开发者通过实例分析苦乐参半游戏的核心循环设计

原作者：Thais Weiller 译者：Willow Wu

在上一篇文章中（http://gamerboom.com/archives/96161），我们讨论了苦乐参半游戏机制聚焦的不仅仅是正面强化。由于这并不是游戏设计的惯用套路，我们能够学习和参考的例子并不多，这类游戏的创作确实很有挑战性。接下来，我会根据的自己经历来谈谈如何完成这个设计任务。请注意，这并不是苦乐参半游戏的设计模板，只是我在设计《下雨天》（Rainy Day）时发现的设计方法。我也非常欢迎大家分享自己的设计窍门。

形式

我们回想一般的游戏核心循环，它并没有体现出苦乐参半游戏的设计特征。基础的核心循环用奖励来回馈玩家所应重复的行动，用惩罚来阻止玩家的错误行为。在苦乐参半的游戏中，正面强化时不时与消极的情景或结果搭配，目的是在保持玩家专注的同时让他们得到更丰富的情感冲击。

从设计层面来说，相比普通游戏，苦乐参半游戏中所应采取的行动并不是那么容易判断的。

回忆下上篇讲到的《请出示文件》（Papers, Please）：在游戏的开始，你将以主角的身份学习审批流程。检查文件是否符合规定、是否伪造，然后选择拒绝/批准印章盖下，完成判断，这就是游戏的核心玩法。随着游戏规则不断变化，审查过程会变得越来越复杂，步骤越来越多。游戏就是这样的，仅此而已。

papers please(from chiphell.com)

然而，核心的游戏玩法完全没有表现出《请出示文件》的游戏体验，随着主体剧情的展开，你会发现分拣、判断和文件盖章是最基础的机制。每个被审查的人都有自己的故事，在你进行工作时，一个故事就呈现在你眼前。你可以忽略它们，至少在初期阶段是可以，但后续你会从大事件中逐渐感受到它们的影响，包括你所在国家的局势变化，甚至你作为主角的存在。所以，按照核心机制来玩，你不会得到任何奖励，甚至还会得到惩罚。

你可以试着反着来，把规则丢在一边，专注于剧情。阅读所有的故事，按照你的道德准则去判断。但这也不是成功的办法，因为最后你和你的家庭会饿死或者更糟。

唯一的办法就是取中间，所以你不能只是遵照玩法，成为审核系统中的一个把关员（没有奖励），你也不能自恃清高按照自己的道德选择走(并受到惩罚)。你只能妥协，拯救其中一些人，并努力养家糊口，就跟现实中一样。

理论上来说，所有的游戏都是由各种各样的选择题构成的，不管是无意识还是有意识的。但是苦乐参半游戏的独特之处在于玩家的选择不一定是符合正面强化的套路，就算是的话也会伴随一定程度的损失。相较于普通游戏累积奖励做法，游戏的损失管理和调节才是这类游戏的代名词，没有任何一个选项终究会比另一个好的，总是有利有弊。玩家的实际目的就是避免出现最坏的结果。不是所有的辛劳都会得到奖励，有时候甚至还会受到惩罚。你必须自己摸索前进，勇于面对后果。

《请出示文件》的核心循环是通过添加道德背景来弱化奖励的重要性，让玩家觉得游戏教给他们的事——也就是这份工作——是不正当的。玩家不能忽视决策背后的道德因素，因为游戏也有可能会因此结束。然而，《请出示文件》也没有因为玩家做出的正确的道德选择而给予奖励。现实反而是出现主角被扣工资这样的严厉惩罚。

换句话说，利用游戏玩法及故事背景传达复杂的情感的确是可行的，这让核心循环的每一次迭代都成为了复杂的选择题。虽说游戏不可能完全不用正面强化，但是开发者还是可以在使用它的同时加入一些惩罚。比如，机制方面给予奖励，道德方面给予惩罚，或者反过来。条件制约、奖罚并施和随机结果也可以影响玩家对某些特定结局的期望，接着在游戏后续阶段粉碎这种期望。

