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阐述游戏设计元素之题材和设计师类型(上)

发布时间:2013-06-25 17:28:44 Tags:,,,

作者: Natasha Clarke

游戏的定义之一就是玩家与系统之间的交互。这并不只是包括物理控制方式,还包括逻辑控制方式,或者玩家可执行的操作类型。这些交互就是游戏玩法的核心。这个定义不只局限于电脑游戏,还适用于桌游和其他游戏类型。(请点击此处阅读本文下篇内容)

这一系统甚至不需要是实体对象,它甚至可以是一种心智结构(游戏邦注:例如在体育项目中,运动员需遵守的一系列规则)。

这个定义起源于游戏理论的定义:“游戏就是至少两个对手在一系列规则的制约中,为一系列目标相互竞争”。

这些目标正是玩家需要实现的胜利(他们实现目标的方式也受限于游戏规则),但玩法正来源于这“一系列规则”。

game design elements(from fr.slideshare.net)

game design elements(from fr.slideshare.net)

制作游戏时需要考虑多个原则:

*“如何让其他人也玩这款游戏?”

*确定游戏题材

*确定游戏环境和场景

*确定玩家和用户

*确定限制条件和目标

—成功的标准是什么?你如何赢得游戏?如何输掉游戏?

*交互规则

—控制方式:与角色互动,令角色处于特定环境

—你如何向玩家解释限制条件?

*运营问题(例如,发布)

题材是用于根据玩法交互情况划分游戏类型。以下是一系列常见的游戏题材,但这个列表并非绝对准则,因为游戏设计一直在不断变化:

*动作

—平台

—战斗

—迷宫

—打斗

—射击

1)第一人称射击

2)第三人称射击

3)战略射击

4)轨道射击

*动作冒险

—潜行

—恐怖求生

*冒险

—实时冒险

—文本冒险

*角色扮演

—西式RPG

—日式RPG

—沙盒

—动作

—MMORPG

*模拟

—建设和管理

—生活

—汽车

*战略

—回合制策略

—回合制战术

—即时战略

—即时战术

—塔防

*其他常见题材

—街机

—音乐

—聚会

—谜题

—体育

—问答

—桌游

—卡牌

游戏设计始于一个理念,它通常是对原有概念的修正。游戏理念可能涉及多个题材,设计师通常会试验混合题材。设计师在其游戏设计生涯中会扮演不同角色:

*主设计师:通常要与其他设计师合作,负责把控游戏项目的愿景。

*游戏机制设计师:又称系统设计师,负责创造游戏场景,关卡和任务。

*文案:通常是兼职人员,负责撰写游戏对话、评论、故事、过场动画对话和故事等文字内容。

“艺术总监”是一个许多人梦魅以求的头衔,但在不同公司其含义也不尽相同。

在90年代早期,游戏行业几乎没有什么准确的岗位角色定义,因为游戏开发还是一个新领域。但今天的游戏公司若要获得竞争优势,以及扩展团队规模,就必须要严肃对待组织架构这一问题。

游戏设计的艺术总监要负责监管游戏项目制作过程中的风格和感觉。例如,游戏场景的色彩基调,纹理传达的细节,玩家与场景互动的元素。

作为艺术总监 ,不但要负责游戏设计事务,你还必须是一名能够激发他人积极性,引导设计团队愿景的领导。你要善于发现团队中的人才,掌握如何高效地达到自己想要的结果。人际手段可能是你必须掌握的另一门艺术,因为你得与他人(例如制作人和其他设计师)密切合作。艺术总监要把握好一切与视觉效果有关的内容,他们是视觉开发背后的主力,但作为一个团队,他们还必须尊重和考虑其他同事的工作成果和想法。此外还需要掌握批评的技巧。在开发过程中,艺术总监要跟进团队所制作的资产。他们进行审核和评价,并要求美术团队交付适合游戏风格的高质量内容。

管理也是这一职位人员需要精通的另一项工作,艺术总监要跟进团队任务,确保一切都能如期完成,警惕制作管道所出现的问题,并及时解决问题。要根据美术人员的特长和弱点,向合适的人分配合适的任务。要成为优秀的艺术总监,你得目光长远。有些艺术总监致力于确保出色完成任务,而有些则更像是导师的角色。

据Robert Chang所称,有4种人最有当艺术总监的潜力:

*具备管理技能,但并非美术人员。

*拥有出色的审美能力,了解许多美学知识,拥有领导能力,但不一定是出色的美术人员。

*能够领导其他美术人员的杰出美术师。

*兼容以上三种能力,但对其侧重点有所不同的人。

他还指出“我见过的最出色的艺术总监几乎都是那些拥有丰富的美术经验,了解美术制作流程,极具才华和热情,善于驾驭多个任务,容易相处,知道如何根据下属特点分配任务,了解如何谨慎衡量每种情况的优劣,并且制定正确决策的人。”(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

Elements of game design – Part 1; From pong to next-gen

One of the definitions of gameplay is the interaction between the player and system. This does not just cover the physical controls, but also covers the logical controls, or the type of

actions the players can make. These interactions are the core of game play. This definition does not just stop at computer games, but also applies to board game and other types.

