游戏邦在:
杂志专栏:
gamerboom.com订阅到鲜果订阅到抓虾google reader订阅到有道订阅到QQ邮箱订阅到帮看

开发者可使用16位图像制作优秀的低成本游戏

发布时间:2012-09-22 15:14:33 Tags:,,,,,

作者:Jeff Vogel

在PAX展会上参观的一周时间内,我目睹了不少出色的游戏素材,遇见了不少游戏行业中的大人物,同时也见到我所制作游戏的粉丝。

看完展会上众多具有发展前景的独立游戏后,我的内心产生了不少顿悟。其中最大的感受是:

16位图像是一个非常出色的元素,应有更多的独立者将其注入自己制作的游戏中。

community(from jeff-vogel)

community(from jeff-vogel)

如果你只是一个小型的游戏开发者,那么你会遇到一个大问题。你想让游戏看起来充满质感,而图像的制作成本又极其昂贵。16位图像解决了低预算的小型开发团队的这一难题:在短时间内以最低成本制作出一款颇具价值的游戏。

以下是制作任天堂式16位图像的好处:

1.可行性。多年来,开发者已使用这一元素创造出不少杰出之作。

2.效果。你会惊奇地发现,只需一些精选像素,你就可以制作出引发共鸣的图像。

3.成本低,且制作时间短。一名有能力的美工就可以在合理的时间内制作出一款游戏的所有图像。

4.怀旧感。对所有时代的玩家而言,这些图像给人温暖与舒适的感觉。

5.有了第4点,他人就没有正当理由来攻击你的图像效果。

6.多功能性。只要处理得当,你就可以在16位图像中混合更多细节和3D效果。《幻想战记》就是这些元素融合打造出的佳作。

news-rainslick(from jeff-vogel)

news-rainslick(from jeff-vogel)

目前,这种图像风格被认为是纯复古元素,可能有种说法:“看!我们的游戏看起来就像任天堂的风格!我们真傻!”但是我认为16位图像的效果会更加出色。现在,已经有许多游戏引入这一元素,它们还将扩散到更多的游戏中。我想,越多的开发者使用16位图像,它们就越有可能成为完全合理的艺术风格,然后被更多预算不足,但前程光明的设计师所采用。

独立开发者们,不要害怕制作出低成本的游戏!这是你们神圣的权利与责任!(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 Indie Games Can Be Cheap and Awesome

by Jeff Vogel

I got to go to PAX over the weekend and be on a panel and see cool gaming stuff and meet lots of cool people and fans of my games. One of the things I learned is that a lot of people actually read my blog. This is very gratifying. Although it terrifies me that anyone thinks my opinion is in any way significant.

PAX is great, of course. Though it is in the unenviable position of being permanently unable to satisfy the massive demand for tickets.

(Sure, its success will probably invite others to copy it with their own gaming cons, but those dopplegangers won’t be the same without the presence of all the big companies showing off their stuff. And big companies won’t go to a lot of cons, as they need to set aside at least a little time to make games. So, from now on, if you manage to score a PAX badge, just cherish it, knowing that your attendance the following year is unlikely. Just think of PAX as a hot but extremely unstable boy/girlfriend.)

I had a lot of little epiphanies while looking at the many, many highly promising indie games on display at PAX. (The PAX 10 looked cool as always, but the much flashier Indie Megabooth next door seemed to be sucking up its oxygen.) And here is the biggest one:

16-bit graphics are an awesome thing, and more indies should use them.

If you don’t know what 16-bit graphics are, think early Nintendo/Super Nintendo. If that still doesn’t ring a bell, look here. Or here. Or here. Or especially here.

If you are a small game developer, you have a big problem. You want your game to look great. But graphics can be expensive. Or very expensive. 16-bit graphics solve the great mystery of writing a game with a small team and no budget: making decent production values cheaply in a short amount of time.

Here is what 16-bit Nintendo-style graphics have going for them:

1. They work. Heck, people wrote awesome games using them for years.

2. They look good. It’s amazing how evocative an icon you can make with a few well-chosen pixels.

3. They’re cheap and quick to make. One talented artist can produce a game’s worth in an entirely reasonable amount of time.

4. You have the power of nostalgia working for you. To a whole generation of gamers, those icons are as warm and comforting as a Snuggie.

5. Because of #4, anyone who takes cheap shots at your graphics looks like a jerk.

6. Versatility. With care, they can blend with much more detailed and 3-D effects. Fez is a fantastic example of this. You don’t have to be pure when you use this style.

Right now, this style of graphics is seen as a pure nostalgia play, a way of saying, “Look! We look like a Nintendo game! We’re silly! Tee hee!” But I think 16-bit graphics are better than that. They’ve been used in a million great games, and they can be used in a million more. The more people use them, the more they will be seen as an entirely legitimate art style, which in turn will make them available to more generations of poor, promising designers.

Indie devs, don’t be afraid to be cheap! It is your sacred right and responsibility as an Indie!”(source:jeff-vogel)


上一篇:

下一篇: