作者：Eric Schwarz

我在游戏中有个最不能忍受的问题，不幸的是大多数现代游戏理念似乎都犯了这个忌讳，在制作预算逐渐上涨（为了达到玩家要求的内容描述、玩法优化与时长）的情况下，这些游戏似乎不得不如此行事。话虽如此，但任何时期的作品都难免这个问题，而且我认为这是一种糟糕的设计体现。

当然，我是在说浪费时间的问题，游戏设计师、关卡设计师与编剧会通过人为限制、填充或扩展游戏玩法（造成游戏乐趣丧失），操纵玩家。本文主要以《无冬之夜》为例探讨某些相关事实，包括这类特殊设计无趣的原因，以及在“长时间体验”决定玩法创造的前提下，它们是如何导致最终作品走向平庸。

路线设计

适当时候，“迂回路线”亦可称为“迷宫”、“漩涡”、“长路径”等。而这种关卡设计都有一个共同点：即既定关卡或地点上的设置总是简单直观，相应目标清晰可见，但为了最大化使用范围与关卡规模，关卡设计师会不辞辛劳地增添大量转弯，死胡同等，仅是为了让玩家觉得其规模更大一些。

具体说来，路线设计中的子类型有：

1.迂回曲线。即最终目标清晰可见的一个区域，但为了抵达终点，玩家需不断转弯，甚至跨越整个关卡范围。更甚者不但在冗长回环中设置主要路径，还通过盘旋环绕最大化使用面积。

2.迷宫。即大量曲折环绕，且大部分尽头皆为死胡同的长廊，其中没有清晰有利的位置用来判断正确的行进方向，或是相互关联的地方。而上下视角游戏通常不会这样，因为摄像头能提供更加清晰的视角，但如果范围有限，那么注重可视距离也是个有效之举。

3.路径。即超长、笔直，且完全无趣的关卡，而且不可避免地会有某些偶然事件或情节介入，赋予其意义。此处目标通常极为透明，因为这是其存在的唯一原由，而且不断延伸距离能够延缓玩家抵达终点，完成任务。

4.重复内容。即设计师重复使用相同关卡部分或布局模式，借此毫不费力地扩大游戏内容。你可以在单个关卡或多个关卡（布局相同）上采用这种模式。

可惜，《无冬之夜》有时会在相同玩法范围内，频繁使用这四种方式。其中最常见的关卡设计便是向玩家展示一扇封闭大门，或是指定一间特殊房间，而后他/她需穿过长长走廊，可能还要穿过大量房间（游戏邦注：其数量庞大，足以扩展玩法）。这类游戏的一大特点是在各个走廊或房间内布满成群的敌人与容器，而这只能延长游戏时长。

creator ruins(from gamasutra)

毫不夸张地讲，几乎每个地牢模式都是基于此类设计运行，而且我们也不能忽视那些Creator Ruins，毕竟它们体现出上述特点，甚至连续三次在各个楼道采用同种“谜题模式”。然而我们不该因此设计这种关卡风格，尤其在透明化延长玩法时间意图时。这样的关卡会缺乏乐趣，同时也会迫使玩家重复执行相同任务，最终只会破坏整个游戏。

重复玩法

“再做一遍，笨蛋”引自Shamus Young，而此处则代表其它寓意。虽然Young借此指代那些在你犯错的情况下，迫使你重复同个任务的游戏，同时还会无端地将那些过错强加到玩家身上（比如需要预知才可回避的陷阱），我认为该词语同样体现出一种糟糕玩法。

当然，它指代反复行使的玩法性能。现在，我们知道游戏主要围绕大型系统中的重复机制运作，以此达到胜利状态。如果每款游戏中的各个场景都囊括不同的玩法机制与系统，那么其内容要么相对简短，要么压根不存在这种游戏。可是，大多数时候你可以划清底线，质问道：“真的有必要这样做吗？”

其实，“再做一遍，笨蛋”是那些填充到游戏中，借此扩展复制时间有限的任务，人为延长游戏时间的性能子集。《无冬之夜》中存在这两种事例：

1.打开容器。解锁是RPG游戏中的常见行为，且发挥着关键作用。值得赞扬的是，《无冬之夜》支持玩家借用力量砸破容器。然而，基本上游戏中的各个地点都布满了箱子、木桶等战利品，而且有一半是封闭的。此外，大多数容器中甚少随机生成精美的战利品，尤其在玩家可以使用资金购买所有物品的情况下。虽然情况并不是都这样。首先，许多涉及任务的道具会存放在容器内，这表明，为了不漏掉物品，基本上玩家需要抢夺所有容器。其次，打开一个容器需耗时6秒左右。由于各个房间内通常放置3-5个容器，那便会延长游戏时长，有时则会逼疯玩家。

