法则5：容易上手但难以精通

美国电子游戏产业之父Nolan Bushnell曾经说过：“所有的好游戏都是学起来轻松但却难以精通。所以游戏应该同时奖励两种类型的玩家。”（请点击此处阅读上篇内容）

虽然并不是所有游戏都遵循这一原则（游戏邦注：许多硬核游戏在游戏的开始便设定了较为复杂的环节，避免那些资深的目标玩家感到厌烦），但是这仍然是一个有价值的指导方针，特别是对于休闲和手机游戏开发者而言。

对于那些不想在游戏中遭受挫折，并希望能够在一开始游戏后便有所成就的玩家来说，这个原则便特别重要。你需要迅速抓住他们的注意，让他们能够在游戏期间一直保持愉悦的心情。而新手教程能够帮助玩家更清楚地了解游戏，但是切记一定要保持这些内容简要且容易理解。

同时，还应该确保游戏机制的单一性和简单性，并且与游戏情境真正交融而有意义。为了验证这一点，我们可以尝试着用一个简单的动词或者物体去解释游戏设置。如“扔炸弹”，“举枪瞄准对象”，“躲避敌人”或者“割绳子”等。如果这个验证无效，那么你的目标玩家也许是属于非休闲游戏玩家。

为了保证游戏的寿命，我们还必须适当地提高游戏的难度。我们需要在潜在游戏机制的基础上适当增加新的挑战，道具，敌人或者能量提升关卡等，从而使游戏变得更加复杂。但是你必须确保这种难度是建立在原先玩家体验的基础上，并且尽力去弥补已知和未知机制间的差别。一次最好只引解进一种新功能。如果成功的话，玩家将会一直坚持到游戏最后，即所有游戏元素都适当地融合在一起，并且玩家需要更加专注于那些复杂且较为混乱的环节。而玩家也将会发现，从开始游戏到最后他们的游戏技巧取得了很大的发展。

最后，游戏可以通过玩家在不同关卡所获得的游戏成绩去验证这一原则。例如，你可以根据玩家的游戏表现通过分数或者星星作为评判标准。按照这种方法，不论好坏玩家都受到激励而继续游戏，而当玩家为了提高游戏成绩更加投入于游戏时，游戏的寿命也就有了保障。

例子：《Tiny Wings》

tiny wings(from downloadsquad.switched.com)

iPhone和ipod Touch游戏《Tiny Wings》非常简单。玩家将身处一个2D的游戏环境中，通过控制一只小鸟去飞跃一座座山脉。你必须让小鸟能够在一定时间内尽可能地飞得够远。你若没有按压任何按键，小鸟就会在飞行途中逐渐放慢速度。你必须按照一定机制去选择适当的滑坡从而提高小鸟的飞行冲力和速度。换句话说，《Tiny Wings》是一款关于时机的游戏。游戏机制很简单，而游戏还提供了一些信息图片作为新手教程。如果你掌握的力度不够，小鸟的的冲力就会不足而速度便自动放缓了。这时候的慢节奏让初学者有大量的时间去计算小鸟的着陆时机。相反地，当你掌握了绝佳的冲力以及滑行速度时（换句话说也就是你玩得更好），游戏将会变得越来越难。比起快速地在天空滑行，如何在山坡上着落其实更难控制。所以这款游戏的内嵌机制完美了验证了这一设计原则。

除此之外，还能在游戏中设置选择性能量提升机制，如跳垫以及可以帮助你提高分数的食物。这些机制对于那些希望获得高分的硬核游戏玩家来说更加重要。同时，给那些采用特别玩法的玩家提供特殊奖励，将能够鼓励玩家发挥创造性。将这些选择性的任务安插在游戏中，主要是用于帮助那些资深玩家更好地追求额外挑战。

法则6：奖励玩家

“奖励玩家不只通过提高游戏分数。也包括扩展游戏设置的奖励。”