主题

苦乐参半游戏的主题也有和其它游戏相同的：战争、人际关系、生存、死亡等等。不同的地方在于这类游戏的处理方式。

所有的游戏都是对事物的简化或抽象反映，所以像武装冲突这样的复杂主题以一种非常单维的方式描绘也就不足为奇了。总的来说，就是简化成坏人vs好人。现在的许多游戏都热衷于探索中间的灰色地带，然而，尽管角色都有黑历史和闪光点，但谁是英雄，谁是恶棍仍是一目了然的。

尽管简化了，但是苦乐参半的游戏在道德价值方面不会妥协，现实生活中也没有任何事情是非对即错这样简单。我们的决定永远都无法脱离道德层面，事情的结果也不是百分百能如我们所愿。《请出示文件》就很好地诠释了这一点，因为你所做的好事可能会导致自己的经济来源缩减，为无辜的家人带来灭顶之灾。另一方面，作为国家审查系统中的一员，严格遵循规则或许能保你家人的平安，但其他人甚至是你自己就说不准了。

因此，苦乐参半游戏能够蓬勃发展也是意料之中的事，尤其是那些涉及到了在当下社会仍然具有道德争议的话题。比如边境巡逻、难民危机、身体自主权、一方遭受虐待的恋爱关系、心理疾病等等。

优秀的苦乐参半游戏展现的不是单一个体的故事，因为不可能有人知道或经历过游戏主题所包含的所有可能情况。为了能够充分展现主题的复杂性，游戏设计师——甚至是作为对应真实事件的幸存者——也不应只根据他们的个人经验来制作游戏。游戏是互动性的产品，即使他们有过相关的亲身经历、想从他们的视角来阐述故事，但这也只是其中的一个分支剧情。这是他们自己的选择，而且只能选一次。为了创造非常现实的游戏体验，即玩家可以选择不同的分支得到不同的结果，与不同人谈论他们的真实体验是非常重要的。

这一点尤其正确，而当开发者在创作个人游戏时就很容易忘记这一点。就比如说我，在设计《下雨天》时我陷得很深，有时增加的选项也只是为了让玩家意识到我从未真正接受过它们，一次也没有。和其他不同程度焦虑和抑郁的人交谈让我从一个非常不同的角度看待这些心理疾病对一个人生活的影响，帮助我在游戏中创造了更丰富的体验。《下雨天》能表现出我的大概感受，但并不是所有选项都是我做过的或者是自己会去做。有些是在那个思维空间的人所做的事情。多个不同的经历被编织在同一个游戏体验中，供玩家去探索。

流程

那么，要如何设计出挑战性十足同时又非常具有吸引力的游戏机制呢？如何以一种尊重的方式诠释那些被视为禁忌或难以理解的主题？

没有规则，这是一个神秘的领域。然而，在《下雨天》开发时期，我已经冒险进行了尝试，因此，我有了自己的一套流程。我并没有说这是唯一或者最好的设计方式，仅仅是我个人的做事方法罢了。

还有，最重要的就是重复迭代。

结论

作为一个想在游戏机制之上增加情感复杂度的设计师，或许最好的方法就是聚焦于苦乐参半的设计：即在困难环境中插入积极的元素。我认为游戏设计师最大的挑战就是将多种负面情感合理地融入到核心循环中。不仅仅是很难把握苦与乐的比例，不让玩家觉得是为了虐而虐，另外人们对这种循环设计的研究还不够充分，因此我们还无法了解它的局限性。以乐趣为驱动力的循环太普遍了，参考作品很多，然而苦乐参半的就没那么多了。

