原作者：Om Tandon 译者：Willow Wu

为什么休闲游戏选择了midcore？它们又是如何应用midcore机制？像Playrix这样的顶级开发公司是如何对待休闲游戏领域掀起的这场变革？我和Playrix（畅销游戏《梦幻家园》《梦幻花园》和《梦幻水族箱》的开发商）的团队成员进行了一次深入探讨，对于这些问题他们将会给出什么样的回答？

在上篇文章我们聚焦的是Rovio Entertainment，分析了他们是如何将价值上百万美元的《愤怒的小鸟》成功迭代，发展成一个成熟的休闲手游系列。

本篇文章的聚焦的是另一家休闲手游开发商Playrix，玩家应该对他们并不陌生，你在畅销榜上应该会经常看到他们的作品，而且通常都在前十。现阶段，他们在休闲游戏上进行各种尝试，挑战休闲游戏的传统规则，期盼着未来的又一次成功。

Playrix有一系列热门三消游戏，例如《梦幻家园》《梦幻花园》和《梦幻水族箱》，在盈利方面也是名列前茅（三消游戏的领军是King, Jam City以及Peak Games）。

这些先锋开发商的共同特点就是专注于华丽的画面、视觉特效以及玩法，这些元素是畅销三消游戏的重要组成部分。但是Playrix并没有这么做。

简单的核心循环搭配上特定的环境设计元素，再加上强大的每日任务系统和精心撰写的剧情，这后两者肯定能让你想起midcore和hardcore游戏中类似的设定。让我们来详细了解一下。

Playrix旗下的游戏与midcore游戏有哪些相似之处

抛弃了三消游戏中的saga地图，按照装修进度逐步解锁其它区域，这就很像midcore和hardcore游戏中的基地建设，但是不需要那么周密的策略。

1）简易版本的基地建设：

剔除Saga地图！在King和Jam City的游戏中你依然能看到Saga地图，它代表了玩家的游戏进度。就如下图所示，玩家从第一关开始玩，一关接着一关，从一个区域打到另外一个区域，除此之外就没有其它有意义的互动方式了。

与Playrix团队的问答

Om Tandon: 你们为什么不用Saga地图了？是什么让你们放弃了三消游戏的这个‘悠久传统’？

Igor Elovikov (Playrix的创意总监)：原因要追溯到可下载的休闲游戏时代（casual downloadable games）。在那时，没有人想到F2P机制，市场处于饱和状态，有很多大同小异的产品。那些想要突破重围的公司做出了新的尝试——混合不同类型的游戏。

其中之一就是Tropix。Tropix和Cradle of Rome都是在2007年发行的（已经是10多年前的游戏了！），它们之间有很多共同点——玩家必须完成三消关卡挣取金钱或者是资源，用来建造某个东西。在Tropix中是建造一个岛，在Cradle of Rome中是建一整个村庄。

实际上，当我们在创作《梦幻水族箱》以及《梦幻花园》的时候，这两个游戏给了我们很多灵感。所以说我们的游戏机制早在十多年前就测试过了。

第一组图片所示的Playrix游戏机制在midcore和hardcore游戏中就是非常普遍的基地建设设定，就如第二组图片所示。

与Playrix团队的问答

Om Tandon: 加入这种机制是一种有意行为还是说你们是经过试验、失败之后才发觉它是对游戏有益的？

Igor Elovikov：我们学习了以前的可下载休闲游戏，基于累积下来的经验进行判断。

你们有做什么预防措施或者是设计更改来确保休闲玩家不会对这些基地建设机制感到困惑？

我觉得关键就在于降低难度，用情感设定去吸引玩家。

意思就是说在用户体验上要尽量简单，建造和制作部分要最简化，把重点放在情感维系上。

说得更清楚点就是我们在《梦幻水族箱》的对话和鱼的动画方面花了更多的精力，《梦幻花园》的剧情也是经过精心设计的，而游戏机制我们没有弄得更复杂。

玩家有什么样的反应？他们觉得这种装饰性或者说简易版的基地建设机制比纯粹的三消机制更有意思吗？

嗯，这个我没法肯定。但是我们目前并没有收到任何消极的反馈，玩家并没有跟我们抱怨说这种设计让他们觉得很烦恼或者是很麻烦。他们通常会说游戏的确不一样了，但这听起来算是比较正面的反馈。