在过去游戏中，至少50%的容器都是陷阱，而现在作品中的诸多陷阱会以某种方式打晕、麻痹或是限制玩家行动（游戏邦注：通常为期20秒）。因此，你要么被迫扮演能够禁用陷阱的职业，要么随身携带具备此能力的手下，除非你乐意耗费30秒的时间却什么也没做，如果你不想遗漏任何内容，那你必将难免上述情况。

2.战斗。虽然D&D游戏中的战斗应是战术型的刺激模式，但《无冬之夜》并非如此。这主要因为该作塞满激烈战争以及懦弱无能，不带任何杀伤力，但健康值偏长的敌人。事实上，关卡设计师只要在关卡中重复套用相同敌人即可。为了有所出彩，该作还能无止境地复活敌人，这总是十分有趣（也未必如此）。这样便保证战争总能持续30-60秒，但也完全缺乏挑战性，因此操作起来并不有趣。你可以随时离开电脑，回来后你会发现角色已赢得一场战役，我这样做只是为了坚持到最后。

值得注意的是，在游戏第二部分，我们时常会遇到高技能敌人，它会给你带来恐慌，造成角色不受控制，最终死去。这种情况总会持续10-20秒，以此延长游戏时间。虽然你可以通过符咒、药水等抵抗敌人，但大多数擅长战斗的角色职业不会采用高级法术，或是施加增益魔法回避这种结局。

由上可知，《无冬之夜》中的关卡通常需耗费1-5分钟的探索时间，而玩完它们通常需要20-60分钟。此时，游戏中的玩法并不有趣，因为它极其简单，重复，而且完全不会激发玩家的兴奋感。我坚信这是种人为做法，目的是为了达到“80小时的游戏时长！”可惜，这些精心设计的游戏元素其实是种浪费时间的做法，其内容相当枯燥，毫无趣味。

情节设置

有时，设计师不会直接通过游戏或关卡设计延长体验时间。有时这还得归咎于编剧，以及他们构造故事的方式。其实，大多数电子游戏情节都相当简单——其中会有一个坏人，一个好人，它们各有目的，接着，游戏其余情节则在解释为何好人不能直接追逐坏人，走到他/她的房子前，投掷燃烧弹。

显然，《无冬之夜》便是如此。其中，不仅不断展开的故事完全不匹配画面，而且每章的情节都是玩家被迫寻找三种MacGuffins——即拯救瘟疫的配方，证明玩家参加异教的日志，以及召唤黑暗与神奇能力的咒语。

基本脱离不了这几种模式，而且你可以断定，游戏必定会把你派遣到遥远黑暗的地方，去发现这些物品。

问题是，虽然这种情节结构能创造出丰富玩法，但其重复本质会造就重复的玩法与故事情节。由于整个游戏故事均围绕获得MacGuffins进行时，因此我们甚少看到保持故事与玩法新鲜的意外与转折事件。此外，“寻找MacGuffins”情节会导致设计师在情节设置上过于机械化，因为基本上各个部分的情节完全苟同。如果连目标也完全相同，那必然无法实现多样化的场景设计。

Aribeth(from gamasutra)

当然，故事出现过多情节漏洞，角色动机毫无意义，游戏中的难题大同小异并无多大益处。电子游戏情节可以逃脱大量漏洞，同时保持出色与有趣，但如果情节偏向简单，重复，甚至枯燥，那玩家则会着眼于漏洞上。毕竟，如果增加故事深度与乐趣的元素毫无作用，其余的要么是结构瑕疵，要么是简单平淡，那么玩家如何感受到自己在特定时间内采取的行动呢？

总结

幸好，BioWare在创建最近作品的故事与玩法上已进行大量改善，而且本文提到的某些问题已成为过去时。然而，如果有人注意MMORPG或第一人称射击游戏这些现代作品，他们常常会看到游戏采取同样策略，最终造成枯燥玩法，尤其从这些混合内容中抽走所有爆炸场景、脚本序列和过场动画时。（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）

Don’t Waste My Time

by Eric Schwarz

The following blog was, unless otherwise noted, independently written by a member of Gamasutra’s game development community. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of Gamasutra or its parent company.

There’s a particular pet peeve in games which I have.  It’s one which, unfortunately, often seems to be at odds with a lot of more modern games, and often necessitated by the ever-climbing budgets required to achieve the presentation, polish and length of gameplay that gamers demand.  Even so, it can be found in titles from just about any period, and I consider it one of the hallmarks of bad game design.

