游戏开发者谈选择Apple Arcade平台的原因

原作者：James Batchelor 译者：Vivian Xue

与Xbox Game Pass一样，Apple Arcade正力图证明订阅模式将重塑游戏行业，正如它转变了其它娱乐形式那样。然而，不同于Game Pass，移动平台服务凭借其设备的普及性，将触及更广大的用户群体。

Apple Arcade是今年9月才推出的新服务，但已经包含了100款游戏。最近在伦敦举办的一场活动上，一名苹果公司代表说他相信这在新平台发布中是史无前例的。Apple Arcade游戏的多样性不容小觑，此外，值得再次提及的是开发者们将通过iPhone（以及iPad、Mac和Apple TV）触及更广泛的群体。

庞大的潜在用户对于34bigthings这样的新兴工作室来说是极其宝贵的，这家意大利开发商的创始人Guiseppe Franchi说。该开发商推出的Arcade游戏Redout: Space Assault是一款科幻射击手游，为原作Redout的前传，Redout的粉丝主要是PC硬核玩家。有了触屏控制及设备对手柄的支持，34bigthings降低了Space Assault的上手难度，希望吸引更广大的玩家。

这款游戏原本要在PC和主机平台自主发行（并且明年仍然会在这两个平台上发行），但加入Apple Arcade订阅服务对这家工作室来说既是一笔“划算的买卖”，也是一个机会。

同样地，Lifelike——由越南独立开发商Kunabi Brother制作的“迷人的粒子交响乐”，也属于那种更有可能通过订阅模式吸引玩家的游戏。该游戏是Frost的精神续作，基于各种冥想概念，因此以付费下载形式发行“风险很大”。

angry_birds(from cybervally.com)

“这是一个非常另类大胆的游戏概念，因此Apple Arcade是该游戏的完美发行平台，”工作室成员Julia Angerer说。

Lifelike的官方制作者为苹果公司，意味着这家电子设备大厂至少是有资助这款游戏的开发。 尽管Kunabi Brother无法透露协议的具体内容——所有Arcade开发者均谢绝谈论这个方面——但他们说称该协议“确实激励了我们冒险制作这款游戏”。

Lifelike和Redout，以及大部分其它Arcade游戏原本都打算以付费下载形式发行，直到它们的开发商取得了Apple Arcade发行协议。而苹果也在积极地寻求Arcade独占游戏，与更多知名厂商合作。

例如，巴黎工作室Pastagames与Bandai Namco联手制作的Pac-Man Party就是一款Apple Arcade独占游戏。游戏设计师Nadim Haddad说它采用了 一种“100%不同的设计”。

“没有内购、没有广告，当今手游的常规元素都没了，”他解释道，“因此我们可以专注设计玩法本身。”

Picomy工作室的艺术总监Jimmy De Meza肯定了这一点。他们工作室的Monomals是一款使用钓鱼产生的声效创作音乐的游戏，原计划作为免费游戏发行在Apple Watch上。后来游戏的开发范围和目标扩大，苹果买下这款游戏作为Arcade独占后，Picomy不需要在设计上做妥协了。

“我们拥有充分的自由保持愿景，并根据自己的看法、如何让玩家获得最好的体验来开发游戏。此外为了让游戏顺利登上Arcade，苹果在其它方面提供了很大帮助，”De Meza说。

然而，许多围绕Apple Arcade的疑问尚未得到解答。无论是开发者还是苹果公司都无法解释怎么分配收入。是根据玩家游戏时长按月分成，还是一次性支付买断费用？

在一次小组问答环节中，苹果公司代表这样说：“我们会对工作室提供财务支持，除此之外，我无法透露协议的细节。根据开发者们的回应，我想他们对这种发行方式很满意。”

Monomals和Pac-Man未来都有频繁的更新计划，包括新的模式、关卡和角色。但后续研发的资金来源尚不清楚。当被问到这个问题时，Pastagames的Haddad说，“这要问苹果”——几乎所有其它开发者都这样回答。

可以肯定的是苹果留出了一大笔资金投资首批游戏。iOS用户的口味是如此多样，要想吸引他们，必须在头几周推出100款以上的游戏供他们选择。但这笔资金用完后怎么办呢？开发者怎样才能让游戏登上Arcade呢？

另一个疑问是，这些游戏是否会永远留在Arcade里。无论是Netflix还是Game Pass， 大部分订阅服务都会定期重组内容，用新内容替换旧内容。

对此，苹果公司代表强调Apple Arcade才刚起步：“当下，我们的重点是发行游戏，我们不会考虑移除游戏或就此发表任何评论。”

