作者：Jeff Wofford

你有个绝妙的电子游戏想法。它富有创造性，是原创想法，能够吸引玩家，而且很有趣。你已经可以在脑中勾画出这款游戏的鲜活形象，包括令人震撼的视觉效果和动作场景。你迫不及待地想玩这款游戏，当你告诉好友时，他们也会迫不及待地想玩。唯一的问题在于，你没有游戏开发工作室。要如何将这个游戏想法变成现实呢？

随后，你遇到了我。你发现我靠制作游戏谋生，你情不自禁地将想法告诉了我。经过你的阐述后，我理解了你的游戏想法，我说这是个很棒的想法。于是，你问我：“我应该怎么做才能让游戏开发公司制作这款游戏？”

我怎么知道你会问我这个问题呢？相信我，我知道你肯定会这么问我。我在游戏行业里有15年的从业经验，这是别人问我次数最多的问题。但是没关系，这并没有让我感到反感。我很愿意提供些许建议。

接下来，我要通过向你提出两个问题来回答你的这个问题。第一，你的想法是否真的是游戏想法？第二，你要如何让游戏获得他人的关注？

你的想法是否能制作成游戏？

我们先来探讨第一个问题。你拥有一个针对“游戏”的想法。我的首个问题是：你的这个想法是否真的能制作成游戏？

当游戏开发团队开始构建游戏时，他们会先制作游戏设计文件（游戏邦注：下文简称“GDD”）。通常情况下，这是个书面文件，但有时也会出现非正式的GDD，比如草图、白板绘图和激烈讨论会。但是，最棒的游戏工作室都会努力将他们的设计方案记录成文本文件的形式。所以，要提高想法被开发工作室采纳的可能性，你需要将其转变为GDD。

whiteboard(from add2thebeauty)

游戏设计包括的不只是游戏想法。它是对游戏应当如何运转的细节化描述。控制器上每个按键的作用是什么？HUD的外观以及每个片段的作用是什么？敌人AI如何运转？玩家可以收集哪些拾取物，它们有何作用？游戏设计描述了游戏的每个部分，阐述所有这些部分如何相互作用形成有趣的游戏。

这又产生了另一个问题。什么元素可以让游戏变得有趣？

这个问题有许多答案。目前还没有人找到呈现趣味性的万能法则。Sid Meier认为，游戏由一系列有趣的决定组成，这是个有所帮助的起点。玩家在做出选择时能够感受到“趣味性”。但是，并非任何选择都能产生这种效果。有趣的选择必须是吸引人且有意义的。你的游戏设计要如何向玩家呈现有趣的选择呢？

这是个很难的问题。让我通过两个例子来让你明白这个问题的困难性。

《半条命》原作借鉴了《雷神之锤》的游戏玩法，用许多方法将其放大和扩展。他们放大游戏玩法的方法之一是添加“重新装填子弹”按钮。现在，《半条命》的发布已经过去了10年时间，《光晕》等游戏也都普遍使用“重新装填子弹”的设计。但是，当时这是种充满风险的设计。早期的游戏中不需要重新装填，所以Valve的设计让游戏中的武器更难以使用。玩家很容易会被激怒：“我为什么要不断地每隔10秒按动‘重新装填子弹’的按键？之前的老游戏都没有要求我这么做。为什么枪支不能自动装填子弹？”

半条命(from free-game.com)

Valve的这种设计好似一场赌博，但他们赌赢了。玩家喜欢“重新装填子弹”的设计，即便它让他们在游戏中需要做更多事情。为什么呢？因为“重新装填子弹”创造出了有趣的决定。

当你正在与敌人战斗时，你的枪支尽管所剩子弹很少，但你依然不会花时间来重新装填。如果你确定区域附近没有敌人，那么你会选择重新装填。但是，当你想要重新装填但不确定敌人是否会突然出现在你面前，在这种情况下你会怎么办呢？这时，是否重新装填的选择就成了个有趣的决定。

