作者：Joe Osborne

当游戏发行巨头EA宣布收购《宝石迷阵闪电战》开发公司PopCap时，总不免让人担心起这家坐落于西雅图的热作出品公司会发生什么变化。游戏公司被收购后的创意很可能被扼杀，甚至是影响原本的原创作品发展，这种担心并非空穴来风。

Peggle from iphonefreak.com

如果收购已尘埃落定，《幻幻球》主管Joe McDonagh在最近的媒体采访中表示，收购并没有给公司造成不良影响，PopCap对EA的作用颇引人关注。

如今距EA收购已几个月，PopCap情况如何呢？尤其是工作室的运作？

坦白讲，公司并未发生什么根本性的变化。EA非常尊重我们。我的意思是，想想：他们花10亿美元收购我们的公司。他们显然非常尊重我们所拥有的资产。所以，他们表现得非常恭敬，允许我们继续我们目前所进行的工作。

这也带来些许有利条件——若干有趣情况。我们的日常工作没有发生改变，发生改变的是：我们如今成为此大公司的一部分。我们因此有机会挖掘我们之前从未接触过的内容。

其实，我之所以对此交易感到如此兴奋的一个原因是EA拥有若干很棒的团队——若干全球最棒的团队。这让我们往后有机会同这些人士共事。我们之前曾与DICE、Bioware及Playfish的成员照过面，探究我们要如何进行合作。这非常激动人心。

zombies letter to ea from blog.games.com

EA CEO John Riccitiello曾表示公司会以“高度尊重”的态度对待PopCap。你觉得事实是这样吗？

当我们进行交易时，我有幸同John Riccitiello单独交谈1小时。我问他：“John，我得回去说服我的团队接受此交易，他们定会问我：众所周知的是EA 90年代末收购的这些公司最后发展不尽人意，我们这不是有点步Bullfrog、Origin和Westwood的后尘？”我还说：“我要能够直视这些人的眼睛，告诉他们这种情况不会出现在我们身上。

他向我袒露他在这家公司的经历，然后告诉我：“我们已从中吸取教训。我们在此学到这涉及人才问题。若你无法创造令这些杰出人才愉快的环境，他们就会选择离开。”所以我相信他所说的话是真诚的，我相信EA是真的从中学到人才管理的重要性。而且，在他们看来，PopCap不只是集若干IP为一体的公司。

这从根本来说涉及两方面：这涉及收购公司所拥有的人才，这涉及系列游戏作品背后所包含的文化。关于PopCap，我非常确信的是其员工非常热爱自己的公司。这反映在我们所制作的游戏中，我觉得，若你打算在某东西投资10亿美元，你定知道其中存在某些特别之处。他们真的非常信守承诺，我们真的觉得他们很尊重我们的成果。关于此，我再开心不过。

在PopCap被收购前，公司成立4th & Battery，这是能够让设计师随心制作和发行作品的工作室。但自此，没有游戏同此工作室的标签挂钩。如今EA卷入其中，是否会有更多创意作品采用此工作室的标签或PopCap商标？

本周我们将开展PopCamp活动，这是我们每季度都会进行的项目，我觉得这对PopCap来说非常特别。这有点像谷歌的20 Percent Time计划（游戏邦注：就是腾出20%的时间做自己想做的事），每季度全球所有工作室都能够追随自己的内心。有人会和工作室管理人员说：“我有个疯狂的想法，我想进行落实，很多人都想参与其中。我能否进行？”，我们通常会说：“可以”。

本周是PopCamp活动周，这不会在EA收购我们后发生改变。关于这点，更有趣的是，此理念也开始渗透至EA。很多EA工作室也非常希望自己能够参与其中。我觉得大家都很喜欢EA Games总裁Frank Gibbeau，而且有这样的想法：“我们要如何吸收PopCap的优点，将其在EA中广泛传播？”它们不仅没有压制此创造性和自由，他们甚至还想从中吸收经验，将这些经验运用到自己的工作室中。

Peggle from blog.games.com

谈到未来，PopCap要如何顺应EA更庞大的社交/休闲游戏策略？

我觉得EA的核心策略的确是基于数字领域，一方面，EA想要发展自己的数字业务，而且清楚此业务需逐步脱离零售商品，更多朝在线和连网模式靠拢。其次，公司隐约知晓当前发展源自于数亿用户纷纷涌向Facebook和智能手机之类的设备。从定义来看，这些玩家大多都是休闲玩家。我觉得这是收购背后的驱动力。所以，我觉得我们是EA当前业务的核心。

PopCap是会单纯继续制作PopCap游戏，还是会选择和EA其他公司（游戏邦注：如Playfish或Bioware社交工作室）建立合作关系？

我个人非常想要和他们共事。在我看来，这完全有可能。我的意思是，我们是否会忽然步入开始大量炮制出EA游戏的阶段？我想你也猜到不会，是吧？但同时，如果存在某些很棒的合作项目，我们若是没有这么做，那就是疯了。所以，从很大程度上来说，我们依然保持自己的独创性，但我觉得我们依然有机会同其他工作室合作很棒的项目。