The system does not even need to be a physical object(s). It could even be just a mental construction (as in a set of rules that the player follows – like sport.)

This definition stems from a definition of game theory; “A game is where two or more competitors compete for a set of goals within the confines of a set of rules.”
The goals are what the players need to achieve victory (the way they can achieve them must also be in the rules), but it is the “set of rules” that contain the gameplay.
There are multiple principles that are taken into consideration when creating a game;

- “Why should someone else play it?”

-  Identify the genre, (which may automatically –

- Identify the universe and landscape

- Players and audience

- Identify the constraints and goals

o   What is the criteria for success? How do you win? How do you lose?

- Rules of interaction

o   Controls; interaction with the character, put the character in some environment

o   How do you explain the constraints to the player(s)?

-  Operation issues (e.g., delivery)

Genres are used to categorize games based on their gameplay interaction. Here is a list of common game genres; the list is by no means finalized as game design is constantly changing;

- Action
o   Platform

o   Fighting

o   Maze

o   Beat’em up

o   Shooter

§  First-person shooter

§  Third-person Shooter

§  Tactical Shooter

§  Shoot’em up

§  Rail Shooter
- Action-Adventure

o   Stealth

o   Survival Horror
- Adventure
o   Real-time Adventure

o   Text adventure
- Role-playing

o   Western RPG

o   Japancese RPG

o   Sandbox

o   Action

o   MMORPG
- Simulation
o   Constructions and management

o   Life

o   Vehicle
- Strategy
o   Turn-based strategy

o   Turn-based tactics

o   Real-time Strategy

o   Real-time Tactics

o   Tower defence

- Other common genres

o   Arcade

o   Music

o   Party

o   Puzzle

o   Sports

o   Trivia

o   Board

o   Card

Game design starts with an idea, which is often a modification of an existing concept. The game idea may fall within one or several genres, designers often experiment with mixing genres.
There are different roles of designers within the game design career;

- Lead designer – usually coordinates the work of other designers and is the main visionary of the game

- Game Mechanics designer – also known as System designer, designs the game’s rules and makes sure that they are balanced.

- Level Designer – also known as Environment designer, is the person responsible for creating game environments, levels and missions.

- Writer – Someone who is usually employed part-time to create the game’s dialogue, commentary, narrative, cut scene dialogue and narrative, etc.(source:imoustacheyousomequestions

Elements of game design – Part 2; Art Direction for games

Elements of game design – Part 2:

“Art director” is a pretty impressive job title that a lot of people would wish to reach, but it can mean different things in different organisations.

In the early 90s the industry could get away with not having clearly defined roles because game development was a new discovery. However nowadays it is serious with a competitive edge and larger teams need structure.

An Art director in game design is responsible for the overall look and feel of the game being produced. What colors will define the mood of the environment? What level of detail should the textures convey? How does the player interface with their environment?

As an art director, in general not only in game design, you must be a leader and someone who inspires and guides the vision of the design team. You have to be able to recognize the talent of those around you and learn how to efficiently achieve the outcome you want to reach i.e the game. People skills would possibly be another big skill that would be necessary as you would be working closely with others, such as a producer and other designers. Anything visual is the art director’s responsibility, so they are the force behind the visual development, but as a team they have to respect and consider input and opinions or co-workers, no matter what their position. Another skill would be being able to give critiques. Throughout production, the art director would track the assets as they’re made. They would review and critique and get the art team to deliver high quality work that is suitable for the game’s style.

Management would also be a big part of the job, as the art director has to keep track of tasks, make sure everything turns out on time, watch out for dents in the production pipeline, and resolve any problems that may arise. The right tasks have to be assigned to the right artists based on their strength and weaknesses. To be a good art director you have to have an eye for potential. Some art directors are there to make sure things look good, while other act more like mentors.

According to Robert Chang there are four kinds of people who become art directors;

“- Some who is really a manager, but not an artist.

- Someone who has a great eye for visuals, knows a lot about art, has leadership skills, but not necessarily a great artist.

-  A very good artist who can lead other artists.

- Someone who is a combination of all three, with varying degrees of emphasis.”

He also says “The best art directors I’ve seen are almost always the ones who have extensive experience as artists, understand the art production pipeline, are talented and passionate, can multi-task very well, are easy to get along with, know how to task you according to strengths and interests, and know how to weigh the pros and cons of every situation carefully and make the right decision.”(source:imoustacheyousomequestions


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