因为“重新装填子弹”的存在，使得《半条命》变得更加有趣，尽管“重新装填子弹”让游戏变得更加困难。现在，让我们看看另一个例子。

《毁灭战士3》的设计要求游戏设置在黑暗环境中。许多房间只有1盏灯，有些甚至完全没有光照。为应对这种情况，游戏给玩家手电筒，可以用来照亮任何环境。但是，玩家不能同时使用手电筒和武器。这就产生了一种决定：你想要光照还是安全？

许多玩家讨厌这个游戏功能。它似乎是个完全主观且缺乏现实性的设计。它往往让玩家陷入两难的情境中，要么看清他们的敌人，要么与敌人战斗，但是不能同时实现两个目标。玩家发现，他们不是眼睁睁地看着敌人逼近就是在黑暗中被莫名其妙地杀死。

《半条命》的重新装填功能和《毁灭战士3》的光照功能在许多方面存在相似之处，但是前者很有趣，而后者却为人所诟病。如果你能够理解其中的缘由，你就朝自己将游戏想法变成真正游戏设计的目标又迈进一步。

多数的游戏设计还要提及游戏的设置、故事和角色。但是，我想要强调的是，这部分游戏设计内容在整个文件中所占的比重不足1/4。在有些人告诉我的游戏想法中，往往有99%的想法内容是设置和故事，只有1%是游戏玩法。我不得不告诉他们，他们提出的并非游戏创意，他们拥有的是故事想法。游戏设计不是故事设计。如果你想要让自己的想法制作成游戏，那么必须添加有关游戏如何运转的细节，比如玩家在游戏中做什么，他如何移动角色以及如何同游戏世界互动。

对于多数人来说，思考游戏应当如何运转是件困难的事情。这里，我提供一个有效的小方法。编写“5分钟游戏玩法”文件。许多工作室都会要求这份文件，它会帮助你思考游戏内容。

在这份文件中，你要细节化地描述玩家在5分钟左右的游戏时间里做的事情。细节化很关键，不要只写上“玩家向北移动。”，要写上“玩家将左侧操纵杆向前推。”不要描述玩家的想法或决定，只要展示他看到的东西和描述他用手来做的事情。如果你能够以这样的细节来描述5分钟的游戏玩法，你就能够编写出优秀的GDD。事实上，你可以将“5分钟游戏玩法”文件放入你的GDD中，作为游戏的概述。

要如何让游戏获得关注？

世界上拥有绝妙游戏想法的人绝非只有你一个。全球数以百万计的玩家都会构思出游戏想法。你要如何让自己的想法突出重围？你要如何成为真正制成游戏的那少数想法之一？

你需要认清这个挑战。现在，从事游戏行业工作的人非常多。多数人都有想要制成游戏的游戏想法。他们并没有静静坐等待别人向他们提供绝妙的想法。他们已经有自己的想法，正等待获得能力和地位来筹建团队，将想法变成现实。所以，像我这样的开发者就是你的竞争对手。

如果你还没有在游戏公司中工作，那么就意味着你正处在劣势。职业游戏开发者有许多让想法变成现实的渠道。他有机会同赞助人谈论自己的游戏想法。职业游戏开发者还具有专门的知识。他知道游戏要如何制作。所以，如果你还未从事过游戏制作，现在比你有优势的人相当多。

事实上，即便你已经是个职业游戏开发者，你也要克服很大的挑战。在这个行业中，只有极少数的人能够真正开发属于自己的游戏项目。在已经实现目标的这少数人中，许多项目是基于电影、电视剧和其他艺术资产的授权内容，所以即便是项目主管，对游戏内容的控制权也很小。

所以，拥有游戏想法并能够真正制作游戏的人只有很少一部分。即便如此，他们的工作过程也不容易。他们必须将游戏出售给发行商，不断向团队成员解释想法，最终说服玩家他们的想法值得掏出50美元购买。

