作者：Brandon Sheffield

这其实是一个很奇怪且备受争议的话题，但我相信如果你真正想要创造出一些不错的东西，你就不该漏掉味道。不管是“好的”味道还是“糟糕的”味道并不重要。为了创造出一些其他人会喜欢或不喜欢的东西，你需要去喜欢一些特定的东西，并清楚自己为什么喜欢它们，否则别人将只会忽视你。

我遇到许多人问过我对他们游戏的看法，而当我看到那些游戏只是对于其它游戏简单的整合时，我真的不知道该说什么。如果我能说的只是那就是一款马里奥游戏时，我又怎么会被吸引呢？但如果你所创造的是一款关于一个在商务会议中迟到的骷髅的平台游戏，我便会对游戏和你拥有不同的想法。而这一切都是归根于味道，所以你必须想办法去添加这些味道。

取样盘

为了拥有味道，你必须去思考。你不仅要了解自己喜欢某些东西，同时也要清楚为什么你喜欢那些东西。也就是你必须能够做到自我评判。这并不是意味着你应该自贬。就像我经常看到很多人在谈论一些艺术家总是对自己感到厌恶并认为自己的创作是无用的，但这其实大错特错。只要你不会变得自满，你当然可以认为自己很不错。那些经常自贬的人并不能因此成为优秀的艺术家。而你真正需要做的便是进行无害的自我分析。

这是关于分析你为什么喜欢自己所喜欢的那些东西。让我们假设你正处于20代后期，因为你是成长于20世纪90年代，所以你会喜欢《恶魔城月下夜想曲》，而你那些较年长的兄弟姐妹则不能理解你。你会觉得那是自己玩过最棒的游戏，没有人能够再创造出比它更棒的内容，因为你曾经历那个时代所发生的一切并拥有那个时代的生活。所以你必须对此进行分析而不只是接受“那时候的游戏更好”的论断。

举个例子来说吧，我曾呈现给一群人我正在创造的一款游戏的截图。比我年长的人认为那就像《Persona》。而比我年轻的人则说这会让他们想起《Mega Man Battle Network》。这里的关键并不在于特定的参照对象，而是你必须清楚能够引起你的共鸣的图像是什么。为什么它是具有意义的并且能够引起人们激烈的响应。

demonschoolclass(from gamasutra)

Persona2(from gamasutra)

battlenetwork(from gamasutra)

说实话，我所呈现的图像只是一个等距的学校场景。这与其它游戏并没有什么特定关系。但是当你曾投入时间和精力在玩像《Persona II》或《Mega Man Battle Network》等游戏时，你便会开始从中寻找更多相似点。这便是值得分析的内容。在我们的例子中，我们知道自己在创造什么—-即我们希望创造一些更接近现实世界的内容。而你的大脑将自己去创造各种联系。

味道测试者

以下是帮助你养成自我批评的一些实践方式。或许这些方式会显得很蠢，但是它们却会推动着你去思考。

1）写下三个有关你选择的十首最喜欢的歌曲或最喜欢的专辑的原因。当你听到它们时你的生活会有什么变化？为什么它们能够引起你的共鸣？现在它们是否还能引起你的共鸣？

2）观看你的朋友喜欢但是你并不喜欢（或相反情况）的电影。在尊重其他人的想法的同时谈论你的感受。要求自己分析为什么这一电影不适合你但却适合其他人。

3）前往一家二手店并找出三样你所喜欢的东西。你不需要购买它们，你只需要找出吸引你注意的有趣的东西即可。你为什么会觉得它们有趣？如果拥有这些东西会怎样？为什么你想拥有它们？

接下来是一些更困难但却更有价值的尝试。如果你前往另一座城市或另一个国家，你可以尝试着住在朋友家而不是酒店。然后你可以避开热门景点前去一些特别的餐馆，二手店，朋友推荐的酒吧或其它一些比较local的地方。到达那些地方并不轻松，你可以看看到底是什么引导着自己前去那里。不要想着走捷径，在你可以走路的时候就选择走路。你将因此认识更多人，当然也包括你自己。

而我们该如何将其应用于游戏中呢？一旦你开始进行自我分析，所有的这一切就会变得自然而然。就像为什么角色是蓝色的？它本来可以是红色的！这个角色设定为男人的原因是什么？如果他是女人会怎样？如果他们是狗的话又会怎样？你是否有认识的人拥有像这样的狗？那么他们对此会有什么反应？

而当你在进行自我分析时，这些问题也就迎刃而解了，并最终能够帮助你创造出一款更加强大的游戏。

你应该创造那些对游戏真正重要的选择，而不是盲目跟风。选择那些对自己或对团队有意义的东西。当你在为自己或自己所认识的人创造某些内容时，它们将能够更容易引起别人的共鸣，因为这样的内容往往更加真实有味道。

人们总是非常尊重味道。他们希望能够因为拥有想法和感受而得到赞扬。如果不是这样的话世界上也就不存在评论者了。我们也将不会前往论坛去发表有关最新《生化危机》预告片的观点。