游戏的流程跟其它大部分三消游戏都不一样，他们喜欢这种变化。

你觉得这会增加对玩家的吸引力，创造更多的价值吗？那些习惯了saga地图的休闲玩家有没有对这种改变产生兴趣？

是的，我认为有。如果你花了很多心血创作出一个角色丰富的故事，而且每个角色个性鲜明，这肯定要比普通的saga地图好得多。至少在情感层面就不一样，这能够有效地吸引玩家。

2）生产资源&获得经验

基地建设游戏中的建筑不仅仅是装饰，它们还可以生产资源，所以玩家必须要守住它们，不断升级。就如左下图的《海岛奇兵》所示。

Playrix的《梦幻水族箱》就具备这些特征：小鱼算是装饰但它们也可以生产金币。增加装饰物也会帮助玩家积累更多经验，提升游戏技能。

金币在三消玩法中也能起到帮助作用，可以用来购买额外的步数、增强道具等等。如果玩家很缺金币的话，他们也可以出售游戏中的装饰物品，所以这些东西也算是流动性资产。

与Playrix团队的问答

Om Tandon: 玩家在玩《梦幻水族箱》和《梦幻家园》时是不一样的，两个游戏的环境和装饰不一样，玩家的进阶方式也有所不同，这是很有意思的。做出这些设计更改是有什么特别的原因吗？

Igor Elovikov: 首先我们考虑的是怎样才能更好地匹配游戏设定。我觉得是游戏设定决定了玩家的进阶方式。

我们有两种模式：一是像《梦幻家园》或者《梦幻花园》那样位置固定，装饰物品可以选择；二是像《梦幻水族箱》那样，在位置和装饰方面都有更多样化的选择，你觉得哪种更好？

我能肯定地说《梦幻花园》中有限的发挥空间会让游戏在UI和用户体验方面简单很多，这对于小屏设备来说是非常重要的。智能手机用户操作起来会更简单、方便。

然而《梦幻水族箱》还有一个商店，有更多更丰富的内容，在线运营的操作机会也更多。在这种模式下，我们设计游戏内活动会相对容易一点，新的游戏概念也更容易得到反馈。

虽然《梦幻花园》中的发挥空间有限，但这能够确保小型设备的用户体验简洁易懂，而《梦幻水族箱》有更多商品选择，对于开发者们来说能够提高在线运营活动的成功几率。

3) 设置进阶门槛

意思就是根据玩家的游戏进程逐步解锁建筑区域。

上图的《海岛奇兵》和《梦幻水族箱》体现了两个游戏在物品购买上的相似之处——玩家需要达到一定的条件才能解锁更加高级的物品。

基地建设是游戏的重要组成部分，玩家需要收集资源建造基地，而这些资源就是通过游戏的核心玩法挣得，比如在core类游戏中就是战争，在Playrix游戏中就是三消了。

每日任务系统

任务或者是每日活动在两种循环机制之间搭建了联系。游戏利用连续发生的事件促使玩家继续建造、维护他们的基地（房屋、花园、水族箱等等），当玩家需要用星星来完成任务，这就能引导他们去接触游戏的核心部分，完成三消关卡获得任务所需的星星。

任务系统在midcore和hardcore游戏中是一种非常常见的设定，它能够逐步引导玩家，缩小他们的选择范围，让玩家知道下一步该建什么或者是做什么事。

与Playrix团队的问答

Om Tandon: 为什么游戏中需要每日任务系统？同类的休闲游戏大多都没有这个设定。我个人认为是为了将游戏的核心机制和建造机制联系起来，对吗？

Igor Elovikov: 我觉得每日任务算是个比较通用的机制吧。其它游戏没有用这个机制也没有因此获得什么优势。游戏是一种服务性质的产品，如果你希望用户每天都用它那么这种机制绝对是有益的。

