作者：nickoneill

当数年前Facebook平台发布之时，许多该新平台观察者迅速意识到，游戏正急速成为站点上最受人欢迎的应用类型。回合制模式游戏给此类新系列游戏带来巨大变革，此类游戏严丝合缝地融入Facebook体验中。

一旦其他平台发布，这类“新题材”游戏也会接踵而至。当时，我想许多人都为玩《Scrabulous》（游戏邦注：这款游戏已于近期关闭）之类极其简单游戏的玩家数的迅速增加感到诧异。很多人意识到休闲游戏就此大范围流行，我认为人们逐渐在意游戏是此等事态的催化剂。

scrabulous_facebook

最近，我想知道“社交游戏”的想法为何物，这毕竟是游戏行业的一部分。在分享我个人对这个问题的看法之前，我认为最好还是先概述下社交游戏和运营公司。

什么是社交游戏？

在平台发布数月之内，“社交游戏”急速飞升。在短期内，许多人（游戏邦注：包括作者自己）都深信社交游戏将成为社交网络上的下一个重磅炸弹。那么社交游戏与其他游戏有什么不同之处呢？我认为不同之处在于：

回合制。如果你不和他人一起玩游戏，那么社交游戏便不具有社交性。因而，社交游戏让用户可以轮流采取行动。回合制游戏并非新鲜事物，但在当前环境下，回合制有了个新的含义。必须记住的是，回合制并非必要条件，只是“社交游戏”的常见特征。

对他人在游戏中行动的关注。我必须承认这是催生“社交游戏”的因素。正是社交内容让你更倾向于通过游戏互动。

休闲游戏。“社交游戏”并非真正适合那些所谓的“硬核玩家”。正如现在所呈现出来的，社交游戏的受众是普通用户而不是那些计划每天24小时玩游戏的人。必须注意的是，这可能带来不可预期的副作用。

多人游戏。这是毫无疑问的。如果没有他人参与就不称之为社交化。因而，无论游戏中有两个人或是两百个人，游戏要社交化就必须有多个玩家。

以社交平台为基础。我认为之所以称之为“社交游戏”的最后一个原因是，这些游戏都以社交平台为基础。在社交游戏中，社交平台为用户提供了身份，也支撑着简单的交流形式（游戏邦注：如以通知等形式进行的交流）。

这本篇文章中，我首先给社交游戏下了个定义，但文章之中仍有讨论此等分类是否合理的空间。以下便是在我心中社交游戏的最佳定义：社交游戏是拥有设立规则让用户与他人竞争的结构性行为。社交游戏必须是多人游戏，有以下一个或多个特征：回合制，以给用户提供某种身份的社交平台为基础和休闲化。

制作社交游戏的著名公司

数年前Facebook平台的发布促使一系列角逐社交游戏市场的公司应运而生。每个公司都有自己的方法，许多公司已经开始推出不少面向广大用户的游戏。以下列举某些社交游戏领域中的著名公司。

Zynga Gaming Network

我曾经写过许多关于Zynga的文章。该公司由Mark Pincus（游戏邦注：作者之前与他一起制作过播客）创建，因其游戏《Texas Hold’em》而成为该领域的领航者。这款游戏目前在Facebook上每日吸引逾50万用户投入其中，在MySpace（游戏邦注：游戏在该网站上的日活跃用户未公布）上的总安装量将近100万次。公司已融资数轮，最近一次的融资为其带来2900万美元的收入。Zynga是个值得你关注的公司，因为他们拥有极具竞争力的投资者和顾问，正稳步向前发展。

Social Gaming Network

Social Gaming Network由Shervin Pishevar创立，是Webs.com（游戏邦注：之前称为Freewebs）游戏《Warbook》取得成功之后的产物。公司成立后有多轮融资，最近的投资者是Jeff Bezos。

尽管该公司收购或自行设计过游戏，就安装量而言它已成为Facebook上第四大公司，但是其后续游戏所取得的成就还从未超过Zynga的游戏。这并不是说这家公司已退出社交游戏市场，只是渐行渐远。

