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阐述出色的游戏故事必须具备的4大要素

发布时间:2011-12-22 11:06:18 Tags:,,,,,

作者:Farshid Palad

每一款游戏,不论是涉及没有特别意义的屠杀行为,或者一些经过培训的优秀佣兵在太空中拯救人类的行动(如《质量效应》),它都必须拥有故事。如果一款游戏缺少一个有趣合适的故事,玩家根本不会愿意花时间去玩游戏。

即使是面对备受夸奖且极具“吸引力”的《愤怒的小鸟》,我也在玩了一周后就失去了兴趣。

每个人的口味都不同,而这也很大程度依赖于人们的观点和过去的经历。每个人会在不同的东西上找到乐趣。而以下我将列出任何游戏故事都必须具备的4大要素:

1.开端

这是一个必须点。任何故事都需要有开端,即使是《愤怒的小鸟》的故事也有自己的开端,即邪恶的绿猪偷走了鸟蛋。玩家不可能喜欢没有开端的游戏故事,如此更不会与游戏角色维系起情感联系。我认为,开端是创建所有故事最必须的一步。

在开端和结尾中我陷入了抉择,因为在我眼里它们的分量是同等重要的。

2.结尾

为了满足所有玩家,请创造一个了不起的结局。我知道这点很难,因为在整个开发过程中你可能已经倾入所有,而只是希望赶紧结束这个漫长的工作,但是拥有一个优秀的结尾是区别3星级游戏和5星级游戏的关键点。

如果你的故事讲得很烂,那么当玩家完成游戏后,他们对于游戏的感受便只剩下麻木与冷淡了。他们的脑中一点都没有玩游戏的那种乐趣。

我特别喜欢那种出乎意料的结尾,你根本不会想到前方会发生些什么。

infamous-1(from thegamerseffect.com)

infamous-1(from thegamerseffect.com)

我认为《InFamous 1》便是一款不错的游戏,充满乐趣,拥有精致的动作效果,我也喜欢游戏故事阐述的那种漫画风格,不管怎么样,我对于这款游戏的总体感觉是“好的”。虽然我们在游戏中必须完成许多重复的任务,但是在游戏结尾,即你战胜Kessler后会出现的一系列长达90秒的漫画插图,而正是这点让我对这款游戏有了全新的欣赏角度。如果你还未玩过《InFamous》,找个机会尝试看看吧!

3.选择

最近在电子游戏中出现的另外一个重要特征便是因果关系。但是我所说的“行动是关键”并不是指这点,而是体现于《质量效应》,《龙腾世纪》等游戏中的要点。

这些游戏不仅频繁履行了这一要点,而且做得很好。也许你的游戏中缺少足够的资源,时间甚至是游戏机制(即你的游戏也许整体看来更像是其它类型)去区别游戏中的不同选择,但是你却必须确保玩家的行动在故事和游戏中都是关键,且具有意义。

玩家不在乎自己扮演的角色是好是坏,他们只希望通过自己的选择能够影响故事的发展。

4.惊喜

如果你明确了开端,也规划了一个完美的结局,并且游戏中也穿插了许多能够影响游戏的选择,但是为何玩家还是没有兴趣玩游戏到最后?

这就要让游戏卖卖关子了,并且承诺玩家到达最后关卡时给予奖励。在每个关卡或任务的最后设置一个惊奇点,让玩家充满疑问,引出他们的好奇心,让他们愿意继续期待下一个章节会出现何种惊喜。

我认为最棒的游戏故事便是拥有一些能够引起玩家好奇的内容。

如果我知道自己的角色任务是拯救地球和人类并与一些超级反派相抗衡,而我却不知道他们会从哪里冒出来(是否在游戏开端遗漏了这些信息?没关系,在后来的游戏过程中适当弥补即可),为何在玩了几个小时后我仍愿意继续游戏?肯定不会是因为反复的任务和战斗吧,是因为游戏中还有许多等待我挖掘的惊喜点存在。

