作者：Tom Battery

怀旧：名词，迫切想回到过去的想法，或者想要回到之前的生活，回到家乡，回到家人和朋友身边等等；是对于以前待过的地方或过去的时间的向往。

在过去我已经在多次写过有关游戏中的怀旧的内容；我曾考虑过如何在一款新游戏中呈现出像回家的感觉，或者是基于Kickstarter的怀旧项目。

冒着反复编写同样内容的危险（也许我现在也越来越怀念我自己的文章了），我最近开始更多地思考游戏中的怀旧元素。这可能是因为在生活中的某一时刻会觉得过去的诱惑变得特别强大，或者因为我一直在玩《塞尔达传说：风之杖》，这款能将我带回无忧无虑的13岁的游戏。

关于回到你所熟悉并喜欢的游戏中存在一些特别的情感。这与重新阅读一本喜欢的书籍或再次观看小时候很喜欢的电影一样。这是一种让人舒适，且有点像归属感的感受。

我同样也发现在玩熟悉的游戏时自己会变得更加放松。选择一款新游戏会有一定的压力—-需要去精通一种全新的控制方案，需要学习全新的词表，需要与全新的世界进行互动。这要求你投入更多的注意力。通常情况下你可能不会注意到这种情况，但是如果我有一天非常无聊并想玩一款游戏，我便会发现很难去玩一款全新的游戏。因为我并没有足够的精神力量去专注于游戏，所以我的兴趣将会很快淡掉。

而在玩自己所熟悉的游戏便不会这样。《风之杖》不会带给我压力是因为我知道自己该如何面对它。我非常熟悉这款游戏的机制和视觉语法，所以我可以半自动地控制它，让我的大脑无需那么紧绷。比起振奋人心，这种体验更让人舒适。

zelda(from gamasutra)

游戏是天生包含情感的。因为是由“沉浸感”所构成的，所以游戏具有让我们沉浸于游戏世界中的能力。有时候，我们想要进入的世界便是我们在小时候所感受到的无忧无虑的世界。

所以自然地，比起全新的内容我们总是会更倾向于那些之前玩过的。这也解释了HD重制版本受欢迎的原因，以及那些致力于复兴早前游戏属性的Kickstarter项目能够获得成功的原因。

怀旧具有非常强大的吸引力—-你可以将怀旧设计带到自己的游戏中，即使你并不打算直接重制现有的游戏。特定的设计原则能够让玩家在真正花时间去玩游戏前更加熟悉格式并更好地融入你的游戏。

最明显的选择便是你的审美；例如通过使用像素图像，你将能够直接引用一个特定的游戏历史时代。你的图像风格的选择能够向玩家召唤出怀旧感，并在他们真正开始游戏前改变他们对游戏的期待。

你的机制选择也会被纳入游戏呈现怀旧感的能力中。我从小是在Playstation上玩日本RPG长大的，所以当我在玩像《第二国度》或《勇气契约》时，我便获得了满满的怀旧感。旋转屏幕并将我置于一个单独的战斗地图上的行为给我打了一定安神剂。游戏将我的角色排在一侧而敌人排在另一侧，同时呈现给我一个多选择菜单，这时的我已经处于一种舒适的战斗节奏中了。我了解这一个事，我知道这些机制，所以我能够放松地游戏。

游戏的设计和结构也可以具有相同的效果。将我置于一个不能通过的对象前，并提示我还未拥有前进所需的齿轮，我便意识到这是《银河恶魔城》般的游戏结构。我非常熟悉这类型格式，这也将影响着我如何继续游戏。既然我知道前面可能发生些什么，我便相对地调整了自己的节奏，花更多时间进行探索，并且比较不会因为不能前进而受挫。

然而在设计一款游戏时，你也必须小心地考虑依赖于怀旧的程度。创造一款专门的怀旧游戏也就意味着你先定了目标用户。当你的游戏越追求唤醒玩家的怀旧感，它便越需要玩家去熟悉你所参考的设计。

