Eidos Montreal总裁谈工作室单人游戏模式未来的转型

原作者：Christopher Dring 译者：Vivian Xue

Eidos Montreal是我这周内采访的第三家致力于制作单人叙事类游戏的开发商。

虽然纯属巧合，但是有趣的是这三家开发商(第一个是Play Magic，第三个采访将于下周进行直播)都在进行大幅扩张。就在我们在和Eidos Montreal的总裁David Anfossi聊天时，他不得不为周围正在进行的一项庞大的翻修工程所产生的噪音而道歉。

“我们将从零开始，”他说，“我们已经拆除了所有东西，因为我们必须要扩大规模。在经过十年的发展后，我们希望工作室能够反映我们所创造的形象。并且同竞争对手保持齐平”

“我们增加了100个stations和开发者，因为目前我们有三个项目在同时进行中。”

有趣的是如今业内普遍认为单人叙事游戏正在走向没落——至少就3A开发而言。当下是《堡垒之夜》、《守望先锋》和《绝地求生》的时代。最近大火的《战神》是个例外，而非常态。除此之外，你无法否认一款单人游戏确实不如一款大型多人社交游戏能赚钱，对吧？

Eidos Montreal应该比大多数人更清楚这一点。他们最新的游戏《杀出重围：人类分裂》尽管给测评人留下了深刻影响，但商业表现却令人失望。

“这可能是一个趋势问题，或者时机问题，”Anfossi想。“每年都会出现一个新的趋势。目前是《堡垒之夜》，这是一个伟大的游戏，并且如今所有的关注都落在这类游戏上。但我们只需要等待。我不想改变《杀出重围》或者单人游戏体验。我们希望在这一点上保持敬畏。”

尽管如此，Anfossi承认单人游戏玩家的年龄可能有点大了，他们对于宏大、杂乱的叙事冒险游戏的沉浸度正在逐渐下降。

“这些趋势每年，或者每两年就会更换一次。无论是多人、团战、大型多人在线还是单人游戏。只要你提供对了高质量的游戏体验，你就能获得你所希望得到的玩家。”Anfossi坚持说。

square enix–iOS game(from kotaku.com.au)

“话虽如此，但我相信叙事体验正在经历一次世代的交替。尤其是对于像我这样25岁以上的老玩家来说。《战争之神》是一个优秀的单人体验的例子。我很喜欢它，但我可能没有时间打完它，这让我有一种挫败感。因为当你开始打一个叙事游戏时，你想要看到结局。因此我们不得不尝试和采用新的模式。

“比如说——这只是我的观点，我并没有在承诺什么——我们设计一个很棒的剧情，包含了一个复杂的宇宙和庞大的人物。你开始游戏然后在三个小时内完成了它，花了30美元，就这样。也许这是一种延续叙事游戏的方式，带给玩家强烈的体验、确保他们能够对它感兴趣并最终完成它。

“我们总在这一点上反问自己。但对我来说单人游戏还是像曾经一样强大，并且它应该走下去。”

尽管热爱单人游戏，Anfossi还是在Eidos Montreal网站上表示公司“将更加重视游戏中的在线体验”。这是否意味着工作室可能将被迫放弃之前的路线，推出多人在线版的《杀出重围》，或者是吃鸡版的《古墓丽影》？

“我们需要尝试新事物，进行体验和学习，”Anfossi解释道，“我们希望建立强大的在线技术。我们正在做测试，我们正在学习，我们正在研究如何将它应用到我们的游戏中，但我们必须谨慎地对待粉丝们。在线并不一定意味着多人游戏。它可能是，但也有可能是一些不同的东西。它可以是单人的体验，只不过是在线的。

“我们在尝试不同的东西。听上去有点浮夸，但是我十分喜欢任天堂的做法，他们的小团体测试什么的。虽然目前它还没有什么进展，但某天你将会遇到一些很酷的东西，你可以做一个基于它的游戏或者把它放到游戏中。所以我们也在做同样的事情。在线，对我来说，并不意味着我们抛弃了单人游戏体验。它可能成为这种体验的一部分。或者它可能意味着我们将同时尝试多人游戏体验。“

如Rob Fahey在最近的一篇专栏文章中说道，把任天堂和索尼这种在单人游戏领域取得持续成功的公司作为效仿的对象，并不总是一个明智的选择。这些公司是平台持有者，有多种收入来源。《战神》几乎肯定能为PlayStation赚到钱，但即使没有赚到钱，它也会把顾客带入到PlayStation的生态系统中，然后他们会把钱花在PlayStation的其他产品上。零售商称之为“亏本领导性”（loss-leading）策略，以牺牲某一方面的收益来推动整体销售的改善。

