游戏邦在:
杂志专栏:
gamerboom.com订阅到鲜果订阅到抓虾google reader订阅到有道订阅到QQ邮箱订阅到帮看

Snowfall谈如何基于一个外部IP来开发游戏

发布时间:2017-09-25 15:17:29 Tags:,,

原文作者:Will Freeman 译者:Megan Shieh

Moomin(姆明一族)又叫:噜噜咪一家、小肥肥一族、姆明谷。它是一个由Tove Jansson及Lars Jansson于1940年创作的故事,原本Tove是想创作出一个丑陋古怪的精灵来取笑她的弟弟Lars,想不到他们逗趣而可爱的模样赢来了满天满地的粉丝。

游戏开发商Snowfall决定着手围绕这个IP开发游戏,他们也因此获得了100万欧元的资金。

这一切都始于2014年冬天的一次谈话。当时,Snowfall的三位创始人确信《姆明一族》作为游戏IP的潜力还没有被完全开发。之前有许多人尝试过,但是这个芬兰国宝始终都还没有等到它的伯乐。

因为当时Snowfall本身不是游戏开发商,所以他们创立了JamRun Adventures Oy,并委托当地的工作室Indium以他们的名义来开发一款游戏。

这个游戏就是后来在移动设备上发布的《Moomin Adventures: Jam Run》,而它发布后的反响很不错。

Moomin Adventures: Jam Run(from pocketgamer.biz)

Moomin Adventures: Jam Run(from pocketgamer.biz)

测试了大众对姆明游戏的兴趣之后,该工作室更名为Snowfall,并于2016年初开始筹款。

现在称其为绝对的成功还为时过早,但是随着另外一款游戏的发行日临近,后面还有两款游戏正在筹备中,Jansson姐弟的创作无疑使Snowfall团队忙得不可开交。

然而,仅用一个授权IP就能在游戏行业站稳脚跟,这种事儿可不是天天都有。那么《姆明一族》到底有什么魔力呢?

文化瑰宝

姆明品牌如今非常受欢迎。虽然它长期以来一直是其祖国(芬兰)的文化瑰宝,但现在的姆明一族在世界各地都广受喜爱,尤其是在亚洲地区。它发展成为了一个巨大的商业运作品牌,并且越来越流行。

Snowfall首席执行官Natasha Trygg认为,这意味着有一个全新、庞大的客户群和潜在市场正在等待挖掘。

这位首席执行官说:“我必须强调我们不是在为小朋友做游戏,这一点非常重要。”她目前正带领着团队在开发一款名为《Moomin Under Sail》的手游。

“基本上,我们将姆明的本质,Tove的黑色幽默,以及总是喝得醉醺醺的姆明爸爸都放到了游戏中。《姆明一族》里有一些邪恶的对话,我们也会把这些放到游戏当中。”

“不过当然,我们的游戏小朋友们也可以玩,基本上三岁以上的小朋友都可以玩。但是小朋友们不会接触到游戏的全部内容,有些内容会有岁数限制。姆明游戏的目标群体是成人,因为有很多粉丝都和《姆明一族》一起长大,他们了解姆明一族,也对它们带有怀旧情怀。”

Trygg认为,在对品牌的误解中也存在机会。她说,大多数人只把姆明一族看作是一群可爱的小不点,但是它们可爱的外表下还存在着很多其他的东西。

不过,用着别人的IP也意味着我们必须遵守品牌所有者制定的规定。该IP的所有者针对《姆明一族》里的角色定制了几项法令:它们永远不能死掉;不能做坏事;也不能有暴力行为。

Trygg强调:“要做一个完全不存在暴力情节的游戏真的不容易。”

有效利用IP

我们都知道,一个好的授权IP并不能保证游戏的成功。因此,你需要好的游戏设计师。

Trygg说道:“首先,你的游戏设计师必须得有制作好游戏的能力;其次,TA还得根据IP的限制来最大限度地利用这个品牌。”

对于Snowfall团队来说,正是因为这些限制,所以他们的作品才能达到够高的标准。

她解释道:“作为一个艺术家,我很欣赏原创IP之类的东西,但是当你有绝对性自由的时候,就可能会迷失自己。”

“因此你必须设定界限。设定界限有的时候对我们来说很容易,因为《姆明一族》的IP已经自带了限制。我们清楚地知道什么能做,什么不能做。如果我们想有其他的想法,也可以跟IP所有者进行商议。”

作为Snowfall的首席执行官,她和同事们都认为《姆明一族》在手游领域还有很大的发展空间。

Trygg总结道:“《姆明一族》的品牌持有者还拥有许多其他的IP,我们有着非常密切的合作关系,也建立起了信任。Snowfall已经从业务方面证明了自己的能力,因此如果要和他们的其他IP合作也是完全没有问题的。”

未来,Snowfall也许会与更多的IP合作;但就目前而言,它的侧重点是《姆明一族》。

本文由游戏邦编译,转载请注明来源,或咨询微信zhengjintiao

The Moomin’s world as it appeared in the original novels and comics was rather distinct in atmosphere from the saccharine energy of the popular 1990s animation most non-Finns associate with the IP in the first instance.