最后,千万不要忘记,玩家总是希望能够亲身融入游戏中。玩家希望能够沉浸于游戏故事,他们希望和游戏走到最后并骄傲地向好友炫耀,他们希望看到游戏能够获得成功。

所以,听从我的建议,提供给玩家一个合适的开端,了不起的结尾,各种惊喜以及具有影响力的决策设置,如此将玩家更深刻地带进游戏故事中,你便有可能取得最后的成功。

游戏邦注:原文发表于2011年7月9日,所涉事件和数据均以当时为准。

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

4 Awesome Must Have Story Features

Every game, whether its a pointless manslaughter and flashes of nudity (Duke Nukem, I am talking to you!) or a group of highly trained mercenaries lost in space trying to save mankind (Yeah, I am a Mass Effect junkie), must have a story. Without a good, decent story, nothing can hold me interested in the game past the first couple of days.

Even the highly acclaimed, praised and “addictive” Angry Bird saga lost its touch for me after the first week.

It varies by taste, it is highly dependant on perspective and past experiences. And everyone finds joy and excitement in different things. But in my opinion the following are the top four story features that is must have for ANY game.

Number 1 – Beginning

This one is a given. You must have a beginning, even Angry Birds had a beginning to their story, the bird eggs got stolen by some evil pigs. Without a beginning the player does not get involved and as a result does not build an emotional attachment to their character(s). I think the beginning is the most important step in any story telling.

I was torn between deciding if the beginning should be number 1 or number 2, because I feel they are both equally important.

Number 2 – Ending

For the sake of mankind and the millions of gamers out there, please have a decent ending. I know it is tough, you have exhausted all your resources in the development and you just want to get it over with, but having a good ending is the difference between a 3 star game or a 5 star game.

You can do everything right and when the player finishes the game, they can’t help but feel indifferent towards your game because you sucked at telling your story properly. They are left with a big bitter taste in their mind and a dark cloud in their heart.

In particular I love endings that just blow your mind away. You do not even see them coming from a mile ahead.

InFamous 1, was a ok game in my opinion, it was fun, had good action, I enjoyed the comic style of story telling implemented into it, but overall my feelings towards it were “Okay”. Been there, done that sort of thing, because of highly repetitive missions, but the ending, the last series of comic illustrations that you see after finishing off Kessler, that last 90 second or so pushed me into a whole new level of appreciation towards the game. If you haven’t had a chance to play InFamous, grab it now.

Memorize he following quote, and try to implement it every chance you get.

I already know the ending / it’s the part that makes your face implode / I don’t know what makes your face implode / but that’s the way the movie ends. – They Might Be Giants, Experimental Film

Number 3 – Actions Should Matter

Another great feature that is surfacing a lot in video games lately is the implementation of karma. But this is not what I have in mind here, what I mean by “actions should matter”, is what you see a lot in Mass Effect, Dragon Age and etc.

They do it well and they do it always. You might not have the resources, the time or even the mechanics (your game might be a whole other genre) to implement a lot of choice differentiation in your game, but please give me a way to see that my actions matter in the story and in the game.

I don’t care about being evil or good, I just want to affect the story by my choices.

Number 4 – Surprise Me

You nailed the beginning, you planned an awesome ending with lots of choices in the middle that will affect the story, but what is the point if you can’t keep me interested to see the game through the end?

You got to keep me guessing and you got to award me for seeing chapters come to an end. At the end of each chapter or mission, throw me a curveball, get me to ask a question, tickle my curiosity and get me to want to see the next chapter come to an end.

In my opinion, the best kind of story telling in gameplay, is the kind that raises questions.

If I know my character is going to save the planet and mankind against some sort of super villain that I do not where he or she came from (did you miss to give me that information in the beginning? well, make up for it during the gameplay.) just by playing a few hours, why should I care to play anymore? Because of the repetitive missions and battles?

Last points

In the end do not forget one thing, the player, wants to get involved in the game. The player wants to get sucked into the story and get addicted. The player wants to see your game to the end and proudly tell his/her friends about it. They want your game to succeed.

So, take my advice any way you see fit, but please get them engaged in the story by providing a good beginning, a kick ass ending, a lot of surprises in the middle with the bonus of having their decisions affect the overall story. I know I will.(source:farshidpalad


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