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设计教程:如何撰写游戏的特征概要

发布时间:2013-07-17 09:36:29 Tags:,,,

作者:Ethan Levy

游戏开发的一个明显的事实是:完工的游戏永远不会完全符合你当初的想像。即使在游戏开发过程中严格执行,也会与最初的设想存在5%-10%的偏差。想法是廉价的,执行是昂贵的,更别说游戏必须发布。例如,我们的游戏《Enhanced Wars》大获成功,但在发布后的三年,我们仍在改进它,所以它永远不可能完全符合我们当初的想象。

在过去很长一段时里里,当我开始设计游戏时,我会先写一份很长的文件,详细地说明游戏的各个方面。最终,我发现这些文件基本上是白废功夫。没有人有耐心看完75-100页的文件,并且大部分初始概念在执行时都会面目全非。现在,当制作游戏时,我会通过一个方法管理好所有灵活的小功能的设计过程。

这个方法主要是撰写我称之为概要的简短文件。在本教程中,我将向大家介绍撰写一个特征概要的过程。

第一步:填写特征

在撰写特征概要以前,你应该把所有被提议的想法罗列成表。团队中的所有成员都可以并应该对游戏提交自己的创意。

backlog(from gamasutra)

backlog(from gamasutra)

(案例:《Enhanced Wars》的特征概要)

我严重建议使用谷歌电子表格来制作以上表格。你可以设计你自己的格式,但我建议你每一个功能都应该包含名称、KPI、执行难度、描述(一般是三句话)和评论这几项。写完概要后,各个功能的名称要超链接到相应的文件。当选择在游戏中添加什么功能时,应该优先制作这个列表,以便确定设计意图的关键方向和开发成本。

KPI是关键绩效指标。在上述例子中,这一栏是团队关注的特定指标。标准的KPI是留存率(游戏邦注:指在一段时间内留在游戏中玩家比率)、沉浸感(每天游戏的持续时间)、病毒性(由老玩家带来的新玩家的数量),赢利(如果是免费游戏,玩家在游戏中花的金钱数量)和品质(能提高游戏的得分/用户评价,但对衡量指标没有直接影响)。取决于你的游戏和商业模式,你的团队可以决定加入哪一项KPI。

第二步:撰写高概念

即使你的开发过程不强调文件,你也应该意识到,人们通常尽量少阅读。因此,我建议你的特征概要以简短的高概念为开头,这样其他人就能迅速理解这个特征。

以下是《Enhanced Wars》的高概念描述:

1.1.高概念

尽管《Enhanced Wars》是一款多人游戏,它也需要一些单人模式的内容,用来教新玩家熟悉游戏或给老玩家作为回合间的消遣。单人挑战关卡是一系列遭遇战,玩家可以在这种关卡中学习游戏和打发时间。这个概念类似于新闻上刊登的象棋迷题。

1.2.KPI

留存率:挑战关卡的主要设计目的是,提供一个安全的环境,让新玩家学习游戏,从而吸引更多新玩家并把他们转化为长期玩家。

正如你所见,以上信息只是将概要列表中的特征稍微拓展了一下。

第三步:形象化特征

当开始撰写详细的特征执行办法时,你必须详尽地解释UI和流程。但在早期阶段,我建议制作简单的实体模型,以便视觉化设计,使团队更加清楚方向。

mock up(from gamasutra)

mock up(from gamasutra)

(案例:《Enhanced Wars》中的单人挑战关卡对话的实体模型)

特征概要应该包括至少一张图片。可以是特征需要的界面模拟图,也可以是显示玩家在游戏中如何使用特征的故事板或其他视觉化表现形式。

在一张图片中,用清楚的图象表现玩家将看到的特征。

第四步:充实细节

最后,你应该列出特征的所有主要方面,写一到两段话来描述各个方面。再者,这些不是完整的执行步骤;它们只是把你头脑中想到的功能固定在纸上,以便你的团队评估它。

以下是《Enhanced Wars》的挑战关卡的详细进程系统描述:

2.2.进度

各个情节都体现玩家距离完成还有多少进度。一旦玩家完成该情节的所有挑战,对话框中将出现一个奖励的图标。

情节中的关卡一开始都是没有解锁的,可以按顺序玩到。一旦完成关卡,下一个关卡的星星图标就会亮起来。

这个阶段的关键词是简洁。如果你发现你的特征概要已经超过2到3页了,那么意味着你可能得把你的概念分解成多个功能了。你的目标是,你写出的信息足以让你的团队理解你的设计意图。