I’m talking, of course, about time-wasting – the very particular manipulation of players by game designers, level designers and writers, wherein gameplay is artificially limited, bloated or expanded in some way well beyond the point where it is fun.  For this particular article, I’d like to explore a few facets of it, using Neverwinter Nights as a case study to explain how and why this particular breed of design isn’t fun, and how it can lead to a very mediocre final product when “required number of hours” is too much a deciding factor in creating gameplay.

The Roundabout

The “roundabout” can go by any number of names where appropriate – you can also call it “the maze”, “the spiral”, “the path” and so on.  All of these conceits of level design share one particular element: a given level or location has a relatively simple and straightforward layout, usually with a goal in fairly clear sight, but in order to maximize the use of space and the size of the level, the level designers go to the trouble of adding any number of diversions, dead-ends and other routes just to give the player a sense that the level is much bigger than it really is.

In more detail, the sub-types can be described as:

1.The roundabout.  Literally a location where the end goal is clearly visible, but to reach it requires the player to follow a huge diversion, usually spanning almost the entire level’s breadth, just to reach it.  Bonus points if you aren’t just using a big path that goes around in a redundant loop, but also winds and coils excessively to maximize use of floor space.

2.The maze.  Lots of winding, twisting corridors, most of them dead ends, from where there is no clear vantage point to ascertain exactly where to go, or where any one location exists relative to any other location.  Usually mitigated by top-down games, as the camera has a better perspective, but if limited view distance is still a concern it can be just as effective.

3.The path.  An overlong, straight and completely uninteresting level punctuated and given meaning by forced encounters and scenarios which cannot be avoided, bypassed, or even significantly delayed.  Usually extremely transparent because the only reason the path exists, and is as long as it is, is to delay the player from reaching the end point and completing an objective.

4.The copy-paste.  This literally involves game designers using the same level portions or layout again, and again, and again, in order to create two or three times the amount of content for almost no effort whatsoever.  This can apply to sections in an individual level, or multiple levels that share the same layouts.

Neverwinter Nights, unfortunately, frequently uses all four of these, sometimes within the same gameplay span.  One of its most common level designs involves showing the player a locked door, or giving the player a particular room to reach, but then sending him/her off down extremely long hallways, which usually wrap around the extreme edges of the level space, only to then, at the farthest point possible, require the player to them move through a number of individual rooms, which are numerous enough to extend gameplay even more.  A characteristic of this game is to fill almost every single hallway or room with groups of trash enemies and containers to loot, which serve no purpose other than to add more game time (more on that later).

The Creator Ruins in NWN, also known as “how I lost most of my hair.”

I am not exaggerating when I say almost every dungeon takes this design and runs with it, and let’s also not forget those Creator Ruins, which exhibit all of the traits above, up to and including using the exact same “puzzle” on each and every floor, three times in a row.  There really is no good excuse for this style of level design, especially when it is so transparently an attempt to extend gameplay time longer than it should be.  A level which is extremely large for its own sake isn’t fun, nor is forcing the player to perform the same repetitive task over and over, and in the end it can cause more far more harm to a game than good.  Which brings us to…

Do It Again, Stupid

I’m lifting this term from the honorable Shamus Young, although in this case I’d like to appropriate it for a slightly different purpose.  While Young uses the term to refer to games which force you to perform the same gameplay task over and over if you make a mistake, while often outright forcing those mistakes onto the player through no fault of their own (such as traps that require precognition to avoid), I think the term applies equally to another conceit of gameplay.

That is, of course, gameplay features which exist to be performed over… and over… and over again.  Now, we all know that games primarily revolve around repeated mechanics operations within larger systems in order to achieve win states.  If every game featured unique gameplay mechanics and systems for every scenario, that game would either be extremely short, or extremely non-existing.  But, there are also plenty of times where you can draw the line and say “does that really need to be that way?”

“Do it again, stupid” refers to a particularly nasty subset of these features which exists to do nothing but populate a game through extensive, repetitive tasks which are often time-limited in order to artificially extend game time spent.  Neverwinter Nights has two such examples, with a sub-category each:

1.Opening containers.  Lockpicking is a standard RPG gameplay action and one that is pretty much critical.  To its credit, Neverwinter Nights also allows the player to use the Strength stat to bash containers open, as well.  However, almost every single location in the game is positively peppered with chests, barrels, bushes, and other lootables, half of which are regularly locked.  Almost all of these containers have randomly-generated loot of very little consequence, especially as money is so plentiful that the player can buy pretty much anything in the game without all that much effort.  That’s not all, though.  First, many quest-related items are stored in containers, which means that it is basically a requirement to loot every single one in the game in order to not miss anything (or even simply to proceed).  Second, lockpicking takes about 6 seconds, per container.  Multiply this with an average of 3-5 containers per room and you are looking at artificially lengthening gameplay through an arbitrary timer, to the point of inducing psychosis on your players.