PopCap的《宝石迷阵》游戏在Facebook表现突出。我们未来是否能够看到更多此类作品，这些作品的创收相比其他可下载游戏，情况如何？

我们在社交领域的表现非常突出。但在我看来，回到EA收购我们的原因，我觉得PopCap存在的一大主要优势是我们是少数能够基于不同平台制作杰出作品的发行商和开发商。就PC、掌机、社交和手机领域来看，我们在这些领域都是排名前10的发行商。我们所取得的成就主要基于跨平台策略。所以，我们将继续着眼于推出更多新型社交游戏，因为我们在此表现突出。但我们也会继续坚持我们的跨平台传统。

PopCap介入手机游戏市场已经有一段时间了。你们对于平板电脑，尤其是Kindle Fire和Nook Tablet之类更新颖的设备的看法是什么？

作为《幻幻球》作品的总监，我所能说的是，我非常着迷于Kindle Fire，这是我密切关注的设备，原因是我觉得iPad的成功既和商店有关，也离不开设备。有些iPad开发商之所以在此表现得不尽人意是因为这里的运作不仅涉及设备本身，还包括用户体验。

我觉得Kindle Fire是非常杰出的设备。我非常着迷于平板电脑。我不知道你的看法是什么，但它们真的非常有趣。我的感受是自己和PC的关系在过去1年相比平板电脑发生较大改变。我们会发现，这片市场的发展非常显著，你会看到众多瞄准触屏功能的优质作品纷纷涌现。

总的来说，你觉得社交游戏未来几年会朝何处发展？

我觉得社交游戏目前所处的是《魔兽世界》推出前MMO游戏所处的位置。在我看来，它们的核心玩法循环机制存在许多共同之处，例如刷任务机制和角色发展等。

社交领域出现的游戏都具有某种程度上的进化。我几周前刚玩《CastleVille》，觉得相比Zynga之前的众多作品，这款游戏是一大突破。我真的非常着迷其中，我觉得这示意着显著发展的到来。

我非常喜欢制作社交游戏，因为这让我得以将自己的作品呈现给更多用户。同时在我看来，这也是发展迅速的设计领域，我们今天所看到的也许2-3年后就完全不同。（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）

PopCap: EA ‘knows that PopCap isn’t just a collection of IPs’ [Interview]

by Joe Osborne

When veteran games publisher EA announced that it had acquired Bejeweled Blitz creator PopCap, it was scary to think of what might happen to the Seattle-based casual and critical hit machine. Game company acquisitions have a history of killing creative direction and even axing entire game franchises, so the fear wasn’t entirely unfounded.

Even Peggle franchise director Joe McDonagh might have been a little squeamish at the thought of telling his staff that everything was going to be OK. Now that the dust has settled since the buyout, we recently sat down with the Peggle head to get an idea of what things are like at PopCap HQ since EA. There isn’t much of anything intense to report, but according to McDonagh, PopCap has had an interesting if profound effect on the publisher.

Now that it’s been a few months since the EA acquisition, what has it been like at PopCap–specifically in the studios–since?

I can honestly tell you that nothing has really changed. EA has been incredibly respectful of what they bought. I mean, think about it: They spent $1 billion acquiring this company. They obviously value what we have. They want us to keep on doing what we’ve always done. So, they’ve been incredibly respectful, they’ve really allowed us to carry on doing what we do.

Well, there have been some good things–there have been some interesting things. I would say that our day-to-day hasn’t changed, but what has changed is we’re certainly part of this big organization. And there are certain opportunities that have opened up to explore some things that we couldn’t have done before.

In fact, one of the reasons I was so excited about the deal is that EA has got some awesome teams–some of the best teams in the world. And this was a chance for us to explore working with these people. So, we’ve had some meetings with the folks at DICE [Ed. Note: creators of Battlefield 3], at Bioware and the folks at Playfish to see what ways that we can work together. And that’s been really exciting.

Now, EA CEO John Riccitiello has said that the publisher will treat PopCap with a “if it’s not broke” approach. Will you say that’s largely been the case?

So, when we did the deal, I was really lucky and got an hour with John Riccitiello one-to-one. I asked him, “Look, John. I’ve got to go back and sell this deal to my teams. And they’re gonna ask me, you know, the elephant in the room is what happened to these companies that you bought back in the late ’90s, sort of the Bullfrog’s and the Origin’s and Westwood?” And I said, “I’ve got to be able to look these guys in the eye and say that that’s not going to happen to them.”