Eidos Montreal必须为Square Enix创造收入。因此，当涉及到实验团队和测试新的商业模型时，他们拥有多大的自由呢？

“《古墓丽影：暗影》以及其他不同的3A单人游戏的成本在7500万美元到1亿美元之间，”Anfossi承认，“这只是制作费用，营销方面的花费将近3500万美元。所以压力肯定是有的，我们无法避免。但同时，对我们来说，在这些项目孵化之时尝试一些小的事情,,,,,,这给了我们机会来测试、准备和确保一些东西，并且消除了一些风险。

“我们还有一套强有力的流程。我们已经在工作室待了十年了，所以我们在测试玩家、筹备和进行市场分析研究和用户调查方面有一套自己的方法。当然，我们无法得到所有的答案。我们在创意方面需要承担一定的风险，但我们对于产品的最终质量是一清二楚的。“

在几乎所有这些采访中，都谈到了一个不可避免的话题，那就是《地狱之刃》，Ninja Theory令人印象深刻的、篇幅较短的单人游戏。它看上去很惊人，赢得了众多的奖项，创造了一笔不菲的收入并且制作成本相对较小。

“这个游戏太令人吃惊了，我最近正在玩它，”Anfossi说，“它正是我们早先谈到的改变商业模式的一种尝试。我想它是一个六个小时的游戏。非常电影化，以角色为中心，对我来说是一个很棒的体验。我相信他们这款游戏有将近二十个开发人员。因此我开始研究它，因为对我来说这是一个有意思的新方式，并且结果很棒。这是一种满足老一辈叙事游戏玩家意愿的绝佳方式。”

我们谈到Eidos Montreal在招募大量新员工，由于公司当下正进行着试验和技术开发工作。工作室已经创建了一个人工智能和机器学习部门，它一直在招聘数据科学家和分析人员，并且正在重建它的技术小组，以此“为新平台做好准备”。

“相对于被动，我更喜欢积极主动，”Anfossi解释道，“给你一个人工智能领域的例子：目前，要创造一个好的AI体验，你必须创建100个不同的原型。我们目前正在做的工作是尝试改变这种状况，只创建一种AI并教导它对不同的玩家风格做出反应。这是一种不同的开发方式，能让我们更有效率，我相信它将降低游戏成本，但游戏体验却会更好。“

Eidos Montreal的CV中充满了利基产品——像《杀出重围》和《神偷》这样的游戏。因此，尽管它的规模很大(超过500名员工，它是最大的Square Enix团队)，它的知名度却不如像Crystal Dynamics这样的姊妹工作室。这一切或许都将从《古墓丽影：暗影》开始改变，这是Square Enix最大的西方IP。虽然Eidos Montreal一直以来都参与《古墓丽影》系列的制作，但每次都在Crystal Dynamics领头下做支撑工作，这次就不一样了。

“我们一开始共同制作这款游戏，”Anfossi说。“从2015年末开始，当时他们发售了《古墓丽影：崛起》。因此一开始我们处于共同合作的过度阶段。在那之后就变成了一个时机问题。他们开始专注于《复仇者联盟》游戏，所以就由我们继续制作《古墓丽影：暗影》，并且在蒙特利尔进行了初期的开发。同时我们也和Crystal一起合作开发《复仇者联盟》游戏。”

“我们已学会共同合作。顺便说一句，这绝非一件容易的事。远程协作、开发方式和工作室文化互不相同……说实话挺不容易的。即使是在这里，我们这栋楼有两层，即使这样我们的同事之间也会产生一定的距离感。这绝非易事，但是我们建立了工具和流程来减少这些问题。”

考虑到《古墓丽影：暗影》是三部重启作品中的最后一章——前两部游戏都是由一个完全不同的团队制作的——Eidos Montreal肯定要在遵循上一个团队遗留的模板和打破规约之间做一番挣扎。Anfossi说，能够参与前两部游戏的制作意味着Montreal理解这一游戏的核心支柱，并且了解自己能够（以及不应该）做什么。

