bed. The Border House is all about how games are meaningful beyond just mindless drivel and that extends to all categories of gaming – be it hardcore, MMO, casual, social, puzzle, or co-op console shooters. Social games bring people together in meaningful ways on social networks where players already spend time. It is easy to play games on Facebook, and that opens up doors that bring new people into our world of gamers.

I am tired of people belittling those who play Facebook games. So you don’t like them? So what. We’ve heard this before about MMOs, about the people who enjoy them being lazy and antisocial. While it’s absolutely fantastic that these commenters don’t have a disability or other issue that prevents them from going outside and shooting people in paintball instead, it’s complete ignorance and lack of understanding about the concept of privilege that makes them blind to the fact that others might not be in the same boat as them. It’s great that they can afford to buy expensive games and pay monthly fees, but other people have to make do with less expendable income to spend on hobbies so that they can feed themselves and their families.

I am perfectly fine with people simply not playing Facebook games because they don’t find them fun. Go ahead and insult their game design and call them spammy clickfests. But this incessant need to slam and ridicule social game players for doing something they like to do is just privileged bullshit that really has to stop. (Source: tamibaribeau.com)


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