作者：Farshid

游戏设计是一个非常重要且关键的问题，但是我却找不到一个统一且具体的答案能够准确地回答这个问题。

在我去寻找这个问题的答案之前，我一直在研究一个较为哲学的问题。诸如“如果开发了一款游戏但是却没人愿意玩它，那这还像话么？”等等。但是显然，这并不是我真正想要了解的问题，好吧，我的朋友们，其实我的问题真的很简单，我只是想要知道，什么是游戏？

“一款游戏是如何炼成的？”

以下是我的答案。

game-elements(from kpis.co)

构成游戏的4大要素

在这里你需要记住，在游戏设计中这4大因素是同等重要的，而我所罗列出的列表并未强调哪个因素优于其它因素，只有当所有因素相互影响、相互作用时才能为玩家创造出最棒的游戏体验。

机制

机制是游戏的规则所在；是玩家必须克服的游戏挑战；是他们在完成游戏目标时必须遵守的步骤；是他们在游戏过程中将会获得的成就。当玩家完成了一个目标后会怎样？当玩家努力玩游戏但却还是失败后会怎样？正是因为机制的存在才能让游戏有别于其它娱乐形式。

举个例子来说，书籍和电影也具备各种娱乐因素，但是它们却不存在机制。因此，是机制造就了游戏。

当你选择了一套机制作为你的主要游戏设置，你将同时需要选择一些能够维持这些机制的技术，美学能够更好地强调它们并将其呈现在玩家面前，而故事能让这些游戏机制更加有意义（游戏邦注：这是Jesse Schell曾发表的看法）。

故事

故事并不要求太多的解释，我们都知道如何去定义故事。故事揭露了事件，角色和玩家，但是最重要的是，如何才能更好地组织这些因素？你作为一名游戏设计者，必须选择适当的游戏机制以更好地帮你讲故事。你可以通过美学赋予你的故事生气，并用你自己想要表达的方式去呈现这个故事。理想上，你可以采用一些特殊的技巧，即用一些适当的道具去武装自己，从而更好地描述自己的故事。

美学

我认为美学是最重要的一方面，因为它直接关系到玩家的游戏体验，而创造这种体验总是需要耗费你很多精力。美学能帮助你更好地传达游戏理念，任何依附于感官的东西都是美学所创造出来的。你需要为游戏确定一个基调，从而更好地强调游戏故事，并帮助玩家更深入地融合到游戏中去。

想象一下模拟游戏，如《模拟人生》或者第一人称射击游戏，如《使命召唤》，它们有何不同？他们从外观，声音甚至是感觉都完全不同。

所有的美学都在按照自己的方式帮助设计者创造出最棒的游戏体验。而更多独特且有趣的体验能够帮助游戏诞生出更多更棒的续集作品。

最后，你需要运用一些技术帮助你使用一些有益的工具，从而创造出这种美学。

技术

说到技术，我并不是指Playstation 3或者任天堂DS，而是那些能够帮助你创造出上述所有因素的工具。这些技术必须能够创造美学，设置机制，并能够充当讲故事的媒介。这种技术可以是非常简单的铅笔或白纸，也可以是一整套的模具，它可以是一个控制杆，一台iPhone或者其它尚未被发明出来的技术等。（例如，《太空入侵者》设计者就创造了自己的开发技术，在此之前，市面上还没有专门开发此类游戏的工具）

游戏邦注：原文发表于2011年7月3日，所涉时间及事件以当时为准。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

The 4 Elements of Game Design

Today started out as a beautiful day, a day filled with joy and excitement. But it all came crashing down when I came across a question, a very important question about game design, that surprising enough does not have a solid and concerete answer that everyone would agree on.

Before I knew it, I had spent hours on what I now know to be some sort of a philosophical question. “If a game is developed and no one is there to play it, does it make a sound?” That sort of question. But that wasn’t exactly my question, oh no my friend, my question was a lot simpler … What is a Game?

Seeing as to how I could not find an answer that would satisfy me, or at least an answer that two different people would be able to agree on, I decided to ask a different question, one that just happens to have an answer that seems to be acceptable by everyone (maybe not, let me know in the comments).

“What makes a Game?”

And without further ado I give to you …

The 4 Elements that form a Game

Now, please keep in mind, soon you will realize that all these elements are equally important in game design and the listing here is just that, a list, it does not emphasize any importance on any of the items over the others. Especially since they all work together to create the experience for the player.

The Mechanics

The Mechanics are the rules of your game. The challenges the players has to over come. The steps they have to follow to accomplish the goal of your game. The achievements they would obtain throughout the game. What happens when they accomplish a goal or what happens when they try and fail? It is the mechanics that set games apart from other forms of entertainment.

For example, books and movies, they have all the other elements but they do not have the Mechanics. Therefore, it is the mechanics that make a game a Game.

When you choose a set of mechanics as crucial to your gameplay, you will need to choose technology that can support them, aesthetics that emphasize them clearly to players, and a story that allows your (sometimes strange) game mechanics to make sense to the players. – Jesse Schell

The Story

The story does not require a lot of explanation, we all know what defines a story. The events that unfold. The characters and the player. What is important though, is how does story interact with other elements? You, as a game designer, have to choose the mechanics of the game that aid in telling the story. You decide on the aesthetics that add life to your story and present the ideas in the way that is intended by you. Idealistically, you would pick a technology that would equip you with the best tools to tell your story.

The Aesthetics

The aesthetics is the most important aspect in my opinion because they are directly tied to the experience that is felt by the player(s), the experience that you try so hard to create for them. The aesthetics makes your game look the way it does, sound the way it does, feel the way it does or even taste the way it does. Anything and everything that somehow is attached to the senses are created by the aesthetics. You need to set a tone for your game that intensifies the story and consumes the player(s) within the game environment.

Just imagine a simulation game like “The Sims” or first-person-shooter game like “Call of Duty”. How are they different? They look, sound and feel totally different.

All the aesthetics are used the way they are, to create those essentials experiences that the game designers aim to create for the player(s). The experiences that are so unique and enjoyable that lead to multiple sequels and expansions.

Lastly, you need to pick a technology that gives you the tools to create these aesthetics.

The Technology

By technology, I don’t simply mean, Playstation 3 or Nintendo DS, I mean the tools that aid you to accomplish everything else I mentioned above. They should allow for the creation of the aesthetics, the placement of the mechanics and be used as a medium to tell the story. The technology could be as simple as a pen and a paper, it can be a set of die (plural of dice), it can be a joystick, an iPhone or some other technology that is yet to be invented.

(Fun fact: The game designers of Space Invaders created their own technology for the game. Prior to that the technology did not exist to create a game similar to Space Invaders.)

PS: Your comments are welcomed. Do you agree with the 4 elements? What other elements do you believe is essential to form a game?（source:farshidpalad）