开发者谈移动游戏的优势在于它的玩家社区

原作者：Kate Wolff, RQ 译者：Vivian Xue

回首曾经，我们的游戏方式发生了巨大的改变。当年在街机或者家用游戏机上玩低画质游戏的我们，如今可以随时随地在手机上打各种类型的游戏。除了打游戏外，还能直播、与好友交流策略。

根据市场调研公司Newzoo的报告，今年游戏行业收入将达到1481亿美元，其中一半来自移动游戏，全球游戏玩家总数将超过24亿。到2021年底，移动游戏将占据60%的市场份额，而PC和主机将分摊其余40%的份额。本月，Google公布了他们首个提供直播和云游戏服务的平台Stadia。游戏行业发展蒸蒸日上，没有任何放缓的迹象。

Twin Flames Mario(from gamasutra.com)

但巨大的增长也意味着开发者必须重新思考消费者的需求和期待。移动游戏玩家是一群相当固执己见的玩家，但也非常忠实，这导致游戏行业从传统的“开发者控制一切”转向了以玩家为中心的模式。游戏公司可以通过以下三种方式将焦点转移到社区上，从而吸引玩家尝试他们的游戏。

1. 个性化定制使游戏与现实的界限日益模糊

根据《纽约时报》上的一项对分享行为的心理学研究，68%的人在社交媒体上分享内容是为了让他人更好地了解自己是什么样的人、在乎什么。随着移动游戏兴起，玩家在游戏中表达自我的行为同样可以用这个研究结果来解读。除了传统的排行榜名次外，玩家还可以通过跳胜利舞蹈以及其他个性化的庆祝方式分享成功。《堡垒之夜》甚至因盗用胜利舞蹈动作遭编舞者的起诉，这表明现实世界和游戏中的角色界限日渐模糊。虚拟角色不是什么新鲜的概念，但如今自我表达愈发受重视。虚拟角色不再是玩家在游戏中假扮另一个人的方式，它逐渐成为玩家真实人格的延伸。游戏开发者应关注人们的社交行为和网上行为，为移动游戏玩家提供类似的个性化定制选项，以及与现实和网络社区分享成功的方式。

2. 打游戏成为全球潮流，游戏名人诞生

游戏比过去任何时候都更受人欢迎，不仅人们对游戏行业的认可度提高了，玩家社区的忠诚度也在日益上升。据美国电子娱乐调查公司报告，近70%的美国人对自己的玩家身份感到自豪，他们中的大多数人是移动游戏玩家。打游戏成为被全球接纳的行为，这为玩家和开发者都带来了宝贵的机会。许多明星都加入了游戏热潮，如说唱歌手Drake、Travis Scott以及美国橄榄球队匹兹堡钢人接球员Juju Smith-Schuster，并且Smith-Schuster还为今年《时代》杂志评选出的100位年度最具影响力人物之一Ninja（游戏主播）写了一篇文章。市场上诞生了一批游戏名人，他们被称为游戏界的大神。这些人甚至走上了社交媒体达人的道路，拿下了古驰、巴黎世家这些大品牌的赞助，因为显然观众们会关注他们在直播和社交媒体上的穿衣打扮和推荐。人们对游戏玩家‘宅男/宅女’的刻板印象已经成为过去时，开发者们应当全面接纳这个全球化、热诚的、广受追捧的群体，因为它只会继续发展壮大。

3. 鼓励团队合作和双向沟通。

随着游戏内交流机制的发展，玩家之间建立起了有意义的关系——这种关系好比运动团队队员和军队战友之间的关系。《英雄联盟》、《堡垒之夜》和《绝地求生》都在游戏里建立了玩家论坛，但玩家希望能和志趣相投的玩家进行线下交流，这催生了Twitch、YouTube和Stadia等平台。Twitch的观众量已经超越了CNN和MSNBC这类有线电视台。Twitch主要针对PC游戏，而在手游领域出现了Bunch这类软件，使玩家能够通过视频通话一起打游戏。人因相似性聚集在一起，这是人的天性所致。让你的玩家拥有归属感，他们将会成为你永远忠诚的粉丝。

随着移动游戏持续、爆炸式增长，开发商需要不断升级他们的系统，寻找新的主流玩家并建立起游戏社区，促进玩家的参与，从而使游戏未来成为一种大众化行为。

本文由游戏邦编译，转载请注明来源，或咨询微信zhengjintiao

When we look at gaming, we’ve come a long way from the confines of arcades or home gaming systems with basic pixelated graphics. We now have all types of games, at any time, in the palms of our hands. And not only just to play but to also stream and strategize.

