作者：David McClure

与所有的艺术形式一样，电子游戏随着时间的流逝而呈现其发展趋势。作为一种相对新颖的媒介形式，游戏的进化速度快于其他媒介，并且这种新趋势新概念的热潮在不久的将来还会一直持续下去。

以下我将列出过去几年里最有趣或者说是最流行的10大趋势：

1.面向大众的游戏

游戏设计的最大趋势在于易用性。任天堂Wii和DS的巨大成功加上休闲游戏的兴起都帮助游戏迅速拓展了公共意识。随着市场的拓展以及游戏在2008年的销售情况超过了音乐和视频产品的总和，毫无疑问，发行商将会竭尽所能去吸引并留住这些新玩家。

那些游戏大作已普遍植入了新手教程，而那些简单易上手的游戏也再次复兴。大量新用户涌向电子游戏的情况也被视为一种积极前景，这些新玩家催生出了更多更具易用性的游戏。

毫不夸张地说，这些新玩家的高留存率很大程度地刺激着游戏未来的发展，并推动着游戏朝着主流文化的方向前进，比起传统的游戏类型，今后的游戏将可能迎合更多不同类型玩家的喜好，并渐渐成为一种类似于书籍，音乐，电视，程序编制以及电影等最普遍的媒介形式。

例子：任天堂Wii，《Wii Fit》，任天堂DS，《Wii Sports》，《Wii Play》，《宝石迷阵闪电战》，《Brain Age》

2.开放的世界

如今，自由漫游环境在广大开发者中大受追捧，并且在销量和用户评论方面都获得了广泛的肯定。这些游戏让玩家能够自行判断如何应对不同情境，并且如何按照自己的方法前进，他们可以按照自己的步骤去挖掘整个游戏世界。

这种游戏的乐趣之一便是玩家可以在广阔的游戏世界中追求与探索，寻找有趣的场所和人。Raph Koster（游戏邦注：Playdom创意设计副总裁）表示，人类的这种“漫游癖”可能是源自于我们遥远的祖先为生存而进行的探索本能。

开放世界也在某种程度上推动了游戏非线性叙事方式的发展。大多数游戏中的主要故事都是采取直截了当的表达方法，即玩家必须按照一定的顺序去完成一系列任务，并基于故事情节继续游戏，直到游戏结束。而开放世界可以让玩家能够自行选择走岔路，决定如何执行任务并根据自己的想法去经历整个游戏过程，如此便使游戏脱离了直线型的叙述表达方式了。

例子：《侠盗猎车手4》，《孤岛惊魂2》，《S.T.A.L.K.E.R.》，《孤岛危机》，《辐射3》，《Crackdown》，《黑道圣徒2》

3.协作模式

设计者总是会经过深思熟虑才最终确定游戏设计决策，并以此构成了游戏的核心，而通常根据这种决策，第二名进入游戏的玩家将成为主要游戏角色的伙伴，并可在短时间内脱离这种搭档关系。

使用协作模式让更多人愿意在游戏中辅助其他角色，而不再争着充当主要角色，而如此也能为游戏争取到更多不同类型的游戏玩家。

对于操纵主要角色的玩家来说，他们可以不用再与虚拟的人工智能角色合作了，因为他们的好友能够进入游戏与他们做搭档；对于游戏开发者和发行商来说，他们可以则可由此从病毒式营销和面对面广告中受益。在这类型游戏中，任何一个玩家都可以在其他玩家在进行单人游戏的半途中加入游戏，而他们的这种行为也不会对之前玩家的游戏进程或游戏行动产生任何负面影响。

由于游戏易用性的提高以及游戏角色的增加，提供协作模式能够更好地为传统游戏类型引进新玩家。协作模式能够帮助新玩家向游戏世界迈进第一步，并且游戏中的“导师”或“保镖”（即老玩家）能够亲自为他们解释游戏内容，帮助他们更快速且更容易地理解一款游戏。想想看，用这种方式向新玩家传递的信息，是不是比创建NPC角色向新玩家解释的信息更多有效？