你要做的事情很多，你需要与很多人竞争，解决很多问题，与很多人合作和说服玩家。你要如何对待这么多的事情呢？

这些问题当然有可能得到解决，有些人就实现了自己的目标，比如我自己。事实上，对于这个过程，有两种不同的战略。

第1种策略是自学成才。我在大学中学习的是计算机科学。在我的大学生涯中，我自学了线性代数、C++、3D渲染和游戏编程。当我从大学毕业时，已经编写了两个游戏演示。我将它们展示给游戏开发工作室，所以在还没有正式毕业前，我就获得了自己梦寐以求的工作——为Origin Systems开发游戏，当时它是世界上最大的游戏开发商。我担任几年的程序员后，就升任主程序员，并最终成为制作人和主管。我曾经在4个不同的公司工作，负责过数十个不同的项目，其中许多项目被中途取消。但是，有些项目成功推向市场，而且少数游戏表现不错，所以我能够不断地从事这个行业。尽管花费了10年时间，但我现在能够设计游戏和主管大型项目。如果你有天赋、恒心和技能，那么你可以像我这样发展。

有个做法可以缩短这段时间，那就是在Guildhall等游戏开发教育项目中学习。我在Guildhall教授游戏编程，所以或许我会有些偏袒。但是，到目前为止，从我们这里毕业的每个程序员都在游戏开发公司中找到很不错的工作，因而显然我们开设课程的做法是正确的。

无论你从何处开始，登上游戏行业顶端都是个艰难和漫长的过程。如果你想要制作大型综合性AAA游戏，这是唯一的方法。但是，如果你想要制作较小的游戏，那么还有种更容易更快速的战略。

休闲游戏市场正在迅速成长，为开发者提供了大量的机遇。休闲游戏指那些你在Armor Games和Shockwave等网站或手机上玩的简单游戏。它们往往是使用Flash或Java制作而成，制作过程相对较为容易。在过去两年时间里，我制作了数十款Flash游戏，制作过程和游戏体验都很有趣。最棒的感觉是，你可以完全凭自己之力或者同几位好友配合就能够制作出游戏。你不需要数百万美元的资金，也不需要去寻找与游戏开发相关的工作，甚至连发行商也不需要。你可以很容易将自己的想法变成现实！

这样的游戏甚至还能够赚到钱。如果你的游戏足够流行，它们就会获得网站的赞助。网站会给你版权费或部分广告费用。如果要以这种方法维持生计，你每年必须制作大量游戏，但这确实是可以做到的。

休闲游戏蕴藏着巨大的机遇。不足之处在于，它们只是休闲作品。它们一般不大，无法呈现像《生化危机》或《辐射3》那样的体验。如果你满足于制作中型的简单有趣游戏，那么选择休闲游戏市场会让你感到很快乐。

无论你选择制作大型游戏还是小型游戏，如果你努力并坚持自己的理想，就有可能将自己的想法制作成真正的游戏。无论你选择何种战略，你的起点都必须拥有除了想法之外的更多技能。思考游戏运转细节和发现趣味元素，你才能将自己的游戏想法变成真正的游戏设计。这个技能也需要通过实践来锻炼。

游戏邦注：本文发稿于2008年11月4日，所涉时间、事件和数据均以此为准。（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）

How to Get Your Game Idea Made into a Game

Jeff Wofford

You have a brilliant idea for a video game. It’s creative, original, intriguing, and fun. You can picture it vividly – the breathtaking visuals, the jaw-dropping action scenes. You can’t wait to play it, and when you tell your friends about it they can’t wait to play it either. Your only problem is, you don’t own a game development studio. How do you get your game idea made?

Then you meet me. You find out I make games for a living, and before you can stop yourself you’re telling me about your idea. Your eyes get as wide as the twin moons over a desert planet, your hands scrub the air, spittle foams on your lip. I understand your game idea, I say it’s pretty good. Then you ask me, “What should I do to get a real game development company to make this game?”

How do I know you ask me this? Believe me, I know. I’ve worked in games for almost fifteen years and this is the number one question I’m asked. But no, that’s okay, it doesn’t bug me. Ask away – I’m happy to offer some advice.

I’m going to answer your question by asking you two questions. First: Is your idea really a game idea? Second: How are you going to climb the Ladder?