“就像我们对待《杀出重围》和《神偷》一样，在开始构思之前，首先要做的就是理解游戏系列的本质。在此之后…….我们是有创意的人，我们不想复制粘贴之前做过的事情。我们必须尊重前两部游戏。我们必须为Lara Croft的故事画上句号。因此无疑需要保持连贯性。

“尽管如此，Lara周身的环境和世界会被印上明显的Eidos Montreal记号。我们熟练于通过环境、人物、光影或音乐来传达某些东西。你看不到它，但你的潜意识将感觉到它。这是我们从《杀出重围》中学到的，也是我们将应用到《古墓丽影：暗影》中的。这部作品绝对会带着我们的风格。”

Eidos Montreal正致力于《古墓丽影》、《复仇者联盟》和目前尚未宣布的第三个项目。考虑到Anfossi所说相信的Eidos Montreal有自己独特的风格和印记，我们什么时候才能看到这个团队原汁原味的作品呢？

“事实上我已经考虑了十年了，”Anfossi总结道，“我知道根据经验，开发一个新的IP非常非常困难。我们必须对此保持谦逊。我认为，事实上对于每个项目，你必须找到拥有充足经验、合适的人才。但还要让他们能够一起共事。这是一个极大的挑战，但是我绝对相信，某天我们能够尝试创造一个全新的宇宙。”

本文由游戏邦编译，转载请注明来源，或咨询微信zhengjintiao

Eidos Montreal is the third developer I’ve spoken to in a week that’s devoted to creating single-player narrative-driven video games.

It’s purely coincidental. Yet what’s interesting is that all three (the first was Play Magic, and the third interview goes live next week) are expanding significantly. Even as our chat with Eidos Montreal boss David Anfossi began, he was forced to apologise for the noise created by a mammoth refurbishment project going on around him.

“We’re starting from scratch,” he begins. “We have demolished everything, because we have to grow up in size. After ten years we wanted the studio to reflect the image of what we create. And to be more on par with the competition.

“We are adding 100 stations and developers, because at the moment we have three big productions going on at the same time.”

This is interesting because the current industry belief is that single-player narrative experiences are dying away – at least in terms of AAA development. We’re now in an age of Fortnite, Overwatch and PUBG. The recent smash hit success of God of War is an exception, not the rule. And besides, you simply can’t monetise single-player games as effectively as a big, social, multiplayer experience. Right?

Eidos Montreal should know this better than most. It’s last game, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, was a commercial disappointment, despite impressing the critics.

“It’s a question of maybe trends, or moment, or timing,” Anfossi ponders. “Every year there is a new trend. At the moment it’s Fortnite – which is a great game – and all the attention is around these kinds of games. But we just have to wait. I don’t want to change a Deus Ex game or experience. We want to be respectful to that.”

Nevertheless, Anfossi acknowledges that the audience for single-player gaming may be getting a little older, and its capacity to indulge in big, sprawling narrative adventures is on the wane.

“There are these trends every year, or every two years. Whether it is multiplayer, co-op, MMO or single player. If you deliver the right quality experience, you will reach the audience you want,” Anfossi insists.

“That being said, I believe that the story-driven experience is going through a generational change. Especially for people like me, the old guys… people who are 25 or older. Looking at God of War, that’s a pretty good example of a great single-player experience. I like it a lot, but I might not get the time to complete it. For me, that’s a frustration. Because when you start a story-driven experience you want to see the conclusion. So we have to adapt and try new models.

“For example – and this is just my opinion, I’m not committing to anything – let’s say that we develop a very good narrative, with a complex universe and strong characters. You start the game and then you complete it in three hours. That costs $30. That’s it. Maybe that’s the way to continue with story-driven games. You bring a strong experience, you make sure that the audience is interested by it, and that they can actually complete it.

“We always ask ourselves about that. But single-player for me is as strong as before, and it should continue.”

Despite the love for single-player, Anfossi stated on the Eidos Montreal website that the firm is “going to be placing an added emphasis on the online experiences in our games.” Does that mean the studio might be forced to abandon its previous path and deliver a Deus Ex MMO, or a Tomb Raider battle royale?

“We need to try new things, experience stuff and learn,” Anfossi explains. “We want to build strong online technology. We are doing tests, we are learning, and we are working out how to apply that to our games, but we have to be careful about the fans. Online does not have to mean multiplayer. It could, but it could also be something different. It can be a single-player experience but online.