但奖励和惩罚之间的平衡是游戏设计老生常谈的话题了，所以这和游戏设计101有什么不同呢？对于大多数游戏来说，损失和惩罚是可以避免的，并且人们觉得这是一种不愿意接受的结果。而那些有意唤起负面情绪的游戏，损失并不是旅程中的挫折，这是人生中不可挽回的一部分。让损失成为一位常驻客，它是游戏设计和目标不可分割的一部分。要避免损失是不可能的，因此，玩家也会被激发出某种情绪。

所以说，苦乐参半游戏的主要特征是损失管理，而不是一般游戏的奖励分配。这是一份颇具挑战性的工作，但非常值得，就跟我们所期待的玩家体验一样。如果你成功了，游戏应该能让玩家百感交集——快乐、疑惑、焦虑等等，呈现出更贴近现实的体验。

本文由游戏邦编译，转载请注明来源，或咨询微信zhengjintiao

On my previous text, we discussed games in which the mechanics themselves are not focused only on positive reinforcement. Since this is not one beaten path in game design, there are not many examples to study or follow, which makes bittersweet game design particularly challenging. Now, we are going to explore how to achieve this, according to my own method. This is not the recipe for bittersweet game design but rather a recipe, the one I discovered doing Rainy Day. If you have your own, please share!

Form

If we go back to the generic core loop we can see it does not explain a bittersweet design. The basic core loop uses rewards to endow the player for behavior they are supposed to repeat and uses punishment to squash what they are not supposed to be doing. In bittersweet games, however, positive reinforcement is used together with negative context or consequences in various levels of frequency in order to achieve a wider range of feelings while still keeping the player engaged.

So desirable behaviour or actions are not as crystal clear, by design.

Let’s remember Papers, Please. At the beginning of the game, you learn about the bureaucratic processes you need to be performing as the protagonist. The critical judgment of the papers you receive, trying to find if they are in order and not falsified, and the correct movement and usage of stamps are the gameplay. The complexity of both processes keeps increasing as you progress as rules change and more steps are added. That’s it, that’s all of it.

And yet, the core gameplay does not even start to describe your experience in Papers, Please because sorting, judging and stamping papers are only the ground level mechanics in which the bigger gameplay emerges. Every person whose papers you act on has a story. A story they tell you while you “do your job” of performing the gameplay. You can ignore the stories, at least in the beginning, but the consequences of this start to show up in the bigger picture of events, on how your country goes or even your existence as the protagonist. So, doing exactly what the core mechanics ask does not reward you and even punishes you.

You can try to go the opposite way, fuck mechanics, let’s go context. Let’s hear all stories and act as your moral compass would ask you to. However, this is not your way to succeed either, as this results on you and your family starving or worst.

The only way forward is something in between, so you cannot only be another clog in the system following the gameplay (and not being rewarded for it) neither can you take the high-horse moral path (and being punished by it). The only path is compromising, save some, lose some, and keep surviving. Just like, you know what, real life.

In theory, all games are made up of choices, even if unconscious, but what differs bittersweet games is that player’s choices will not always lead to positive reinforcement and even when they do there are losses. Loss management and adjustment, instead of reward hoarding is the name of the game for the player and no choice is ultimately better than the other. Players are actually eliminating worst outcomes. Not all good job gets rewarded, some good deeds get punishments. You have to feel your way along and live with the consequences.

The way Papers, Please weights down the reward in the core loop is by adding moral context to it, making the player feel dirty for doing what they were taught to by the game. The player cannot ignore the moral context of all their actions because this will end their run as well. However, Papers, Please also does not reward the player by doing what is morally right and, in fact, often punishes them by deductions to their payments on in more severe ways.

In other words, yes, it is very possible to convey complex feelings using the gameplay and its contexts, making every iteration of the game loop being a complex choice in itself. Though it is impossible to completely run away from positive reinforcement, it is possible to use it alongside some sort of punishment. For instance, a mechanic reward can be punished morally and the other way around. Conditioning, flawed rewards, and random outcomes also can be used in a way that influences the player to expect certain results, just to crush this expectation afterward.

