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策划游戏活动时需要考虑的11个问题

发布时间:2013-04-20 14:41:32 Tags:,,,,

作者:Jade

你有一个绝佳的活动理念,并迫不及待地想告知玩家。但你真的确定自己已经准备好了吗?当然我们有可能仅用廖廖数语描述的理念开启一项活动,但这会让游戏执行过程更为艰难。除非你的项目是由一系列彼此不相干的已发布冒险活动,否则还是需要准备一些计划。

以下是你开发一个新项目理念时需要自己解答的11个问题。虽然你可能并不需要回答出所有的这些问题,考虑下这些情况也有助于强化你的项目。

campaign-game(from neatorama.com)

campaign-game(from neatorama.com)

1.什么题材/系统?针对你想运行的项目题材做一些市场调查。这个题材有哪些方面比较吸引你?这些正是你运行项目时的关注点。这些题材的普遍特点是什么?它们存在哪些你想避免的刻板框架?

2.什么背景?也许你的游戏系统已有确定的背景,比如Castle Falkenstein或World of Darkness。或者你可能已经找到了自己一直想使用的背景,例如Ebberon或Midgard(游戏邦注:北欧神话中人类的国度,即尘世或人世)。或者你可能已经开发了自己的背景。无论是哪种情况,都要花点时间看看你设置的背景,或者为你所开发的内容做一些记录。哪些层面最吸引你?这些也将是你游戏的关注重点。你不想使用该背景的哪些元素?

3.多少玩家?你执行这个游戏最少需要多少人?你认为在你承受范围内的最大玩家数量是多少?

4.什么角色类型?你的游戏是否存在你觉得很有必要的特定角色?玩家组团是否需要战斗类角色和魔法用户,或者技能型的巫师?你不希望出现哪些类似PC游戏的角色?

5.规则是什么?这个游戏中有哪些你不想使用的内容?要记录下这样事项以便告知玩家。如果事先不告诉他们,可能会让参与其中的玩家极为受挫。

6.需要哪些辅助道具?你的游戏是否需要微缩模型,游戏内置日历或者其他支持物品?你并不需要在开启项目之前找齐所有东西,但要列出清单以提醒在自己需要之前备齐东西(游戏邦注:例如历史时间表、地图册等活动地图和现实世界参考材料)。此外还要确定你是否需要骰子,玩卡牌、塔罗牌等。

7.灵感来源是什么?在你耗尽灵感时,列出你可以使用的内容。例如电影、书籍(科幻和非科幻),广播节目、网站、播客等与你的游戏背景/题材有关的内容,从中找到你可以借鉴的灵感。你现在可能觉得自己有无穷无尽的灵感,但你执行数月或者数年之后,就会发现已经不够用了。所以还是趁现在进行市场调查时制作一个创意列表,以备不时之需。

8.活动主题?作一个活动的简短描述以便找到玩家。创造一个电梯演讲稿件,这不但可帮你向玩家“兜售”你的理念,还可以帮你准确描述活动的主旨。这还有助于避免游戏出现一些你不想看到的情况。

9.你需要哪些人?你需要哪些主要的NPC?你不需要现在就将他们找出来,但要制作一个主角、赞助人等人物清单。谁来运行政府?你需要哪些当地居民?制作一个NPC名单或电子表格以免遗漏了相关人物。

10.如何收尾?现在你可能会觉得活动收尾还是很遥远的事情,但提前设想结局可以让你更好地推进活动,避免活动脱离正轨。如果游戏总体目标是让PC推翻当前的世界政府,那么比起让PC寻找失落的大陆,这更需要不同类型的角色以及冒险活动。

11.如何开始?你将如何开始游戏?也许你会认为将开始计划放置于结束设想之后,有点本末倒置了,但了解游戏何去何从更有助于找到一个良好的开端。

当然,这并非你开始一项游戏活动所需考虑的所有问题,但这些要素已经足够你展开活动。你最喜欢哪个问题?你认为策划一个活动时最重要的考虑因素是什么?

游戏邦注:原文发表于2012年12月13日,所涉事件及数据以当时为准。(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

11 Questions for starting a new campaign

by Jade

You’ve  great campaign idea and can’t wait tell your players. But are you sure you’re ready? Starting a campaign with only a few notes of ideas is certainly possible, but tends to make running
the game much more difficult than it needs to be. Unless your campaign is a series of unconnected published adventures, you’re going to want some kind of plan.

Below are 11 questions to ask yourself when you’re developing an new campaign idea. While you may not need to answer all of these, thinking about them can help you solidify what your campaign will be.

What genre/system? Do some research on the genre of the campaign you want to run. What aspects of the genre draw you? These are the things you want to focus on during your campaign. What are the genre’s standard tropes? What aspects of the genre are so cliched you want to avoid them at all costs?

What setting? Maybe your game system has an established setting, like Castle Falkenstein or World of Darkness. Or maybe you’ve found a published setting you’re dying to use, like Ebberon or Midgard. Or maybe you’ve developed your own setting. In any case, take some time to look over your setting or write down some notes about what you’re developing. What aspects intrigue you the most? Again, you’ll want to focus your game on those. Are there any parts of the setting you don’t want to use?

How many players? What’s the minimum number of players you need to run the game successfully? What’s the maximum number of players you feel comfortable handling?

What character types? Are their any specific character types you feel are necessary to the game? Will the party need fighter-types and magic users or techno-wizards? What character types do you not want as PCs?

What rules? What books? Are there any aspects of the game you don’t want to use? Make a note of these so you remember to tell your players. Nothing’s more frustrating to a player than finding out she can’t use the great PC idea after she’s already put a lot of work into developing it.

What props or game aids? Will your game need miniatures, an in-game calendar or some other support or prop? You don’t need to find all of this before you start, but make a list so that you’ll have what you need before you need it. Campaign maps and real-world references such as historical timelines and atlases fall into this category. Also determine if you need dice, playing cards, tarot cards, etc.

What inspiration sources? Make a list of things you can turn to when you’re out of inspiration. Movies, books (fiction and non-fiction), radio programs, websites, podcasts and more related to your setting and/or genre can help feed your creative juices when they run dry. You may feel like you’ve got an infinite number of ideas right now, but after you’ve been running it for several month (or years) ideas may be hard to come by. Do yourself a favor a make a list of idea sources now while you’re researching and they’re fresh in your mind. You’ll thank yourself later.

What’s it about? Come up with a short description of the campaign you can use to find players. Create an elevator pitch. This not only helps you “sell” your idea to your players, it helps you pinpoint what your campaign is actually about. It can also help you figure out what you don’t want in your game.

Who do you need? What major NPCs will you need? You don’t have to flesh them out right now, but make a list of your main antagonist(s) and any patrons/bosses/adventure givers. Who runs the government? What important local residents are you going to need? It can help to keep a running list or spreadsheet of the NPCs you create so you don’t forget anyone.

How does it end? I know, right now the end of your campaign is probably the furthest thing from your mind. But it can help to have an idea how your campaign will end before you start it. That gives you something to work towards and can help keep you on track. If the game’s overall goal is for the PCs to overthrow the current world government, that’s going to require different types of characters and adventures than if you want the PCs to discover a lost continent.

How does it begin? How do you want to start your game? It can seem like you’re putting the cart before the horse to plan the start the campaign after the ending, but knowing where the game is going can make it easier to know where to begin.

Of course, these aren’t the only questions you need to answer when starting a game, but these should help get you going. What are your favorite questions? What do you feel is important to know when planning a new campaign?(source:rpggm


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