协作游戏中具有许多社交元素，因此也可以推动着这种媒介向前发展。

例子：《Army of Two》，《《凯恩与林奇：死人》，《生化危机5》，《战争机器2》

4.同伴角色

在过去几年里，同伴角色吸引了广大的关注。现代的第一人称游戏经常会使用一些亲切友好的角色，以此向玩家表达游戏中的情感元素，例如《半条命2》中的Alyx Vance，或者一些让人着迷的角色，如《使命召唤4》中的游戏角色。

有些游戏的整体设计都是围绕着同伴角色的形象展开，例如《凯恩与林奇：死人》和《Army of Two》。事实上，这些同伴角色在游戏中所起作用与那些主要角色同样重要。的确，就像《生化危机5》中的Sheva能够拯救玩家于麻烦和死亡边境一样，这种设置比起早前《生化危机4》中的Ashley这种角色，真的取得了明显的改进。

同伴角色的使用也符合马斯洛的“需求层次”理论（游戏邦注：马斯洛理论把需求分成生理需求、安全需求、社交需求、尊重需求和自我实现需求五类，依次由较低层次到较高层次）。这种角色的设置能够满足玩家在游戏中的社交需求，而早前的一些游戏却只能满足玩家心理需求和安全需求。

例子：《半条命2》，《凯恩与林奇：死人》，《使命的召唤4》，《生化危机5》，《Army of Two》，《孤岛惊魂2》

5.复杂的决策

如果一个决策能够让你立马受益但却必须以牺牲他人为代价，你是否还愿意做出这个决定？如在《生化奇兵》中。如果你想向杀害了好友的人实施报复，你会将其一刀毙命还是长时间地折磨他？就像在《侠盗猎车手4》。如果你的任何做法都不会遭受惩罚，那么你会杀掉那些枪贩还是盗取他们的贩卖的枪支？就像在《辐射3》中一样。

在电子游戏中掀起的另外一个趋势便是让玩家在两难境地中做出选择。事实上，游戏会让玩家对于自己的行动与周边环境和个人道德的关系产生困惑，而这也是游戏交互性和沉浸式的第一步体现。这种做法还可以让玩家避免线性思维，以此形成了更加复杂且成熟的故事情节。

现代游戏中的任何错误决策都会引起多米诺效应（游戏邦注：即由一个事件引起的连锁反应），并因此导致某一角色的死亡，所以为了将伤害减少到最低程度，玩家必须在采取行动之前仔细思考，而这与早前游戏中使用的决策基础也有所不同。这种方法涉及了道德的灰色地带，让玩家必须在两个有缺陷的解决方法中做出选择，因此为游戏中的选择添加了更多富有深意的内容。的确，让玩家在游戏中衡量不同解决方法的价值并体验自己所做出选择的结果，将会成为吸引玩家玩游戏的重要原因，并因此成为主流游戏设计的重要内容，如《生化奇兵》中对于自私的个人主义的谴责。

例子：《生化奇兵》，《侠盗猎车手4》，《辐射3》

6.动作类小游戏

在很多游戏的初始关卡中都使用了小游戏模式，以此判断玩家的行动是否合理，是否能够取得成功。例如在《辐射3》中，玩家尝试着通过控制转动的发夹和螺丝刀去撬开锁，并且玩家在使用这两种工具时都要万分谨慎。

小游戏能够帮助游戏增强用户粘性，并且比起单纯地按压按钮更加有趣，如果设置合理的话，小游戏能够让玩家更深刻地感受到游戏世界和故事。

尽管小游戏很有趣，但是如果系统执行不能帮助玩家更好地理解游戏与现实之间的关系，这种设置就会变得很奇怪。例如在《生化奇兵》中，利用管道去控制安全系统就行不通了。

例子：《生化奇兵》，《辐射3》

7.复古+未来的科幻题材

游戏中的科幻小说总是关于一些未来外太空场景或者遥远星球之类的内容，但是最近却发生了一点变化，诸如《生化奇兵》，《辐射3》以及《S.T.A.L.K.E.R.》等都是发生在复古–未来主义的背景中。这些游戏充满了各种回忆感，并时刻提醒我们过去那些未曾实现的创想。