使用上面的例子来看，当呈现一个经典的JRPG回合制战斗游戏屏幕时，对于那些并不熟悉这一游戏类型的玩家来说这样的屏幕可能是不合逻辑并且是让人害怕的。如果缺少适当的指令和引导，许多新玩家便会因为这些看似复杂的系统而退却。同样地，虽然我很习惯《银河恶魔城》般的游戏中所要求的探索并翻墙，但是不熟悉这类型游戏的玩家可能会感到疑惑与受挫。

通常情况下，如果你的游戏更多地将怀旧作为一种设计原则，你便很难面向新手玩家去销售同样的游戏。你不可能设计出一款能够吸引所有玩家的游戏。这是你在想出一个游戏理念时需要做出的选择—-你是否想要依赖于现有玩家的怀旧感去面向预先想好的用户销售游戏，或者你想尝试着创造一些全新的内容去诱惑新用户？

这并不是说你不能设计一款同时拥有怀旧感并能够接纳新玩家的游戏。在这个产业中任天堂便做得最好—-他们的所有游戏都能够将自身的任天堂粉丝带回年轻时候，同时他们也基于简单且可行的方式去迎接新玩家。不管你是第一次玩《马里奥》游戏还是第二十次，你都能够感受到满满的乐趣。

这是很难达到的平衡，始终坚持这点也是任天堂的设计师能够凸显于世界的原因。一种更安全的方法是在开发早期决定游戏的吸引点；是面向那些玩了游戏好几年的人呈现丰富的怀旧元素，在全新的内容中创造一些备受喜爱的内容，还是为那些不是预先设定好的玩家创造全新有趣且具有挑战性的内容？

这都是有效的设计决定。我尝试着讨论创造性是否比具有挑战的怀旧元素更有价值；但就我而言它们都是有价值且必要的追求。这并不是设计师所拥有的唯一两种抉择，只是针对于“老”用户与“新”用户之间的双项选择—-世界上共有70多亿人口，他们都有各自寻找吸引人的内容的理由。

但对于我来说，我更倾向于怀旧元素，就像我的体内总是有部分因子推动着我反复玩《最终幻想IX》。所以如果能够将这种感觉与你的游戏设计维系在一起，你便能够赚到我的钱，并且我敢保证我并不是唯一有这种想法的人。

（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）

The Value of Nostalgia in Design

by Tom Battey

nostalgia: noun, a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one’s life, to one’s home or homeland, or to one’s family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.

I’ve written about nostalgia in games a few times before; once when considering how picking up a new take on a beloved genre can feel a bit like coming home, and again – a little more forcefully – when the validity of obvious nostalgia projects on Kickstarter was brought into question.

But at risk of writing pretty much the same thing over and over again – perhaps I’m getting nostalgic for my own articles now – I’ve been thinking more about nostalgia in games recently. Perhaps it’s because I’m at a time in life when the lure of older, simpler times is particularly strong, or perhaps it’s just because I’ve been playing the HD remake of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, a game that can instantly transport me back to being a carefree thirteen-year-old.

There’s something special about diving back into a game you know and love well. It’s not unlike re-reading a beloved book or returning to a favourite childhood film. It’s a feeling of comfort, a bit like belonging.

I also find I’m able to relax more with a game I’m familiar with. There are certain stresses to picking up a brand new game – a new control scheme to master, new vocabulary to learn, a new world in interact with. It requires quite a lot of mental focus. You might not notice it most of the time, but if I’ve had a particularly long day and want to unwind with a game, I often find it hard to play a new game. I don’t have the mental energy to pay attention properly, so my interest wanes quickly.

I don’t have the same problem with a game I’m familiar with. Wind Waker doesn’t stress me out because I know exactly where I stand with it. I’m familiar enough with its mechanics and visual grammar that I can play it on a semi-autopilot and let my brain unwind a bit. It’s pleasant, rather than exhilarating, and there is something to be said for that at times.

Games are by nature transportive. Much is made of ‘immersion’, a game’s ability to absorb us into its world. And sometimes, the world we want to be transported to is one from when we were a little younger, a little more carefree.

