作者：Jillian Werner

尽管近来游戏主题层出不穷，但不少题材则随着主要成功作品趋向极限则再无突破发展。

虽然各种类别都有特例存在（游戏邦注：尤其是小说游戏），但由于相应原创作品的稀缺与改变需求的加大，许多题材也逐渐走向萧条。

无尽奔跑模式

Temple Run(from gamezebo)

经典作品：《Temple Run》

对许多玩家而言，《Temple Run》是首款也是唯一的无尽奔跑游戏。甚至那些从未想过会被这种简单街机机制吸引的玩家也深深沉浸在这种流畅且无休止的玩法中，它会不断引诱你再次尝试，只求跑得更远。《Temple Run》的热门无疑取决于其正确做法，无论是游戏内置用于升级的金币，还是逐步提升的挑战难度，因此不少游戏纷纷试图效仿。

转折点：《Temple Run：Brave》

也许该领域并不缺乏无尽奔跑游戏，但不少作品只是借助《Temple Run》的巨大成功以求获得关注，其中最显著的例子当数《Temple Run：Brave》，它基本上是换了外表的《Temple Run》（且由原班团队开发！）。《Temple Run》的成功令某些开发者相信，只要推出具有相似玩法的游戏，无论其主题多么荒谬，或操控方式多么糟糕，便能保证一炮而红。当然也存在特例：比如《Last Knight》是基于奔跑题材并注入新鲜元素的游戏，只有奖励玩法会令人想起《Temple Run》，《Canabalt》这款先驱仍为我们带来许多乐趣。除非这些游戏能比《Rapper Run》更加标准，否则，奔跑题材将会继续缓慢发展，淡出人们视线。

连线消除模式

match3(from gamezebo)

经典作品：《宝石迷阵》

夸张地讲，这款连线消除系列作品为那些效仿者设置了入门槛。作为融入狂热奖励系统的标准休闲连线消除模式，将休闲类型发挥到极致的《宝石迷阵》吸引了大批用户，而且在推出12年来，仍致力于在Xbox LIVE Arcade与Steam平台上吸引玩家。

转折点：《Puzzle Quest：Challenge of the Warlords》

作为连线消除模式与RPG元素的混合，《Puzzle Quest》的巨大成功引起大量类似游戏蜂拥而入。目前，连线题材已与各种游戏类型混合，其中包括填字游戏，平台游戏，寻物游戏，而更多的是RPG游戏。虽然其中不少（游戏邦注：比如《Puzzle Quest》）具有独特的体验模式，但这种现象导致的结果是，为了创新，该题材已失去本质。尤其在其仅成为整个游戏机制中的一小部分后，连线消除题材已逐渐隐退，也许那时的我们认识到这样能为更多大型RPG游戏腾出空间。

免费增值模式：

freemium(from gamezebo)

经典作品：《Farmvile》

无论你是否喜爱这款作品，我们都不能否认《Farmvile》对免费增值题材的普及与大幅增长做出的贡献。之前，Facebook上的等待体验（或付费体验）游戏已吸引大量非游戏玩家体验这种重视奖励机制的简单社交体验模式，玩家在此只需点击，而且多数时间是在享受。

转折点：《Cow Clicker》

尽管该作的初衷是以幽默口吻，独创性地讽刺《Farmvile》这些现代社交游戏（称其为定义免费增值游戏的唯一原则），但《Cow Clicker》却取得飞跃性成功。虽然起初，粉丝们是喜爱它的讽刺性，但那些仍逗留于此，且渴求更多性能与母牛的玩家实则已真正沉浸在这种每6小时点击母牛的体验模式中。他们会购买游戏内置物品，比如为了奶牛稍微转个方向支付20美元。并发送相关垃圾邮件。因此，该类题材的真相越发凸显出来：即我们几乎会点击并购买所有物品，只要它以奖励形式出现。如果它真的属于现代免费增值题材，那么我们会开始要求更多颜色的奶牛。

KRPG模式（即韩国RPG模式）

krpg(from gamezebo)

