作者：Matthias Zarzecki

存在许多未得到真正开发的游戏类型，即只存在一两款先驱游戏外。每一种未被充分利用的类型都会提供给开发者一个立基范围以及各种可试验的可能性—-特别是对于独立开发者而言。

在文本中我们将着眼于一些成功游戏所归属的，但却从未被完整开发的某些类型。我们将在每种类型中使用一些例子进行说明，然后着眼于构成它的一些主要设计元素，以此找出它们未能得到充分利用的原因。

太空roguelike游戏

《星系舰队》

《超越光速》

《奇怪世界–重返无尽的太空》

太空roguelike是一种较为罕见的类型，尽管太空游戏与roguelike游戏分别都是非常受欢迎的游戏类型。

太空roguelike是由等价的太空导航，决策制定以及战斗序列等内容所组成。你将从一张星空图中选择一个目的地，并基于有意义的影响作出决定（游戏邦注：你可能会遇到海盗；这时候你是会乖乖将钱交到他们手上还是与之相抗衡？），然后你将加入战斗中。

上述所提到的游戏都有自己关于战斗机制的方法。在《星系舰队》中，你会在游戏暂停时决定如何移动。《奇怪世界》呈现的是一个自上而下的2D射击游戏模式。而在《超越光速》中，你将看到你的舰船以及敌人的视图，并选择瞄准一个子系统。

太空roguelike游戏中的大多数系统和机制都能够轻松作用于海盗背景下。《像素海盗》便是一个典型的例子。

海盗模拟游戏

《海盗大亨2：海盗岛》

《海盗大亨》系列游戏通常是在一个现代环境中围绕着管理香蕉共和国展开。《海盗大亨2》则做出了一个特别的选择：它是关于创造并管理一个海盗巢穴。

在这类型游戏中，游戏玩法主要是基于城市建造。获得资源的一大组成部分便是派遣海盗舰船去收集战利品和俘虏。你可以创建并掠夺各种舰船并将他们带到你的岛上与海盗一起生活，这有点像《模拟人生》，但却带有一些需要被开发的需求与技能。

随着时间的发展，你的秘密海盗群体将不断壮大并获得一定的声望，你的舰队也是如此。这时你将招募更多海盗到你的城镇中并在特殊的学校中对其进行培训以提高他们的技能。

黑客游戏

《Uplink》

《黑客进化论》

黑客游戏是特别的，因为它们经常发生于一个带有主要的功能性用户界面的操作系统中。因此“黑客”元素会以一种更真实的形式出现。

这种缺少“瞬间”便是主要元素。游戏中的数据会真实地呈现出来，就像它是处于一个真正的OS中一样。这可能也会包含一些无聊且平凡的任务：

例如《Uplink》中的一个行动是在连接计时器终止前搜索一个带有特定名字的文件。这一任务本身便能够创造出紧张感。

跳伞游戏

《轻率漠视重力》

关于下降的游戏应该更加流行才对，因为它们比其它类型的游戏更容易创造。《轻率漠视重力》便是这类型游戏的先驱，它是一款关于跳跃的游戏。

你将降落在一个奇异的场所并通过向建筑移动，穿越目标和狭窄的区域，尽可能在最后时刻打开降落伞并降落在目标区域而获得分数。

另外一个元素便是通过所呈现的世界去寻找最佳路线。在此也包含了许多元素，如建筑和易碎玻璃板的设置，这能够基于不同颜色而提供给玩家不同奖励。包含了所有的这些元素，游戏关卡便能够提供给玩家有趣的向下路径。

抢夺游戏

《Monaco》

《Payday》

《The Amazing Miss Take》

这类型游戏与潜行游戏类似，但与《分裂细胞》和《合金装备》不同的是，这些游戏并非依赖于基于行动的战斗，而是会执行一些有计划的抢夺。

这些游戏经常是以70年代的抢夺类电影为背景，并带有发生在博物馆和美术馆等场所的关卡。游戏玩法是围绕着避开摄像头和警卫并刷到想要的战利品而展开。

甚至连射击游戏《Payday》也提供了许多非暴力性方法去完成任务，这比只是射击敌人更让人紧张且更加有趣。

这类型游戏的游戏玩法主要是避开门卫并处于黑暗中。警报系统和激光是玩家需要解决的问题。战利品总是分散于关卡的各个地方，并附带着各种需要玩家完成的任务，这也提供了一些有意义的决定：你是否会冒险去获得奖励还是会保守地游戏？

《Payday 2》的设计目的是为了培养人们贪婪的属性。如果有人倒下，你的直觉便是去拯救他们，但这有可能需要以牺牲你的整个事业为代价，所以你有可能因此获得奖励。

武器模拟射击游戏

《Receiver》

主流游戏中的射击在某种程度上便是玩家始终凭直觉地敲打着“重新加载”按键，不管这么做是否会破坏场景的沉浸感。

《Receiver》便是与这种情况相反的一款典型游戏。比起按压R键重新加载，在游戏中使用枪支的每一个行动都对应着各自的按键。为了重新加载一个武器你需要：

激活安全设备

往全新或同样的弹药库中添加弹药

插入弹药库

加载第一枚子弹

释放安全设备

让我们看看下面截图中右方的文本内容。每个行动都伴随着各自的按键。熟知每一个按键非常困难。使用枪炮是个难题，而精通许多元素—-特别是在顶着巨大的压力下，却能让人感到满足。

所有的这些元素将游戏变得更加紧张，并且未依赖于过多的环境或敌人设置。

《疯狂小旅鼠》般的游戏

《Eets》

《羊群终结者》

《墨笔涂鸦》

自从1991年发行以来，《疯狂小旅鼠》便成为了电子游戏历史的经典之作。让人惊讶的是，除了“官方”续集外，几乎很少有游戏使用了它的规则，而Team 17的《羊群终结者》则是较为罕见的现代例子。

这类型游戏的游戏规则是关于聚集一群生物并领着他们穿越一个充满危险的领域。在适当时刻，你必须调整这群生物“流”，即给它们分配角色或扫除障碍。

存在许多创造谜题和障碍的可能性。另外一个元素便是你的动物群将会作出必要的牺牲。有多少动物需要组成楼梯井去帮助其它动物通过障碍呢？当你不得不牺牲一只动物时，你是否能够将其与剩下的隔离开来以减少损失？游戏玩法呈现出了一些有意义的决策。

时间旅行游戏

《时空幻境》

《时空战争》

《温特伯顿先生的不幸之旅》

平心而论，在游戏中创造时间旅行模式非常复杂，这可能是因为缺少足够可参考的例子。

时间旅行的独特性让我们能够基于各种方式去添加主题。《时空幻境》让你能够倒转整个关卡并撤销所有行动，添加抵制时间逆转元素将能够创造出独特的谜题。而在《时空战争》中，你将看到基于四个维度的战斗，并能看到过去与未来。尽管外部的互动需要更多资源。

而在《Magicka》中，玩家可以回到过去并看清楚自己是如何移动的，如自己在之前几个关卡中的表现。

跑酷游戏

《镜之缘》

《势头》

这些游戏是区别于无尽奔跑类游戏，如《屋顶狂奔》或《丛林探险》，即拥有一直在奔跑的角色，并且游戏玩法也是关于快速做出回应与避开障碍。很少有第一人称奔跑类游戏是关于操纵一个3D环境并选择最有效的穿越路径，同时还要维持较高的冲力。

在这里各种跳跃与滑动都是非常有用的技能，可以帮助玩家基于一种很酷的方式移动。

然而在这些游戏中玩家需要真正明确速度感。这能够创造一种移动效果：当奔跑得越来越快时，边缘的一切事物将变得更加模糊，并将你的视线推向中央。

做到这点的另外一种方法便是围绕着玩家渐现“效果渠道”。这可以是移动方块上的界限或者玩家周围的粒子。而效果则与上述的模糊类似。

《Nikko RC Racer》，也是我曾经在Paladin Studios参与的一款游戏便做到了这点。这款游戏真的创造出了非常棒的速度效果。

结论

我们可以找到许多等待进一步开发的独特游戏类型。在这些类型中隐藏着一些能够帮助你创造出更有趣的游戏的独特机制与设置。上述中提到的所有类型在今天的游戏领域中都未能得到彻底的开发，即使它们具有满满的乐趣与吸引力。一位带有技能的开发者应该能够挑选出其中的一种类型并创造出一款再无需与来自已经饱和的领域的游戏相抗衡的内容。

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转发，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

9 Rare and Underused Game Genres Ready to Explore

by Matthias Zarzecki

There are lots of game genres that haven’t really been explored, save for maybe the one or two games that pioneered them. Each underused genre offers a niche and a lot of possibilities to developers experimenting with it—especially for indie developers.

In this article, we’ll take a look at some genres that some successful games belong to, but that never caught on in a major way and have never been fully explored. We’ll go through some examples of games in each genre, then look at some of the major game design elements that make it up, to see what makes it tick.

Space Roguelike

Flotilla

FTL – Faster Than Light

Weird Worlds – Return to Infinite Space

The Space Roguelike is a rare genre, despite space games and roguelikes separately being well-known and popular.

A space-roguelike is made of almost equal parts space navigation, decision making, and battle sequences. You choose a destination from a starmap, have to make a decision with meaningful repercussions (you encounter pirates; do you pay them off or do you fight?), and then (possibly) fight battles.

The games given above each have their own approach to fighting mechanics. In Flotilla you decide how to move while the game is paused, after which the movements are executed. Weird Worlds presents a top-down 2D-shooter. In FTL you see a view of your ship and those of the enemies, and chose which sub-systems to target.

Most systems and mechanics of the space roguelike can also easily work in a pirate setting. A good example of a game like this is Pixel Piracy.

Pirate Overlord Simulator

Tropico 2: Pirate Cove

The Tropico series usually centers on managing a banana republic in a modern setting. Tropico 2 made a unique choice: it was about building and managing a pirate hideout.

In this genre, the gameplay centers mainly on city building. A vital part of gaining resources, however, is sending out pirate ships to gather plunder and captives. You can build and capture a variety of ships and crew them with pirates that live on your island, who are a bit like Sims, with wants and needs and certain skills that can be developed.

Over time, your secret pirate outpost grows in size and reputation, as does your fleet. You’ll recruit more pirates to your town and train them in special schools to improve their skills.

Hacker Games

Uplink

Hacker Evolution

Hacker games are unique in that they are often presented as if inside a (fictional) operating system with a primarily functional user-interface. Thus, the “hacking” elements appear in a more authentic fashion.

This lack of “flashiness” is a vital element. The data is presented matter-of-factly, like it would be in an actual OS. This might even include boring and mundane tasks:

One action in Uplink, for example, is to search for a file with a certain name while the connection timer runs down. This alone can add tension.

Parachuting Games

AaAaAA!!! – A Reckless Disregard for Gravity

Games about falling should be more prevalent, since they are generally easier to make than games of many other genres. AaAaAA!!! is the pioneer, styling itself as a base-jumping game.

You fall down an improbable landscape and gain points by moving close to buildings, through targets and narrow spots, activating your parachute as late as possible, and touching down on the landing zone.

Another element is finding the optimal route through the world presented. Many elements factor into that, like the placement of buildings and breakable glass plates, which give different bonuses depending on their color. With all these factors, levels can be created that offer interesting paths downwards.

Heist Games

Monaco

Payday

The Amazing Miss Take

These are similar to stealth games, but unlike Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid, these rely not on action-fueled battle (or avoiding it), but performing quiet and planned heists.

These are often set in a ’70s Heist movie setting, with the levels being museums and art galleries. Gameplay is centered around avoiding security cameras and guards, and swiping the desired loot.