Go back to Jansson’s books, and you’ll find a place that is eerie, dark, and steeped in both grumpy gloom and carefree optimism.

And it is capturing that tone that has seen games developer Snowfall secure €1 million in funding, as the team embarks on developing games using the IP.

It all started for the team after a conversation in the winter of 2014, where Snowfall’s three founders became convinced there was untapped potential in making games based on what the Moomins really were. Many had tried it before, but the Finnish national treasures were still waiting for a game worthy of their popularity.

Not being developers themselves, the founders formed JamRun Adventures Oy, and commissioned local studio Indium to build a game on their behalf.

That game was mobile release Moomin Adventures: Jam Run, and it did well. Having tested the appetite for Moomin games, the studio rebranded as Snowfall, and began fundraising in early 2016.
Before rebranding as Snowfall, the founders formed JamRun Adventures Oy and commissioned the Indium-developed Moomin Adventures: Jam Run

While it’s still too early to call the endeavour an absolute success, with one game nearing release, and two more Moomin titles underway, Jansson’s creation is certainly keeping the Snowfall team busy.

Working with just one external IP, however, isn’t an everyday way to find mobile gaming success. So why commit to a single family of hippo-nosed trolls?

A cultural institution

Today, the Moomin brand is huge. While it has long served as a cultural institution in its homeland, presently Moomins are wildly loved across the world, and particularly in Asia. They are the stars of a huge merchandising operation, and continue to grow in popularity. And that, believes Snowfall CEO Natasha Trygg, means there is a new, vast audience and potential market.

“On the creative side, I have to say we are not making games for kids,” says the CEO, who is currently leading a team working on mobile gameMoomin Under Sail.

“That’s very important. What we are doing is more like Pixar and so on. So basically we are taking the Moomin’s actual nature, and Tove’s black humour, and Moominpappa getting drunk on Whiskey, and we are putting all that into our games. There are conversations in the Moomins that can be really dark, and we will have them in the game.

“Our work is kid friendly, of course. It’s three-plus, basically. But those kids won’t always get everything. It’s the same with Disney. Some of the Disney stuff kids won’t get until they’re old enough. So we make games for adults. Many Moomin fans grew up with the Moomins, and they have this nostalgia for them, and know what they are.”

The team at Snowfall are currently working on new mobile game Moomin Under Sail

There’s also an opportunity, Trygg believes, in the misunderstanding of the brand. Most, she says, see Moomins as ‘cute little marshmallows’.

“There’s so much more to them,” Trygg insists. “Tove made this whole world that is so colourful, with really unique characters, and that is what Snowfall focuses on.”

Working with an external IP, though, means obeying the rules of the brand holder. Moomin Characters, which owns the property, has several edicts. Moomins can never die. They can never do harm. They must never be violent.

“Think about it. Making a game with no violence isn’t easy,” Trygg asserts.

Making IP work

But it is here that the opportunity for savvy mobile developers exists, Trygg believes. As has been proved many times throughout the history of video games, a good licensed IP does not guarantee a good or successful game. For that, you need good game designers.

“There is a bit of a separation between making a good game, and knowing a brand,” states Trygg, whose PHD looked at copyright and ownership.

“You need game designers and somebody who knows how to make good games, and then there is the IP and the restrictions with how you use the brand.”

And, for the Snowfall team, working within restrictions is what keeps their work at a high enough standard.

“As an artist, I love original IP and all that, but also, when you have full freedom you can get lost,” she explains.

“So you have to set your own boundaries. Here at Snowfall we have made it sometimes easy, with the Moomin restrictions. We know what we can do, and we know what we cannot do. We work within those boundaries. And if we want to do something different, we can negotiate with Moomin Characters.”

As well as leading developer Snowfall, CEO Natasha Trygg is also a keen artist

Time and again, Trygg highlights what great collaborators Moomin Characters the company is, and there perhaps Snowfall is lucky. But as the CEO and her colleagues ponder more Moomin mobile releases, they are claiming much wider potential.

“The holders of the Moomin brand hold so many other brands,” Trygg concludes. “That’s almost the whole point. And we have a very close collaboration with them. We have built a trust. It has been proven from the business side that we work well with their IP. It won’t be an issue to work with more IPs from the same IP holder.”

For Snowfall, at least, their future may well be filled with more than one IP. For now, though, it is focusing on one property that provides them with that prospect. (Source: pocketgamer.biz  )


上一篇:

下一篇: