作者：Thiago Attianesi

很多技能对于游戏设计师来说都非常有帮助，有一些甚至是我们难以猜到的，包括排版印刷以及计算机科学等。我将从游戏创造角度来看，列举一些游戏设计师身上最常见也是最重要的技能。

what a game designer needs to know(from scirra)

2D和3D设计

游戏总是需要有一个好看的外观。当然了，也有人会说“《Minecraft》没有华丽的外观也取得了巨大的成功，”“任何人都能够绘制出像《俄罗斯方块》这样的游戏”等等。说得好，这些都是事实，但绝大多数新游戏都需要一个强大的团队致力于设计，音效，编程以及游戏外观等功能。也就是对于设计师来说，他们迫切需要完成的任务便是想办法创造出2D或3D图像，探索如何去传达游戏机制并呈现给玩家具有创造性的游戏世界。

可以说游戏外观就等同于游戏的名片。

character-evolution(from scirra)

人类学

你需要挖掘你的用户想要在游戏中感受到什么，体验到什么以及依赖于什么（并且他们甚至不知道自己的这种需求）。这并不是一项关于用户游戏需求的民意调查；而是从用户属性中明确什么内容能够让他们开心，并且真正对游戏感到满意。

建筑学

你不仅需要设计房屋或建筑，你还需要建造帝国，城市，宫殿，乃至魔幻森林中的兽屋。而了解建筑样式将能够帮助你更好地理解人类或者生物以及他们的生存空间。除此之外你还能够以此创造出更具有现实感的虚拟世界（游戏邦注：作者在此所说的现实感是指虚拟世界的真实感，这种世界中的物理规则与现实世界类似。）

architecture(from scirra)

头脑风暴

头脑风暴技能对于游戏设计师来说真的具有很大的帮助。你必须针对于想法发展过程中所出现的各种矛盾和机制想出数十个，甚至上百个新理念或解决方法。你不需要只是思考你的游戏，你也可以为它寻找其它更加适合的观点或创造新规则，并明确游戏中的王国，角色行动，战斗动机，玩家动机等内容。

电影艺术

你希望能够为你的玩家创造一种真实的游戏体验，但是这种体验却往往局限于他们的数字交互中。如果你想要让玩家感受到动感，你就需要从电影领域汲取灵感。近来，几乎所有的游戏都使用了预告视频，电影艺术，落幕之类的方法。所以为了进一步优化你的游戏体验，你最好能够学习并精通电影领域中的某些内容。

cinema(from scirra)

交流

你总是需要阐述各种内容，不只是口头上，有时候也需要通过书面形式进行传达。有些人需要与这个产业中的各种专业人士进行交流，也有些人需要与自己团队中的成员或者游戏玩家/用户讨论如何解决各种问题。掌握了交流技能你便能够进一步了解别人是如何看待你的游戏。

书面材料

你需要拥有一份创造性的书面材料。你将创造出一个完整的世界，各种生物，人物以及事件；当然你也不能够遗漏技术部分，并且你也需要清楚地表达那些最复杂的理念，因为如果你不这么做，观众便不能很好地理解这些理念，并导致你最终不能够实现某些建设性的构想。

商务

不管你喜不喜欢，游戏设计师都是一种“市场性”工作，市场中总是充满各种交易，而这会与资金挂钩。所以，为了能够制作出一款更加优秀的游戏，你需要与制作人，发行商，自由记者，投资者等人士进行沟通，以说服他们支持你的理念。

economy(from scirra)

经济

如今的游戏具有更加复杂的经济元素。游戏中完整的奖励系统能够进一步吸引玩家留在游戏中，确保他们在面对挑战时不会出现实力差距悬殊的情况，并且能够始终感受到游戏的价值所在。比起早前的游戏，价格变化会影响到游戏中许多物品的交易情况，这也是建造特定单位需考虑的重要元素。

计算机科学

在这里我指的是能够帮助你进一步理解游戏技术的能力。如今，创造性角色总是备受争议，而如果你了解你的技术优劣，你便能够更好地控制角色的创造，并尝试一些前所未有的想法。