正强化是一个很有名的激励因素。我们总是会因为别人的赞扬而高兴，充满信心并继续努力。这点我们已经在之前的正面反馈中的第3条法则里提到过了。而在这里作为游戏设计的第6大法则，我们将更加深入探析玩家的奖励模式。

按照得分进行分配是最早也是最普遍的一种机制。在一款游戏结束后我们会获得相应的分数，而这个数字能够用来总结我们在游戏中的努力，分数越高就意味着你在游戏中的表现越好。玩家会为了获得更高的分数而尝试不同的游戏玩法，甚至当他们能够与在线好友或者其他玩家进行分数较量时，这种高分榜单的激励性则更加明显。“胜者为王”是一个很重要的激励因素，所以游戏得分系统最好能够涵括成就机制，这也能够帮助你的游戏争取更大的利益。

作为游戏设计者，我们可以通过在游戏设计中安插一些有用的奖励而激励玩家。单独的分数机制不够明显，有用的奖励一般来自于游戏内部。分数只能说是一些数字。就像在现实生活中，我们总希望能够得到一个有用的礼物而不仅是一个靠垫。

所以什么样的礼物最合适？答案五花八门。打开一些新的领域便是其中之一。在某些游戏中，玩家必须完成游戏所制定的特别且复杂的要求，才能够进入一些特别且更深层次的领域。获得新武器或者道具（作为一种战利品）也是其中一种选择；特别是在角色扮演游戏中，玩家经常能够获得游戏赠与的额外能力或者游戏技巧等。除了能够赋予玩家更多能力，这些玩法还能够增强游戏的难度，从而作为一种奖励功能。奖励也可以是直观的或者与游戏故事相关的内容，如用于解释游戏场景的一副美丽的画面，就像《最终幻想》里的那样。

在极个别情况下，奖励将与现实联系在一起，就像在《魔兽世界》中，玩家可以在拍卖平台上卖掉虚拟角色和物品而赚取真正的金钱，或者在《小小大星球》中，玩家可以自己进行关卡设计或者展开病毒式市场营销活动。当然了，这些行为都不是游戏设计中的直接组成部分，但是对于很多玩家来说，它们都是很重要的激励因素。从另外一方面看来，当游戏越来越重视奖励机制的同时，它也越来越靠近真实世界的边缘了。

例子：《超级银河战士》

超级银河士(from moogleblog.com)

在所有的《银河战士》系列游戏中都存在大量的奖励机制，而不只是分数。玩家可以控制“Samus”，这个孤独的赏金猎人，去追踪邪恶的“Mother Brain”。一开始，你的军械库中没有多少武器，而且你的能力也非常有限。既要防御又要进攻导致你越显疲惫。随后当你获得一些特别的武器或者道具后，你便能够进入一些难以接近的区域并获得一些特别的道具。例如，当你消灭了“boss”后，你便能够获得一个抓钩——这是一个让你满意的道具，因为它不仅能够赋予你更多能量，而且能够帮助你进入一些新的区域。武器和弹药的升级，生命值的增加，以及翻墙等能力都是你所获得的奖励。因为这些有用，有趣且复杂的游戏设置，能够帮助你打开一些新的领域，赋予你更多能力从而实现更多目标，所以比起分数更能够吸引玩家。分数永远达不到这些效果。

注：本质上来说如果只是完成游戏，你便不能获得分数。还必须根据你完成游戏的时间，就像Samus脱下更多衣服的速度；以及玩家获得的奖励而判断。

法则7：把乏味的工作交给电脑

与桌面游戏不同，电脑游戏可以利用电脑自动操作或模拟一定的动作或事件。电脑可以让玩家无需手动控制而促成一些事件的产生。无需玩家操作而让游戏角色移动。游戏中的天气系统也会适时变化。建筑也会突然坍塌。

电脑游戏设计者应该好好利用电脑的这些优点。如此玩家可以更多地去做那些有趣的事，而那些乏味的工作交给电脑就行。就像我在第二大原则中提到的，一款优秀的游戏是一系列有趣选择的集合体。所以对于游戏设计原则来说，消除那些无趣的选择非常重要。