那些对基地建设和剧情不感兴趣的玩家可以完全不管任务和建筑，只玩三消吗？为什么可以？如果不行的话，原因又是什么？

Igor Elovikov: 这一点是可以做到的。我们想过把这两个部分做成同步式的，比如把meta部分做成强制的，但是后来我们还是放弃了这个想法。

从我们的研究数据来看，所有玩家对设计、建造和任务都会有所接触，很少玩家会完全无视某个部分。

简化体验

1）Playrix在处理基地建设部分十分谨慎，简化内容，降低难度，以防玩家信息过载，同时又在游戏玩法上增加新花样，创造多渠道进阶方式。玩家可以通过关卡进阶也可以通过区域建设升级。

2) 将任务数量最少化。一次不会多于两个任务，避免让休闲玩家产生选择偏差。基地建设过程中的逐步引导和预设选项能够减轻玩家的认知负荷，同时也能引导玩家接触新加入的游戏内容。

在本质上，Playrix已经成功应用了core类游戏所主导的基地建设&任务机制，并且把它们和休闲游戏的核心部分很好地搭配到了一起。

这种模式似乎已经成为了成熟休闲玩家群体的新焦点，而且也能为开发者们带来更为长久的利润。

再者，它也证明了游戏创作者是可以带领休闲玩家走向成熟，以一种相对简单的方式让他们接触midcore机制。

与Playrix团队的问答

Om Tandon: 你觉得休闲玩家是不是已经不满足于现有的休闲游戏，想要些特别的东西了？

Igor Elovikov: 我想是的，他们已经对市面上大同小异的游戏厌烦了。所有的玩家（包括休闲玩家）都在寻求新的游戏体验。

你是不是也在休闲游戏上尝试更多新东西呢？如果是的话，基于你和其他开发者的学习经验，有没有什么想跟我们分享的？还有你对未来趋势有什么看法？

我们还在继续实验，通过游戏流程管理尝试不同的进阶方式，但是结果会怎么样现在还不好说。

至于未来，我认为在休闲游戏中我们会看到更多有意思的玩法，不仅仅是出现在我们自己的游戏中。但是这些新玩法对于其它类型的游戏来说可能就不那么新。

这就是为什么开发者们要从MMO游戏、回合制游戏等等游戏中学习经验，采用它们的游戏机制。每日任务、定期活动、同盟，还有其它很多机制其实都是通用的。很早以前人们就证明了这些机制是有助于提高玩家留存率，这对于F2P游戏是至关重要的。

除了创新作用，你觉得让玩家接触midcore游戏机制会有助于提升盈利能力,让游戏变得长寿吗?

肯定的。近期King《糖果传奇》的更新内容以及我们的经历都证明了这点。

说到King，去年他们非常关注游戏的在线运营部分。除了添加新关卡，他们还引入了很多定期活动。现在你随时进入《糖果传奇》，随时都有活动在进行。游戏利用各种限时奖励诱惑你去玩指定关卡。

主要更新还包括了重新设计每日任务，跟随机配对的玩家进行限时赛，看谁过的关卡多，胜者将会赢得奖励。

从本系列的这两篇文章可以看出休闲游戏以及玩家的成熟化是一种不断上升的趋势。在第三篇我们会继续分析另一家休闲游戏开发商，谈谈他们的探索之路以及成功秘诀。

本文由游戏邦编译，转载请注明来源，或咨询微信zhengjintiao

This is part two of a series. You can view part one, lessons from Angry Birds 2, here.

Why and how are casual games pivoting towards mid-core features? How are top tier Devs like Playrix driving this change in the casual gaming space? Here I have a close chat with Playrix, developer of top grossing games like Homescapes, Gardenscapes and Fishdom, to answer those questions.

The first part of this analytical series focused on Rovio Entertainment and how it successfully evolved and matured its multi-million dollar Angry Birds franchise.

In the second part of this article series, we put a spotlight on top 10 grossing casual games developer Playrix, which is trying hard to innovate and experiment with casual games, challenging the established norms of this genre, and finding profound success.

Playrix is known for a string of successful top 10 grossing hits like Homescapes, Gardenscape and Fishdom in highly competitive match-three category, dominated by the likes of King, Jam City and Peak Games.

But unlike its peers, Playrix is not relying solely on eye candy graphics, super polished VFX and slick and dynamic gameplay which have become the pinnacle of this genre.

Instead Playrix is walking a different path.