所有人都拥有识别味道的能力。有些人能够比别人更轻松地做到这点，但我相信所有人都能够识别出自己喜欢什么。

如果你能够在创造游戏的同时仔细考虑想法，感受，希望，梦想与味道，你的游戏将会比下一款《我的世界》复制品优秀无数倍。这个世界上还是存在太多平淡无味的游戏，所以我们不要再去创造这样的游戏了！

（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）

Get some taste! Let’s stop making bland games!

by Brandon Sheffield

This is a weird and controversial subject, but I believe that in order to make something good, you have to have taste. “Good” taste, “bad” taste, it doesn’t matter; you’ve got to like certain things—and know why you like them—in order to make something that other people are going to like or dislike. Otherwise, they’ll just pass you by.

I get a lot of folks asking what I think of their games, and… I never know what to say when the thing is just a flavorless mishmash of other games. If all I can tell form your game is that you played Mario once, why am I going to be engaged? But if you make a platformer about a skeleton who is late for a business meeting, I start to feel something about the game, and about you. And that all comes down to having taste, and pursuing it.

Sampler plate

To have taste, you have to be able to think about thinking. You have to know not only that you like things, but why you like those things. You’ve got to be able to be self-critical. This does not mean you should be self-deprecating! I see lots of folks talk about how all real artists are down on themselves and think their creativity is forfeit, but that is wrong-headed. You can think you’re pretty much alright, as long as you’re never complacent. Hot Topic goths being down on themselves don’t necessarily make good artists. But nondestructive self-analyzers often do.

So really, it’s about analyzing why you like the things you like. Let’s say you’re in your late 20s. You like Symphony of the Night because you grew up in the 1990s, and your older sibling passed it down to you. It feels like it was the best game ever and nobody ever made anything else like it, but really it was your best game ever, because of where you were in that time, what happened to you, what your life was like, and how this game slotted into it. You have to analyze that, not just accept the idea that “games were better back then.”

For example, I showed a bunch of folks a screenshot of a game I’m working on. Folks who were a bit older said it looked like a Persona game. Younger folks said it reminded them immediately of Mega Man Battle Network. The important thing is not the particular reference but that you understand what it is about the image that resonates with you. What was it about that time that was meaningful, and elicited that excited response?

Really, our image is just an isometric school scene. It’s not related particularly to any of those other games. But when you’ve invested time and energy into playing something like Persona II or Mega Man Battle Network, it sticks with you, and you start looking for more things like it. This is worth analyzing. In our case, we knew what we were making, and made something that looked like a realized world. Your brain makes the rest of the connections by itself.

Taste tester

Here are some exercises to help cultivate your self-criticism. They may seem stupid, but they may get you thinking.

1) Write three sentences about why you like your top ten songs or albums. What was going on in your life when you heard them? Why did they resonate with you? Do they resonate the same way now?

2) Watch a movie your friend likes but which you don’t (or the reverse). Talk about your feelings while being respectful of the other person’s views. Force yourself to break down why it doesn’t work for one of you but does for the other.

3) Go into a thrift store and find three things you like. You don’t have to buy them, just find some interesting things that appeal to you. What makes them interesting? Who do you think owned these things? Why did they give them away?

Here’s a tougher one, but valuable if you can swing it. If you travel to another city, another state, or another country, try staying in a friend’s house, not in a hotel, Airbnb, or anything that isolates you from the way people live in that place. Next, avoid tourist hot spots and instead head to a specific restaurant, a thrift store, your friend’s favorite bar, or somewhere else that’s very local. Have a hard time getting there, see where it leads you. Don’t take the easy road, walk when you can (being mindful of your safety, of course!). You’ll learn a lot about people, including yourself.

How do you apply this to games? It comes naturally, once you’re in the business of self-analysis. Why should this character be blue? It could be red! Is there a reason for this person to be a man? What if it were a woman? What if they had a dog? What are people you know who have dogs like? How would they react in this situation?

When you are practiced in self-analysis, these questions tend to come with answers built in, and will ultimately make your game a stronger work.

Make choices that matter in your games. Don’t do something because it’s popular, do something because it means something to you, or to someone on your team, or to your mother, or to your third grade teacher. When you make something for yourself, or for someone you know, it’s more likely to resonate with others, because it will be genuine and real.

People respect taste. They crave a connection to it and want to be complimented for having thoughts and feelings. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be critics in the world. We wouldn’t go on forums to voice our opinion about the latest Resident Evil trailer and how it compares to the historical canon.

Everyone has the capacity for taste. Some folks have an easier time than others, but I believe everyone is capable of identifying what they like and acting on it.

If you make a game infused with your carefully considered thoughts, feelings, hopes, dreams, and taste, your game will be so much more interesting than the next Minecraft clone. There are so many bland and flavorless games in the world! Let’s not make many more of them.(source:gamasutra)