关于过去和未来的并置，关于乌托邦式的黄金时代以及那些流逝的过去都能够为玩家带来浓厚的怀旧情愫，而这也是其它游戏所做不到的。

例子：《生化奇兵》，《S.T.A.L.K.E.R.》，《毁灭全人类》，《Stubbs The Zombie》

8.低成本的场景设置

谢天谢地，如今游戏的关卡设计不再循规蹈矩了。游戏世界中能够设置更多场景，不同的时段，时限以及一些特殊的环境，例如《生化危机》中那个充满艺术感的水下之城。

虽然电影或者电视节目的外景拍摄都需要耗费巨额成本，但是游戏却不同。除了送美术师或设计师到场景相关地实地考察，拍照并寻找灵感，电子游戏的场景设置并不需要花费多少成本。相对来说，游戏能够更容易地为玩家呈现出激动人心的场景设置。

例子：《生化危机》，《孤岛危机》，《flOw》，《Shadow of the Colossus》，《灭绝人类》

9.其他媒介的影响

尽管游戏从首次发行以来就很难与其它媒介撇开关系。但是，各种媒介对游戏的影响也随着一些游戏的诞生而发生了相应的变化，如《S.T.A.L.K.E.R.》系列（基于安德烈·塔尔科夫斯基导演的同名电影所改编的游戏），《孤岛惊魂2》（受到电影《黑暗之心》和《现代启示录》的影响）以及将客观主义作为主要情节点的《生化危机》。

甚至有许多仿制游戏也受到这种变化的影响，如日本将《悲惨世界》改编为2D格斗游戏《Arm Joe》。

例子：《S.T.A.L.K.E.R.》，《孤岛惊魂2》，《生化奇兵》，《Arm Joe》

10.不同类型和视角的混合

与之前的游戏相比，现在的游戏类型和视角更加多元化了。

《镜之边缘》是从第一人称视角进行勾勒的自由奔跑场景。《辐射3》，《S.T.A.L.K.E.R.》以及《Oblivion》也都属于第一人称视角的角色扮演游戏。《传送门》是一款非常有趣且非常成功的第一人称解谜游戏。《Paper Mario》系列属于2D横向卷轴角色扮演游戏。《战争机器》是一款销售破百万的第三人称游戏，但刚开始时也被当成了第一人称游戏。

不同类型之间的交错让游戏变得更加有趣，并且让游戏不会只卡在一个单调的艺术视角中，而显得乏味无趣。

例子：《镜之边缘》，《辐射3》，《Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door》，《传送门》，《战神的挑战》

游戏邦注：本文发表于2008年11月18日，所涉事件及数据以当时为准。（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）

10 Trends in Game Design

- David McClure

As with all art forms, video games evolve over time and are subject to trends. As a relatively new medium, it’s arguable that games are likely to evolve much more rapidly than other media, and that new trends and concepts are likely to arise continually for the foreseeable future.

Below is a list of what I feel are the 10 most interesting or prevalent trends of the last few years.

1. Games for All

The biggest trend in game design is widening accessibility. The huge success of the Nintendo Wii and DS coupled with the rise of casual play has caused games to expand in the public consciousness rapidly. With the market expanding as it is and games set to outstrip combined sales of music and video products in 2008, it’s no wonder that publishers would seek to attract, entertain, and retain these new players. (See Reference 1 at end of article.)

Tutorial sequences have become ubiquitous in blockbuster games, and simple, pick-up-and-play titles have also seen a Renaissance. Indeed, the influx of new people to video games can only be regarded as positive, especially if it encourages games that are more stable and easier to jump into.

It’s not hyperbole to say that a high retention rate of these new players could prove to be the biggest catalyst for games becoming a much more dominant cultural force, catering to a greater spectrum of people than they traditionally have, and perhaps eventually becoming a universally popular medium, akin to books, music, television programming, and films.