在这一方面，瞬间移动机制非常典型。游戏不会要求玩家长途跋涉，这样会让他们感到厌倦，而瞬间移动能够合理地优化游戏的节奏，让玩家能够享受到更加有趣且多样的游戏体验。你必须确保玩家在打败敌方之前无需浪费太多的时间。他们不用亲自管理库存，导航界面或者其它用于加强娱乐价值的管理任务。

在驾驶类游戏中，我们看到很多类似的例子。对于赛车手来说，游戏的最大乐趣便是速度感所带来的紧张和刺激。而这种感觉也是大多数赛车游戏所追求的。在游戏中，你无需像真正的赛车手那样花时间准备比赛，分析跑道并在跑完一圈后估量自己的表现。尽管赛车体验本身也经常局限于速度和制动控制，因为这也是这种游戏最有趣的部分。而其它机制，如变速等就很容易被忽视（部分或完全）。

这种对现实行为的简化正是电脑游戏的普遍特征，也是保持游戏趣味性的重要因素之一。

例子：《马里奥网球》

马里奥网球(from superphillipcentral.blogspot.com)

《马里奥网球》简化了现实中的网球模式，而更加具有趣味性。游戏通过使用一些特殊的机制而完美地演绎了网球中的底线击球，高球以及空中球和高难度的救球动作，从而更好地满足了玩家。这些动作可以在进攻和防御时用到。相反地，那些通常意义上的网球形式却一个都未在游戏中出现。更不曾看到一些策略技巧内容。甚至将球打到界外这种情况也很少发生，因为很明显在游戏中胜利的射击更有趣。

如果你是在制作一款非常现实的游戏，那么这一原则也就没有多大意义了。在现实世界中，我们不会总把乏味的工作推给电脑（而且我们也不可能瞬间移动），所以在使用游戏设计技巧时应该分清楚现实世界与游戏世界。

法则8：核心游戏机制很关键

“确保玩家的基本行动是有趣的。并围绕这一核心机制去塑造游戏。”

绝大多数成功的游戏都是基于一些简单且有趣的游戏机制。也就是让玩家能够简单地执行游戏行动。如果玩家认为这些行动很无聊或者很失败，那么即使你在游戏中加入再多的机制和功能也很难再次拯救游戏。

游戏中的核心游戏机制应该具有直觉性，并且容易掌握，因为没有哪个玩家会有兴趣学习游戏机制。换句话说，游戏应该尽可能地缩短玩家的学习时间。为了增加游戏进程的难度以及挑战关卡，并完善玩家的技巧，游戏中可以适当引进一些小型额外功能，就像是“卫星机制”（即次级机制）。这种机执行使用这些机制。

同样的，游戏开发者也应该尽量缩短这些卫星机制。即可以按照一些逻辑，直觉且有意义的方式在核心游戏机制中运用这些方法。《超级马里奥》中的蹦床就是个典型的例子。这是由玩家点击控制的一种功能。你知道为它为何而存在以及它的功能是什么，所以它的执行也就有了意义。同时你也需要压缩卫星机制的数量，以便玩家不用时不时就需要了解新机制。特别是，当两个机制的功能相似，并且它们看起来并不是那么重要时你便可以选择其一而淘汰。或者你也可以再设计一个功能较强的替代品（游戏邦注：例如一个光剑既可以偏转镭射光线也可以在近距离战斗中刺穿敌人的胸口）。然而，你必须警惕“缺乏特征”的机制。不要以为游戏中充斥着越多卫星机制越好，太多无用的机制只是在浪费玩家的学习时间。

一旦游戏中纳入了所有卫星机制，你必须确保能够随时调整这些机制，以创造出更多样的游戏体验。不要长时间地使用同一种机制，这些将会让玩家感到无趣。如果卫星机制能够按照一些有趣的方式相互协作，那么你最好能够利用这种关系去进一步维持游戏设置多样性。

例子：《愤怒的小鸟》

angry-birds(from slidetoplay.com)