他接着保证Apple Arcade将永远是一个注重质量的游戏推荐目录。尽管苹果没有明确限定Arcade的游戏数量，但他们不想让Arcade成为另一个App Store。

苹果公司代表补充说道：“用户会收到一些推荐，还有很多我们鼓励用户浏览的编辑推荐类别和子类别。我们的理念是，用户进入Arcade，探索、浏览产品页面，然后找到自己喜欢的游戏。这是一个游戏得到曝光，用户寻找自己可能喜欢的游戏的中心。”

Kunabi Brother的老板Denis Mikan就这一点补充说道：“编辑推荐是该服务的核心——推荐多少游戏、哪些游戏，如何在Apple Store里宣传这些游戏。这对苹果来说不容易，但到目前为止，我们很满意。我认为他们的第一步做得很好。”

事实上，开发者们似乎都不怎么担心他们的游戏被埋没。鉴于目前手游市场的曝光难度，34bigthings的Franchi说Arcade开发者处于优势位置。

Mikan补充道：“对比付费下载市场上的应用数量，Arcade确实给了我们更多机会。如果你是100款游戏中的一个……这是一个显眼的位置。在付费市场中你很难获得曝光。Arcade消除了风险。我们不知道它会变成什么样，但当时它对我们来说显然是明智的选择。”

在与Bandai Namco公司制作人Charles Capelle的交谈中，他透露了一件怪事，与其它手游不同，他们无法直接追踪Pac-Man的数据。他们只能通过苹果公司得知游戏是否成功。

从一方面来看，这是一种解放，工作室不再需要钻研数据来确定游戏的留存率、用户平均收入、平均游戏时长等其它驱动F2P市场的指标。从另一方面来看，Arcade开发者们处于一种盲目的状态，他们不知道游戏是否朝着正确的方向发展。

“（数据）通常能帮助我们改进游戏，但由于当下手游市场存在的争议——广告是糟糕的，用户追踪是糟糕的，抽卡是糟糕的——制作Apple Arcade游戏对开发者来说是一种全新的体验，它使我们能专注设计玩法，不需要担心盈利方面的问题，”Capelle说。

“根据实时数据更新游戏变得有些困难，因为我们无法获取这些数据。我们只能依赖设计师的直觉弄清哪里出了问题，同时关注社区反馈，通过更新回应这些反馈，以及我们认为游戏缺失的东西。”

行业最大的疑虑是订阅服务对付费下载市场造成的影响。随着越来越多玩家倾向F2P，手游付费下载市场多年来一直面临着挑战，但Mikan认为Arcade和付费下载市场“仍将共存”——尤其是考虑到“付费下载市场在Apple Arcade出现之前已经陷入困局”。

De Meza指出，尽管Arcade游戏类型很广泛，它仍然无法满足某些玩家的需求。并且，总是有手游用户更愿意花4.99美元一次性买下某款游戏，而不是每个月花4.99美元玩上百款游戏。

Capelle称订阅服务“为所有厌倦F2P模式的玩家提供了一个解决方案，因为它去除了广告、用户追踪和内购。”

他继续说道：“在影视剧和其他媒体中，人们已经习惯了订阅模式，因此它有望成为电子游戏领域的新模式。此外许多玩家也很期待这种模式，他们不想购买DLC或战利品宝箱，只想在每个月初交点钱。”

“我认为行业回归到游戏设计本身是个很好的趋势。我知道我先前提过，但对游戏设计师来说，不需要删减游戏内容，不需要移除有趣的内容或引导玩家消费，这些很重要。我们不需要这样做了，我们可以立刻让游戏变得有趣，这也是我们所希望的。”

34bigthings的首席营销官Max Da Viá补充道：“订阅模式越来越受欢迎，不仅在移动平台上，其他平台也一样。我认为付费下载产品仍有发展空间。无论是手游市场还是Steam，游戏大作仍然会以付费下载的形式发行，订阅将作为一种推广或者次要产品的发行方式。”

Xbox最近在GamesIndustry.biz投资峰会上公布，Game Pass的订阅者不仅玩了更多的游戏，也购买了更多游戏。Apple Arcade能取得同样的效果吗？苹果公司代表无法肯定，但他随即强调Arcade的推出不代表iOS平台付费下载游戏的消亡。

“很多付费下载游戏极为成功——《我的世界》就是一个很好的例子，”他总结道，“我们认为Apple Arcade是另一种游戏方式，最终会促进游戏生态和整个行业的发展。人们将更享受游戏，想玩更多游戏，想尝试更多游戏，这是我们的目标。”

“它是对App Store游戏的补充，是另一种游戏方式。也许对某些人来说，这是他们唯一的游戏方式，但对许多其他人来说，它只是一种新方式。”

本文由游戏邦编译，转载请注明来源，或咨询微信zhengjintiao

Like Xbox Game Pass before it, Apple Arcade is vying to prove that the subscription model can transform the games industry just as it has other forms of entertainment. However, unlike Game Pass, the mobile service stands to reach a far broader audience thanks to the ubiquity of the devices that carry it.

