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我们可以从《过马路》的游戏设计中学到什么

发布时间:2015-09-23 15:55:54 Tags:,,,,

作者:Jair McBain

Hipster Whale(总部位于墨尔本并获得苹果设计大奖的开发商)所开发的《过马路》是非常值得关注的一款游戏。上周这款游戏实现了1亿的下载量,所以我打算在此讨论我们能够从这款最成功手机游戏之一身上学到的一些设计经验。

简单

简单即是关键。如果一款游戏的准入障碍很低,玩家可以无需任何线索便了解核心游戏循环的话,游戏的用户体验便会很棒。而《过马路》便在游戏的每个方面都呈现出了出色的清晰性与一致性,即不管是菜单设计,互动,简单的一键式设计或用于控制玩家角色的滑动互动。

《过马路》是一款在任何关卡都能提供给所有玩家游戏挑战与娱乐价值的游戏—-不管玩家拥有怎样的年龄,性别,种族,性取向等等。

crossy road(from gamasutra)

crossy road(from gamasutra)

低水平的摩擦

摩擦是描述玩家未能及时识别出游戏核心体验的概念。而《过马路》便拥有非常低的摩擦率。玩家唯一可能遭遇延迟的情况有两种,首先是在观看视频广告的时候,而玩家可以通过观看广告获得游戏内部货币;其次是在玩家死亡与重新游戏间0.5秒至1秒的加载时间。值得注意的是,只要这些行动一结束,玩家只需要按压最多两个按键便能够重新回到游戏中。

易用性

因为拥有多种语言选择,《过马路》轻松进入了国际市场。很多游戏都因为语言障碍而很难接触到更多玩家。再一次地,因为这款游戏的简单及其出色的设计原则,作为交流关键的语言也就不那么必要了。甚至当我在玩韩语版的《过马路》时(我根本看不懂韩语),我也能够轻松理解游戏规则,因为游戏具有非常简单的行动提示。

竞争/良性互动

《过马路》中唯一的竞争形式是体现在排行榜上。这是玩家能够选择忽视的一个功能—-如果他们觉得这对自己的游戏体验不重要的话。

有些人也认为如果游戏中拥有一些同步或异步竞争的话便能够进一步提升用户粘性。然而也有人认为避免玩家间的直接竞争能够有效地突显游戏的正面性,而无需依靠竞争态度或行动号召去发光发亮。

这并不是说《过马路》不能提供给你有关朋友的成就进行比较。从设计角度看来,包括分数记录等内容能够进一步激励玩家更努力游戏而去超越朋友的分数,从而提高游戏的用户粘性。并且这也能成为玩家之间的话题来源,这就像是免费的游戏市场营销,即玩家有可能将一些还未接触过《过马路》的人带到游戏中。

探索

尽管随着玩家获得越来越高的分数,游戏世界中并不会再出现什么新内容,但是如果玩家购买特定角色的话便会改变整体的视觉体验。

举个例子来说吧,如果玩家打开了“Dark Lord”这个角色,游戏世界便会变成暗红色,在你经过的时候所有树都会被烧起来,而当你跳跃时角色后面便会跟着一道道火焰。尽管这种改变并不会改变玩家与游戏的互动,但是全新的视觉体验却能够培养玩家的发现精神并推动玩家去打开更多新角色。对于那些只能使用真钱才能开启的角色,玩家便会期待游戏体验发生更大的变化,如Psy(游戏邦注:有名的韩国歌手)这一角色。通过购买Psy这个角色,玩家便能够获得只有使用真钱才能得到的独特体验。

结论

没有任何单一的游戏体验是完美的,开发者在利用创造性为玩家创造正面体验的同时也需要遵循可靠且有效的设计原则。说实话,《过马路》正是因为将巧妙的设计原则整合到游戏体验中才让游戏能够获得成功。这款游戏非常尊重玩家的时间,从不会要求他们必须花钱才能继续前进。它也提供给玩家不需要太费尽便能够摸索清楚的游戏环境,并且也未强迫所有玩家展开竞争。《过马路》是关于小小游戏体验也能够创造巨大的影响的例子,这也是世界各地的电子游戏设计师能够吸取灵感的出色例子。

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

What Design Lessons Can We Learn from Crossy Road?

by Jair McBain

Crossy Road, developed by Hipster Whale?—?Melbourne-based and winners of the Apple Design Award (among many other accolades)?—?is most definitely a game to take notice of. Having reached the significant milestone of 100 million downloads last week, I’d like to take a look at some lessons in design that we can learn from what is one of the most successful mobile games of the last few years.