《愤怒的小鸟》是基于单一的核心机制：朝着绿猪弹射小鸟。为了完成游戏，玩家也许需要反复重复这个动作上百次，而且这种游戏机制很容易掌握。即使年龄再小的玩家也能够理解游戏背后的逻辑。所以为了提高游戏的难度，必须添加各种各样的卫星机制。包括增加小鸟的类型，并且不同类型的小鸟拥有不同的攻击属性。而弹药的不同爆炸效果也是其中一个例子。事实上，当游戏中的任何一次出击变得更加复杂且难以掌握时，游戏也就变得更加有趣了。而且这些卫星机制都是一目了然，并且与游戏中的所有机制以及核心机制都紧密地联系在了一起。（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）

Principles of Good Game Design – Part 5 – Easy to Learn – Difficult To Master

Principle 4: Easy to Learn – Difficult to Master

“All the best games are easy to learn and difficult to master. They should reward the first quarter and the hundredth”. – Nolan Bushnell

While I don’t think that all games should follow this principle (afterall, many games for the hardcore players in particular can benefit from starting off in a complex and difficult manner in order to avoid boring the generally experienced target audience), it is still a valuable general guideline – especially for casual and mobile game developers.

It is particularly important for their audience not to experience frustration but success shortly after starting the game the first time. You have to capture their interest immediately – put a smile on their face within few minutes. A tutorial can be necessary to communicate what the game is about, but keep it concise and easy-to-understand.

Also, make sure that the game is based on a single, simple gameplay mechanic that makes sense in the context of the game (see also part 1 on meaningful play). To test this, check if the gameplay can be explained with a simple verb and object. It could be “throw bombs”, “aim pistol”, “avoid enemies”, or “cut the rope” (pun intended). If this test fails, your target audience might belong to less casual players.

To ensure the longevity of the game, an increasing difficulty curve must be implemented. New challenges, tools, enemies, power-ups etc, must be gradually included to complicate the underlying gameplay mechanic. Make sure you build upon past player experiences, bridging the gap between the known and the unknown. Introduce one new feature at a time. If successful, the player might play until the very end when most gameplay elements exist together, culminating in a complex and maybe even chaotic design that demands much focus and concentration. The player will feel that his skills have come a long way since he booted up the game for the first time.

Finally, this principle can also be met by making sure that each section or level of the game can be completed in several ways that are rated differently. For example, you can give scores or stars to the player depending on his performance. In this way, both bad and good players can have their own incentives to play a specific level – and longevity is boosted when the desire to improve your score settles in.

Principle found in Tiny Wings:

Tiny Wings for the iPhone and Ipod Touch, is extremely simple. You control a small bird, trying to fly over a bunch of hills in a 2D environment. You must get as far as possible within a set amount of time. When not pressing anything, you float in the air slowly drifting down. While touching anywhere on the screen, you fall down quickly. You must use this mechanic to land on downhill slopes in order to get momentum and speed. In other words, Tiny Wings is all about timing. The mechanic is extremely easy is to learn – and complemented by a simple tutorial with a few informative pictures. When you’re doing poorly, the speed of your bird is automatically slowed down, since you lack the momentum gained when playing well. This slow pace gives beginners a larger time frame in which to time their landings. Conversely, the more momentum and speed gained (in other the words: the better you get at the game), the more difficult the game becomes. Landing on a downhill slope is much harder when blazing through the skies with tremendous pace. This built-in gameplay mechanic thus perfectly supports this design principle.

Furthermore, the game has optional power-ups, such as jump pads and food that increase your score. Taking advantage of these becomes especially important for the hard-core gamer that wishes to beat his high-score. Also, special awards are given for playing in particular ways, which encourages multiple play-throughs. These are optional tasks implicit in the game and mainly directed at experienced players looking for additional challenge.

I hope this all makes sense. If it does, please like it on Facebook

Look in the blog archive to the left for more game design principles. （source:redkeybluekey）

Principles of Good Game Design – Part 6 -Rewarding the Player

Principle 6: Rewarding the Player

“Reward the player with more than just score increases. Include rewards that expand gameplay itself”

Positive reinforcement is well known for being a great motivator. Getting praise makes us happy, boosts our confidence, and pushes our efforts further. This is already briefly mentioned in the third principle regarding the importance of giving out positive feedback. This sixth principle is a more in-depth account on how the player should be rewarded.