Is Your Idea a Game Idea?

Let’s start with the first question. You’ve got an idea for a “game.” My first question is: Is your idea really able to be made into a game?

When a game development team starts building a game, they start with a Game Design Document, or “GDD”. Usually this is a literal document but sometimes it’s a more informal thing: sketches, whiteboard drawings, memories of fevered conversations. But the best game studios strive to record their design in a written, illustrated document. In order to have even the remotest chance of getting your idea published you need to turn it into a GDD.

A game design is much more than a game idea. It’s a detailed specification for how the game should work. What does each button on the controller do? What does the HUD look like and what do each of the pieces do? How does enemy AI work? What pickups can players gather and what do they do? The game design describes every part of the game and tells how all the parts fit together to create a fun game.

This raises another question. What makes a fun game?

There are many possible answers to this question. No one has found a sure-fire formula for fun. Sid Meier says that a game is a series of interesting decisions, and this is a helpful starting point. Players have “fun” when they have to make choices. But not just any choices. Fun choices have to be intriguing, meaningful – interesting. How will your game design produce interesting choices for the player?

This is a hard question. Let me show you two examples that illustrate how hard this is.

The original Half-Life took the gameplay of Quake, then amplified and extended it in many ways. One of the ways they amplified the gameplay was to add a Reload button. Now ten years have gone by since Half-Life was released, and games like Halo have made Reload commonplace. But at the time it was a risky design. In earlier games you never had to reload, so Valve was making weapons harder to use. Players could easily get annoyed – “Why do I have to keep hitting Reload every ten seconds? None of the older games made me do this. Why can’t the gun just reload itself?”

Valve took a gamble on reload and the gamble paid off. Players loved Reload even though it made more work for them. Why? Because Reload creates interesting decisions.

When you’re fighting enemies and your gun has a little ammo left you don’t want to spend the time reloading. If you’re sure the area is clear of enemies you will reload. But what about those times when you’d like to reload but you’re not sure whether an enemy is about to pop out at you? Then the choice of whether to reload becomes an interesting decision.

Half-Life was more fun as a result of Reload even though Reload made the game harder. Now let’s look at another example.

Doom 3′s design called for the game to be set in darkness. Many of the rooms had only one light and some were completely black. To counteract this, the game gave the player a flashlight that could be used to light up any environment. Yet the player could not shine his flashlight and wield a weapon at the same time. This created a decision: do you want light or protection?

Many players hated this game feature. It seemed arbitrary and unrealistic. It often put players into impossible situations where they could either see their enemies or fight them but not both. Players would find themselves either staring helplessly at oncoming bad guys or blasting away into blackness.

Half-Life’s reload feature and Doom 3′s light feature are similar in many ways, but one of them was fun and the other was not. If you can understand exactly why that is, you’re one step closer to turning your game idea into a winning game design.

Most game designs also talk about the game’s setting, story, and characters. But I want to stress that this part of the game design usually accounts for less than a fourth of the total document. When people tell me their game ideas, usually their idea is 99% setting and story and only 1% gameplay. I have to tell them that they don’t have a game idea – they have a story idea. A game design is not a story design. If you want your idea made into a game, you’ll have to fill out the details about how the game actually plays – what the player actually does, how he moves his character, how he interacts with the world.

It’s hard for most people to think through how a game should actually play. Here’s a helpful hint for how to do this. Write a “Five Minutes of Gameplay” document. A lot of studios require this, and it’ll help you think through your game.

In this document, you’ll describe, in absolute detail, what a player does in your game for about five minutes of play. When I say detail, I mean detail. Don’t say, “The player goes North.” Say, “The player pushes forward on the left joystick.” Don’t talk about what the player thinks or decides: just show what he sees and describe what he does with his hands. If you can describe five minutes of your game’s gameplay in that kind of detail, you’re well on your way to writing a great GDD. In fact, you can put your “Five Minutes of Gameplay” document into your GDD as a kind of overview of the game.

How Will You Climb the Ladder?