“We are trying different things. It’s a bit pretentious, but I totally like the approach done by Nintendo where they have these small groups testing stuff. Even if it doesn’t make sense right now, at some point you’ll come across something cool to base a game on, or to put in a game. So we are doing that here. Online, for me, does not mean we forget the single-player experience. It could be part of that experience. Or it might mean we try multiplayer things at the same time.”

As Rob Fahey said in a recent column, using companies like Nintendo and Sony – who continue to have great success with single-player projects – as a template to follow is not always a sensible option. These companies are platform holders and have multiple revenue streams. God of War almost certainly made money for PlayStation, but even if it didn’t it still would have brought customers into the ecosystem, who will then spend money on other PlayStation products. Retailers call this strategy loss-leading, where they take a hit in one area to drive improved sales overall.

Eidos Montreal is obligated to deliver revenue for Square Enix. Therefore, how much freedom does it truly have when it comes to experimental teams and testing new business models?

“Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and other different AAA single-player games, cost $75 million to $100 million,” Anfossi admits. “And that’s production only; it’s close to $35 million on the promotion. So there’s definitely a pressure. We cannot avoid it. But, at the same time, for us to have these incubation projects and to try small things… that gives us the opportunity to test, prepare and secure some stuff, and remove some risk.

“We also have a very strong process. It has been ten years now at the studio, so we have our way to test things with the gamers, to prepare and do market analysis studies and user research… We don’t receive all the answers, of course. We have to take some risk on the creative side, but in the end we have a pretty good idea of the quality we have in our hands.”

Inevitably, as has been the case with almost all of these interviews, the subject of Hellblade comes up. Ninja Theory’s impressive, relatively short single-player game that generated decent revenue, looked amazing, won numerous awards and was made on a relatively small budget.

“It’s amazing. I am playing it at the moment,” Anfossi says. “It’s exactly what we said a bit earlier about trying to change the business model. I believe it is six hours of gameplay. It’s very cinematic, it’s character-centric, it’s a good experience that I like a lot. I believe they developed this game with around 20 developers. So I started to study it, because for me it’s an interesting new approach, and the result is great. It’s definitely a good way to stick with the older generations of fans of story-driven games.”

We mentioned Eidos Montreal is looking to hire a great number of new staff, and this is because of the experimentation and tech development that the firm is undertaking. The studio has created an AI and machine learning department, it has been hiring data scientists and analysts, and it’s re-developed its technology group to “be prepared for new platforms.”

“I prefer to be proactive as opposed to reactive,” Anfossi explains. “To give you an example on the AI field: at the moment, to create a good experience, you have to create 100 different archetypes. The work we’re doing at the moment is to try and change that, to create just one AI and educate that to react to the player’s style. It’s a different way to approach development, and by doing so we will be more efficient, and I believe it will be less expensive to make games. But the experience will be much better.”

Eidos Montreal’s CV is full of more niche products – games like Deus Ex and Thief. As a result, despite its size (at more than 500 staff, it’s the biggest Square Enix team), the developer isn’t quite as famous as sister studios like Crystal Dynamics. That may be about the change with Shadow of the Tomb Raider – Square Enix’s biggest Western IP. Although Eidos Montreal has worked on all of the Tomb Raider reboots, it has been in a support capacity with Crystal Dynamics taking the lead. That’s not the case this time.

“We started this game together,” Anfossi says. “We started at the end of 2015 when they were delivering Rise of the Tomb Raider. So there was this transition at the beginning, where we were working together. After that it was a question of timing. They started to focus on The Avengers, so we continued along with Shadow of the Tomb Raider and developed the game primarily in Montreal. We are also in collaboration with [Crystal] on The Avengers.

“We have learnt to work together. It’s never easy, by the way. Collaboration at distance, two different ways to develop games, two different studio cultures… We have to be honest about this. It’s never easy. Even here at Eidos Montreal, we have two floors in the building and even that creates a distance between the guys working together. It’s never easy, but we developed tools and processes to diminish and decrease these problems.”

Considering Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the final chapter in a three part reboot series – with the first two games being created by a different group – there must surely be a struggle between the need to follow a template laid down by the previous team, and the desire to break from convention. Anfossi says that being part of the previous two titles means that Montreal understands the brand’s core pillars, and knows what it can (and shouldn’t) do.

“Like we did with Deus Ex and Thief, the first thing to do before even starting conception is to understand the essence of a franchise. But after that… we are creative people. We don’t want to just copy and paste what has been done before. We have to be respectful of the two previous games. We have to close this Lara Croft story. So there is no question about the continuity.（source：Gamasutra）