Simplicity

Simplicity is key. If the barrier to entry is low and players can discern the core game loop without obvious language-based cues, the user experience is likely going to be a great one. Crossy Road displays clarity and consistency in all facets of the game, from menu design and interaction, to the simple one-touch or swipe interaction used to control the players block-like avatar.

Crossy Road is a game experience that offers the same challenges and entertainment value at all levels, to all players, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other point of individual diversity.

Low Level of Friction

Friction is a concept that describes the delay of engagement with what players would consider to be the core experience of a game. Crossy Road has a very low frequency of this. The only points at which a player is delayed from engaging with the core play loop (i.e., crossing the road for as long as they can) are firstly, watching a video advertisement, which is an optional action players are rewarded for with in-game currency; and secondly, the 0.5-to-1 second loading time between player death and restart of play. It should be noted, though, that as soon as either of these actions are over, players are able to return to play with a maximum of two button presses, but in most cases only one.

Accessibility

With a plethora of language options available, Crossy Road has opened itself up to the global market. Too often a great game is prevented from reaching the highest number of players it can due to language barriers. Again, due to the simplicity of Crossy Road and it’s brilliant design practice, necessity for language to communicate key concepts is pretty much nil. Even playing the game in Korean?—?which I do not speak nor read?—?I can come to understand how to engage with almost no effort, simply due to the symbolic nature of the prompts for action.

Competition/ Positive Interaction

The only form of competition present in Crossy Road is by way of leaderboard position. This is a feature that the player can easily choose to ignore if it isn’t important to their individual game experience.

Some may argue that if there was synchronous or asynchronous competition (think a friend’s ghost present in many racing games), there could be more potential for engagement. However, it can also be argued that not allowing for direct competition between players is a move that allows the positive nature of the game to shine without being marred by competitive attitudes or calls to action.

This isn’t to say that Crossy Road doesn’t give you a friendly reminder of your friend’s achievements in comparison to your own by way of in-game markers. The inclusion of score markers from a design standpoint serves as a subtle call to action that may drive further engagement born from the desire to outscore a friend. As an aside, it also serves as a potential talking point amongst players, which doubles as a handy bit of free marketing for the game when you come across someone who may not have engaged with Crossy Road yet.

Exploration

While there isn’t much new going on in the world space as the player gets higher and higher scores, the purchase of certain characters may change the entire visual experience thematically.

For example, if the player were to unlock the ‘Dark Lord’ character, the world lighting will dim with a red tinge, trees will spontaneously burst into flame as you pass by, and the character will trail flames behind it as you hop. Although the change doesn’t change the way the player interacts with the game, the potential for a visually new experience seeks to foster discovery and drive players to unlock new characters, whether that be through real world or in-game currency. In the case of characters that can only be unlocked through real world currency, there is a certain level of expectation that the gameplay experience will change more, such is the case with characters like Psy, the Korean pop-star. By purchasing Psy as a playable character, the player is promised a unique experience that can only be had with the transaction of real world funds.

In Summary

No single game experience can be said to be perfect, but developers can certainly follow solid and established design practice while making use of a little creativity to ensure that they are providing a positive experience for their players. Put plainly, Crossy Road makes use of brilliant design practice bundled into one experience where it can shine. It respects the player’s time, and never demands they spend money to progress. It provides a positive environment that takes very little effort to navigate through, is globally relevant, and it doesn’t force competition on all of its players. Crossy Road is a great example of how big of an impact a small experience can make, and a great source of inspiration for video game designers the world over.(source:Gamasutra

 


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