Even Payday, which is a shooter, offers tons of non-violent ways to complete missions, which often are more tense and interesting than just having to shoot enemies.

Focus the gameplay on avoiding guards and staying in the shadows. Alarm systems and lasers offer puzzles to work around. Loot strewn around the level, with various risks attached to it, offer meaningful decisions: do you risk the reward, or do you play it safe?

Payday 2 is wonderfully designed in that it actively fosters greed. You only get a payout if at least one person makes it out alive, but every person left behind carries also a penalty. If somebody is downed, your first instinct would be to save them, but that would risk the entire enterprise, and thus the reward.

Weapon Simulator Shooters

Receiver

Shooting in mainstream games has been streamlined to such a degree that players instinctively hammer the “reload” button all the time, regardless of whether it destroys the immersion in the scene.

Receiver is the prime example of a game that does the opposite. Instead of pressing R to reload, every action of operating a gun has a single button assigned. In order to reload a weapon you have to:

Activate the safety

Remove the current magazine

Chamber rounds into a new or the same magazine

Insert the magazine

Load the first bullet

Deactivate the safety

See the text in the right-hand side of these screenshots? Each action has an unique key assigned. Learning the keys is difficult. Operating a firearm is a puzzle, and mastering the many elements, especially while under pressure, is incredibly gratifying.

All this makes the game much more intense, without having to rely too much on surroundings or enemies.

Lemmings-like

Eets

Flockers

Your Doodles are Bugged!

Ever since its release in 1991, the original Lemmings has been a classic of video game history. Surprisingly, apart from the “official” sequels bearing the Lemmings name, games using its rules are few and far between, with Team 17′s Flockers being the rare modern one.

The rules are centered around herding a group of (mostly mindless) beings through an environment filled with dangers. At the right moment, you have to intervene to adjust the “flow” of beings, by assigning roles to them or removing obstacles.

There are a lot of possibilities to create puzzles and obstacles. Another element is the necessary sacrifice of your herd of mindless animals. How many of them can become a stairwell to help others across? When you have to blow one up, can you try to keep it isolated from the rest to minimize losses? These are meaningful decisions presented by the gameplay.

Time Travel Games

Braid

Achron

The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom

In all fairness, modeling time-travel in games is fairly complicated, which might explain the lack of examples.

The unique nature of time travel allows many ways to include the theme. Braid allows you to rewind of the entire level and undo all of your actions, and adds elements that resist this reversal of time to create unique puzzles. In Achron you can see the battle in four dimensions, and view the past and the future. Interactions outside of the present require more resources, though.

Even simple gags are possible, like in Magicka, where you jump into the past and see your own selves moving about, like you yourself did a few levels ago.

Parkour Games

Mirror’s Edge

inMomentum

These are distinct from the endless runners, like Canabalt or Jungle Run, which have a character that runs all the time, and gameplay that is about quick reflexes and avoiding obstacles. The rare first-person runner is about navigating a 3D-environment and choosing the most efficient route through it, all while maintaining high momentum.

A variety of jumps and slides are useful, to let the player move around in a cool fashion.

However, the important thing to get right in these games is the sense of speed. Notice the slight blurring at the edges of the screenshot above. This is a great way to create a movement effect: while running faster and faster, everything around the edges becomes more fuzzy, pulling your view towards the center.

Another way of accomplishing this is by fading in an “effect tunnel” around the player. This can be a tube with moving lines drawn on it, or particles around the player. The effect is similar to the blurring mentioned above.

Nikko RC Racer, a game I worked on as part of a team at Paladin Studios, does this, as you can see in this screenshot in the upper right quadrant. It is rather subtle, and creates a decent speed effect

Conclusion

There are a lot of unique genres that beg to be developed further. Within them hide unique mechanics and settings that could make new games more interesting. All these genres mentioned are woefully under-represented in today’s gaming-space, despite having the potential to be fun and engaging. A skilled developer could easily pick up one of these and create a title that would not have to fight against other titles in an already saturated field. (source:tutsplus)