《怪物弹珠》制作人木村弘毅谈游戏成功的原因和失败的本地化

原作者：Sean Scanlan 译者：Vivian Xue

近来手游收入首次赶超PC游戏，一款叫做《怪物弹珠》（Monster Strike）的游戏跃居手游收入榜首，最近这款游戏的制作人木村弘毅在台北游戏展上接受了采访，分享了他的职业生涯、《怪物弹珠》成功的原因以及从以往失败中获得的经验教训。

对于木村弘毅来说，“作为一名游戏制作人，最重要的事是清楚自己在做什么。做游戏就像骑单车一样，无论你骑得多快，如果方向错了，你最终将到达错误的地点！”

根据SuperData今年早些时候发布的数据，日本公司Mixi，也就是《怪物弹珠》的开发商，似乎正朝着正确的方向快速前进。凭借13亿美元的总收入，《怪物弹珠》位居当前全球手游市场的收入第一名，一些超级热门游戏比如《精灵宝可梦Go》和《部落冲突》相比之下黯然失色。

《怪物弹珠》背后的总策划：木村弘毅

木村弘毅是《怪物弹珠》成功背后的关键人物，最近他接受了BNnext Media的采访，讨论了他的职业生涯、《怪物弹珠》成功的原因，以及从过往失败中获得的经验教训。作为2017年台北电玩展的特邀嘉宾，木村的台湾之行差点因故取消，在航班出发的前一天，他突发肠胃炎住进了医院。

不过谢天谢地，木村近乎奇迹般的康复使他得以赴邀前往台北，并且在舞台上与三位《怪物弹珠》的游戏高手互动。

对木村来说，《怪物弹珠》已不只是一款2013年发行的手游。这款手游不仅是日本过去四年的收入冠军，同时在YouTube上获得了大量宣传。

最近，根据游戏改编的剧场版电影在日本上映并受到了热烈欢迎，首周票房达到了4.3亿日元，夺得了第一名的成绩。

“我不认为自己是一个游戏制作人，我是一个提供娱乐的人，”木村弘毅说。

monster strike(from chuapp.com)

作为《怪物弹珠》的主要制作人，木村领导着开发过程的各个方面，从动画设计、周边产品，到促销活动和直播。回顾这段经历，木村发现制作人的任务“不仅是寻找产品的利基市场，还要挖掘这个市场尚未被开发的价值。”

探索娱乐的本质

木村说他在中学时期就对游戏产生了兴趣，当时他和四五个朋友没日没夜地在一款热门游戏主机PC Engine上打游戏。“后来，我意识到我们不过喜欢聚在一起罢了。就像吃饭一样，一个人吃饭的时候可能就吃碗速食面，虽然不是特别美味，但也凑合。然而如果一群人一起吃，食物也变得更加美味了。打游戏也一样。”

“大脑中的兴奋感逐渐被一种放松的感觉取代，从而感受到愉悦。一切娱乐的本质都是如此。”

出于对电子游戏的热爱，木村决心进入游戏行业工作。不幸的是，由于父亲的健康状况不佳，他不得不中断学业回到家乡，协助经营家族产业。两年后他的叔叔加入了公司，他终于有机会追寻他的梦想。在换了两份不同的工作后，他在2008年加入了Mixi。

尽管木村的大学专业是科学与工程学，他最感兴趣的领域之一是认知心理学，这帮助他分析一款游戏有趣和吸引人的地方。

我是一个非常活跃的人，大学时期我经常和朋友一起打游戏，吃饭，做运动，K歌，做种种我认为有趣的事。但同时，我不禁思考这些事情的共同点是什么——为什么我觉得它们有趣？比如说打游戏，它真正的乐趣究竟是什么？

经过一段时间的研究和探索后，木村认为他找到了答案。“一切娱乐形式的共同点是它们一开始刺激了你，随后使你感到放松。”对于木村来说，这条规则同样适用于爱情。“你也许不知道另一个人正在想什么，不知道一旦被拒绝你该怎么做。但这正是爱情一开始让人感到有趣的地方。”

《怪物弹珠》的设计逻辑——拉朋友一起玩

为了说明《怪物弹珠》的成功，木村画了两张不同的增长图：第一张中的直线朝斜上方45度爬升，并且斜率是固定的。而第二张图中的曲线呈指数增长，一开始爬升缓慢，但随后实现了快速增长，在木村看来，这张图反映了《怪物弹珠》的现象级成功。

