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如何去寻找游戏设计中的真正乐趣

发布时间:2016-10-14 11:45:09 Tags:,,,,

作者:Charlie Cleveland

设计一款游戏总是会让人觉得在寻找属于自己的游戏。

首先你必须拥有一个理念,然后你要创造一个原型,并尝试着进行游戏。之后你需要去评估它看看你喜欢其中的什么属性以及不喜欢什么属性,并尝试着总结原因。

你同时还要注意到像别人在玩一张纸牌时脸上所露出的微笑或者他们使用某一道具的方式,再或者他们在YouTube重放时的尖叫等等基于情感且意想不到的结果。这些看似微不足道的元素都可能预示着你的游戏拥有你所不知道但却非常重要的特征。你可能只能在偶然情况下才会发现它们。而如果你能够认真观察,你的下一个游戏原型便能更多地专注于正确的方面而避开那些无用的内容。

就像在吸血鬼游戏中,开始总是非常简单:我喜欢像《银河遭遇战》和《Magic》等非常规游戏,并希望能够创造一款简单且适合晚宴的游戏。但结果却让我非常吃惊,我希望自己创造的是最终游戏,但似乎原型却不能作为最终游戏。

所以我便在一个晚上抽出2.5个小时并创造出一款根本不能达到自己目标的游戏。它真的非常糟糕。但它的确是一款完整的游戏,我们在隔天进行了游戏测试。但说实话这款游戏真的就像垃圾一般。

但因为基于非常低的期待值,我能够畅通无阻且快速地打下所有内容。隔天我打印了规则,并借鉴了来自其它游戏的一些组件。所以这款游戏最终如下图所示:

first playtest(from gamasutra)

first playtest(from gamasutra)

游戏中的主要概念包括:

1.每个玩家都拥有独特的吸血鬼能力

2.玩家可以利用他们之间的人类

3.每个玩家可以获取每个人类上的血液

4.每个人可以基于同样的行动作出同步行动选择

5.饥饿元素会让每个玩家在每一轮损失一滴血液,所以他们需要喂饱自己

现在我非常喜欢桌面游戏设计,所以我便致力于开发这样的游戏。

在经过1年时间投入500个小时于游戏开发后,我创造了8个主要版本以及40朵个较小的修订内容,如今游戏看来大不一样了。

ready for publishing submission(from gamasutra)

ready for publishing submission(from gamasutra)

实际上,游戏中唯一保留了来自最初版本的概念便是每个玩家所获得的来自人类身上的血液。甚至是每个玩家所拥有的独特“Cosmic”能力也被删除了。虽然我尽可能地去挽留了它们,但是最终还是觉得删除这些内容对游戏来说更好。

但是这是否是创造游戏的有效方式?

这就好像看着自己以前的照片时所涌现出来的矛盾感。

你的朋友会问你:“那是谁?”

你会自信地回答:“是我”。

但从拍下那张照片以来,你身体上的每一个细胞都发生了变化。

当然你还是你,但是你的身体的每一部分却都发生了改变。不过因为创造出你身体的每一个组件的DNA还是一样,所以你的身体将继续将你维持在照片中的状态。

而游戏设计似乎也是如此。甚至当所有元素都发生改变时,游戏的“精髓”也仍然存在着。

不仅如此,对于我来说拥有所有的这些改变是非常必要的。因为只有这样你才能清楚自己尽所能“创造”出了最佳游戏。即创造出了值得你所投入的时间并值得玩家去欣赏的游戏。

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

Finding the fun in game design

by Charlie Cleveland

Designing a game often feels like finding your game.

First you have an idea, then you create a prototype (a “hypothesis”) and then you play it. Then you evaluate it to see what attributes you liked and what you didn’t, and try to surmise why.

You also notice subtle emotional and unexpected results, like a smile on someone’s face when they played a card, or how they pantomimed with a prop, or why they screamed during a YouTube playback. These subtle points can indicate important, exciting traits you didn’t know your game had. You just stumbled upon them. And then if you’re listening carefully, your next prototype has focuses more on these good things and less on the bad.

In Vampire game, it started very simply: I loved rule-breaking games like Cosmic Encounter and Magic and wanted to make one that was simpler and suitable for a dinner party. But I was blocked: I wanted this to be the ULTIMATE game, and no prototype is good enough for that.

So I gave myself 2.5 hours in one evening to create a horrible game, one that didn’t have to achieve my goals. It could be total crap. But it had to be a complete game, and one that we would playtest the next day. This is truly designing for the garbage can.

But with such low expectations, I suddenly was on fire and typing as fast I could – I was completely unblocked. The next day, I printed the rules, borrowed some components from other games and played a game. It looked something like this:

First playtest (July 2015)

The main concepts in the game included:

1. A unique vampire power for each player

2. Humans in between each player which could be taken

3. Blood for each player and on each human

4. Simultaneous action selection with the same actions for everyone

5. A hunger element which had every player losing 1 blood per turn so they had to feed.

Now I was excited about board game design, like I always thought I could be. Then I got to work.

After 500 hours of work in a year, 8 major versions and 40+ smaller revisions, the game is quite different. In fact, the only concept in the game that remains from the first version is…blood for each player and on each human. Even the founding element of the game, a unique “Cosmic” like power for every player has finally just been thrown out. I held onto it longer than I should have, because it was dear to my heart, but the game is better with the removal.

Ready for publisher submission (September 2016)

But, is this a good, or efficient way to make games?

It makes me think of the apparent paradox when looking at an old picture of yourself.

“Who is this?” your friend asks.

Charlie, age 10. Today I’m still a geek.

“It’s me.”, you reply confidently.

But since that photo was taken, every single cell in your body has been replaced.

You are still you, even though no part of your physical being remains the same. But the DNA that (re)created every piece of you is the same, so your body continues to “make” you in your own perfect image.

It seems to work the same way in game design. The “spirit” of a game can carry through, even when every single other element changes.

Not only that, but to me it actually seems necessary to have all this change. Only then, will you know for sure that you have “created”the best game you can. One that’s truly worth your time, and that of your players.(source:Gamasutra

 


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