作者：Daniel Cook

“Dude，我想到了一个非常棒的游戏设计理念。”

“真的吗？那是什么？”

“我不能说，我怕你偷了我的创意。”

copycat(from thisiscaitland.wordpress.com)

这种对话经常发生于专业的开发者，独立开发者等群体之间。这是渗透于游戏产业中的文化反应，这些人都认为游戏设计特殊而崇高，就像是可取得专利的发明。如果你公然谈论自己的游戏设计，那些贪婪狡猾之人便可能窃取你的理念并落实行动，从而抢走你大放异彩的机会。

但是说实在的，这种想真的非常荒谬。

游戏设计只是一个起点

一款游戏的创造总是基于1%的设计，并通过100%的制作和优化才能最终成形。在制作和优化阶段，游戏设计可能会发生彻底的改变。举个例子来说，曾经有个非常著名的游戏设计师起初提出了一个包含魔法战锤的毁灭性游戏设计，他将创造一款史诗魔幻类动作RPG。但是在创造这款游戏的过程中发生了一些变化。在创造初期，他们与任何优秀的开发团队一样，创造游戏原型和理念，并围绕着这些原型开始构造游戏。但是最终，游戏设计初理念却变成了紧张刺激的FPS，彻底改变了原先的魔幻RPG风格，这款游戏就是后来大受欢迎的《雷神之锤》。

当一个团队得到一个游戏设计理念时，他们会按照自己特有的方式去实践它。就像是如果你给予5个团队相同的游戏设计文件，你最终可能得到5款完全不同的游戏。比起蓝图，我想说游戏设计更像是电影脚本。而那个执行设计理念的导演才是决定结果的关键力量。

教训1：最终的游戏成品可能会不同于最初的游戏设计，因为是游戏设计“导演”而不是撰写游戏设计文件之人在落实设计过程。

没有人能够复制独特的游戏机制

很多人都声称他们的设计拥有独一无二的游戏机制。以《模拟人生》为例，这款游戏真的拥有非常棒的游戏设计，并且具有创新性的独特机制。如果“我能够最先想到这个理念”，我便能够从中获得巨大的收益。所以这时候你是否会想着时光能够倒流，让你最先创造出《模拟人生》这样的游戏，并先于它出现在市面上？

然而，在《模拟人生》发行后不久，游戏开发者虽然也拥有相同的发展机遇，但是在此之后的2年多时间里，却没有人能够抓住这一机遇。游戏山寨达人有这样一个绝好的模仿机会，但他们却没有采取任何行动。而我们还知道早些时候Maxis曾因为《模拟人生》的设计理念太过冒险而多次否决了游戏提议。我们也总是很好奇为何Will Wright乐于在《孢子》发行前与公众分享他们的游戏内容。

教训2：大多数人都喜欢复制那些已经成功的游戏理念。但是人们并不喜欢复制那些原创理念，只因为它们的风险太大了。

比起保密，共享能够让你学到更多

我会不时与某些游戏设计师进行交谈，让他们阐述自己的游戏设计理念。就像是“我想创造一款魔幻类游戏，主角是配有红色宝剑的Count Blommar。他在杀了许多人后开始与一个药蜀葵形状的boss搏斗！”

而几个月后，当一款拥有配着红色宝剑的英雄的游戏出现时，最初提出这个理念的游戏设计师便会因此而垂头丧气。

你最好能够经常公开讨论游戏，以便获得其他行业专家重要的反馈信息。而通过讨论游戏理念，你便能够了解到哪些内容可行而哪些内容无用。作家会在研讨会上阐述自己的观点；画家也愿意在艺术讨论会上发表自己的见解。这些讨论会都是公开的，虽然你可能会在此受到批评，但是对于今后的发展却真的非常有帮助。很多著名的电影导演都将自己现在的成功归功于那些给予他们建设性批评的非专业人士。

教训3：不要总是提防着其他游戏设计师。只有与那些出色的游戏设计师进行讨论，你的游戏设计才有可能获得更大的改善。也就是，通过分享，你才能够获得更多收益。

出现2个模仿者并不等于所有人都有抄袭嫌疑

我们处在一个竞争激烈的产业中。我已经目睹许多同时发行的类似游戏，并因此影响了游戏的销售。例如两款历史类RTS游戏的发行仅隔了一个月。而两款都设定三管散射枪的FPS几乎同时发行。如此便出现了许多关于商业间谍的指控，以及市场营销人员因为过早发布游戏截图而遭到指责。

很多情况下，两款类似的游戏可能也只是同时仿造了已经存在的游戏。如果你将一些游戏设计师聚集在一起，并让他们将想象力限制在一个狭窄的创造性范围内，那么必然会多次出现一些相同的理念。假设此时有个发行商喊出了一个问题：“马上回答出介于红色和蓝色之间的颜色是什么？”如此你便不好责怪那些与你同样回答紫色的人吧！因为这是一种聚合型的创造性，并不是偷窃。

多半时候，不管是不是复制，游戏理念都不足以影响游戏的最终销售。只有更好的执行能力才能帮助游戏真正战胜其它对手。如果一家失败的公司能够不再那么执拗于保密行动，而是更多地关注于如何创造一款优秀的游戏，那么他们一定能够做得更好！

教训4：如果你想出了一个与其它游戏类似的理念，那么有可能你们只是同时萌生了这个想法。千万不要手足无措。你要知道，不管是不是复制别人的理念，游戏设计都不能够决定游戏的成败。品牌，优化以及制作比起设计更重要。

分享游戏设计

游戏设计不是专利也不是蓝图。它们只是作为素材的最初设计草图，需要开发者在制作过程中不断发展与完善才能最终创造出成品游戏。一款优秀的游戏并不是基于设计文件，而且也没有人会去复制别人的最初设计理念。事实上，我说了这么多主要是想强调，任何人都不可能盗取真正的游戏设计。所以你可以尽情地与别人分享你的理念。

如果你拒绝与别人分享游戏设计，这只能说是一种偏执的决定。但是我能够理解你的这一决定，毕竟在你所依赖的文化中，任何人都认为游戏设计无比神圣。这是很难改变的信仰，所以很少人会愿意与别人进行分享。

但是如果你愿意踏出这一步，与别人分享游戏设计，我敢向你保证：

*没有人能够真正窃取你的游戏设计。

*通过与其他有能力的游戏设计师分享游戏设计，你将能够获得一些无价的反馈，并因此更好地完善最终游戏。

*你将能够为游戏开发社区做出贡献，并帮助其他人更好地了解游戏设计。

你将会发现，分享游戏设计并不是什么难事。反而是吸引别人听取你的想法更加困难。幸运的是，网络这一平台能够帮助你展开更多有帮助的讨论。

游戏邦注：原文发表于2005年8月22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）

Why you should share your game designs

Posted by Daniel Cook

Here is a conversation I’ve had many times throughout my career.

“Dude, I just thought of the greatest game design”

“Really, what is it?”

“I can’t tell you that. You could steal it.”

Remarkably quickly, the conversation comes to an abrupt dead end. This happens with professional developers, indie developers and people who happen to have picked up a game controller at some point in their sofa-bound lives and dream of breaking into the game industry. It is a cultural reaction that is pervasive throughout the game industry. The belief driving this response is simple: Game designs are unique and special, like a patentable invention. If you talk about a game design publicly, greedy buggers will implement it before you and take all your glory.

To be blunt, this attitude is completely ludicrous.

Your game design is simply a starting point

A game starts out with 1% game design and end up 100% production and polish. During the production and polish stages of the title, the game design is likely to change dramatically. For example, there was once a genre busting game design by a famous designer that involved a magic hammer and was described as an epic fantasy action RPG. Something very interesting happened along the way to creating the title. First, they did what every good team does in the early stages. They prototyped the concept and evolved what worked. The grand initial design ended up turning into an intense FPS shooter. What was this fantasy RPG? It was a little title called Quake.

When a team gets a hold of a game design, they change it in ways unique to that team. Give 5 teams the same game design document and I guarantee that you will get 5 distinctly different games. A game design ends up being closer to a movie script than it is to a blue print. The director who executes your design has a major impact on the ultimate results.

Moral #1: The final game is not going to look anything like your initial game design because ultimately it is the game director who makes the most important decisions, not the person who writes the game design document.

Unique mechanics are almost never copied

At this point, many people claim that their design possesses a unique ‘hook’ in terms of the game mechanic. Take for example the Sims. This game had a great game design with some very unique and innovative mechanics. Holy crap, if only “I could have thought of it first” I could have made millions. Wouldn’t you love to go back in time, create a copy of the Sims and sell it before the Sims brand was established?

Yet, shortly after the Sims was released, game developers had a very similar opportunity. And they did nothing for upwards of two years. The clone masters had the blueprint for one of the most successful games of all time sitting in front of them and they did nothing. Even worse, the original Sims design was repeatedly rejected internally at Maxis because it was too risky. Ever wonder why Will Wright happily shares information about Spore multiple years before its launch?

Moral #2: Most people like to copy successful ideas. Original ideas are far less likely to be cloned because they are seen as risky.

You can learn more by sharing than hording

Occasionally I’ll get someone to bite at this point and tell me their game design. It generally goes something like this: “So it is a fantasy game with a guy name Count Blommar who has red sword! He kills a lot of people and then fights a giant boss in the shape of a marshmallow!”

Months later, when a game comes out staring a hero bearing a red sword, the would-be designer is crestfallen that someone managed to create their idea first. Heaven forbid they actually had the gumption or clout to begin implementing their half-assed design in the meantime.

Often it is much better to talk about your game publicly so that you can gain important critical feedback from other industry experts. By discussing your ideas, you’ll learn a bit about what works and what doesn’t work. Writers do it at writing workshops. Painters do it at art critiques. These forums are harsh, open and extremely helpful. Many popular auteurs credit their current success to the constructive criticism they received from other professionals.

Moral #3: Most people are absolutely horrible game designers. Your game design could probably be dramatically improved by talking to other skilled designers. You have dramatically more to gain by sharing than by hording.

Two copy cats doesn’t mean anyone is stealing

We operate in a cut throat industry. I’ve seen plenty of examples of similar games released at similar times and their sales suffer as a result. Two historical RTS games are released within a month of one another. Two FPS, both with triple-barreled shotguns are released nearly simultaneously. There are accusations of spying and the marketing people are lambasted for releasing screenshots too early.

Half the time, both games are merely copying from the generation that came before. If you mass enough game developers together and ask them to limit their imaginations to a narrow range of innovation, you are bound to have the same idea pop up multiple times. Suppose a publisher yells in a crowded room, “Quick, think of a color between red and blue.” How can you curse the fellow next to you who also thought of purple? This is convergent innovation, not theft.

More often than not, the ‘stolen’ idea ends up having a minor effect on the final sales of the game. One game typically has better execution and decimates the other. Perhaps if the failing company had been less focused on secrecy and more focused on building a great title, they would have done better.

Moral #4: If your design ideas are similar to another title, there is a good chance you are both cribbing from the same cheat sheet. Relax. Your super clone isn’t going to win or lose based off the game design anyway. Brand, polish and production values are more important.

How about a little sharing?

Game designs are not patents or blue prints. They are an initial artistic sketch that is used as fodder during a very involved production process to create a final game. A great game is not derivable from the design document and an original game design is not likely to be copied. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it is impossible to steal a game design. The best you can do is create an interpretation.

When you refuse to share your game design, you are basing your decision off of indefensible paranoia. That is okay. You grew up in a culture where everyone claimed that game designs were holy. It can be hard to change. It can be hard to share.

If you do share your game design, I offer you this prediction:

No one will steal your game design.

By sharing your game design with other competant designers, you will receive in return invaluable feedback that improve your final game.

You will contribute to the game development community and help others learn about game design.

You’ll find sharing game designs really isn’t such a big deal. Getting someone to listen, that is the hard part. Hopefully websites like this one will be useful in promoting a reasonable discussion once you’ve made the plunge.
(source:LOSTGARDEN)