Giving out scores is one of the oldest and most widely used techniques. When the game is over we get a score, summarizing our efforts with a single number, typically reaching into the thousands. This encourages several play-throughs, as we try to beat our high-score – a motivation that is increased when the high-score list is integrated in an online system with friends and other people competing. Bragging rights can be big motivation factor, making score systems – including achievements – a valuable asset to your game.

As game designers, we can motivate players even more by making some rewards useful in the game design itself. Just getting a score is not a tangible, useful reward within the game. It’s just a number. Just like in real-life getting a useful present is much nicer than a simple pad on the back.

So what should this present be like? Fortunately, there are countless answers. Unlocking new areas is one of them. Some games have special, advanced levels unlocked only when a specific, difficult requirement is met. Getting new weapons or tools – also known as loot – is an option too, and in role-playing games, you’re often rewarded with extra abilities and skills as well. Apart from empowering the player, these approaches provide an extra layer of complexity to the gameplay thus supporting an increased difficulty curve as a bonus feature. A reward can also be audio-visual or be related to the story – for example, a beautiful cut-scene explaining tidbits in the story – like in the Final Fantasy games.

In extreme cases, the rewards can also be more integrated in reality, as in World of Warcraft where you can earn real money by selling your virtual character and goods on auction sites, or Little Big Planet where you can use your level design retorically or as part of a viral marketing campaign. Of course, these actions are not a direct component of the game design of these games, but they still represent a considerable motivation factor for many people. On a side note, we see more and more games expanding into the realm of reality when it comes to rewarding the player (look up ubiquitous gaming, pervasive gaming, or see my thesis The Expansion of Computer Games Beyond Ludology for more details)

Principle found in: Super Metroid

All the Metroid games have extensive reward mechanisms that go way beyond scores. You control Samus, a lonely bounty hunter, out to destroy the evil Mother Brain. In the beginning, your arsenal and abilities are extremely limited. You’re weak – both defensively and offensively. You often gain tempting glimpses of areas and items unaccessible until you get a specific weapon or tool later on. For example, getting the grappling hook – upon destroying a boss – is an immensely satisfying reward, not only empowering you, but also giving you access to so many new areas. Weapon and ammo upgrades, health increases, and abilities such as wall-jumping also make up your rewards. They are a lot more interesting than scores because they are useful, fun to use, complicates gameplay, open up new areas, and empower you in your overall objective. Scores can never achieve these effects.

As a side note: upon completing the game, you don’t get a score per se. However, depending on your completion time, you see Samus take off an increasing amount of her clothes – another interesting way of rewarding the (male) player

I hope this all makes sense. If it does, please like it on Facebook

Look in the blog archive to the left for more game design principles. （source:redkeybluekey）

Principles of Good Game Design – Part 7 – Let the Computer Do the Tedious Work
Principle 7: Let the computer do the tedious work

As opposed to board games, computer games can use the computer to automate or simulate certain actions or events. The computer can make stuff happen outside of manual player control. Characters can be programmed to move – independent of player actions. The weather system in the game might change. Buildings may suddenly collapse.

A computer game designer can use these features to his advantage. He can limit player actions to what is interesting, letting the computer handle the tedious work. As stated in the second principle, a good game is a series of interesting choices. The elimination of uninteresting ones thus represents an important game design principle.

The use of teleportation mechanics is a well-known example in this regard. Instead of forcing the player to travel long distances, which can be tedious, the ability to teleport can optimize the pace of the game considerably, leading to a more entertaining and varied experience. Making sure that the players don’t spend hours in a virtual fitness center with their avatar before a fight in a beat-em-up is also a useful example. Not having to manage inventory, navigate interfaces, or do other administrative tasks can also enhance the entertainment value.

