作者：Jon Jordan

Supercell堪称2012年行业中的一匹黑马，它在6月份之前尚未发行任何一款iOS游戏，但自从8月份以来，它旗下已有两款游戏跻身畅销榜单前列，该公司现在日收益已经超过50万美元。

其农场游戏《Hay Day》表现不俗，但真正令该公司脱颖而出的却是3D城建及PVP游戏《Clash of Clans》。

该游戏产品主管Lasse Louhento在最近采访中介绍了这款游戏来源及未来发展计划。

《Clash of Clans》的创作灵感是什么？

我们有许多灵感来源。其玩法主要受到《Travian》和《Backyard Monsters》这两者的启发。

至于视觉效果，我们希望创造独特的奇幻场景，以便游戏吸引广泛的玩家群体，而不仅是战略游戏粉丝。对此我们主要参考了一些旧款SNES和街机游戏（游戏邦注：包括《Advance Wars》和《Gauntlet》）的美术效果。

Supercell原先的Facebook游戏《Gunshine》对这款游戏有没有什么影响？

实际上，这种影响比你想象的还要多。《Gunshine》让我们清楚如何让一款多人模式，战斗型游戏实现平衡。

并且，从技术角度上看，《Clash of Clans》与《Gunshine》也多有相似之处，例如游戏的客户端服务器技术。

游戏在开发过程中的理念或玩法元素变化大吗？

不算大。我们一开始就在两个月内做出了全公司的可玩样本，除了部落元素，那个样本中包含了所有基本玩法内容。

在玩了一整个周末后，我们看到公司所有人都为之着迷，我们就知道自己走对路了。但是，我们还是没有想到竟然会有这么多玩家喜欢这款游戏。

它一开始就是3D游戏吗？你认为这一点对它的成功有没有影响？

《Clash of Clans》的主要目标就是以可玩性为重。

我们的摄像视角比类似的游戏要高许多，这样在建设和编辑城镇的时候会更容易一点。

游戏美术采用的是预渲染3D技术，3D模型的一大好处在于它很容易让我们针对新iPad的Retina分辨率渲染内容。

游戏开发时间有多长？你们使用了哪些工具？

从开工到初次发布一共历时6个月。团队原先只有5个成员，但临近发布游戏时又扩展到了8个人。

所有的客户端代码都是用Objective-C和C++来编写，服务器代码用的是Java。游戏图像是使用3D Max、Photoshop和Flash创造。《Clash of Clans》的开发工作远未结束，未来我们还将推出很棒的更新内容。

在这个过程中你们克服了哪些主要问题？

从许多方面来说，这是一个异常的项目。其中一个原因就是它没有出现什么主要问题。

对于这样一个小规模团队来说，它确实需要我们投入大量精力，但我们却仍能够专注于最重要的任务，并实现我们自己想玩的多人战略游戏的初始想法。

你们如何实现单人模式和多人模式的平衡，玩家在这两种模式中分别投入多少时间？

《Clash of Clasn》本质上是多人模式游戏，但经过一些焦点小组测试后，我们发现仅有多人模式战役并不够，尤其是在游戏初始阶段，所以我们在开发末期阶段又添加了单人模式。

90%的战役属于多人模式战斗，但单人任务也是游戏中极具意义的环节（即使是在末期的关卡中）。玩家可以从单人模式任务中收获有价值的资源，并将其运用于多人模式游戏中。

比起许多类似的2D游戏，《Clash of Clans》是一款较为简单的PVP城建游戏（至少从玩法、战略、资源、单位数量上来看）？是否会担心硬核玩家认为游戏过于简单？

我很高兴听到你说《Clash of Clans》令人感觉比许多其他战略游戏更为简单。我们的主要目标之一就是制作一款简单易上手，但实际上颇具深度的游戏。

因为有许多这种题材的游戏都很复杂，所以我们才决定不走寻常路。

过早呈现复杂性可能会吓退一些只想玩休闲游戏的用户，并且也会影响整个游戏体验。例如，游戏中只提供两种建设资源，更容易让玩家理解建设链条，他们只需争夺两种资源，而非更多种资源。

玩家可以随心所欲地布置自己的村庄和陷阱，这实际上也可以产生更多种PVP对抗玩法。我们还会不断通过更新引入Battle Spells等新功能，就算已经在游戏中逗留数月的玩家，每天也还是能够学到新战术。

你们的内容更新战略是什么？

内容更新是我们发展战略的一个重要部分。我们希望制作出可让玩家享受好一阵子的游戏，以及持续给予玩家回馈的游戏。《Clash of Clans》现在仍处于早期阶段，它还会通过定期更新而发展。

我们目前进行的最大更新是三周前引进的Battle Spells以及战斗回放功能。我们收获了大量用户反馈和改进建设，我们已经有一连串需要添加的新内容。

我们也会经常针对游戏进行一些小规模的更新，以便让所有级别的玩家都能获得平衡。保持游戏公平性和平衡性同提供新内容一样重要。

目前来看，“部落”（Clans）还算人们较少用的理念，你们将如何进一步发展这一理念？

我们打算在未来更新中，为《Clash of Clans》的社交层面多投入一些精力。目前，我们只是触及了将部落添加到玩法体验的表层。

短期来看，我们将在游戏中添加许多较小的改进：部落聊天列表中的事件闪亮功能，例如推广消息、玩家加入或离开，首领和长老还可以掌握一些特权。

部落可以针对想加入的玩家设定一些最少量的战利品贡奉要求，首领和长老可以向非活跃状态的部落成员发送信息，提醒他们在游戏现身。

长期来看，我们计划推出部落竞赛以及部落间的更多互动。除了获取战利品之外，各部落还有许多其他目标，玩家将合作共同实现这些目标。《Clash of Clans》玩家会重返游戏的一个重要原因就是其他玩家（游戏邦注：包括好友和敌人）的存在，所以我们想为他们创造更多互动渠道。

《Clash of Clans》的关键市场在哪？不同地区的玩家之间有何不同特点？

我们的玩家并没有特别集中于世界的哪个国家。我们拥有大量来自各地的休闲及硬核玩家。

这款游戏推出了9个不同语言的版本，我们也考虑在未来添加更多支持语言。本土化策略让我们在欧洲市场收获不少人气。

你们从免费增值模式中获得哪些经验？

最重要的是记住，玩家希望能够不花钱就解琐游戏中的道具。在《Clash of Clans》这种竞争型游戏中，你得确保付费和非付费玩家之间的公平性和平衡性。

如果你制作的是免费增值游戏，那就要确保它真的免费——不要损害那些非付费玩家的游戏体验！

关于这款游戏的成功，最令你们意外的情况是什么？

看到玩家对游戏热情如此高涨，他们对游戏的发展甚为期待，这一切确实令我们受宠若惊。

这也让我们更有动力进一步提升游戏，我们真的很欣慰拥有这么棒的玩家。

Supercell下一步计划是什么？

我们将继续发展和支持《Hay Day》和《Clash of Clash》这两款已发布游戏，我们也已经开启了一些全新的项目。

有了我们首批游戏的成功基础，我们可以将更多很棒的理念转化为玩家喜欢的游戏。我们也一直在寻找更有经验的游戏开发者加入团队，以助我们实现这些目标。

最重要的是，我们将持续制作优秀的游戏！（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）

Chart rush: Making of Clash of Clans

by Jon Jordan

In a year full of competition, it would be hard to argue against Supercell being 2012′s breakout developer.

It hadn’t released any iOS games until June but since August, it’s had two games stuck at the lucrative end of the top grossing charts. Apparently, the company’s now generating over $500,000 a day.

And while its FarmVille evolution Hay Day has performed well, it’s Clash of Clans, its 3D city-building and PVP title, that’s really done the business.

We caught up with product lead Lasse Louhento to get more information about the game’s genesis and its future.

Pocket Gamer: What was the original inspiration for Clash of Clans?

Lasse Louhento: We had many sources of inspiration along the way. For gameplay, the most important were Travian and Backyard Monsters.

As for visual style, we wanted to create a unique fantasy setting that would make the game appealing to a wide variety of players, not just strategy game fans. Some of our main art references are from old SNES and arcade games, such as Advance Wars and Gauntlet.

How much did Supercell’s previous experience with Facebook game Gunshine influence the game?

Actually, more than you’d think. Gunshine taught us how to balance a multiplayer, combat-oriented game.

Also, from a technical standpoint Clash of Clans has quite a few similarities to Gunshine, for example in the game’s client-server technology.

Did the concept or gameplay change radically during development?

Not really. We had our first company-wide playable demo in just two months from the get-go. All basic gameplay elements except clans were there.

After playing it for a full weekend and seeing the how much everybody at Supercell got into it, we knew we were onto something. However, we couldn’t have imagined just how much players would love it.

Was it always a 3D game and how important do you think this has been for its success?

The main goal with Clash of Clans has always been playability over everything else.

Our camera angle is a lot higher than in similar games to make building and editing of your village as easy as possible.

The game art is pre-rendered 3D. One big advantage of 3D models was that they made it really easy for us to render them in retina resolution for the launch of the new iPad.

How long did development take and what tools did you use?

Six months from start to the first release. Originally we had only five members in the team, but towards release we scaled the team up to eight.

All client code is written in Objective-C and C++, and server code in Java. The game’s graphics are produced using 3ds Max, Photoshop and Flash. Note that I’m using the present tense. Clash of Clans’ development is far from over, so expect some really cool updates in the future!

Where there any major problems you had to overcome?

This has been an exceptional project in many ways. One of them is that there have been no major problems.

It has been a big effort, especially for such a small team, but we were able to focus on the most important task and deliver on our original vision of a multiplayer strategy game that we ourselves want to play.

How did you balance the single player and multiplayer aspects, and what’s the breakdown between the time players spend between the two?

At heart, Clash of Clans is a multiplayer game but after some focus group testing it became quite clear that having just multiplayer battles wouldn’t be enough, especially in the very beginning of the game, so the single player mode was added at a pretty late stage of development.

90 percent of the battles are multiplayer battles, but the single player missions are still a very meaningful part of the game, even in the later levels. Players can grab valuable resources from single player missions to support their multiplayer game.

Clash of Clans is a simpler PVP city-builder than many similar 2D games, at least in terms of gameplay, strategy, resources, number of units etc? Where you worried that hardcore players would find it too easy?

I’m glad you say Clash of Clans feels simpler than many other strategy games. One of our main goals was to make an accessible game that is deep beneath the surface.

Just looking at how complex most games are in this genre made us want to choose a different path.

Too much initial complexity can chase away players looking for a casual game, and it can result in a worse gameplay experience overall. For example, having only two resources makes it easier for players to understand building chains, and fighting for two resources is just as satisfying as for three or five.

Similarly, even though there are just ten different unit types in Clash of Clans, we make better use of them than many other strategy games. All of our units have unique attributes and they complement each other, so that each and every unit stays relevant throughout the game.

The complete freedom to plan your village and place traps as you like results in practically endless variety in player vs. player combat. Add new features like Battle Spells that we keep introducing in updates, and players who have played the game for months can still learn new tactics every day.

What’s your strategy in terms of updates?

Updates are a very important part of our strategy. We want to make games that players can enjoy for a long time, and that keep rewarding players for the time they’ve invested. It’s still early days for Clash of Clans and the game will keep evolving with regular updates.

The biggest update we have done so far is the introduction of Battle Spells and fight replays three weeks ago. We get a ton of player feedback and improvement ideas from players, and we already have a huge list of really cool stuff to be added to the game in the near future.

We also do smaller updates to the game regularly just to keep the game balanced for all players on all experience levels. Keeping the game fair and balanced is just as important as providing new content.

At the moment, the Clans concept is lightly used; just chat and troop donation. How much further can you develop it?

The social aspect in Clash of Clans is where we intend to invest the most effort in future updates. Currently, we’re just scratching the surface of how clans can add to the gameplay experience.

In the short term, you’ll see various smaller improvements: highlighting events in clan chat, such as promotions, players joining and leaving, which helps Leaders and Elders stay on top of things.

Clans can soon set a minimum amount of trophies for players wanting to join, and Leaders and Elders can send personal messages to inactive clan members if they decide to kick them out.

In the longer term, we’re planning clan tournaments and more interaction between clans. As clans have more goals than just amassing trophies, players will want to work together to reach those goals. The most important reason Clash of Clans players keep on returning to the game is other players, both friends and rivals, so we want to give them more ways to play together.

What are the key geographic markets for Clash of Clans and do you see many differences between players from different countries?

There isn’t really any certain part of the globe that stands out. We have a lot of casual players and a lot of hardcore players from pretty much everywhere.

The game is localised in nine different languages, and we’re considering adding more languages in the future. Localisation has helped us to gain popularity in the European markets.

What have you learned about the free-to-play business model?

The important thing to keep in mind is that players want to be able to unlock and upgrade items inside the game without paying. In the case of a competitive game like Clash of Clans, you have to keep it fair and balanced for all players, both paying and non-paying.

If you are making a free-to-play game, make sure it really is free – don’t cripple the experience for those who don’t pay!

What’s been the most surprising thing about the game’s success?

It has been humbling to see how passionately players feel about the game, how much they enjoy playing and how they want to see the game evolve and succeed.

That really gives us a lot of energy to develop the game further. We are extremely grateful to have such great players.

What’s next for Supercell?

We continue to develop and support our two released titles Hay Day and Clash of Clash. We’ve also started some brand new and very exciting projects, so stay tuned!

With the success of our first wave of games, we can turn more of the cool ideas the team has into games for you to enjoy. In fact, we’re always looking for more skilled game developers to join the team and help us make that happen!

The bottom line is that we intend to keep having lots fun and making great games.

Thanks to Lasse for his time.（source：pocketgamer）