Examples: Nintendo Wii, Wii Fit, Nintendo DS, Wii Sports, Wii Play, Bejeweled, Brain Age

2. Open Worlds

The use of a free-roaming environment has never been more popular with developers and has proved highly successful in terms of both sales and critical acclaim. (See References 2—9.) These titles allow players to make decisions about how they approach a situation and to progress through the game in their own style, often at their own pace as well, all while discovering the game world.

Indeed, part of the pleasure of these games is the pursuit of exploration, of finding interesting places and people in a vast world. Raph Koster might argue that this wanderlust is derived from our distant ancestors’ need to explore to survive.

Using open worlds in games also has the benefit of cloaking linear aspects of gameplay to some extent. The main story of most games unfolds in a fairly straightforward manner, with the player having to achieve a series of tasks in a set order to progress the story and continue to the game’s denouement. By allowing the player to get sidetracked, decide how to approach a task, and make progress through the main story in the manner they think best, the game appears to be less linear than if there were only one straightforward path through it.

Examples: Grand Theft Auto 4, Far Cry 2, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Crysis, Fallout 3, Crackdown, Saints Row 2

3. Co-op Mode

A game design decision that is taken regularly of late and has even formed the core of some games, is to allow a second player to become the main character’s sidekick at will and to stop being his or her partner at short notice.

Offering a co-op mode lets the many people who prefer to play a game as supporting character, rather than as the main character, do just that, and as such is another form of making games more accessible to a more diverse group of players (as in No. 1).

For main character players, the benefit is that they can play with their friends rather than with an AI character; and for game developers and publishers, the benefit is viral marketing and word-of-mouth advertising. Should a guest arrive while someone is midway through a single-player game, the guest can join the action and, in effect, try out the game without having a negative effect on the original player’s progress through the storyline or campaign.

With the rise of accessibility in games and an increase in the number of companion characters being implemented, offering a co-op mode is a smart way to introduce new players to more traditionally “gamer” titles. Co-op mode helps new players take their first steps into a game’s world with an in-game mentor and bodyguard who can explain elements of the game in person, instantly, and in a manner the player will likely understand. Imagine how much more it would take to convey the same information to a new player in-game. Imagine how much more it would take to in terms of memory to create an NPC sidekick who could complete the same tasks as a co-operative player.

Co-op games have a huge social component, which can be seen as driving the medium forward as well.

Examples: Army of Two, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, Resident Evil 5, Gears of War 2

4. Companion Characters

Companion characters have come a long way in games over the past few years. The continual restarts when they blundered out of cover or under vehicles are becoming a thing of the past with the new breed of allies. Modern first-person games often use friendly characters as a way to express emotion to the player, as in the case of Alyx Vance in Half-Life 2, or to give them someone to empathize with and give the game character, as is the case in Call of Duty 4.

Whole games are now designed around the presence of companion characters, for example Kane & Lynch: Dead Men and Army of Two. In fact, these companions often become equally important to the tone of the game as the lead player character is. Indeed, with companion characters like Sheva in Resident Evil 5 able to save the player from trouble and death, the companion has improved massively when compared to older iterations, for example, Ashley in Resident Evil 4.

The use of companion characters in games is also interesting in the context of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, as they create a richer experience by allowing for access to the social needs in the game, whereas a lot of older games are almost solely occupied with physiological and safety needs. (See Reference 10.)

Examples: Half-Life 2, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, Call of Duty 4, Resident Evil 5, Army of Two, Far Cry 2

5. Difficult Decisions

Should you make a decision that will benefit you immediately, even if it negatively effects someone innocent, as in BioShock? Should you take revenge on someone who caused the death of your friends by killing him painlessly, or leave him to suffer more in the long run, as in Grand Theft Auto IV? Is it really wrong to kill or steal from someone who sells guns and who therefore allow for further violent acts, if there is no punishment to you for doing so, as is possible in Fallout 3?

Another trend that has become popular and influential in video games is to make the player choose between two undesirable options. The fact that games can cause players to question their actions in relation to both near universal and personal morals is a big step forward in terms of interactivity and immersion. It also encourages players to take a step back from linearity, and it aids in the construction of more mature story lines.