According to market research firm Newzoo, gaming is expected to generate $148.1 billion in revenue this year, with about half coming from mobile, and more than 2.4 billion gamers worldwide. By the end of 2021, analysts expect mobile will own 60% of the market, leaving PC and consoles to divvy up the other 40%. This month, Google announced Stadia, a first-of-its-kind gaming platform for both streaming and playing on the go. This is a growing industry that isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.

But with this massive growth comes the need for developers to change their thinking to meet the needs and expectations of consumers. Mobile gamers are highly opinionated and dedicated, leading the gaming industry to shift from the traditional “developer controlled” model to one that is more audience-focused. Here are three ways gaming companies can refocus on community to ensure that all consumers are tapped into their mobile games.

1. Customization blurs IRL and game life
According to a New York Times study on the psychology of sharing, 68% of people share on social media to give others a better sense of who they are and what they care about. With the rise of mobile gaming, this same behavior can apply to players as they express themselves in-game on the same mobile devices they use for social media. Beyond the traditional leaderboards of the past, gamers share their successes in-game with victory dances and personalized celebrations. Choreographers are even suing Fortnite for stealing victory dance moves, showing the blurring lines between IRL and in-game personas. The concept of a gaming avatar isn’t new, but today’s self expression extends further. Avatars are no longer a way for gamers to pretend to be someone else in-game, they are becoming an extension of your real and digital self. It’s important for game developers to pay attention to social and digital behaviors to give mobile gamers similar customization options and ways to share their successes with their human and digital communities.

2. Gaming is global, and masters are emerging
Gaming is trendier than ever before, and as the industry’s positive perception continues to grow, so are dedicated player communities. According to Electronic Entertainment Design and Research, nearly 70% of Americans are proud gamers, with most of them playing on smartphones. Gaming is being embraced on a global scale, which means that gamers and developers have a unique opportunity to own the cool entity that they’ve built. Celebrities like rappers Drake and Travis Scott and Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster have jumped on the gaming trend, and Smith-Schuster wrote the piece on Ninja for Time’s 100 Most Influential People this year. Gaming celebrities are emerging and being celebrated as masters of the gaming world. These people are even emulating the experience of social media influencers, scoring sponsorships and wearing top brands like Gucci and Balenciaga, as viewers pay attention to their outfits and recommendations in-game and on social media. Past stereotypes about gaming ‘nerds’ are a thing of the past, and this is a global, dedicated and sought-after community that game developers should fully embrace, since it’s only going to continue to grow.

3. Foster a team mentality and two-way communication
With the development of in-game communication portals, players are building meaningful relationships with one another — reflective of those fostered on sports teams and in the military. Developers of games like League of Legends, Fortnite, and PUBG have created in-game community forums, but players want a way to connect with like-minded players not only in the game but in real life, leading to the rise of platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and now Stadia. Viewership on Twitch has surpassed that of major cable networks like CNN and MSNBC. And while Twitch is predominantly used for PC-gaming, we’re seeing this happen in mobile gaming as well with apps like Bunch, which allows gamers to play together through video chat on a smartphone. This is rooted in our human behavioral instincts to establish communities revolving around similarities. Make your players feel a sense of community and belonging, and they’ll be dedicated fans forever.

As the continued, explosive growth of mobile gaming gains traction, game developers need to continue to update their systems, find new mainstream players and build teams to keep people engaged to make the future of mainstream gaming a reality.（source：Venturebeat）