作者：Slaton White

游戏开发过程包含着许多工作，甚至有时候多于我们能够承担的范围。然而这里存在的关键在于我们并不需要一下子承担整个项目。你需要将其分割成一些可管理的组块，如此你便能够专注于这些内容并进行更好的优化，从而避免失去理智。伴随着有效组织的迭代设计是将游戏项目分解成能够有效设计，制作，测试和执行的一种方法。简而言之迭代设计就是：

iterative_design（from cmu）

1.想出一个理念

2.创造一个原型去测试该理念

3.通过与团队中的其他成员，更重要的是与之前从未听说过游戏的人一起尝试原型而测试并记录数据

4.回顾收集到的数据去检查它是否复合最初的理念和游戏理念

5.1）如果收集到的数据表明原型并不符合最初的理念或游戏理念，那就从步骤1再次开始，但记录下收集到的信息

2）如果收集到的数据表明原型复合最初的理念和游戏理念，那就移向一个新理念

在Brenda Brathwaite和Ian Schreiber所编写的《Challenges for Game Designers》以及Jacob A. Stevens所编写的《Practical Tips for Independent Game Development》等书籍或文章中都以大致相同的方式描述了迭代设计。最近我发现在提到迭代设计时未被讨论到的内容便是其阴暗面。当你不具有足够的经验，没有稳定的核心或美感，或者并未基于正确的方式使用迭代设计时，其阴暗面便会出现。我将在本文中更详细地讨论迭代设计，提供给你们关于如何适当地使用迭代设计的足够信息。

与其它过程一样，当你拥有更多迭代经验和游戏开发经验时，迭代设计过程将变得更有效。关于迭代设计我学到的一些基本内容是：

存在两种迭代设计原型类型

整个项目——这应该是你第一个创造的原型。在此确定你的基本游戏玩法。

个体机制——在基本原型之后你所创造的每个原型都将测试个体机制和较小的改变。这些机制和原型都应该在整体项目中进行测试，从而确保它们不仅能够有效运行，同时还能够作用于游戏中。

如果你不断遇到特定的设计理念，机制，甚至是核心等问题，请勇敢地丢弃它并重新开始。较小或较短的高质量游戏总是比一款低质量的长游戏好得多。注：你应该在制作前做出重新开始的决定，否则将会浪费太多钱与时间，并且将很难重新开始。

不要依赖于迭代设计去为自己创造游戏。尽管迭代设计是一种强大的工具，你还需要利用美感，动态和机制作为潜在的基础。如果你尝试着通过快速创造原型去创造一款游戏，那么你最终创造出来的将只是一个有趣但却毫无关联的机制。

如果你并不熟悉迭代设计，那么你需要学习的最重要的部分便是先想出一个理念。

就像你会假设自己何时将想出科学方法一样，为了更适当地使用迭代设计过程，你便需要为游戏想出一个主要理念。如果原型是有趣并且可理解的话你仍然能够找到一个合适的理念，但是你却不清楚它该如何整合到你的其它理念中。显然你可以结合所拥有的每个理念进行测试，但是你最好能够设定一个前进目标，然后想出一个符合该目标的理念。有些游戏开发者更喜欢先想出机制，然后基于该机制去创造游戏。正像任何其它开发方法那样，你也需要明确哪个方法更适合自己。对于那些喜欢从机制开始的人来说，他们将基于各种主题和游戏风格去测试机制从而明确哪个最适合。需要记住的一个重要元素便是不要在真空中使用迭代设计。你需要不断比较原型以及你伴随着自己所希望的游戏发展整体理念的附件内容。如果你不能从整体上确定自己希望的游戏发展方向，你最终便只会创造出一款聚集着一些不相干元素（游戏邦注：虽然有趣，但组合在一起并没有意义）的游戏。每当我带着一个主要想法，如美感或核心理念，而不只是快速创建的原型机制而开始一个项目时，我最终都能创造出一款高质量的游戏。迭代设计中最容易被忽视的一部分便是，这是为了创造一款最终游戏而与其它工具一起使用的工具。