He was incredibly candid with me about his experiences with the company and said, “Look, we’ve learned from that. And we’ve learned that this is about talent, and that if you don’t create an environment to keep that talent happy, it’s gonna leave.” So, I really believe that he was sincere about that, and I believe that EA is sincere in its belief that it’s learned its lessons about the importance of talent management. And that, when it looks at PopCap, it knows that PopCap isn’t just a collection of IPs [Ed. Note: intellectual properties].

It’s essentially about two things: It’s about the talent that’s here and it’s about the culture around the creation of those games. And the thing that I can say about PopCap that’s very true is that the people that work here really love the company. That’s reflected in the games that we make, and I think that, if you’re going to spend a billion dollars on something, you know there’s something special there. They have really been true to their word, and I really believe they respect what we do. I couldn’t be happier with the way it’s gone.

Before PopCap was acquired, it opened 4th & Battery, a label where designers could create and release whatever games they wished. But ever since, no games have been released under that label. Will any more creative outlets come from that label or PopCap proper now that EA is in the picture?

So, this week we’re actually going through a thing called PopCamp, which is a thing we do we do every quarter, [and] I think it’s quite unique to PopCap. It’s basically like Google 20 Percent Time, which is once a quarter the whole studio downfalls all around the world. And people some to studio management and say, “I have this crazy idea and I want to work on this thing, and I got a bunch of people that want to do it, too. Can I do it?” And we’re like, “Yeah, you can.”

This week is PopCamp, and that has not changed since EA bought us. Further to that point, and even more excitingly, I think that idea is taking hold even within EA. A bunch of studios at EA are actually excited about doing that themselves. And I think that people like Frank Gibbeau, president at EA Games, have seen that, and think, “How can we take some of PopCap’s magic and spread it wider inside EA?” Not only have they not clamped down on that creativity and freedom, I think they’re sort of trying to take lessons from that and apply it to their own studios.

Talking about the future, how will PopCap fit into EA’s larger social/casual games strategy?

I believe I’m right in saying that EA’s kind of core strategy is digital in that on one side, EA wants to grow its digital business and the recognition that the business is growing away from retail goods and more towards online and connected. And secondly that the implicit recognition that the growth, at the moment, is coming from the arrival of hundreds of millions of new gamers coming to vehicles like Facebook and smartphones. Most of those gamers are, by definition, casual gamers. I think that was the driving force behind the acquisition. So, I believe we’re kind of right at the heart of what they’re doing.

Will PopCap simply create go on creating PopCap games, or will it also have a working relationship with EA’s other companies like Playfish or Bioware’s social studio?

I personally would love to work with some of those guys. I believe it will happen where it makes sense. I mean, are we suddenly going to turn into a place that starts churning out EA-licensed games? I think you can safely say no, right? But also, where there’s some really cool collaborations to work on, we’d be crazy not to. So, we retain to a larger degree our creative independence, but I think there’s an opportunity to do some cool stuff with other studios.

PopCap’s Blitz games have been largely successful on Facebook. Will we see more of those, and how are those games performing financially compared to the downloadable games?

Social’s been tremendously successful for us. But I think, going back to the reasons EA bought us, I think that one of PopCap’s core strengths is that we are one of the few publishers and developers in the world that can develop great games across different platforms. If you look at the PC, console, social and phone spaces, we’re right up there in the top 10 publishers of all those businesses. Our success has really been based on that cross-platform strategy. So yeah, we will probably focus on a lot of new social games, because it’s been successful for us. But we’ll also stay true to our cross-platform heritage.

PopCap has been bullish on mobile for some time, too. What are your thoughts on tablets, especially more emergent devices like Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet?

What I can say as the franchise director for Peggle is that I’m very excited for the Kindle Fire. That’s something I’m watching very closely, and the reason why is because I think the success of the iPad is really about the store as much as it is about the device. That’s why some of the competitors to the iPad have not been as successful is because it’s not just about the hardware itself, but it’s the consumer experience.

I think the Kindle Fire is a really interesting an exciting device. I’m really excited about tablets. I don’t know about you, but it’s really interesting. My experience is the change in the relationship I have with my PC over the last year relative to the tablet. You’re seeing huge growth in that market, and you’re going to see some really interesting, exciting games coming out on that that will really focus on the touch functionality.

Generally speaking, where do you see social games going in, say, the next few years?

I think social games are at the place MMOs [Ed. Note: massively mutliplayer online games] were at before the release of World of Warcraft. I think there are lots of commonalities in the core gameplay loop. A lot of sort of grindy, character growth-driven experiences that are presented in a lot in an unpolished way.

Every game that comes out in the social space is sort of an evolution. I was just playing CastleVille a few weeks ago and really seeing that that’s a jump forward from where Zynga was before with a lot of its other games. I’m actually really excited about it, because I think this is the start of something huge.

I’m really excited to start making social games, because it’s a chance to get my games into more people’s hands. But I also think that it’s a rapid-evolving design environment and what we see today is not what we’re going to see in two-three years time.（Source：games）