You are not the only person in the world with a brilliant game idea. There are hundreds of thousands – perhaps millions – of gamers all over the globe who have ideas for games. How are you going to make your idea stand out? How will you get it to be one of the few that actually gets made?

You need to be realistic about this challenge. There are perhaps 8,000 people working in the game industry right now. Most of those people have their own game ideas that they want to make. They’re not sitting around wishing someone would give them a great idea. They’ve already got ideas and are just waiting to get the power and status and respect to form a team to get them made. So these people – game developers like me – are your competition.

And if you’re not already working for a game company, you’re at a disadvantage. A professional game developer has all the connections. He can walk across the hall and talk to a potential financier for his game – someone who knows and trusts him. A professional game developer also has expertise. He knows how games are made. So if you’re not already making games for a living, you have 8,000 other game designers ahead of you in the queue.

In fact, even if you’re already a professional game developer you have a huge mountain to climb. Very few people in the industry get to run their own game project. Of the few that do, many of those projects are based on movies, TV shows, and other properties, so even the project leader has little creative control.

So there is a tiny, tiny fraction of people who have game ideas and actually get to make them. Yet even then their job isn’t easy. They have to sell their game to publishers, explain and re-explain it to their teams, and ultimately convince gamers that their idea deserves the $50 it costs to play it.

There’s a huge ladder above you – a huge pile of people you have to compete with, overcome, work with, and convince. How are you going to climb it?

It is possible to climb it. Some people do. I did. In fact there are two different strategies for how to get to the top of the ladder and make your game.

The first strategy is to work your way up. I studied computer science in college. Along with my studies, I also did extra work teaching myself linear algebra, C++, 3D rendering, and game programming. By the time I graduated from college I had written two game demos. I showed them to game development studios and before I even graduated I had landed my dream job working for Origin Systems – at that time, the biggest game developer in the world. I worked as a programmer for a few years, then moved up to lead programmer and ultimately producer and director. I worked for four different companies on a dozen different projects, many of which were canceled. But a few projects shipped and a few did well, so I was able to keep climbing. It took ten years, but I got to design games and lead large projects. If you have the talent, the dedication, and the people skills, you can climb the ladder this way.

One step you can take that will shorten your ladder-climbing journey is to study at a game development education program like the Guildhall. I teach game programming at the Guildhall, so maybe I’m a little biased. But every one of the programmers we’ve graduated so far has gotten a good job in a real game development company, so obviously we’re doing something right.

No matter how you start, getting to the top of the game industry is a hard, long, difficult climb. If you want to make big, sophisticated, AAA titles, it’s the only way to go. But if you’re willing to make smaller games there’s another strategy that is both easier and faster.

The casual game market is growing rapidly and offers lots of opportunity. Casual games are the sort of simple, quick games you play on websites like Armor Games or Shockwave or on your cell phone. They’re usually created in Flash or Java and are relatively easy to make. In the last couple of years I’ve made a dozen or so Flash games, and they’re a lot of fun to make and play. Best of all, you can make a game all by yourself or with just a couple of friends. You don’t need millions of dollars, a hard-to-find game job, or even a publisher. You just do it!

There’s even money in it. If your games get popular enough they can get sponsored by a website. Websites will usually give you either an up-front license fee or a cut of the money that they receive from advertising. You’d have to make a lot of games every year to make a living this way, but it can be done.

Casual games are a tremendous opportunity. The downside is that they’re casual. They’re not big, grand, gorgeous experiences like BioShock or Fallout 3. If you can be happy just making modest, simple, fun games, you can be happy in the casual game market.

Whether you decide to climb the big ladder to making big games or the small ladder to making small games, you can get your game idea made if you work hard and stick with it. No matter whether you decide to make big games or small games, you have to start with more than just an idea. You have to turn your game ideas into game designs by thinking through the details of how your game actually plays and by discovering how to make it fun. This skill, too, comes with practice.

Best wishes as you start your journey. Drop me a line when you have questions. Let me know about your successes and I’ll celebrate with you.

Good luck! (Source: jeffwofford.com)