1.Past the intro of the game, at least 50% of containers are trapped, and later in the game a good number of these traps will stun, paralyze or debilitate you in some way, often for 20 seconds.  This either forces you to play a class that can disable traps or to take a follower who can (there’s only one or two out of all of them, and you can only have one at once), unless you want to suffer spending regularly half a minute doing absolutely nothing, for something basically completely unavoidable if you don’t want to miss game content.  Thanks, BioWare!

2.Combat.  While combat in D&D games is supposed to be tactical and exciting, in Neverwinter Nights it is anything but.  This is largely because the game is completely crammed full of hack-and-slash filler combat against filler enemies who are extremely easy to kill and do very little damage, but who also have inflated health bars.  This is literally just a level designer copy-pasting the same enemy 100 times throughout a level.  For bonus points, the level can also feature infinitely-respawning enemies too, which is always fun (not).  This all ensures that combat is very frequent, regular and always takes 30-60 seconds, yet also has utterly no challenge to it, so it’s almost never interesting to actually play.  You can literally walk away from the computer and return to find your character has won a battle – I did this all the time just to endure my way to the end of the game.

1.It’s also worth noting that in the second half of the game, many enemies frequently encountered have spells which are capable of stunning you, or better yet, inflicting fear and sending your character running uncontrollably away, often into certain death.  These always last 10-20 seconds, further inflating the time battles take on average.  While they can be resisted through spells, potions, etc., most character classes that excel at combat (and are basically required to play the game comfortably) aren’t going to have high enough saving throws to ever resist these effects, or enough means to do so through buffs.

All of this means that Neverwinter Nights is full of levels which take about 1-5 minutes to explore on foot, yet take regularly 20-60 minutes to play through.  Very little of the gameplay you perform in this time is interesting because it is easy, repetitive in the extreme, and thoroughly uninspiring.  I am pretty much certain this was all a contrived way for them to hit an “80 hours of gameplay!” mark, and unfortunately these game elements, deliberately engineered to waste time, are insultingly boring and un-fun.

The Plot

Sometimes gameplay-lengthening isn’t done directly through game design or level design. Sometimes it also comes down to the writers, and the way in which they construct the narrative.

Let’s face it, most videogame plots are very simple – you’ve got a bad guy, a good guy, motivations for each, and then the rest of the game is filler that has to explain why the good guy can’t just go after the bad guy directly, walk up to his/her house and throw a molotov cocktail at it, etc.

This is no more obvious than in Neverwinter Nights.  Not only are long stretches of the story almost completely irrelevant in the big picture, but every chapter of the game takes the exact same format of the player being forced to hunt down three MacGuffins – whether they’re ingredients to cure a plague, journals to prove the involvement of individuals in a cult, or magic words that command dark and mysterious powers.  It’s always three or four, and you can bet the game will send you to the farthest reaches and darkest depths to uncover each and every one of them.

The problem with this sort of structure to the plot is that while it creates ample gameplay, the repetitive nature also leads to, yes, repetitive gameplay as well as repetitive storytelling.  By centering the entire game’s story around the acquisition of MacGuffins, there is very little room for drama, plot twists, and other things that keep the story and gameplay fresh.  The “hunt the MacGuffins” plot also forces the designers on auto-pilot because they’re basically doing the exact same thing for every part of the game.  If the goals are the same, then variety in scenario design is also going to suffer greatly.

Aribeth’s fall is one of the most baffling and illogical things I’ve ever seen in a game, and it passes for the “drama’ in  NWN’s story.  It’s also almost compeltely irrelevant to the plot itself, as far as gameplay and structure go.

It doesn’t help, of course, that the story has more plot holes than Swiss cheese, character motivations which make absolutely no sense whatsoever, and all sorts of other problems which are glossed and painted over in the thinnest of ways.  Videogame plots can get away with lots of plot holes, and still be excellent and enjoyable – but when the plot is so simple, repetitive and, frankly, boring, that all of those holes have attention drawn to them.  After all, if the only elements adding any depth and interest to a story make no sense, and the rest of it is structurally flawed or simply insipid, how is the player going to feel about what he or she is doing at any given time?  Probably not very enthusiastic.

Closing Thoughts

I admit, this article is a bit of a “bad game designer, no Twinkie for you!” of my own.  To their credit, BioWare have improved a lot when it comes to creating both stories and gameplay in their more recent titles, and some of the bits and pieces I’ve mentioned here tend to be a thing of the past.  Yet if one looks to modern titles like MMORPGs or even first-person shooters, it’s often plain to see these same contrivances all adding up and contributing to boring gameplay – especially when one takes away all the explosions, scripted sequences and cutscenes from the mix. (source:gamasutra)