1）据gamaustra报道，社交游戏公司Zynga日前宣布收购Facebook游戏开发商A Bit Lucky，后者最近刚关闭《Lucky Train》和《Lucky Space》这两款Facebook游戏，并将重心转移到基于Unity的多平台游戏《Solstice Arena》。

《Solstice Arena》此后将成为Zynga产品，并发布到平板电脑、Mac和PC平台，但Zynga目前尚未公布该游戏更多详情，仅表示游戏将吸引“中核”群体。

a-bit-lucky(from venturebeat.com)

A Bit Lucky团队的所有20名成员将并入Zynga旧金山工作室，他们将在此继续开发《Solstice Arena》。

2）据gamasutra报道，育碧及LucasArts前创意总监Clint Hocking最近针对复杂游戏为玩家呈现过量信息时这一问题指出，游戏输出丰富、细腻信息的能力已经超过影视内容，而玩家回应这些信息的能力却受到了输入设备和游戏设计的限制。

clint_hocking(from itlounge.eu)

例如，游戏内部的角色可通过微妙的肢体语言，或者改变语调而向玩家传情达意，但玩家却只能用一系列简单的动作进行回应。

有一个解决方法就是提供能够让玩家通过动作、语音甚至是面部表情，表达自己的意图和反应的新型输入设备。另一个方法就是设计不同类型的游戏，例如可使用模拟输入传递更微妙回应的游戏。但这会带来大量新挑战，包括如何设计合适的互动模式，定义游戏目标等。

此外，这个问题是否值得解决，这本身也还是个问题。因为玩家体验与游戏交互之间的不对等性，也可能就是现代单人模式游戏的趣味来源之一。

3）据gamasutra报道，《Left 4 Dead》故事作者Chet Faliszek在最近分享文章中指出，在游戏故事写作中应保持多样性以维持玩家粘性。他们团队从来不会在一个攻略中透露所有内容，因为他们清楚玩家会体验无数次战役，所以他们每回都只泄露一点故事情节。

Left-4-Dead-Chet Faliszek(from totalpcgaming.com)

但这并非Valve公司必须遵守的准则，毕竟每款游戏各有不同。《魔兽争霸2》作家Mar Laidlaw就表示，玩家反复听到同样的故事这一点并无不妥，但不可让每个角色阐述过多台词，而应让其台词具有“标志性”特点。

4）在本周MAU增长最快的Facebook游戏榜单上，Zynga游戏《ChefVille》再次登顶，新增880万MAU，增幅达19%。

Top gainers this week-MAU(from AppData)

《Zynga Slingo》排名第二，新增790万MAU，增幅为22%；Kixeye游戏《War Commander》位居第三，新增150万MAU，增幅为63%；Peak Games游戏《Lost Jewels》排名第四，新增104万MAU，增幅为186%；6waves游戏《Bubble Epic》排名第五，新增102万MAU，增幅为364%；发布于本月初的《FarmVille 2》新增64万MAU，增幅为139%。（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）

1）Zynga acquires A Bit Lucky to tap into ‘mid-core’ social games

By Tom Curtis

In an effort to expand into new genres and attract more players, social game giant Zynga has acquired A Bit Lucky, once Facebook-exclusive developer that focuses on bringing hardcore game genres to casual audiences.

The California studio originally made a name for itself with Facebook games like Lucky Train and Lucky Space, though just a few months ago the team decided to shut down those titles to focus exclusively on its new Unity-based multiplatform title, Solstice Arena.

The game will now become part of Zynga’s catalog, and will be available on tablets, Mac, and PC. Current details about the game are sparse, and Zynga did not clarify whether the PC and Mac versions will be available via the web or as client-based downloads.

Zynga did mention, however, that games like Solstice Arena will appeal to a ‘mid-core’ player demographic, and will help the company expand beyond its more casual social titles on Facebook and mobile.

Zynga manager Bill Jackson told us, “When we’re talking about ‘mid-core’ games, we’re talking about deeper, rich gameplay experiences that are attractive to a wide range of players, but are definitely enjoyed by core gamers as well. Think deep strategy gameplay…but broadened for the more casual audience.”

A Bit Lucky’s social RTS Lucky Space tried to do just that one year ago, blending hardcore strategy mechanics with the accessibility of a traditional Facebook title. While the game never saw explosive growth, studio founders Frederic Descamps and Jordan Maynard believe that Zynga’s social expertise and advanced infrastructure will help them bring these types of experiences to a wider audience.

“I think there’s a very interesting opportunity in mid-core multiplatform games,” Descamps told us, “We’ve seen what it can do with [the Zynga-published] Horn… And Zynga has really unsurpassed expertise when it comes to operating very large-scale games, scaling them up, marketing them to gamers, etcetera. The combination of that plus our expertise in making great games I think will be really interesting.”

