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从玩家的角度思考并创造游戏

发布时间:2014-05-29 09:42:04 Tags:,,,,

作者:David Lin

作为游戏开发者和设计师,我们经常在自己所创造的游戏中传达自己的一些想法。与此同时,我们中的某些人(至少我自己有时候会这么做)会更投入并尝试着塑造我们所谓的“理想游戏”。

结果便是,我们经常会忘记停下来去思考一个真正重要的问题。当别人在玩我所创造的游戏的时候,他/她的脑子里在想些什么?

对于《小编年史》,我在尝试着从玩家的角度进行思考后作出了一些改变。

玩游戏的境况

想象你在自己的手机设备上玩游戏。这意味着你可以在行进中(也许是在车上)更频繁地玩游戏。尽管我鼓励玩家在玩《小编年史》的时候最好带上耳机,但似乎打开扬声器玩游戏有时也是不可行的(游戏邦注:这主要取决于你玩游戏的环境)。

因为《小编年史》现在还只是一款手机游戏,所以玩家有时候(或者大多时候)在玩游戏的时候并不会打开声音。没了声音后玩家所面对的便只有视觉效果了。

如果我并未停下来去思考玩家玩游戏时所处的境况,我便不会想到将跳跃动画添加到游戏中。

为了便利

当添加一个新功能到游戏中时,我们是否该停下来想想它将如何影响玩家的游戏体验?它是否会让玩家更轻松地理解在游戏过程中什么是重要的?或者它只会干扰玩家的游戏?

尽管《小编年史》与传统的RPG游戏不同(从核心看来),但它仍然具有许多RPG游戏的元素。在一款RPG游戏中,你必须处理一些道具并将其储存在自己的库存中。

你是否记得当自己想要购买一个新的道具/装备但却意识到库存已满的情况?你难道不会对必须回到库存中卖掉或摧毁某些早旧的内容而腾出位置去装下新道具感到厌烦?

在带上开发者之帽前我总是会先从玩家的角度进行思考。所以如果我是一名玩家,我会希望所有的一切更加便利,库存管理亦是如此。

store swap(from gamasutra)

store swap(from gamasutra)

引进实时道具交换。通过添加这一选择,玩家可以立即用自己想要购买的新道具换掉旧道具。虽然这意味着我需要为此编写更多代码,但如果这能让玩家游戏更加轻松的话,一切都是值得的。

分享就是爱

我们都喜欢分享。我们会将某些内容放在Facebook,Twitter,谷歌,Vine,Pinterest等等平台上。再一次地,如果我们能够从玩家的角度进行思考,那么他们想要分享的内容会是什么呢?是否是关于争取一个新成就?还是打败一个非常强大的boss?或者是获得传说中的道具?

不管是什么,图像似乎是人们在分享愉快的信息时最常使用的道具。适当的分享图片似乎是最有效的方法,因为它们能够传达很多内容。不过还有什么比图像更有效呢?那就是视频!

呈现玩家在联赛中如何打败一个强大的boss或对手更有趣!在《小编年史》中,利用Everplay的SDK,玩家将能够轻松地与好友分享自己的故事阶段和联赛境况。

关心得太多?

但太在乎玩家的看法是否会影响自己对于游戏真正的发展的想法?这便取决于我们的判断。我们是否想要在游戏中添加所有自己觉得玩家会喜欢的内容,但是这么做却有可能消耗掉我们的所有资源?

与生活中以及任何其它决定一样,在这里我们也需要实现平衡。在经历《小编年史》的测试过程中,我收到了来自世界各地的玩家具有价值的反馈。在听取了某些反馈后我们有必要对游戏做出适当的调整。

如果我根据收到的每一份反馈去改变游戏,那么《小编年史》将变成一款方向涣散的游戏。

我们必须接受不可能同时迎合这个世界上所有人的事实。然而贯穿我们的角色和判断去平衡重要与次要的内容,我们便能够专注于那些真正重要的事物—-通过玩家的角度创造出真正有趣的游戏。

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

Thinking from the player’s perspective

by David Lin

As game developers and designers, we often express ourselves in the game we craft. And while doing so, some of us (at least I know I do sometimes) often dive in too deep and try to shape our so-called ‘ideal game’.

As a result, we often forget to pause and think about a really important question. What is going through the person’s mind when he or she is playing the game that I have made?

With Small Chronicles, I have made some changes after attempting to think from the player’s perspective.

Gameplay Cirumstances

Before we go on, first compare these 2 short gameplay videos -

Notice the difference? Imagine that you play games on your mobile device. That could mean that you play games on the move (maybe on transit) quite frequently. Even though I have encouraged players to put on their headphones/earphones while playing Small Chronicles (with in-game tips), playing with the speakers turned on may not be an option (depending on your culture and if you have earphones/headphones).

As Small Chronicles is currently a mobile-only game, players would sometimes (or most of the time) play without turning the audio on. Without any audio (as demonstrated above), players are left with what they can see visually.

If I didn’t stop to think about the cirumstances in which the player plays the game, I wouldn’t have thought to add that jump animation in.

For Convenience’s sake

When adding a new feature to a game, do we stop to think how it might affect the player’s gameplay experience? Does it make it easier for the player to get to what’s important – playing the game? Or does it interfere with it?

Although it differs from traditional RPGs, at its core, Small Chronicles is still very much filled with elements of an RPG game. And in an RPG game, you definitely have to deal with items and places to store them – your inventory.

Remember that moment when you want to purchase a new item/equipment but realise that your inventory is full? Don’t you hate that you have to go back to your inventory to sell or destroy some of your old stuff to make way for the new?

I always try to think as a player before I put on my crafting/developer hat. So if I were the player, I would wish that things weren’t so inconvenient as far as managing inventories was concerned.

Introducing swapping items on-the-fly. By adding this option, players can immediately replace an old item with the one intended for purchase. While that may mean more coding for me (i.e more effort from the developer), it certainly is worth it if it makes the player’s life easier (from their perspective).

Sharing is loving

We all love to share. We post things on Facebook, Twitter, Google, Vine, Pinterest and the list goes on and on. Once again, if we think from a player’s perspective, what would he or she want to share about? Would it about completing a new achievement? Defeating a really tough boss? Or is about getting that legendary item?

Whatever it is, images seem to be the prevalent choice to share that happy news with. Well sharing images definitely seem like the most suitable thing to do since they speak a thousand words. But what’s even better than images? Videos!

Showing how they have defeated that tough boss or an opponent in league matches is much more interesting! With Small Chronicles, and leveraging on Everyplay’s SDK, players will be able to share their recorded story stages or league matches easily with their friends.

Caring too much?

But wouldn’t caring too much about player’s perspective jeopardize our vision about what the game should or should not look like? This is where our judgement comes in. Do we want to include everything in our games that we feel our players would definitely love but would consume all our resources?

As with life and any other decisions, there must be a balance. Throughout the journey of beta-testing Small Chronicles, I have had valuable feedback from players all around the world. Changes were definitely made to the game from listening to some of the feedback.

If I had changed the game as suggested by every feedback I see, Small Chronicles would have become a game with a tunnelled vision in the end.

We have to accept that we can’t please everyone in this world. However, through our character and judgement in balancing what’s important and what’s not, we will be able to focus on what really matters – making the game fun, from their perspective.(source:gamasutra)

 


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