作者：Kris Graft

Jesse Schell在2010年DICE峰会上发表了一篇精彩，且令人震惊的演讲，他预测了未来的游戏将融入日常生活中，甚至让人们难以摆脱。

然而，2013年的DICE峰会并没有传递出游戏化这种反乌托邦理念，而是涉及了游戏开发商有能力带领人们进入乌托邦社会。

CMU娱乐技术中心教授兼Schell Games工作室（游戏邦注：制作了《Puzzle Clubhouse》）创始人Schell首次回顾了其在2010年的演讲，并指出其中谈及的某些正确与错误的内容。

在2010年，他指出Zynga应进军博彩领域，Zynga也的确这么做了。3年前，他预示人们将会去求证这一模糊理念的真实性，并以碧昂斯在总统就职仪式上假唱国歌引起的愤怒为例，他说道：“我们仍然很难理解什么是真实性。”

Schell补充道：“与此同时，我也曾说过iPad是种愚蠢设备……因为它就像是扩大版的瑞士军刀。”他认为人们不会有想要的念头。然而这一想法却是错误的，因为目前平板电脑“已经完全充斥着人们的生活（继游戏主机后）。”

游戏化与心理

Schell在2010年DICE峰会上最受欢迎的演讲内容当数游戏化方面——未来人们可能会因节约汽油或刷牙而获得外部奖励。

Schell表示，不少人透露其创建公司的初衷便是源于他对游戏化解释。他说道：“我曾说过：‘不要把所有责任都归咎到我头上，我不需要这份光彩！’”

他把游戏化比作“巧克力”。巧克力固然美味，但将其添加到白干酪上却无法提高干酪的口感。游戏也是如此，纵使它尤为出色，但若平白无故与刷牙扯在一起也不会迎来可观结果。

“游戏并不会让一切事物变得更加美好，因此你必须做出明智选择。”

Schell争辩道，游戏开发者总是无法理解电子游戏心理学，即推动玩家采取行动，滋生欲望的动机是什么。

游戏领域经常出现的一大重要心理现象便是“计划”。“当你在玩家头脑中植入某个计划后，他们便会利用它。”比如，他认为在《魔兽世界》中，当他人看到玩家身披装备时，他们便会计划投入更多时间去获得这些装备。这便是利用计划。

游戏vs软件

仍有不少人认为游戏即为软件。但Schell始终坚持两者存在差异。好比能够编写出杰出税收程序并不代表他能够打造出优秀作品。

软件履行“不得不做某事”的情感；而电子游戏则注重“欲望”方面。比如你“不得不”缴纳税收；你“想要”从电子游戏中获得愉悦。软件试图避免消极结果，而电子游戏则努力寻找积极结果。人们体验电子游戏是为了抵达乌托邦社会，而不是为了缴税。

utopia（from profilekiss）

乌托邦

Schell表示，电子游戏开发者有望引领人们进入乌托邦社会。但是像《FarmVile》等游戏却不能做到这一点。社交游戏的一个机制是让玩家向Facebook好友展示自己庄稼歉收。但这却是一种羞辱策略。

Schell表示：“它们向你允诺乌托邦世界，你却发现自己陷入囚困中。”

他指出《天际》会因采取免费模式而变得一团糟（设想下在这个庞大美丽的世界中四处付费，而不是事先付费再开启世界）。Schell以《暗黑破坏神》为例，指出其拍卖屋破坏了游戏体验——以1.15美元购买一把剑并不会带给玩家英雄主义感。那并不是乌托邦世界。

他表示：“人们希望预先付费……他们愿意为了进入乌托邦世界而有所牺牲。事实上，人类所具有的共同特征是每天都在期待乌托邦世界。”

无论是政治家，传道士，教师，毒贩，还是鞋子推销员，他们都在努力销售乌托邦，并拉拢了大批顾客。

由此可见，游戏开发商在此掌握了特殊商机。“我们打造出虚拟世界。而后说道‘来我们的世界吧，它比现实世界更加精彩。’”

那么游戏是如何传递乌托邦理念的？其中一种方法便是采用立体3D效果，但这种老套技术（源于1849年）并不能打造出色体验。

Schell指出：“我认为应采用5.1这种立体声技术。如此不仅能让富足的玩家有所体会，同时其他人也能够每隔一段时间访问一次。”

另外还有增强现实感的眼镜。人们预想中的游戏应是《魔兽世界》与Foursquare的结合体，但Schell对此回复道：“我认为我们已实现这种设想，它便是LARPing。”他不太相信增强现实技术能传递乌托邦理念。

那么通往乌托邦世界的关键是什么？Schell指出：

神奇界面，类似iPad：最近传统游戏主机控制器似乎过时了。

公平付费：“在乌托邦世界中，不要计较玩家的几个小钱。”

更少人工，更多智能。

家人与好友：在乌托邦世界中，你可以与喜欢的人们闲逛。

转换：“当完成游戏后，我便会变成自己所钟意的状态。”

Schell表示：“我们正向享受型经济模式转变。没有人比游戏开发者更擅于享受。虚假营销言语将不再有效。事实上，仅靠出色作品也是远远不够的。”

那么对Schell而言，怎样才算足够？“如果你可以向人们展示通往乌托邦世界的路径，并说服他们自己并未忘记抵达渠道，他们便会紧随你的步伐。”（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）

Jesse Schell holds the keys to video game utopia

by Kris Graft

In 2010, Jesse Schell took the DICE Summit stage in a fascinating — and kind of frightening — talk in which he envisioned a future where games were so ingrained with every day life, you couldn’t escape them even if you wanted to.