Zynga did not disclose the exact terms of the acquisition, but said that all 20 members of A Bit Lucky’s Team will become part of Zynga San Francisco, where they will continue to develop Solstice Arena. The studio joins other recent Zynga acquisitions including Draw Something’s Omgpop, mobile studio Wild Needle, and numerous others.

Zynga’s Jackson also pointed out that A Bit Lucky is just one of several teams working on developing games for new audiences. Just recently, Mortal Kombat co-creator John Tobias joined Zynga San Diego to create another mid-core title, and Civilization veteran Soren Johnson joined Zynga’s Baltimore branch earlier this year to create a new, unannounced project of his own.

Over the past several months, Zynga’s taken a lot of flak for its slow performance on Facebook, and while the company would not acknowledge this criticism outright, this move toward ‘mid-core’ development certainly implies that Zynga’s looking to find new paths to success beyond its traditional hits like FarmVille, CityVille, or Words With Friends.（source:gamasutra）

2）Is limited interaction in games actually a problem?

By Eric Caoili

“A game’s capacity to output rich, nuanced information exceeds that of film or television, yet a player’s capacity to reply with equivalently rich and nuanced statements is massively constrained by our input devices and our game designs.”

- Former Ubisoft and LucasArts creative director Clint Hocking explains the “Fat Pipe-Thin Pipe” problem with games that limit the ability of players to react to the rich information presented in today’s complex games.

For example, an in-game character can communicate emotions to players through subtle body language (e.g. pupils dilating, blushing), or a change in the tone of their voice, yet players often have only a limited range of actions they can respond with.

One way to solve the problem is to increase the bandwidth for players, which can be accomplished with new input devices that enable players to communicate their intentions and reactions through motion, voice, or even facial expressions.

Another way is to design different sorts of games, perhaps ones that take advantage of the analog inputs to deliver more nuanced reactions. But that leads to a variety of new challenges, such as trying to figure out appropriate interaction models, defining the goals of these games, etc.

And there’s also the question of whether or not this is a problem that needs to be fixed. Maybe that inequality in bandwidth players experience with games, or the absurdity of responding to nuanced scenarios with simple reactions, is what makes modern single-player games so entertaining?（source:gamasutra）

3）Valve’s secrets to writing Left 4 Dead and Dota 2

By Staff

“We never try and say everything in one playthrough, because we know people will play the same campaign multiple times, so we can leak out bits of story each time.”

- Left 4 Dead writer Chet Faliszek

Many critics and gamers praised the way that Left 4 Dead offers up meaningful interaction between characters and deep characterization without interrupting the game’s action.

In a new Gamasutra feature on game writing Faliszek says that keeping variety in writing for a game people will play a lot is key to player engagement.

This, however, is not a hard-and-fast rule at Valve; each game is different. Faliszek’s comments are counterpointed by those of his colleague, Dota 2 scribe Marc Laidlaw — who says that ultimately, you have to accept that players will hear the same things again and again, and that’s okay.

While he considered having a huge variety of lines for each character, he had to let go of the plan and aim for “iconic” dialogue instead.

“I was worried that having too many lines per character would dilute the impact, and make it less likely that any one line would become iconic,” says Laidlaw.

“This turned out to be less of a concern because so many people play Dota 2, for so many hours, and in so many possible combinations of characters, that even its great variety effectively gets ground down to a small set for any one individual. Each fan can still connect to a few favorite iconic lines, even if they’re different for everyone.” （source:gamasutra）

4）ChefVille continues to lead fastest-growing Facebook games by MAU

Mike Thompson

Zynga’s ChefVille once again came out on top of this week’s list of fastest-growing Facebook games by monthly active users with 8.8 million MAU, a 19 percent gain.

Zynga Slingo took the No. 2 spot with 7.9 million MAU, a 22 percent gain. Kixeye’s War Commander secured the No. 3 spot with 1.5 million MAU for a 63 percent increase. Peak Games’s Lost Jewels managed to come in at No. 4 with 1.04 million MAU, a 186 percent gain. Finally, 6waves’s Bubble Epic took the No. 5 spot with 1.02 million MAU for a 364 percent increase.

Zynga’s FarmVille 2, which launched earlier this month, sees its debut on our list now that advertising and cross-promotion seems to have been turned on for the game; the sequel is up by 640,000 MAU for a 139 percent traffic swell this week.

Four other games on this week’s list showed traffic percentage gains greater than 30 percent. Williams Interactive’s Jackpot Party Casino was up by 400,000 MAU for a 33 percent increase. Disney Playdom’s Threads of Mystery brought in 370,000 MAU for a 62 percent growth. Murzik’s Bubble Pirate Quest continues to grow, snagging 230,000 MAU this week for a 40 percent increase. Finally, RockYou’s Hug Me saw a 240 percent traffic increase with 110,000 MAU.（source:insidesocialgames）