确实，这款游戏的增长刚开始相当缓慢。然而，由于它的多人模式，最多可支持四名玩家战斗，早期玩家很快开始安利朋友们一起玩，从而形成了一种连锁反应并一直持续到今天。此外，大量的玩家在游戏中分享人际网络并建立新的人际网络，增强了游戏的粘性，留存率令人瞩目。

由于这些人际网络的存在，玩家在打游戏时感觉更加轻松惬意。木村说，“他们会感到就算在游戏里花点钱也不是问题。”

他相信这种同伴效应(peer effect)是游戏流行起来的主要原因。“如果你获得了一个新角色但你的朋友不玩这个游戏，那么你会觉得它毫无意义，因为没人理解你的快乐。但如果你和朋友玩同一款游戏，那么每个人都投入了情感并且你们会为彼此感到高兴。”

木村指出大部分游戏通常依靠大面积铺设广告来吸引一定量的玩家，然而同时它们忽略了玩家互动这个社交因素。

而《怪物弹珠》采取了不同的策略，游戏不仅强调玩家间的互动，同时追求一种温和的营销方式，他们在游戏发行5个月后才开始在电视上做广告。

公司认为这种策略将使他们更健康地发展。尽管这种策略风险性更大，但用户数量爆发式增长证明了它的成功。

2016年，《怪物弹珠》在日本本土的每日活跃用户数量创历史新高。

失败是成功之母

尽管木村总是看起来很自信，他承认自己也犯了一些错误。其中之一就是在台湾发行时，将游戏过度本地化。

《怪物弹珠》两年前在台湾发行时，Mixi的本意是通过调整游戏的某些方面来适应当地玩家，结果人们觉得游戏体验不纯正并感到愤怒。正如木村指出的，台湾玩家能够在互联网上看到日版《怪物弹珠》，然而由于本地化，他们无法玩到同样的游戏。

木村认为这个策略失败的原因是缺乏自信，公司为了保障吸引足够的当地玩家进行了过度的本地化。“结果是，台湾版的《怪物弹珠》变成了日式《怪物弹珠》的改编版，而不是原汁原味的游戏。”不过木村称今年发行的8.0版本将尽可能接近日版，并且未来他们将致力于使台湾、香港和澳门三个地区的版本和日版统一化。

尽管木村承认他在某些方面失策了，但他坚信作为一名游戏制作者，他总是清楚了解游戏真正的发展方向，并总是坚定地追逐他的目标。

“失败有时只是因为运气不好，但如果你不尝试，你根本没有成功的机会。即便失败了，只要你能从中吸取教训，你会好起来的。”

本文由游戏邦编译，转载请注明来源，或咨询微信zhengjintiao

In terms of revenue, mobile games have recently eclipsed PC games for this first time, with Monster Strike leading the field. Koki Kimura, producer of the game, recently sat down for an interview at the Taipei Game Show to discuss his career, the success behind Monster Strike, as well as the lessons derived from past failures.

For Monster Strike producer Koki Kimura, “as a game producer, the most important thing is to have a clear idea of what you are doing. It’s like riding a bicycle; no matter how quickly you are moving, if you go in the wrong direction, you will arrive at the wrong destination!”

According to research from SuperData released earlier this year, Mixi, the Japanese company behind smash hit Monster Strike, seems to be going in the right direction, and very fast at that. With a total revenue of more than US$1.3 billion (NT$40.76 billion), it leads the field of top earners in the global mobile game market, even
eclipsing heavy hitters like Pokémon Go or Clash Royale.

MASTERMIND BEHIND MONSTER STIKE: KOKI KIMURA

A key figure behind this success is Mixi’s Koki Kimura, who recently sat down with BNext Media to discuss his career, the success behind Monster Strike, as well as the lessons derived from past failures. Invited as special guest for the 2017 Taipei Game Show, Kimura’s visit to Taiwan was almost derailed by a serious case of gastroenteritis requiring hospitalization just one day before his flight.

Thanks to a near miraculous recovery, however, Kimura made the trip and soon found himself
sharing a stage with three fellow Monster Strike cracks in Taipei.

For Kimura, Monster Strike has become much more than a mobile game since its debut in 2013. The game has not only been Japan’s top-grossing game for the past four years, but it has also been featured on YouTube heavily.

More recently, even a
film based on the game was released to an enthusiastic reception in Japan, with the opening weekend’s box office earning more than 430 million yen (NT$110 million) and garnering the first spot.

“I don’t think of myself as a game producer, but an entertainment producer,” says Koki Kimura.

As Monster Strike’s main producer, Kimura leads all aspects of development, ranging from game animation, and peripheral products, to promotional events and live broadcasts. Reflecting on this experience, Kimura sees the producer’s task as “not only discovering the product’s niche in the market, but also exploring its value that has been left untapped so far.”