It’s natural that sometimes we’d actually prefer to play something we’ve played before than something completely new. It would explain the popularity of HD remakes, as well as the success of those divisive Kickstarter projects that seek to revive old gaming properties.

There’s a powerful draw to nostalgia – and it’s possible to design nostalgia into your games, even if you’re not directly remaking an existing game. Certain design choices can make players familiar with the format feel more comfortable with your game before they’ve really spent much time with it.

The most obvious choice is your aesthetic; by choosing to use pixel-art, for example, you’re directly referencing a specific era of game history. Your choice of art style alone can conjure a feeling of nostalgia in a player, and will alter a player’s expectations of the game before they’ve even started playing.

But your mechanical choices can factor in to a game’s ability to play on nostalgia as well. I grew up playing Japanese RPGs on the Playstation, so when I play a game like Ni No Kuni or Bravely Default I feel a strong pull of nostalgia. The simple act of having the screen swirl and place me on a separate battle map ticks a comfort box inside my brain. Line up my characters down one side of the screen, the enemies down the other, present me with a multiple choice menu and I’ve already settled into comfortable battle rhythm. I know this formula, I know these mechanics, so I’m able to relax.

The design and structure of your game can have a similar effect. Put me in front of an impassable object with a clear indication that I don’t yet possess the gear required to advance and I recognise the structure of a Metroidvania-style game. My familiarity with and recognition of this formula influences how I will continue to play the game. Now that I know what to expect I’ll switch my pacing accordingly, taking more time to explore and getting less frustrated at my inability to make straightforward progress.

One should be careful how much one relies on nostalgia when designing a game, however. By making a deliberately nostalgic game you are making a decision about your intended audience. The more your game seeks to evoke a sense of nostalgia, the more it requires your player to be familiar with the designs you are referencing.

To use the examples above, while I immediately understand what’s required of me when presented with a classical JRPG turn-based battle screen, the same screen might seem illogical and terrifying to someone not versed in the genre. Without proper instruction and guidance, a lot of new players will be put off by the seeming complexity of such a system. Likewise, while I’m comfortable with the need to explore and poke at walls in a Metroidvania-style game, players not familiar with the genre might find themselves lost, confused and frustrated.

Generally, the more your game uses nostalgia as a design tenet, the harder it will be to sell the same game to novice game players. It’s impossible to design a game that appeals to all audiences, everywhere – one day EA will realise this and the world will be a better place. It’s a choice you have to make when coming up with a game concept – do you want to rely on the nostalgia of existing gamers to sell your game into a pre-defined audience, or try to create something new to try to lure in a new audience?

That’s not to say you can’t design a game that is both nostalgic and welcoming to newcomers. It’s something Nintendo do better than anyone else in the industry – all of their games are capable of transporting a hardened Nintendo fan back to a period of their youth, yet are also designed in such a simple and accessible way that they are welcoming to new players. Whether it’s your first Mario game or your twentieth, you’re still going to have a great time.

Tt’s a difficult balance to find, and doing so consistently is what makes Nintendo’s designers among the best in the world. A safer bet is to decide early in development what the appeal of your game is for your audience; are you tapping into a rich vein of nostalgia in people who have played games for years, creating something that feels like a well-loved artefact even when it’s brand new, or are you creating something new and exciting and challenging for an audience that’s less pre-defined?

Both are completely valid design decisions. I tire of the debates about whether innovation is a more worthwhile aim than channeling nostalgia; as far as I’m concerned both are worthwhile and necessary pursuits. These are also not the only two options a designer has, a binary choice between an ‘old’ audience and a ‘new’ one – there are seven billion people out there and they all have different reasons for finding something appealing.

But me, I’m prone to nostalgia, and there will always be a part of me that just wants to play Final Fantasy IX over and over again, if only because sometimes I’d quite like to be twelve again. So if you can conjure up that feeling with your game design, then you’ll have my money, and I think I can safely say I’m not alone in that. Now I’m going back to staring at that FFX/X-2 HD remake on Amazon, hovering my cursor over the ‘buy’ button and feeling conflicted.(source:gamasutra)