In the driving game genre, we see more examples. What is interesting about being a race driver is the thrill and exhilaration experienced by the sense of speed. Generating this feeling is the focus for most driving games. You typically don’t’ spend hours preparing for a race, analyzing tracks, and evaluating your performance meticulously after a race – actions that would be necessary for a real driver. Even the driving experience itself is often limited to speed and brake controls, because these are the most interesting. Operating other mechanics such as shifting gears is often neglected, partially or completely.

This act of simplifying real-life behaviors is a common trait of computer games – and an important one in order to keep games interesting.

Principle found in: Mario Power Tennis

The Mario Tennis games simplify what tennis is all about in its most entertaining essence. The satisfaction gained when hammering a perfect baseline hit, doing a well-adjusted lob, a great volley, or an unbelievable save is emphasized considerably in Mario Power Tennis via its use of special attacks. These can be executed often either defensively – to save an otherwise impossible shot – or offensively – to hammer the ball with utmost precision and speed. Conversely, what is generally perceived as less interesting about tennis is ignored. All the strategic aspects are more or less gone. Even the act of hitting the ball out of bounds happens fairly infrequently, because it’s less fun than determining a duel with a winning shot.

Again, this principle should not be followed religiously if you’re making a highly realistic game. In the real world, we can’t always let the computer do the tedious work (and we certainly can’t teleport ourselves), so using this game design technique might break the immersion of participating in a real world.

I hope this all makes sense. If it does, please like it on Facebook

Next, I will look at all of the other (smaller but important) principles of good game design. （source:redkeybluekey）

Principles of Good Game Design – Part 8 – The Importance of a Solid Core Gameplay Mechanic

“Make sure the most fundamental player action is fun. Build your game around this core mechanic.”

Most successful games are built around a simple, fun gameplay mechanic. This is the most fundamental and frequent action you perform as the player. If this action is boring or unfulfilling, it doesn’t matter how many twists or extra features you add to the game. They can’t save your game design.

This core game mechanic must be intuitive and relatively easy to learn, because learning a mechanic is never as interesting as utilizing it as a means to completing your goal. In other words, learning time should be minimized. In order to increase the complexity and challenge level as the game progresses and player skills improve, small extra features also known as “satellite mechanics” should be introduced. These provide twists to the core gameplay mechanic, forcing the player to use it in a slightly different and more challenging way.

Game developers should minimize the learning time of these satellite mechanics too. This can be done by making sure that they are connected to the core gameplay mechanic in a logical, intuitive, and meaningful manner (see the first principle on “Meaningful Play”). The trampoline in Super Mario Bros. is a great example. Its function instantly clicks with you. You understand why it’s there and what it does – its implementation is meaningful. You might also want to minimise the amount of satellite mechanics, so the player doesn’t have to learn new ones constantly. In particular, if two mechanics have similar functions – if they are relatively redundant – delete one of them from your game. Or perhaps you can redesign one of them to have multiple functions (i.e. a lightsaber that can both deflect lasers and cut through enemies in close combat). Nonetheless, it’s important to beware of “feature-creep”! Kill your darlings! Don’t spam your game with huge amounts of satellite mechanics – that approach will just increase learning time.

Once all the satellite mechanics are introduced, make sure to switch them up in order to create a varied gameplay experience. Avoid using one for a while in order to renew player interest in it. If several satellite mechanics work together in interesting ways, exploit these relationships to bolster gameplay variation even further.

Principle found in: Angry Birds

Angry Birds is based on a single core mechanic: catapulting birds towards pigs. This action must be done hundreds of times in order to complete the game, and it’s very easy to get to grips with. Even small children understand the logic behind catapults. In order to complicate gameplay, various satellite mechanics are gradually introduced. The inclusion of several bird types – each with their own special attack – is one of them. The placement of TNT barrels that explode upon impact is another example. And the fact that some objects give bonus points when hit also serves to make the game harder to master. These satellite mechanics are instantly learned and seamlessly integrated with each other and the core gameplay mechanic. （source:redkeybluekey）