Playrix: Recipe of success

Combining the simple core loop of match-three titles with unlockable decorative elements in a niche environmental setting, powerful daily quest system and a well-crafted story loop is strongly reminiscent of features used in mid-core and hardcore games. Let’s see how.

Similarities with midcore Loops

Getting rid of the saga map in this genre and unlocking and populating the map with a decoration is very similar to a light version of base building tactics used by midcore and hardcore games. Here is how:

1) Light base building:

No Saga maps! Which have remained unchanged and are hallmarks of player progression in King and Jam City games. As seen below, Players start on Node 1 and progress linearly to the next node within each world as they clear subsequent levels, offering no other significant interaction.

Q&A with Playrix team

Om Tandon: Why did you choose to move away from a Saga Map? What led the team to break away from this established cardinal rule of the Match 3 genre?

Igor Elovikov (Creative Director, Playrix): The roots of that decision date back to the times of casual downloadable games. Back then no one was even thinking about free-to-play mechanics and the market was saturated with lots of similar products. Companies wanted to stand out which led them to try blending genres.

One of the pioneers in that was Tropix. Both games were released in 2007 (over 10 years ago!) and had a lot in common – players had to beat match-three levels to earn currency and resources, which were needed in order to construct something. In Tropix it was an island, while in Cradle of Rome it was a whole village.

Actually, those two games inspired us when we created Fishdom, and then Gardenscapes, so what you see in our mobile games now is something that was actually tried and tested a long time ago.

The exact mechanics seen in Playrix titles (first set of images) can be seen very commonly in midcore and hard-core games with base builder loops as seen in mobile hardcore game (second two sets of images below.)

Q&A with Playrix team

Om Tandon: Was the decision to add a light base building loop made consciously or found to work through trial and error?

Igor Elovikov: We just relied on our previous experience with casual downloadable games.

What precautions or change in design, if any, did you have to make to ensure these base building mechanics were not too overwhelming for casual players?

I guess the key things here are simplicity, and emotional appeal.

What I mean is that we tried to make the user experience as simple as possible – when it comes to building and constructing – and concentrate more on emotions.

In simpler words, we put more effort in the dialogue and animation of the fish in Fishdom and in storyline development in Gardenscapes, rather than in designing complex mechanics.

What is the feedback you get from your players? Do they find the decorative/light base building engaging compared to just match-three mechanics?

Well, I can’t say for sure. We definitely haven’t had any negative feedback, players haven’t told us that it bothers them, or that it gets in the way. Usually they say the game does differ, but in a positive way.

What they like is that the progress in the game is different from in the dozens of other match-three titles.

Do you believe it generates more value and engagement for your players? Do you see this appealing to existing match-three game players that are used to a saga map?

Yes, I believe so. My common sense tells me, when you put in a lot of effort developing a story full of characters, each with their own personality, it will definitely beat a regular saga map. At least in the emotional sense, it’s a great way to engage players.

2) Resource generation and XP gain

Structures in base building games are not just decorations, they also generate resources for the player hence a strong need to maintain and upgrade them, as seen in the Boom Beach example (bottom left).

As seen above, Playrix’s Fishdom game (right image) has these characteristics, wherein some decorations like fish generate valuable soft currency, and adding each decoration also leads to the player gaining experience for progression.

Coins aid in core match-three gameplay, via buying plus-five moves, boosters, etcetera. Decorative structures can also be sold back in case the player is in dire need of coins, so they are liquid assets
Q&A with Playrix team

Om Tandon: It’s interesting to see the differences in player progression in Fishdom and Homescapes, the way player deals with decorations and base building. Are there any specific reasons for these design changes?

Igor Elovikov: First of all, it’s all about what’s best for the setting. I think it’s the setting that determines what direction the progress takes.

Which of the two models, Homescape/Gardenscapes, with their fixed choices and options in terms of placement of decorations, versus Fishdom, with more choice in terms of placement and editing of decorations, work better from your experience?

I can definitely say that the limited freedom like in Gardenscapes is much simpler in terms of UI and user experience — which is critical for devices with smaller screens. It’s just easier to play on smartphones.

But the Fishdom scheme with a store and a wide range of content gives more opportunities for live ops. This type of model makes it a bit easier for us to design in-game events and come up with reward concepts.