历史

最好的例子便是神话故事（游戏邦注：特别是来自希腊和北欧的神话）。你可能会说你的游戏与历史无关，只是一个科幻新世界。但是请相信我，深刻了解历史将带给你更棒的灵感，帮助你创造出具有现实交替性的游戏。

管理

为了创造出一款结构有序的好游戏，你便需要一个团队的支撑，所以掌握各种管理知识能够帮助你更好地组织一个团队的成员，推动着他们朝着共同目标而发展。当然了，设计师并没有责任去管理整个团队（甚至他们不应该这么做），但是优秀的设计师却有必要了解一些管理知识。而如果他们遇到的是一位糟糕的管理人员，这些设计师自己心里有谱，就可以低调地做自己的工作，并在最后完成预期目标。

数学

游戏中充满各种数学，所以这是设计师不能忽略的一种技能。游戏中的各种数学内容包括概率，风险分析，奖励，积分系统以及军队管理等。更不要说游戏编程中涉及的那些复杂数学内容了。出色的设计师总是能够在摸索规则和机制（为了进一步完善游戏）时深入钻研各种数学知识。

mathematics(from scirra）

音效设计

游戏需要音效。音乐总是能够有效地吸引人们的注意，而除了音乐还有其它需要注意的音效设计，包括：特效，节拍等。设有音效的情节能够让玩家具有身临其境的感受。就像图像能够显示场所的位置，音效能够让玩家确信自己身处于何种场景。

心理学

你的目标是为玩家创造出他们想要的游戏体验。你可以吓唬他们，奖励他们，愚弄他们，迷惑他们，保护他们，而为了做到这些你就需要真正了解不同年龄层，不同级别，以及具有不同信仰的玩家内心的不同想法。如果你不能做到这点，你就只能靠瞎蒙来揣测玩家意图。

the mind(from scirra)

公共行为

你总是不可避免地需要公开地呈现或否定某些理念。就像有些理念可以加到你的游戏中，有些却并不合适。整个开发团队的成员都希望自己的想法能够被用到游戏中，而你就需要公开地表示接受，或者反对（当这些理念并不现实时）。你应该尽可能自然，清晰，肯定且轻松地传达这种想法，否则人们将会怀疑你的判决。提示：你可以观看国家总统或主席是如何发表公共演讲或者如何在讨论会上做出发言。

public behaviors(from scirra)

除了这些技能，作为一名游戏设计师你还需要牢记的一点是——“擅于倾听”。你需要适时停下手上的工作而聆听用户，好友，亲人以及团队成员的想法。可以说这些人也是你所创造世界中的重要组成部分，很多时候他们的想法会比你自己更加客观更加有道理。所以请放下无聊的自尊，尽情地聆听别人的想法吧！

listen_by_ear(from scirra)

游戏邦注：原文发表于2012年1月20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）

What a game designer needs to know?

By Thiago Attianesi

Many abilities can be useful for a game designer, some of them we can’t even imagine. I can give as an example the study about typography that Jobs has done and ended up as a huge step to computer science at the time. Back to game creation, here I will enumerate the conventional and most important skills to market game creators.

2D and 3D Design

Games need a beautiful look. Ok, you can say “Minecraft didn’t neet it and look at its success”, “Anyone could draw Tetris”. Fair enough, these are facts, but the majority of new games need a strong team working on design, sound, programming and also on game art. That said, the great need for the designer is to be able to find ways to work 2D or 3D art, explore how are they going to be shown mechanics and so forth give the world something new to be seen. Hint: using tautology here can be a benefit.

Obs: Art is the game’s calling card. (I’ll talk more about this in future posts)

Anthropology

You will go after what your audience want to feel, want to experience, want to live and is not even aware of this need. It’s not about a poll of what the gamer wants in the game. It’s about finding out in his profile something which would make him happy, entertained, and mainly satisfied with the game.

Architecture

You will not make the design of a house or building, but whole empires, cities, palaces, and even orc houses in the middle of an imaginary forest. Having certain familiarity with architecture will give you a better notion of people/creatures and their living space. Besides the huge advantage you’ll have creating worlds much more realistic. (When I say reality, understand as your fictional world reality, the physics rules that applies to it which can be similar or not to the real world)

Brainstorm

Having brainstorming skills will really help as a game designer. You’ll have to imagine dozens, or better said, hundreds of new ideas and solutions to lots of contradictions and mechanics, which will appear during the evolution process of the thoughts. No, you won’t have to think about your game all alone, but you should fit ideas and create rules for it, giving sense to kingdoms, beings actions, fight motives, players motivation e so on.