经典作品：《泽诺尼亚传奇》系列

作为横跨7个平台的5款系列作品，《泽诺尼亚传奇》是至今仍获好评的一款KRPG游戏。其动作RPG元素与五彩缤纷的16位风格图画，以及叙事与有趣的情节与角色，总会令人想起超级任天堂时代。其中还设置大量支持玩家重玩当前关卡的技能升级、装备与内置选项，而且具有长时的可玩价值。

转折点：没有案例

上述有关《泽诺尼亚传奇》的描述几乎涉及了KRPG的各个方面，但问题是，尤其在移动平台上，KRPG游戏的数量不计其数，并且已绑定该平台。由于陷入与怪兽收集题材相似的困境，因此KRPG游戏已经开发出自己的一系列标准，不再是设置一道基准线。虽然这造福于该题材的粉丝（假如你喜爱《泽诺尼亚传奇》，你当然会欣赏《Wild Frontier》、《CrimsonHeart》、《Destinia》、《Inotia》与其它相似作品），然而，缺乏一定变化势必会造成游戏过时，玩家永远无法得到满足。

怪兽收集

monster collection(from gamezebo)

经典作品：《口袋妖怪》

这类游戏无疑也能称作“口袋妖怪题材”，这应归结于任天堂的口袋妖怪系列带来的影响力与统一基准。基于RPG模式的《口袋妖怪》会将玩家送往世界各地，他们收集并训练自己的精灵团队，而后同其它怪兽作战。目前，《口袋妖怪》已成为上百款盲目模仿者的先驱与灵感来源，而其中的部分问题是，他们从未真正了解这款作品。

转折点：《Haypi Monster》

《Haypi Monster》是其中一款在iOS平台上最出色的怪兽战斗游戏，因为它是此平台上最优秀的口袋妖怪题材。不少开发者试图以自己方式改造《口袋妖怪》，因为该作的成功与巨大成就令他们误以为在允许盗版的情况下，自己的怪兽收集游戏应与《口袋妖怪》如出一辙。甚至任天堂也鲜少脱离自己的原创作品：《口袋妖怪》的每个系列只呈现出更新画面与全新怪兽。如果该题材无法继续突破其17年来的创新理念，那么它只是《口袋妖怪》。（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）

5 Genres that have Reached Their Limit

by Jillian Werner

Despite the seemingly never-ending supply of themes that appear in gaming these days, many genres have become quite comfortable in their tropes, following the lead of successful entries to a tired fault.

Although there are exceptions—and surprisingly novel games—in every category, these genres in particular have become stagnate, with original games becoming rarer and hope for change becoming greater every day.

Endless Runner

Will be remembered for: Temple Run

Temple Run was the first, and often only, endless runner for many players.  Even gamers who never expected to be drawn in by its simple arcade mechanics became hooked on the fluid, nonstop gameplay that consistently pushed you to get just a little bit farther.  Temple Run did nearly everything right to reach the popularity it did, from in-game coins that could be spent on upgrades to a gradual yet still challenging increase in difficulty, and many (many) games attempted to follow suit.

The breaking point: Temple Run: Brave

There’s no shortage of endless runners that probably shouldn’t exist, that are just trying to ride the coattails of Temple Run’s astronomical success, but none so obvious as Temple Run: Brave—a nearly identical clone of Temple Run with a new coat of Disney varnish (and developed by the same team behind the original!)  Temple Run’s success has led some (even huge) developers to believe that merely popping out a game with similar gameplay trappings guarantees an instant hit, no matter how ridiculous its subject is or painful its controls are.  There are clear exceptions: runners like Last Knight use the genre as the basis for something fresh and reminiscent of Temple Run only in their rewarding gameplay, and predecessors like Canabalt still offer plenty of fun.  Until these are more the norm than games like Rapper Run, however, the runner genre will continue to hobble along, out of air.

Match-3

Will be remembered for: Bejeweled

This bombastic match-3 series set the bar for all others that came after it.  Featuring the standard, laid-back match-3 format combined with an enthusiastic reward system (Incredible!), Bejeweled crossed the casual threshold to bring the genre to mass appeal, and continues to do so twelve years after its creation, on platforms like Xbox LIVE Arcade and Steam.

The breaking point: Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

Puzzle Quest’s massive success as a match-3/RPG hybrid opened up the floodgates for other match-3/gameplay mechanic marriages.  The genre has now been hybridized with every game type under the sun, including word games, platformers, hidden objects, and lots and lots more RPGs.  While many of these (including Puzzle Quest) are exceptional gaming experiences, the result is a genre that has lost its identity in its search for innovation.  Match-3 has practically retired itself by becoming merely a game mechanic piece of a larger whole, and it may be time we acknowledge this bowing out to make room for bigger—and more RPG-y—things.

Freemium

Will be remembered for: Farmville

Love it or hate it, Farmville’s influence on the Freemium genre’s popularity and overwhelming growth cannot be denied.  The Facebook game of wait-to-play (or pay-to-play) attracted previously inconceivable numbers of non-gamers to its simple, reward-heavy, social experience and paved the way for an entire genre of games that require little more than clicking—and lots of time—to enjoy.

The breaking point: Cow Clicker

Despite being an ingenious, tongue-in-cheek attempt to satirize the genre Farmville defined with only the basic tenets of Freemium gameplay, Cow Clicker quickly became a runaway success.  Although the initial fanbase enjoyed Cow Clicker for its irony, the players that stuck around—and demanded more features and cows—were actually playing click-your-cow-once-every-six-hours as a real, addictive game.  In-game purchases, like paying $20 for a cow facing a slightly different direction, were bought.  Cow spam was sent out.  And the truth about this genre became more obvious: that we will click and pay for almost anything, as long as it is presented as a reward.  If this is truly the genre of the modern age, we need to begin demanding more than different colored cows.

KRPGs (Korean RPGs)

Will be remembered for: Zenonia series

With five games in its series spanning seven platforms, Zenonia is one of the best-received Korean RPGs to date.  Its action-RPG elements and colorful 16-bit-style graphics are reminiscent of the Super Nintendo era, along with its epic yet ultimately playful plot and characters.  Tons of skill upgrades, equipment, and in-game choices allow for replay value beyond its initial—and already lengthy—playability.

The breaking point: Nothing/Everything

The description of Zenonia above could be about almost any KRPG, and this is the issue:  there are untold numbers of KRPGs available, especially on mobile, and yet they all blend together.  Falling into a trap similar to the monster collection genre, KRPGs have developed their own set of standards which go beyond merely setting a baseline for the games: they define them.  While this can be a boon for fans of the genre—if you like Zenonia, you’re sure to enjoy Wild Frontier, CrimsonHeart, Destinia, Inotia, and many others—the lack of variation is bound to lead to a staleness that players will not be contented with forever.

Monster Collection

Will be remembered for: Pokémon

This category of games could easily be called “the Pokémon genre,” thanks to the influence and consistent benchmark provided by Nintendo’s pocket monsters series.  Built on an RPG base, Pokémon sends players around the world, collecting and training their team of fantastical beasts to do battle with other monsters.  It has been the predecessor and inspiration to hundreds of copycats (copyMews?) and imitators that never quite capture the je ne sais quoi of Pokémon: and that’s part of the problem.

The breaking point: Haypi Monster

Haypi Monster is one of the best monster-battling games to come out on iOS, and the reason?  It’s the closest we’ve come to Pokémon on the platform.  Plenty of developers have tried to recreate Pokémon in their own way, and yet—why?  The success and elevation of Pokémon to its own golden pedestal has trapped developers in the belief that their collectible monster-catching game has to be as identical to Pokémon as copyright infringement will allow.  Even Nintendo rarely deviates from their original creation: each entry in the Pokémon series has upgraded graphics, new monsters, and little else.  If this genre is unable to consistently innovate beyond its 17 year-old inspiration, it really will become the Pokémon genre, and little else.(source:gamezebo)