作者：Ryan Rigney

游戏邦注：本文选自作者新书《Buttonless: Incredible iPhone And iPad Games》中的章节（该书探讨了苹果iOS平台65款游戏的起源），主要阐述《Nimble Strong》这款iPhone游戏从《料理妈妈》、《逆转裁判》和纽约鸡尾酒文化中汲取灵感的过程。

《Nimble Strong》简介

平台：iPhone/iPod Touch

售价：4.99美元

开发商：Nimble Strong LLC

发布时间：2010年7月10日

nimble-strong(from bitmob.com)

游戏的故事情节如下：你的生活过得一塌糊涂，妻离子散，没有朋友，也没有工作。突然有一天在本地的一个酒吧中找到了调酒师的工作，但问题又来了，你不知道怎么调酒。但幸运的是，你并不需要具备调酒知识，因为酒客们会教你怎么调酒。

客人会在游戏中漫步，讲述自己的故事（很有趣而令人意外的故事）并点一些酒水。游戏中含有70多种酒类，玩家手头已有现成的调酒材料。如果要调出客人所点的酒水，就需要知道具体的调酒秘诀，这也正是客人会提供的东西。

剩下的挑战就是向酒杯倾倒准确数量的材料，游戏目标就是一次性调出正确的味道，而做到这一点确实颇具难度。《Nimble Strong：Bartender in Training》是一款兼具教育性与娱乐性，带有酒保文化以及《逆转裁判》风格的解谜游戏。

游戏背后的故事

该游戏设计者Adam Ghahramani推出自己的新网站theOtaku.com之后，觉得精疲力尽，并思考自己下一步的计划。他偶然参加了传奇游戏设计师Will Wright（《模拟人生》、《模拟城市的》和《孢子》开发者）在温哥华一所大学充满激情的演讲，并因此而深受震撼，打算利用自己的网络经验和游戏行业的知识，开发一款真正的游戏。

他清楚自己想开发iPhone游戏，因为该平台游戏开发成本较低，而且更容易控制销售渠道，而当时App Store也已经开始受到热捧。他也知道自己想制作动漫相关或者带有日本风格的内容（游戏邦注：他刚上线的theOtaku.com后来成长为最著名的日本动漫网站之一）。

他开始考虑制作《料理妈妈》和《Wii Fit》这种带有教育意义的游戏，他深受这类“寓教于乐”游戏的启发，但同时又认为这些游戏并不能算是真正意义上的教育工具。

Ghahramani回忆道，“当时所有的想法都搅和在一起，直到有一天，我突然看到一则花费数百美元报名调酒师培训班的广告，我脑中灵光乍现，心里就有谱了。”

他当时也想出了其他多种游戏创意，但只有关于调酒师的教育类游戏一直在脑海中挥之不去。他越想越觉得这个主意很棒，并认定向其中添加故事元素，一定会让游戏富有趣味和教育性。

Ghahramani回到纽约后就决定延迟寻找全职工作的计划，全力落实自己的游戏创意。他的首个目标就是了解更多有关调酒师行业的知识，因为他之前对此领域知之甚少。他承认，“在我的朋友圈子中，我算是最不常喝酒的人之一，所以对我来讲，制作一款有关鸡尾酒文化的游戏确实很反常。”

他的四个调查研究步骤如下：

1.报名参加300美元的调酒师培训班；

2.从亚马逊网站购羼许多关于该题材的书籍，其中包括Gary Regan等调酒师的技术专著，以及一些自传/历史书籍，以便让自己“从这种文化中受到熏陶”；

3.报名参加由当地调酒师授课的培训班；

4.频繁出没于纽约所有的顶级酒吧。

在第一节调酒课上，Ghahramani就发现调酒师倒酒时需掐准时间的特点极为适合电子游戏设置。

他称标准倒酒时间应该是三秒，“但调酒师并没有进度条等游戏设置，他们只能凭自己的直觉把握好三秒钟的时间”。

“这会成为一个很有趣的游戏设置，因为我们可以将“完美”倒酒方法设置为准确的三秒钟，“良好”的倒酒方法所需时间可能略多或略少于三秒，而“糟糕”的倒酒法所用时间则与其相差甚远。我发现将计时机制与调酒秘方结合起来，可以形成一个很棒的玩法。这一点非常重要，因为它可以让游戏显得更有趣，而不仅是具有教育性。”

Nimble Strong(from charge-shot.com)

Ghahramani后来又发现，许多酒水之间其实互有联系，并且可以划分为不同类型。“换掉一种材料可能就会生成另一种酒水”，这是游戏学习进程的基础，玩家刚开始可以先学习调制一种酒，然后调换一两种材料，迅速领会同一类型中另一种酒水的调制方法。

因为这款调酒师游戏还包含大量故事元素，所以Ghahramani又开始研究剧本写作。他把自己的故事初稿给好友及导师Don Gatterdam点评，而后者也毫不客气地指出这个初稿的调酒内容并不真实，对话很苍白，里面的内容与真实的酒吧世界完全脱节。于是Ghahramani只好抛弃了这个初稿。

正在此时，Ghahramani通过他人认识了《葡萄烈酒杂志》（Wine & Spirits Magazine）和《男士健康》（Men’s Health）等杂志的著名记者Jefferey Lindenmuth，后者答应施以援手，甚至帮Ghahramani彻底梳理和编辑了其第二份故事手稿，使游戏故事综合了JRPG/动漫/电子游戏风格以及Jefferey Lindenmuth本人深厚的鸡尾酒知识。

但Ghahramani还缺一名开发者帮忙编写游戏程序，他四处发布广告，参加会议，甚至托朋友建立人脉，但一直找不到可落实其想法的理想程序员。

Ghahramani在停止发布广告的数周之后，接到了纽约帕森斯学院游戏设计教授Joshua DeBonis的电话，对方对教育类游戏极感兴趣，他们俩一拍即合，项目也正式动工，Ghahramani自筹资金以开发游戏。他还从朋友那里筹了一笔钱，但游戏开发将近尾声之时，他已经身无文分并且债务缠身。

在《Nimble Strong》发布前一个月，有家韩国开发商也发布了一款与调酒师题材有关的iPhone游戏。该游戏拥有动漫美术风格，古怪的角色，而且仅售0.99美元，但Ghahramani却打算为自己的游戏标价4.99美元。

这对Ghahramani来说不啻为重大打击，当时他已经为这款游戏无法在旧版iPod Touch平台上顺利运行而大为伤神。不过他认为这款韩国iPhone游戏的质量并不如自己的作品，“它缺乏教育性，玩法也算不上有趣，甚至没有多大内涵，但它确实抢占了市场先机，而且画面效果也极为出色。”（游戏邦注：这款韩国游戏就是由Corners Studio开发的《Bar Oasis》，作者亲自试玩后也发现，Ghahramani的说法没错，该游戏界面制作草率，故事内容并不理想，新手教程也很不灵光，但美术效果确实很不赖。）

但许多重要的iPhone游戏评论网站却大为赞赏《Bar Oasis》的原创性，148Apps.com认为这款游戏“很新颖”，TouchArcade.com也赞扬了它的“独特性”。

Ghahramani知道自己很难在短时间内让第二款同一题材的游戏赢得这些评论网站的好感，他感到无比沮丧，认为“这简直是个恶梦”，他也清楚自己斗不过99美分的售价。

他这样描述《Nimble Strong》发布当天的情形，“这款游戏发布头天是我人生中最糟的一天。我在信息公告栏上发布并共享游戏消息，有人嘲讽这款游戏根本不值这个价，他们绝不会下载这么贵的一款游戏。”有人说这款游戏是另一款韩国游戏的山寨产品，总之头天的销量极差。

但当Joystiq.com编辑Justin McElroy发现这款游戏，并给予4.5/5星级的评价时，情势开始发生逆转。Ghahramani见此情况激动万分，并将其称为“生命中最珍贵的时刻”。McElroy高度赞扬这款游戏，称其是少数最先让他见识到现实技能的游戏之一。

McElroy的评语开始让游戏崭露头角，TUAW.com网站也立即跟进，将该游戏称为“真正的瑰宝”，《Nimble Strong》的销量开始上升，甚至还获得了《纽约时报》、GamePro和Reddit的报道。

《Nimble Strong》从来没有实现盈利（游戏邦注：Ghahramani估计自己仅回收了50%的成本），但却让Ghahramani在饮料行业获得了一席之地——他现在是《Wine Spectator》杂志的移动副总监，负责执行公司的移动/平板电脑产品战略。

他已经负责发布了《Wine Spectator》的VintageChart+这款备受好评的应用，该游戏目前在App Store获得了许多四星评价。

Ghahramani称自己打算把游戏移植到Android平台，但问题还是缺钱，他的梦想是推出Kinect版本的游戏。（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）

Nimble Strong – An Excerpt from Buttonless: Incredible iPhone And iPad Games

by Ryan Rigney

[In Ryan Rigney's new book Buttonless: Incredible iPhone And iPad Games, he looks at the genesis behind more than 65 titles for Apple's iOS platform, such as Canabalt, Angry Birds, Words With Friends and more. In this excerpt Gamastura presents a look at the unusual story of Nimble Strong, a game inspired by Cooking Mama, Phoenix Wright, and New York City cocktail culture.]