Cinema

You should give your player a real experience, limited by his digital interaction. You want to move your player, and a great help to it is on learning from the movie industry. Almost all recent games use teasers, cinematics, endings and similar stuff. So, to raise your power of producing experiences to the player, mastering some areas from cinema will give you a huge advantage.

Communication

You have much to tell, not exactly with your voice, but definitely with written words. I’ll be necessary to talk to people from all specialties exampled here and a lot more. You’ll talk to your team, will solve a lot of problems with them, with the audience and the client. Having the power of communication will give you advantage of knowing how all of them really feel about your game.

Paperwork

You’ll need mainly creative paperwork. You’ll create whole worlds, creatures, populations and events that happen inside them. Of course, you can’t forget the technical part, and you’ll need to express clearly the most complex ideas, because if you don’t do it well, your idea will seem distant, something to be produced in the future, or never.

Business

Like it or not, Gamedesigner is a market job, and the market works based on many kinds of transactions, and all of them are linked to money somewhere. So, to have better chances to produce your dream game, you’ll need to negotiate with producers, publishers, freelancers, investors, supporters, amongst others. They should buy your idea.

Economy

Games today are much more complex about this factor than ever. There is a whole reward system to keep the player tied to the game, as not being too powerful or too weak to the challenges, and also to feel valuable inside the game. Further than the factor that comes from old games, the price variation, many kinds of materials with different values can be used on trades, but also to be components on the building of places or specific units.

Computer Science

I’m referring to the ability to understand the technology which is used in your games. The innovation character is pretty much disputed nowadays, and knowing your technology’s advantages and disadvantages shall give you better control over it, expanding the possibilities of creating something never seen before.

History

The best example I can give in this point is mythology, especially Greek and Nordic. Your game has nothing to do with History? It’s a fantasy new world? Believe it, plunging into History will give you an invigorating new inspiration to develop your alternative reality.

Management

To produce a good game, well-shaped in every area, a team is needed, and a lot of knowledge on management is prior to organize a group of people for a common objective. No, you are not responsible for managing all the team, or shouldn’t be, but good designers know a little about management. When there’s a terrible manager, they can work on their own keeping a low profile and reach the expected result from everyone by the end of the project.

Mathematics

There’s no running from it, games are full of math. There’s probability, risk analysis, rewards, point system, force management. Not mentioning complex math that stays behind all game programming. Skillful designers can dive into math when it’s needed to get the rules and mechanics in order to improve the game.

Sound Design

Yes, games need sound. Music get people involved, captivate, link directly to their essence. Beyond music there is a whole world inside sound design: effects, beats, fights. Scenarios need sound so the player will be able to believe he’s inside them. Images need to show the place while sounds convince about the positioning on it. Hint: “Listening is believing”.

Psychology

Your goal is to grant people the experience they desire. You’ll scare them, reward them, fool them, delude them, protect them and whatever else is needed and to do so you need to understand the inner workings of human mind in different ages, classes, creeds, etc. If you don’t, you’ll be designing in the dark.

Public Behaviors

You oftenly will have to presente or deny ideas in public. There’s much to be added in play and much more that can’t. The whole team will be interested in adding something personal in the game, and you should receive this openly, but should also deny and counter argue when the idea is not realistic. You should be natural, clear, assured and interested while showing your points, or people will think you don’t know what you’re doing. Hint: Watch presidents on your country speaking to the public or discussing on debates.

And yes, there’s much more than that, scary, isn’t it? But relax, nobody can master all these skills, no one could. What is being discussed here are the main skills that improve your work level. Better the knowledge about them, better will be your power a game designer.

Further than these skills, remember the most important feature as a game designer – “You need to listen” this, listen, you need to stop and listen to your client, your friends, your family, and mainly your team. They’re inside the world you are creating, they’re vital parts of it. The ideas that will emerge will be many times better than your own, so beat your ego, and listen, and listen a LOT.(source:scirra)