过程的目的

特征概要可以很快写出来。然而,详述《Enhanced Wars》的各个细节可能要花整整两周。给我几天时间,我写出的概要就可以开发上两年了。但顺着这个过程,你可以把头脑中的想法固定在纸面上,让你们的团队评估它的可执行性。有了概要以后,你便可以决定哪些功能可以开发,然后进一步说明如何执行它们。(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

Design tutorial – how to write a feature brief

by Ethan Levy

The simple truth of game development is that a finished game will never be all that you imagine it to be. Even the best managed game development processes result in a game that represents 5 to 10 percent of the initial ambition. Ideas are cheap, implementation is expensive and at a certain point games must be shipped. For instance, even if my team’s current game Enhanced Wars is a runaway success and we continuously improve it for the 3 years after launching, it will never be all that we want it to be.

Once upon a time, when I set out to design a game I would start by writing a lengthy document detailing every aspect of the game. Eventually I learned that these documents are largely a waste of effort. No one else would ever read a 75 to 100 page document and most of the initial concepts get changed dramatically in implementation. Nowadays when working on a game, I prescribe a method of managing the design process for all these features that is lightweight and flexible.

The process revolves around writing out short documents called feature briefs. In this tutorial, I will walk you through the process of writing a brief. You can access a downloadable template of a feature brief at this link.

Step 1 – fill your backlog

Before writing a single brief, you should start by setting up and populating a backlog of proposed features. This will be a place where every member of the team can and should submit ideas to add to the game.

A screenshot of the feature backlog for Enhanced Wars

I highly suggest using a Google spreadsheet for this backlog. Your format will be your own, but I suggest each feature have a name, KPI, estimated implementation effort, 3 sentence description and comments section. As briefs are written, the name of each feature is turned into a hyperlink to the document. This list can then be prioritized by the team and sorted on the key axis of design intention and development effort when choosing which features to add to the game.

KPI stands for key performance indicator. In the instance of a live game, this correlates to specific metrics that the game team wishes to focus on. The standard KPIs are Retention (keeping players in the game over a series of days), Engagement (length of play time per day), Virality (number of new players an existing player attracts to a game), Monetization (if free to play, the amount of money spent in game) and Quality (will improve the game’s critical rating/user reviews but will not have a direct impact on measured metrics). Depending on your game and business model, your team will determine the appropriate KPIs to obsess over.

Step 2 – write the high concept

Even if your process focuses on minimal documentation, it is important to recognize that people will generally read as little as necessary. Therefore, I recommend starting feature briefs with a short, high concept section that another person can quickly digest to understand the feature.

High concept section from an Enhanced Wars feature brief

As you can see, this information is just a slight expansion on what was found in the backlog.

Step 3 – visualize your feature

Once it is time to write a detailed feature treatment for implementation, you will need to spec out the user interface and flow fully. But at this early stage, I recommend making a single mock up of the feature to help solidify the design and make it clearer for more visually oriented team members.

Mock up of the Single Player challenge levels dialog box for Enhanced Wars

A feature brief should include at least one image. This can be a mock of the interface the feature will require, a storyboard to show how the player will use the feature in the game or some other form of visualization.

In a single image, paint a clear picture of how the feature will manifest for the player.

Step 4 – flesh out details

Finally, you should list out all the major sections of the feature and write a one to two paragraph description of each. Again these are not full implementation details; they are just enough information to get the feature out of your head and onto paper in a way that you can evaluate with your team.

Detailing the progression system for Enhanced Wars’ challenge levels

Brevity is key at this stage. If you find that your feature brief is going beyond 2 or 3 pages, it is probably an indicator that you should split your concept into multiple features. Your goal is to write just enough information to communicate the design intentions to your team.

The purpose of process

Feature briefs are quick to write. Instead of spending two full weeks speccing out every detail of Enhanced Wars, I can populate a backlog and write briefs for two years worth of development work in a few days. By following this process, you can get ideas out of your mind and onto paper in a format that your team evaluate it for implementation. Now that you have the briefs, you can decide which features will be developed and write more detailed treatments as they are required.(source:gamasutra)


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