While limited freedom in Gardenscapes, helps keep the UX simple on small devices, at the same time more varied store approach in Fishdom makes implementing live ops event rewards easier for developers.

3) Gating player progression

The primary means of gating is through the gradual unlocking of buildings based on player progression.

The Boom Beach and Fishdom examples above clearly show strikingly similar characteristics in their shops and their unlocking of advanced decorations and buildings via player progression.

Base building is an important aspect of the game, players need resources to build the base, which they earn in the main gameplay arc of battle, or match-three in case of Playrix.

Daily Missions & Quest System

Quests or daily activities systems bring the two loops together. They compel players through constant notifications to build and maintain the base (Home, Garden, Aquarium, etcetera.) and, as players need stars to do the chores, it directs them to earn the necessary stars via playing the match-three core.
Quest systems are very commonly used in midcore and hardcore games to hand hold and guide the player to narrow down choices in terms of what to build or to do next in the game.

Examples from Clash of Kings, Lords Mobile, King of Avalon and Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes above.

Q&A with Playrix team:

Om Tandon: Why the need for a daily quest system? Most other casual games in this genre totally lack this feature. I believe it seems essential for marrying the two loops, is that a true statement?

Igor Elovikov: I think daily quests are more of a universal tool. Its absence in other games doesn’t give them any kind of advantage. Any game as a service which is created for daily use will definitely benefit from having such a system.

Can the players who don’t care about base building and narrative skip the quest and base building totally and just focus on playing the match-three core? Why or why not?

Igor Elovikov: Yes, it is possible. We thought about making the two progresses sync with each other, i.e. making the metagame progress mandatory, but we gave up on that idea.

Our data shows that all players do something with design, construction and quests to a certain degree. Very few users completely skip that part.

Easing the Experience

1) Playrix has been careful in moderating and toning down the base building aspect so it does not become too overwhelming for the players while still providing more variety in gameplay and introducing dual arcs of progression for the player. Progression comes via completing levels and building of the map.

2) The Quests system is kept to a minimum. No more than two quests are available at a time so as not to create a choice bias for the casual player. Heavy hand-holding and predetermined choices in base building reduce the cognitive load for the player while introducing the player to these newer mechanics.

In essence Playrix has successfully inherited and adapted the base building and quest driven aspects typical of midcore and hardcore games and married them intelligently and effectively with their own spin on casual games!

This approach seems to be proving a hit with the maturing pool of veteran casual games players and is adding more long-term revenue generation.

This also proves casual players can be intentionally matured to move towards more midcore mechanics by light introduction of such features.

Q&A with Playrix team

Om Tandon: Do you think the bulk of the casual gaming audience is looking for more than what other casual games are offering today?

Igor Elovikov: I think so. First, because they are satiated with lots of identical games. All players, including casual ones, are looking for new experiences.

Do you see yourself experimenting more with the genre? If yes, is there anything you may want to share based on your learnings with other devs, and future trends you foresee?

We’re continuing to experiment, trying out different methods to progress and with game session management, but it’s too early to say something for sure now.

In the future, I think we’ll see a lot of interesting approaches to the genre, not only from Playrix and not only from games like Fishdom and Gardenscapes. It may be a new approach to casual games, but it is definitely not new for the industry in general.

That is why developers are drawing from the MMO experience, session-based games etcetera… adapting their mechanics. Mechanics such as daily quests, regular events, clans and others are universal. They have long ago proved that they work for player retention, which is crucial for any free-to-play game.

Apart from creating novelty value, do you think your strategy of engaging and maturing casual players to more mid-core mechanics also helps improve monetisation and long-term sustenance?

Definitely. The latest changes that King has made to Candy Crush and our experience are proof of that.

Speaking of King, in the last year they have put a greater focus onto live ops. Apart from releasing new levels, they have added a lot of regular activities to the game. Now every time you log into Candy Crush there’s something going on. The game pushes you to beat levels with the help of plentiful time-limited rewards.

Some of the major additions King has included are the redesigned Daily Quests, win streak rewards and competitions between random players against the number of levels they beat in a certain time period.

From the first and second part of this series player maturity and genre maturity appears to be a rising trend. In the third part of this series we will analyse and talk to yet another casual games developer who has taken this path and found profound success.（source：pocketgamer.biz ）