Apple Arcade is still very new, having only launched in September, but it already has 100 games in its catalogue. At a recent event in London, an Apple representative said he believes this is “unprecedented within platform launches.” The variety of games on offer is not insignificant, again speaking to the wider audience developers can reach through smartphones (and tablets, Macs and Apple TV, as the firm kept reminding us).

This reach is “invaluable” to studios like Italian startup 34bigthings, said co-founder Guiseppe Franchi. The developer’s Arcade offering, sci-fi shooter Redout: Space Assault, is a prequel to the original Redout, which mainly appealed to hardcore PC gamers. With touch screen controls, or the ability to pair your device with a controller, 34bigthings has made Space Assault more accessible in the hopes of attracting a broader range of players.

The game was originally going to be self-published on PC and console (and will still launch on these platforms next year), but its inclusion in Apple Arcade as part of a subscription is both a “good deal” and opportunity for the studio.

Similarly, Lifelike — the “mesmerising particle symphony” by Vienna-based indie Kunabi Brother — is the type of game that stands a better chance of reaching people through a subscription. Based around various meditation concepts, this spiritual successor to the team’s previous game Frost would have been “very risky” to release as a premium title.

“This is a very exotic and daring game concept, so Apple Arcade was the perfect game platform at the perfect time,” said the studio’s Julia Angerer.

Lifelike was officially produced by Apple, which means it was also at least partly funded by the electronics giant. While Kunabi Brother can’t go into the specifics of the deal — the same answer given by every developer on Arcade — this “definitely encouraged us to take the risk to produce this.”

Both Lifelike and Redout, along with most other games at the showcase, were previously planned as premium titles before their developers secured deals to launch on Apple Arcade. And Apple is also keen to offer games exclusive to the service, collaborating with more familiar names to produce them.

Pac-Man Party Royale, for example, was developed by Parisian studio Pastagames in partnership with Bandai Namco, specifically for Apple Arcade. Game designer Nadim Haddad said this required “a 100% different design.”

“There’s no in-app purchase, no advertising, nothing you’re used to in modern mobile games,” he explained. “So we could concentrate 100% on the gameplay itself.”

Picomy art director Jimmy De Meza echoed this. His studio’s game Monomals — which is about fishing for sound effects and using them to compose music — was going to be a freemium game for Apple Watch. The scope and ambition grew beyond this platform, but since Apple paid to secure the game as an exclusive for Arcade, Picomy did not have to compromise on its design.

“We have all the freedom to keep the vision and develop the game according to how we see it, how it will work as the best experience for the player, and Apple has been really helpful with all the other parts of bringing the game to Arcade,” said De Meza.

However, herein lies the first of many unanswered questions surrounding Apple Arcade. Neither the developers nor Apple are able to explain how studios are paid in the long term. Is the monthly fee split based on play time, or is it a one-off payment to get the game onto the service?

In a group Q&A, the Apple representative said: “Aside from the fact we help them financially, I can’t get into [the details of] individual deals. From the feedback you’ll get from the developers, I think you’ll get that it’s a great way for them to launch games.”

Both Monomals and Pac-Man are expected to receive hefty updates in future, including new game modes, levels and characters. Yet it’s unclear how the further development required for this post-launch content is funded. When asked, Pastagames’ Haddad said, “That’s an Apple question” — an answer we heard from almost every developer on a variety of subjects.

It’s safe to assume Apple has set aside a significant investment to fund this initial wave of titles. When appealing to an audience as vast and with such disparate tastes as iOS users, it serves to have 100-plus titles available within the first few weeks. But what happens when that initial cash pot runs out? How do developers get their games onto Arcade?

Another point of confusion is whether any of these launch games are permanent fixtures. From Netflix to Game Pass, most subscription services shake up their catalogue periodically, dropping older content in favour of the new.

Apple’s representative emphasised that the service is too young, adding: “Right now, we’re very focused on the launch part, so we’re not thinking about or commenting on removing them.”

He went on to assure that Arcade will always be “a very curated catalogue” focused around quality. While there’s no defined upper limit for the number of titles Apple would like to see on the service, Arcade is not intended to become another App Store with hundreds of thousands of games.

The Apple representative added: “You’ll have a little bit of recommendation, but also a lot of editorially curated relevant categories and subcategories that we encourage you to browse. The idea is you can go in, explore, look at the product pages and find what you like. It’s a hub for discoverability and finding games you might love.”

Kunabi Brother boss Denis Mikan is encouraged by this, adding: “The curation is key to how this works — how many titles and which titles are there, and of course how those titles are promoted on the App Store. It’s also difficult for [Apple], having to experiment, but up until now we are very satisfied. I think they’ve done really well with the first steps.”

In fact, one thing all the developers seem to be far less concerned about is the possibility of their games being buried. Given the challenge of discovery in the mobile market as it stands, 34bigthings’ Franchi said Arcade developers are “in a privileged spot.”

Mikan added: “When you compare to the number of apps on the premium market, Arcade really gives us more of a chance. If you’re one of 100… it’s an attractive spot to be. The premium market for such apps is tough. This takes the risk away. We don’t know how it will go, but it really was a no-brainer for us.”

One last oddity emerged from talking to Bandai Namco producer Charles Capelle, who revealed that, unlike with other mobile games, the publisher cannot directly track Pac-Man’s performance. Instead, it relies on Apple to “tell us whether the game is successful or not.”

On the one hand, this is freeing in its own way; no longer will studios have to pore over data in order to identify retention rates, average revenue per user, average session length and all the other metrics that drive the free-to-play market. On the other, Arcade developers are blind as to whether they’re taking the right direction post-launch.

“[Data is] something that usually helps to make the game better, but because there’s all this controversy about mobile gaming at the moment — advertising is bad, tracking is bad, gacha boxes are bad — it’s also very refreshing as game designers to work on an Apple Arcade game because it allows us to focus on gameplay and not worry about monetisation aspects,” Capelle said.

“It’s a bit harder to update the game based on live data because we don’t have it. But we can only use our gut feeling as game designers to figure out what’s wrong, and also try to stay aware of the feedback from the community and bring fixes that directly answer that, but also what we think is missing from the game.”

The biggest question the industry is waiting for an answer to is the impact subscription services will have on premium games. The market for premium games on mobile has been notoriously challenging for years, as audiences gravitated towards free-to-play, but Mikan believes Arcade and premium “will still co-exist together” — especially as “it was before Apple Arcade that the premium market got tougher.”

De Meza points out that, while the range of games in Arcade is broad, it might not (yet) have something that caters to particular tastes. And there will always be mobile users who would prefer to pay a one-off fee of £4.99 for a specific game, than £4.99 every month for a catalogue of hundreds.

Capelle declared subscription to be “the answer for all the people tired of the free-to-play model, because the advertisement, tracking and in-app purchases [are gone].”

He continued: “People are used to the subscription model on TV and in other media, so for video games it could be the answer and what some people expect. They really just want to pay at the beginning of every month and be done with it, not have to pay for DLC or loot boxes. I think it’s a nice direction for the industry that’s really allowing us to focus on game design.

“I know I’m repeating myself, but it’s very important for game designers to not have to cut the part of their game or try to remove some of the fun or implement something that leads everyone to pay. We don’t have to do that, and we can really make the game instantly fun because that’s what we want.”

34bigthings’ chief marketing officer Max Da Viá added: “Subscription programs are becoming very popular, not only on mobile but also on all other platforms as well. I think there will still be space for premium products. Subscription will be used for catalogue or less relevant releases, I think big releases will still be released as premium products, both for mobile and for Steam.”

Xbox recently said at the GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit that not only are Game Pass subscribers playing more games, they’re buying more of them as well. Will Arcade have the same effect on the App Store? The Apple representative was unsure, but he was quick to emphasise that the launch of Arcade does not equate to the death of premium games on iOS.

“There are games that are extremely successful on premium — Minecraft is a good example,” he concluded. “We think Apple Arcade is another way for people to play and will ultimately benefit our gaming ecosystem and gaming as a whole. People will just enjoy more, want to play more, want to experiment more, and that’s something we want.

“This is complementary to games on the App Store and is just one more way to play. Maybe for some people it’s the only way they’ll play, but for many other people it’s going to be one more.”（source：Gamesindustry）