A bad decision in a modern game can commonly cause a domino effect and often ends in someone’s death, so if the player wants to cause the least harm possible she has to think a lot harder before carrying out her actions, as opposed to the Manichean basis for decision making in older games. This use of moral gray areas, forcing the player to choose between two imperfect solutions, is much more relative and gives a much greater depth to the choices made within the game. Indeed, perhaps this interest in making the player weigh certain values and experiencing the end result of those decisions will even lead to persuasive elements becoming part of mainstream game design, an example being BioShock’s railing against selfish individualism. (See Reference 11.)

Examples: BioShock, Grand Theft Auto IV, Fallout 3

6. Mini-Games for Actions

One welcomed trend that has been slowly entering games is using mini-games to decide whether a player’s attempts at an action are successful. In Fallout 3, for example, the player tries to pick a lock by controlling the rotation of a hairpin and a screwdriver, both of which must be used carefully and correctly to open the lock without snapping the hairpin.

Mini-games can heighten the player’s engagement level, are a lot more enjoyable than merely pressing a button and, if implemented sensibly, make a lot of sense to the story or game world.

However, although mini-games tend to be entertaining, they can seem a little strange if the system implemented does not gel with the player’s understanding of how things work in real life. For example, in BioShock, the plumbing used to control the security systems doesn’t quite make sense. (See Reference 12.)

Examples: BioShock, Fallout 3

7. Retro Sci-Fi Dystopias

Science fiction in games used to tend toward far future space-scapes and distant planets, but recently this has changed. Games like BioShock, Fallout 3, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. take place in retro-futuristic landscapes. These games pay homage to outdated ideas about the future, a design concept that plays on the collective memory and reminds us of ideas from the past that did not come to fruition.

This juxtaposition of past and future, of often utopian (but mythological) Golden Age and unrelenting griminess, evokes an element of melancholy that is missing from many other titles. (See Reference 13.)

Examples: BioShock, Fallout 3, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Destroy All Humans, Stubbs The Zombie

8. On-Location on the Cheap

Games are now, thankfully, at the stage where warehouse based level design is not de rigueur. A greater world is now commonly represented in games set on various continents, in different periods, during alternate timelines, and even in truly unusual environments, such as the giant art deco styled underwater city from BioShock.

Making a film or television program on location can skyrocket the production costs, but not so for games. Aside from occasionally sending an artist or design lead to a location to scope it out, take photos, and seek out inspiration, there is no change in cost based on the video game’s setting. Games can give audiences innovative and exciting settings with relative ease. (See References 14 and 15.)

Examples: BioShock, Crysis, flOw, Shadow of the Colossus, Resistance: Fall of Man

9. High-Brow Influences

Although games have obviously been influenced by other media since they were first published, these influences have generally tended to be more along the lines of Rambo than Rashomon. However, the kinds of media infiltrating games (in a good way) is beginning to slowly change with games like the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, based on the Tarkovsky film of the same name, Far Cry 2, with its influences taken from Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now, and BioShock’s use of objectivism as a major plot point.

Even parody games have benefited from this change, with Arm Joe, a 2D beat-’em-up which mocks a Japanese adaptation of Les Miserables.

Examples: S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Far Cry 2, BioShock, Arm Joe

10. Mixing Genres and Perspectives

Compared to games that have come before, the genres games fit into and the perspectives they are shown from are much more fluid.

Mirror’s Edge is a game based around free running presented in a first-person perspective. Fallout 3, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and Oblivion are RPGs played from a first-person perspective. Portal is a highly entertaining and successful first-person puzzle game. The Paper Mario series are 2D side scrolling platform game RPGs. Gears of War, a multi-million selling third-person smash hit, was originally conceived as a first-person game. (See Reference 16.)

This crossover between various game types is proving extremely interesting and should hopefully prevent games from becoming stuck in pigeonholes with little chance of artistic progression.

Examples: Mirror’s Edge, Fallout 3, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Portal, PuzzleQuest （source:gamecareerguide）