Platform: iPhone/iPod Touch

Price: $4.99

Developer: Nimble Strong LLC

Released: July 10, 2010

What Is It?bartender

So here’s the story: you’re a total screw-up. You’ve lost both your wife and your best friend, and you have no job. Somehow you manage to land your sorry self a position as a bartender at a local pub. The only problem is, you have no idea how to mix drinks — ANY drinks. Fortunately, outside knowledge of cocktail mixing isn’t required because your patrons will happily teach you how to make them.

During the game your customers will saunter up, tell their stories (which are usually pretty interesting, surprisingly enough), and order drinks. There are over 70 drinks in the game, and the ingredients are all at your disposal. In order to make the requested drink you’ll have to know the actual recipe, and that’s where your patrons come in handy.

The rest of your challenge is pouring the correct amount of each ingredient into a glass, which you do by holding anywhere on the screen. The goal is to pour just the right amount in one try, and that can sometimes be pretty difficult. Nimble Strong: Bartender in Training is educational and entertaining, since it’s essentially a bartending class wrapped up in a fun, Phoenix Wright-style puzzle game.
Behind the Game

Adam Ghahramani had just launched his big new site (theOtaku.com), and he was exhausted. Ghahramani decided to allow himself a one-month vacation in Vancouver, where he spent time exploring the sights and thinking about what he should do next.

Ghahramani had heard that gaming legend Will Wright (creator of The Sims, Sim City, and Spore) was giving a lecture at a local university, so he wangled his way in by getting a press pass. Wright, who is known for his eloquence, delivered a powerful speech that Ghahramani called inspiring.

“I left it amped up with the confidence that maybe my web experience and wealth of game industry/gaming expertise could translate into actually making a game,” he says.

As he walked back, Ghahramani thought about what sort of game he’d like to make. He knew that he wanted it to be for the iPhone because the development cost would be low, he’d have control over the distribution, and the App Store was beginning to take off.

He also knew that he wanted to do something in an anime/Japanese style. That wouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone — Ghahramani’s recently launched theOtaku.com later grew into one of the web’s most popular sites for Japanese anime.

Ghahramani had already been thinking a lot about educational games like Cooking Mama and Wii Fit. He was inspired by those games’ ability to entertain while teaching, but says that the games are too dumbed-down to be counted as truly valuable educational tools.

“All these thoughts were circling in my head,” says Ghahramani. “Suddenly, I was struck by inspiration when I saw a sign outside a building advertising a bartending class for a few hundred dollars. The spark of an idea set in and it became a possibility.”

Ghahramani came up with other game ideas, but says that an educational bartending game was the idea he kept coming back to. The more he thought about it, the more he liked it. He decided that the best way to make the game interesting and educational would be to add in story elements. “I wanted to make a darker game, something that retained the quirkiness of a Japanese-style game but with the dark neo-noir feeling of a more Western title,” Ghahramani says.

Ghahramani returned from his vacation to his home in New York City and decided to put off finding a full-time job to focus on his game idea. His first order of business was to learn more about the bartending industry, which he says he knew very little about. “Of all my friends, I was one of the least frequent drinkers,” admits Ghahramani. “So it was a bit odd to make a game about cocktail culture.”

Ghahramani described the four-step research method that he used to quickly familiarize himself with bartending:

1. He signed up for a $300 bartending course.

2. He bought multiple books on the topic from Amazon.com. These included both technical books from mixologists like Gary Regan, and autobiographical/historical books “to get a feel for the culture.”

3. He signed up for a couple of advanced-education classes taught by local spirits enthusiasts/mixologists.

4. He “obsessively” went to all the top bars in New York City.

In his very first bartending class, Ghahramani realized that making drinks was inherently suited to video game gameplay, thanks to the sense of timing that bartenders have to rely on to pour each drink.

“A typical shot takes three seconds to pour with a standard free pour,” explains Ghahramani. “But bartenders have no progress bars or anything like that; they need to build a sense of what three seconds is intuitively.

“As a game this was interesting because we can have ‘perfect’ pours that are exactly three seconds, ‘good’ pours that are a little less or above, and ‘worse’ pours that are much less or well above. I realized that the combined mechanism of timing and remembering recipes would make for a glorious gameplay dynamic.” This was important, because it provided a way for the game to be fun, not just educational. “I was super excited,” Ghahramani says.