使用迭代设计的正确方法是不要单独使用。举个例子来说吧，迭代设计可能与测试相混淆，但却缺一不可。迭代设计是关于不断重新尝试新理念去找到最佳的理念结合。测试是关于理念的运行以及目标用户的理解进行衡量。迭代设计主要是一种前期制作工具，但如果测试发现机制或游戏某一方面不适合发行时也能够使用这一工具。测试是用于整个游戏制作过程。它可能被当成是整体的前期制作过程，只包含许多迭代设计，而当你尝试着去寻找最佳的机制结合时，你或其它团队将能明确其它游戏元素。

我们需要继续做的一件事便是着眼于游戏外观。在前期制作过程中这包含了许多概念艺术。如果你的原型主要是用纸创造的，你还需要找到一个游戏引擎并开始创造一个数字原型。尽管前期制作过程包含了许多概念艺术，这在开始开发和执行最后的图像时也不是特别明显。大多数公司都是带着较粗糙的图像开始创造数字原型。这看起来可能很奇怪，但等到原型创建好之后再执行最后的图像太久了，这将会减少图像的质量并导致它们最终被丢弃。我们必须记得之前投入于游戏中的许多创造最终可能都不会被用到。

尝试着减少无用功的数量，不要强制将这些努力添加到游戏中，而是在图像团队开始创造前明确需要做些什么并使用什么。如果你认为游戏中有个关卡突出了玩家可能需要进入的一艘大船，那就让一名关卡设计师去创造一个较为粗糙的关卡去突出这样的船只，并使用迭代设计去测试这一部分是否与关卡相符合。在测试船只的同时，你的概念设计师将想出许多不同的船只外观。如果所有的一切都进展顺利并且船只符合关卡设定，之后你的图像团队将致力于它的最终迭代。需要注意的是我说的是迭代，因为就像游戏一样，你的图像和资产也将经历迭代。大多数资产迭代都需要与概念艺术一起完成，因为概念艺术比完整的纹理模型更难创造。创造一款游戏需要投入许多时间和努力，所以你必须确保好好使用自己所拥有的每一种工具。迭代设计是能够完善游戏质量并提高效能的工具之一。

（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）

The Dark Side of Iterative Design

By Slaton White

The game development process involves a lot of work and sometimes it seems almost too much to take on. However, the key is to not take on an entire project at one time. You’ll need to break it up into manageable chunks so that you can focus and work on those to a high polish and so you don’t lose your mind. Iterative design, along with good organization, is one way of breaking a game project up into portions that can be designed, produced, tested, and implemented. I’ve described iterative design before as similar to the scientific method. Put simply it is:

1.Come up with an idea

2.Make a prototype that tests that idea

3.Test and record data by playing the prototype with other members of the team and, more importantly, people that have never heard of the game before

4.Review the collected data to see if it fits with the original idea and the game idea.

5.
A.If the collected data found that the prototype didn’t fit with the original idea or the game idea then start over at step 1, but take the collected information into account

B.If the collected data found that the prototype did fit with the original idea and the game idea then simply move onto a new idea

In Challenges for Game Designers by Brenda Brathwaite and Ian Schreiber, Practical Tips for Independent Game Development by Jacob A. Stevens, and many other books or articles, iterative design is described in roughly the same way. Recently, I’ve discovered that what isn’t discussed, when it comes to iterative design, is the dark side. The dark side of iterative design comes up when you don’t have enough experience, don’t have a solid core or aesthetic, and/or aren’t using iterative design in the correct way. In this article I will discuss iterative design in a more detailed manner that will hopefully give you enough information on how to use iterative design properly.

The iterative design process, like everything else, becomes more useful when you have more experience with it and game development as a whole. Some basic things that I have learned about iterative design are:

There are two types of iterative design prototypes

The overall project – This should be the first prototype you make. Get your basic gameplay down here.

Individual mechanics – Every prototype you make after your basic one is to test individual mechanics and small changes. These mechanics and prototypes should ONLY be tested within the overall project to make sure that they not only work, but work within the game.

If you constantly run into issues with specific design ideas, mechanics, or even your core. Don’t be afraid to scrap it and start over. A smaller or shorter high quality game is always better than a long game that is of low quality. Note: The decision to start over should be done during pre-production, otherwise too much money and time will be wasted and you won’t be able to start over.

Never depend on iterative design to make your game for you. While iterative design is a powerful tool, you’ll still need to pick the aesthetic, dynamics, and mechanics as the underlying foundation for it. If you try to find a game through rapidly producing prototypes than the game you end up with will just be a mishmash of enjoyable and unrelated mechanics.

If you’re not very experienced with iterative design, the most important part that you can learn is to have an idea beforehand.

Just as you would have a hypothesis when going through the scientific method, you need a main idea for the game in order to use the iterative design process properly. While you’ll still be able to find out if the prototype is enjoyable and understandable, you won’t have a good idea of how well it meshes with your other ideas. Obviously you could test it with every combination of ideas you have, but it’s much better to just have a goal that you’re headed towards and then come up with ideas that will suit that goal. Some game developers prefer to start a game with a mechanic, and then make their game based on that. Just as any other development method, you’ll need to find which method works best for you. For people that prefer to start with a mechanic first, they will test their mechanic against various themes and play styles to see which one it suits best. An important element to remember is to not use iterative design in a vacuum. You’ll need to constantly compare your prototype and the additions you make to it with your overall idea for what you want the game to be. If you don’t have an overall idea of where you want the game to go, then you will ultimately have a game that is a confusing collection of unrelated elements that alone might be enjoyable, but together make little to no sense. Every time I have started a project with a main idea in mind such as an aesthetic or core idea, instead of just rapidly prototyping mechanics, I have ended up with a much higher quality game. The most overlooked part of iterative design is that it is a tool to be used among other tools in order to create a final game.

The correct way to use iterative design is to not use it alone. For example, iterative design could be somewhat confused with testing, but one should never be used without the other. Iterative design is about constantly retrying new ideas to find the best combination of ideas. Testing is about looking at what you have in the light of how it works and how it is perceived by your target audience. Iterative design is mainly a pre-production tool, but can also be used when testing finds mechanics or aspects of the game to be unfit for release. Testing is used throughout the entire production of the game. It might seem like the entire pre-production process just involves a lot of iterative design, but while you are trying to find the best combination of mechanics you or other teams will be figuring out other aspects to the game.

One aspect that will need to be worked on is the look of your game. During pre-production this will involve a lot of concept art. If your prototypes have been mainly paper ones, you will also need to find a game engine and start creating a digital prototype. While the pre-production process involves a lot of concept art, it might not always be obvious when to start developing and implementing final art. Most companies start a digital prototype with very rough art, sometimes to the point of just blocking things out with square shapes. This might seem strange but waiting to implement final art until the prototype is farther along will reduce the amount of art that ends up being thrown away. It’s important to remember that a lot of work that goes into a game will ultimately go unused.

Try to reduce the amount of unused work, not by forcing that work into the game, but by figuring out exactly what needs to be done and what will be used before you have your art team start creating. If you think there will be a level in the game that features a gigantic ship that the player might go into, have a level designer create a very rough level that features such a ship and use iterative design to test whether or not the ship portion of that level fits. While testing the ship, your concept artists should be coming up with different looks for the ship. If all goes well and the ship fits within the level, then your art team can work on final iterations of it. Notice that I say iterations, because just like with the game, your art and assets will also go through iterations. Most of the iterations of assets should be done with the concept art since concept art is much easier to create than full textured models. There is a lot of time and work that goes into making a game so be sure to make the most of every tool you use. Iterative design is yet another tool that can be used to improve the quality of your game and improve the efficiency to which you use your time.(source:slatonwhite)