Themes

The subjects of bittersweet games are not at all different from any other games: war, human relationships, survival, death, etc. What does differ is how these subjects are approached.

All games are simplifications or abstractions of things, so it isn’t surprising that complex themes such as armored conflicts are depicted in a rather unidimensional way. Generally, it is as simple as the bad guys vs the good guys. Many games nowadays do indulge for some shades of grey in the middle, however, it is still very clear who the hero, despite their faults, and the villain, despite their qualities, are.

Bittersweet games, as simplified they may be, don’t compromise as easily in moral values such as good or bad. Nothing in life is as simple as right or wrong, our decisions don’t exist in a moral vacuum in which our intent is the only possible outcome. Papers, Please illustrates this beautifully because all good deeds you make can become deductions to your paycheck which can lead to the death of your family, who is completely innocent of your actions. On the other hand, being a cog in the system and following all the rules may guarantee your family safety, but not of your countryfolk or even your own.

It is no surprise then that more often than not bittersweet games thrive especially in themes we as a society still have issues navigating morally. Border patrol, refugee crises, body autonomy, abusive relationships, mental illness, the list is endless.

Finally, a good bittersweet game is not only the story of only one individual because no one knows or have been through all the possible situations the theme of the game entails. To fully represent the intricacy of the theme, the game designer – even being themselves a survivor of the situation the game is about – should not count only on their personal experiences alone. Games are interactive and even though they lived through it and want to tell their perspective, they lived through one run of it. Their choices are theirs alone and could only be picked once. In order to create a fully fleshed experience in which the player can choose different paths that result in different outcomes, it is essential to talk with different people about their own experiences in this situation.

This is particularly true and unsurprisingly hard to remember when the game is a solo-dev work. I, for instance, got so caught up in developing Rainy Day sometimes that I added some choices to the player just to realize I, myself, never really took them in my life, not even once. Talking to other people with different levels of anxiety and depression gave me a very different perspective of how these illnesses can impact one’s life and it helped me to create a much richer experience in the game. Rainy Day loosely represents how I felt like; however, not every single option or action are things I did or would do myself. They are things people in that mind space could do, things I did or other people did and were weaved together in one single experience for the player to explore.

Process

So, how to create game mechanics that are challenging and engaging while not being too messy or dull? How to approach themes that are taboo or difficult to grasp in a respectful way?

There are no rules here, this is all uncharted territory. I have, however, adventured myself in them while working on Rainy Day, and so, developed my own process. I’m not claiming that this is the only or the best way to do it, it merely is my way of doing it.

And, most importantly, repeat!

Finally

As game designers aiming to add emotional complexity to our mechanics, maybe the best approach is to aim for a bittersweet design: difficult context intercalated with positive hooks. I strongly believe that interweaving negative emotions in the core loop itself in a way that is reasonably balanced is the biggest challenge a game designer can have. Not only it is hard to measure the sweet and bitter doses in a way that it feels hard but fair, but also this sort of loop has not yet been explored enough so we can know its limitations. Fun-driven loops are everywhere, we have references. Bittersweet ones, not that much.

However, the balance between reward and punishment is a constant in game design so how is this different from game design 101? Well, in most games loss and punishment is something to be avoided and contexted as an unwilling result. In games that willfully aim to evoke negative feelings, the loss is not a setback in the journey; it is an irrevocable part of it. The loss becomes a guest and functioning part of the design and game objectives. It must be absolutely impossible to play without losing something and, consequently, being invited to feel something.

Therefore, loss management instead of reward distribution becomes the main attribution of a game designer doing a bittersweet game. It’s a hard job, but a challenging and rewarding one, just like the desired player’s experience. If the game designer’s quest is successful, the resulting game shall be wrapped around contrasting feelings of joy, confusion, apprehension and much more, and therefore a much more faithful representation of real-life occurrences.

（source:gamasutra.com ）