Ghahramani was further interested to learn that many drinks are closely related, and can often be divided into separate families. “Swapping one ingredient for another would often quickly make another drink altogether,” he says. This, Ghahramani says, would serve as the basis for the game’s educational progression. Players could start by learning one drink, and then easily pick up on others in the same family by swapping out just a few ingredients.

Since the bartending game was to incorporate storytelling in a major way, Ghahramani began reading up on playwriting. He completed his first draft and showed it to Don Gatterdam, whom he describes as a friend and mentor.

Gatterdam didn’t hold back his criticism. “The mixology content is inauthentic, the dialogue sucks, and nothing in the story reminds me of a real bar,” he told Ghahramani. Humbled, Ghahramani scrapped his first draft.

Around this time, Ghahramani was introduced by a friend to Jefferey Lindenmuth, a well-established journalist who has written about spirits for outlets like Wine & Spirits Magazine and Men’s Health.

Lindenmuth agreed to help out with the project, even going so far as to put Ghahramani’s second draft through a significant round of edits. “In the end the script balanced my quirky JRPG/manga/video game sensibilities with his deep knowledge of cocktail culture,” says Ghahramani.

Ghahramani had made it this far, but he still didn’t have a developer to program the game for him. He posted ads, attended meet-ups, and asked friends for connections, but had no luck finding someone with the programming prowess to take his idea and turn it into something real.

Some weeks after Ghahramani had stopped posting ads, he got a call from Joshua DeBonis, a professor of game design at the Parsons school in NYC. DeBonis was also fascinated with educational games. “We clicked instantly,” Ghahramani recalls. Development on the game commenced, and Ghahramani dipped into his personal savings to fund it. He managed to raise a little extra money from friends, but as the game neared completion, he was broke and in debt.

A little over a month before Nimble Strong was released, a Korean game developer released an iPhone game about bartending. It had anime-style art, quirky characters, and it only cost 99 cents. Ghahramani had planned to release his game for $4.99.

This was devastating for Ghahramani. He had already been stressed out about the fact that Nimble Strong didn’t run very well on older iPod Touch models, but this was an unbelievable coincidence. “While this game was nowhere near the quality of Nimble — it lacked the education, the gameplay wasn’t very fun, and it didn’t have much of a soul — it did come to market first and had very good graphics,” he says.

Game Advertising Online

The game that Ghahramani is referring to is Bar Oasis, developed by Corners Studio. I picked it up and played it for a bit to make my own judgments about his quality, and I have to say that he’s right. The interface is sloppy, the writing is unbearable, and the tutorial dragged on FOREVER, but it does have very nice art.

Its flaws didn’t matter to the biggest iPhone game-review sites, though, which lauded Bar Oasis for its originality. 148Apps. com praised it for being new and “refreshing,” and TouchArcade.com called it “unique.”

Ghahramani knew that it would be incredibly difficult to convince these sites to review a second game in the same genre so soon after they had already covered Bar Oasis, and he says he became depressed, “complete with nightmares.” He also knew that he couldn’t compete with the 99-cent price tag.

Ghahramani sums up the day that Nimble Strong launched: “The first day of Nimble’s launch was one of the worst days of my life,” he says. “I posted about the game on a message board and it got SHREDDED. People mocked its price, saying they would never download a game that expensive.

“They said it was a cheap clone of the other Korean game. The first few sites we asked to review it didn’t because they’d already reviewed the Korean game. First-day sales were pretty bad.”

Everything changed when Justin McElroy from Joystiq.com picked up Nimble Strong and gave it a glowing 4.5/5 star review. When Ghahramani read it, he was overwhelmed with emotion. He calls it “one of my life’s favorite moments.” McElroy introduced the review by saying “finally video games have a purpose,” and lauded it for being one of the first games to teach him a real-world skill.

McElroy’s review brought the game into the limelight, and soon The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW.com) posted its own review of the game, calling it “quite a gem.” Nimble Strong’s sales surged, and the game got mentioned in the New York Times, GamePro (I actually wrote that one), and Reddit.

Nimble Strong never became profitable (Ghahramani estimates that he’s made back about 50 percent of what he put into it), but it did lead Ghahramani to get an excellent job in the beverage industry — he’s now associate director of mobile for Wine Spectator magazine, where he helps drive the company’s mobile/tablet product strategy.

He was integral to the launch of Wine Spectator’s VintageChart+ app, which has enjoyed very positive reviews. The game currently has more four-star reviews than any other app I’ve seen on the App Store. Who knew that wine aficionados could also be snobby about review scores?

Ghahramani says that he would love to do an Android port of the game, but money is still an issue. “My dream would be to make a Kinect port,” he says.（source:gamasutra）