EXPLORING THE ESSENCE OF ENTERTAINMENT

Kimura said he has been interested in gaming since middle school, when him and four or five friends pulled all-nighters playing the popular Japanese gaming console PC Engine. “Later on, I learned that we all just liked to get together. It’s much like eating, one person alone may simply eat instant noodles, which aren’t that tasty, but work just fine. If a whole group comes together, however, one can have a much better meal. The same is true when it comes to gaming.”

“A sense of excitement gives way to relaxation, thus allowing the brain
to experience pleasure. This is the essence of all entertainment.”

Out of Kimura’s love for gaming grew a serious conviction to make a career in this industry. Unfortunately, due to his father’s ill health he had to interrupt his studies and return to his home town, where he helped run the family business. Two years later, after his uncle decided to join the company, he finally obtained the opportunity to pursue his dream again. After two different jobs, he joined Mixi in 2008.

Although his specialty is science and engineering, he says one of his main interests is cognitive psychology, which helps him to analyze what is interesting or captivating about a game.

“I am a very active person, and while in university, I often played video games with friends, shared meals, engaged in sports, sang karaoke, and did everything that I thought was fun. But at the same time, I couldn’t help wonder what all these things had in common – why did I consider them fun? What was truly fun about playing a game, for instance?

After some exploration, Kimura thinks he found an answer. “The common thing about entertainment is that it is both stimulating at the beginning and later allows you to feel relaxed.” To him, the same principles also apply to love. “You may not know what the other person is thinking and you don’t know what to do in case you are rejected. But this is what makes love interesting in the first place!”

GETTING FRIENDS TO PLAY:THE RATIONALE BEHIND MONSTER STRIKE’S DESIGN

To illustrate Monster Strike’s success, Kimura draws two different growth graphs: the first one has a straight 45-degree angle and ascends at a constant rate. The second one, on the other hand, which Kimura sees as reflecting Monster Strike’s phenomenal success, resembles an exponential curve, starting slowly but ascending rapidly subsequently.

And indeed, the game initially was off to a rather slow start. Yet due to its multi- person design, which sees up to four players battling it out, early adapters soon began recruiting friends to join, leading to a chain-reaction that persist until today. Moreover, with so many players sharing personal networks and creating new ones, users are prone to keep on playing together for a long period of time, leading to an extraordinary retention rate.

Thanks to these personal networks, players also feel more at ease when playing. Says Kimura, “they will feel that even spending money on the game is not a problem.”

He believes that this peer effect is a major reason behind the popularity of the game. “If you gain a new role but your friends don’t participate in this, then it doesn’t mean anything, since no one knows why you are happy. But if you and your friends all play the same game, then everyone is invested and you are happy for each other.”

Kimura points out that most games are usually rolled out with lots of advertising, with the goal of attracting a certain number of users, yet at the same time neglecting the social aspect of user interaction.

Monster Strike, on the other hand, takes a different approach, stressing not only the interaction between gamers, but also pursuing a more subdued approach to promotion, with TV ads only appearing five months after the initial release.

The company’s plan was that this tactic would allow them to grow more organically. Although this approach involves more risk, it quickly proved successful and leading to explosive growth in users.

In 2016, Monster Strike reached the highest number of daily active users in history on its home turf in Japan.

ACCEPTING FAILURE AS FOUNDATION OF SUCCESS

Although Kimura always seems to be very confident, he does admit to a number of mistakes. One of these mistakes was undertaking too much localization when the game debuted in Taiwan.

When Monster Strike entered the Taiwanese market two years ago, Mixi initially sought to accommodate local players by adjusting certain aspects of the game, only to spark outrage about an inauthentic playing experience. As Kimura points out, Taiwanese gamers would view the Japanese version of the game on the internet, yet due to localization, they were unable to play it.

Kimura assumes the reason behind that failed strategy to have been a lack of confidence, resulting in an attempt to do too much to appeal to local gamers. “As a
consequence, the game released in Taiwan was only a Japanese-style edition of Monster Strike rather than the real deal.” Kimura vows, however, that this year’s version 8.0 will finally be as close to the Japanese version as possible, and future revisions will strive to unify Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao with Japan.

Although he admits to failing in some areas, Kimura believes that as a game producer, he has always known the true direction of his games and has never hesitated to pursue his goals adamantly.

“Failure is sometimes just bad luck, but if you don’t try, you won’t get any chances at all. Even if you do fail, as long as you learn from your mistakes you’ll be just fine.”（source：Bnext）