But today at DICE 2013, the message wasn’t about a gamified dystopia, but about how game developers have the power to take people to utopia.

Schell, professor at CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center and founder of studio Schell Games (Puzzle Clubhouse), first took a quick look back at his 2010 talk; there were some things that he mentioned that he got both right and wrong.

In 2010, he said Zynga should get into gambling — and Zynga did (so he also kindly requested 5 percent royalties). Three years ago, he also said that people chase after this ambiguous idea of authenticity. Citing outrage over Beyonce’s lipsyncing during the presidential nomination, he said, “We’re still confusedly grasping at authenticity.”

Schell added, “I also said the iPad was stupid… because it was like an oversized Swiss Army knife.” He didn’t think people would want it. He was totally wrong there, as tablets are now “potentially choking the life [out of game consoles].”

Gamification and psychology

The most popular part of his 2010 DICE talk was regarding gamification — a future where people would be extrinsically rewarded by conserving gasoline or brushing their teeth.

Schell said he has people come up to him and say they started up companies because of that gamification commentary. “I said, ‘Don’t blame me for that shit, I don’t want any part of it!’” Schell said, throwing his hands in the air.

He compared gamification to “chocofication.” Chocolate is great, but adding it to cottage cheese isn’t going to make cottage cheese better. Games are great, but adding it to tooth brushing isn’t going to yield great results.

“[Games don't] make everything better — you have to add them judiciously.”

Game developers don’t always understand the psychology of video games — what drives player to do what they do, to want what they want, argues Schell.

One important psychological phenomenon that happens in games is the “plan.” “When you put a plan in somebody’s mind, they seize on it.” For example, he said in World of Warcraft, people will see a player with tricked out armor, then they plan to invest lots of time to get that armor. They seize on a plan.

Games vs. Software

There are still people who treat games like software. Schell was adamant when he said they are not the same at all. Just because somebody can write a great tax program doesn’t mean that they can make a great game.

Software fulfills the sentiment of “hafta”; video games focus on the “wanna.” You “hafta” do your taxes; you “wanna” be entertained by a video game. Software tries to avoid a negative consequence, while video games seek out a positive consequence. People play video games to get to utopia, not to do their taxes.

Utopia

Video game developers have the opportunity to bring people to utopia, Schell said. This is where games like FarmVille fail. One of the social network game’s mechanics was to show all of your Facebook friends that your crops failed. It’s a humiliation tactic.

“These games promise you utopia, and you find yourself in chains,” said Schell.

He said that Skyrim would suck with a free-to-play model (imagine paying bits of money here and there in this huge, beautiful world, instead of opening it all up for an upfront fee). He used Diablo as an example of an experience spoiled by its auction house — buying a sword for $1.15 doesn’t give players a sense of heroism. That’s not utopia.

“People want to pay one price upfront… People are willing to sacrifice to get into utopia,” he said. “The thing that every human being has in common is that every single one of us, every day, is looking for utopia.”

Politicians, preachers, teachers, drug dealers, the shoe salesman — all of these people are trying to sell utopia, and they have plenty of customers.

So, game developers have a special opportunity here, in providing utopia. “We make virtual worlds. We say, ‘Come to our world, it’s better than the real world.’”

How are some ways that games have tried to deliver utopia? One method was stereoscopic 3D, but that old tech (from 1849, Schell notes) just isn’t that great of an experience.

“I think it’s going to be like 5.1 stereo. Rich nerds will have it and the rest of us will visit them every once in a while,” Schell said.

Then there are augmented reality glasses. People imagine a game that could be Foursquare plus World of Warcraft, but he has an answer to that: “I’ve seen Foursquare plus World of Warcraft — it’s called LARPing.” He’s not terribly convinced by augmented reality.

So what are the keys to utopia? According to Schell:

- Magical interfaces, like the iPad: Traditional game console controllers seem old-fashioned these days.

- Fair payment: “In utopia, you don’t screw people out of nickels and dimes.”

- Less A, more I: More intelligence; less artificiality.

- Family and friends: In utopia, you’re hanging out with people you like.

- Transformation: “When I come out of the game on the other side, I’m more of the person who I want to be now.”

“We’re shifting into an enjoyment-based economy. And no one else is better at enjoyment than game developers,” Schell said. “Fake marketing bullshit is not going to work anymore. … In fact, making a good game isn’t enough anymore.”

So for Schell, what is enough? “If you can show people the way to utopia, if you can convince them that you haven’t forgotten how to get there, that you know the way, then they will follow you anywhere that you want to lead them.”(source:gamasutra)