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传统游戏开发者Jonathan Blow称社交游戏很“邪恶”

发布时间:2011-02-16 13:34:39 Tags:,,,,

独立游戏设计师乔纳森·布洛(Jonathan Blow)近日在接受PC Gamer的采访中,针对是否认为社交游戏很“邪恶”这一问题给予了万分肯定的答复:“是的,完全正确。”游戏邦获悉,布洛目前正在开发他的第二个作品《The Witness》,这是他第一次用如此犀利的道德术语来形容社交游戏。他的观点是,社交游戏总是诱使你不断升级或实现另一个目标,完全占据用户的空闲时间。但难道这些就是社交游戏的原罪吗?

social game addiction

social game addiction

剥削性是社交游戏设计之初就考虑到的倾向,“想玩得更多,就必须付出更多”,游戏邦认为这句话几乎是每款Facebook游戏的座右铭。布洛在采访中多次提及这一特性,同时也指出几乎每一个社交游戏玩家都会无可救药地沉迷于《CityVille》或《Bejeweled Blitz》之类的游戏。那么,这就能说明它们是游戏产业的罪人吗?当然可以,但这只是针对少数无辜的玩家而言。

的确,在过去的一年出现了多起因沉迷社交游戏而酿成的人间惨剧,但比起2.5亿Facebook游戏玩家数量,这个比例其实不足挂齿。同样让玩家游戏成瘾的《魔兽世界》是邪恶的吗?《使命的召唤》系列又如何呢?如果这个罪名在社交游戏身上成立,那么任何通过下载内容(DLC)、扩展数据包或者收取费用的游戏或多或少都是邪恶的。

据游戏邦了解,由Bioware出品的《Mass Effect 2》在今年的互动成就大奖(Interactive Achievement Awards)典礼上荣获年度最佳游戏称号,但从理论上说,它发布的并非完整版的游戏,用户得购买扩展的DLC才能获得更多内容。你很容易发现Bioware本可以延长开发周期,同样以60美元的价格发售含有扩展内容的完整版游戏。然而,开发商却出人意料地向我们收取额外的费用来体验游戏的剩余内容,让我们一次又一次地多付5美元甚至10美元。

剥削?完全正确。邪恶?其实你完全可以不买它,不是吗?

游戏邦认为,1980年代的游戏或许并不会这样,但今时今日,各类游戏几乎都会让人沉迷其中,只是程度有所不同而已。《生化奇兵》(BioShock)引人入胜的游戏情节,和《FarmVille》充满风险回报和诱惑力的玩法设置一样叫人沉溺,它们同样会让我们为了孩子好而关掉电脑。布洛的言论或许是指向社交游戏设计者,但其实玩家因素也对游戏设计产生了重要的影响。社交游戏和所有电子游戏一样,你认为它们有多邪恶,那它们就有多邪恶。(本文为游戏邦 /gamerboom.com编译,转载请注明来源:游戏邦)

Are social games really ‘evil’?

In a recent interview with PC Gamer, game developer Jonathan Blow was asked whether he though social games are “evil.” The Braid creator responded with an emphatic, “Yes. Absolutely.” Currently working on his second major release, The Witness, the independent game designer has spoken choice words about the genre in the past. But this is the first time Blow has associated social games with such a Biblical term as evil. His argument is that by design social games invade your free time as a whole by stringing you along to the next object or feature that you want. But does this make social games evil?

By design, social games tend to be exploitative. “If you want to play more, you’ve got to pay more,” is the motto of just about every game on Facebook. And Blow (pictured right) points this trait out repeatedly in his time with PC Gamer, but with a lens that every social gamer will become hopelessly obsessed with games like CityVille or Bejeweled Blitz. So are they the Grinch of the gaming industry? Sure they are, but in saying that we’re deeming one half of the equation completely innocent: the players.

Yes, there have been plenty of tragic cases of social game addiction over the past year, but compared to the 250 million Facebook gamers out there this is nothing. Are MMOs like World of WarCraft evil for supporting the addictive tendencies of gamers? How about the Call of Duty series? If this is the case, then every game that persists for longer than its shelf life through enticing downloadable content (DLC), expansion packs or a subscription fee is evil. At least just a smidgen.

Mass Effect 2 by Bioware received Game of the Year at the Interactive Achievement Awards this year, but technically speaking it wasn’t complete upon release. DLC has extended its story … for a price. You could easily argue that Bioware could have extended its development cycle to include this content at the same launch price of $60. Yet the developer decided to do the unthinkable and charge us extra to experience the rest of its story. And we all put up the $5 or $10 more time after time.

Exploitative? Absolutely. Evil? Well, you don’t have to buy it, right?

Or do you? Games might not have in the 1980s, but today just about all types of games play to the varying levels of addictive tendencies in all of us. The engrossing storyline in BioShock can be just as addicting as the risk-reward, carrot-on-the-stick gameplay of FarmVille. But we’re equally responsible for shutting the computer down and, say, loving our children. Blow might have directed his statement at social game designers, but players are equally as important in the design process and we have a certain level of control over what’s created. Social games, like all video games, are only as evil as you allow them to be.(source:blog.games)


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