该公司确实需要发布新游戏。Shervin Pishevar似乎认为在多个平台上发布一系列新游戏是公司短期内的游戏计划。凭借公司的顾问和投资团队，还有很大的潜力继续前行。

Kongregate

就社交游戏领域而言，Kongregate在此类游戏被称为“社交游戏”之前便已进驻这片领域。公司最大的产品是其终点站，但此前公司曾考虑发布Kongregate Facebook平台将他们的产品构建在社交平台之上。他们的首个决定并没有取得巨大的成功，但终点站不断吸引着数量可观的用户流量。

Kongregate吸引大量游戏开发商，帮助他们通过站点推广游戏。该公司也偶尔自己开发游戏。到目前为止，他们的模式已经有效产生了许多流量。该公司是否能让此等成功蔓延到社交平台尚未可知，但只要他们保持创新势头，无论其定位如何都可能取得成功。

Gaia Online

Gaia是另一个未在社交平台上发布作品的大型社交游戏公司。该公司开发出一个站点，支持用户通过自己定义的角色来互动。这些角色随后可以选择参与游戏、观看电影和参加某个社区活动。

Playfish

Playfish属于社交平台上的新兴公司，但是有着坚实的开发和管理团队。公司首席执行官有手机游戏运营史，尝试将自己学来的技能运用于社交游戏中。现在看来，该公司的做法令人称奇。到目前为止，他们只有三款游戏，但每款的日活跃用户都超过20万，而且看似还在不断增长。公司最流行的游戏是《Who Has the Biggest Brain?》，发布数月间仍在不断吸引着Facebook用户。我希望大家能够留意这家公司，他们好像有某些大型计划正在酝酿之中。

Serious Business

Serious Business因其甚为流行的应用《Friends for Sale》而为世人所知，这款应用由Siqi Chen编写而成。这款应用甚为流行，其他公司甚至窃取Siqi的想法将游戏复制到MySpace上，同样获得巨大的成功。某些公司或个人现在已在Facebook上开发出很受欢迎的应用。

当公司从Lightspeed Venture Partners处募集400万美元后，他们开始重视社交游戏。他们还未发布第二款游戏，假如第二款游戏能像首款游戏那般出众，这家公司在社交游戏领域的表现将甚为强劲。他们在Facebook上的应用位列排行榜第9位，因此公司有许多机会在未来的项目中取得成功。

社交游戏真有那么与众不同吗？

我一直想要弄清楚的关键问题是，“社交游戏”是否真有必要如此特立独行。尽管社交平台的诞生铸就了许多新公司，但是多数社交游戏却是其他成功游戏的仿制品。

就个人观点来说，iPhone的出现使我对“社交游戏”的观点发生改变。现在我可以在晚餐之时与朋友和家人一起玩许多种游戏，如《Connect Four》、《Tic Tac Toe》等等，我把这些都当成是“社交游戏”。尽管与我对战的用户可能正坐在我身边，而且并没有与在线社交网络绑定的身份，但这确实是一种社交行为。

依次看来，我认为社交游戏网络将会慢慢开始模仿传统游戏公司，成为该群体的一部分。那些无法快速适应这种潮流的公司会渐渐消失并为世人所遗忘，那些适应的公司会迅速成为游戏业的领航者，而并不局限于在这个“社交游戏”的领域中。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，转载请注明来源：游戏邦）

What Exactly are Social Games?

nickoneill

When the Facebook platform launched over a year ago, many observers of the new platform quickly realized that gaming was quickly becoming one of the most popular category of applications on the site. What appeared to be revolutionary about this new series of games was the turn-based model that was seamlessly integrated into the Facebook experience.

Once other platforms launched, this “new” genre of games quickly followed. At the time, I think many people were simply amazed at the sheer number of users playing extremely simple games like “Scrabulous” (which was recently shut down). What many began to realize was an explosion of casual gaming through which I believe the awareness of each others’ gaming activities was a catalyst for.

More recently I’ve been wondering about the concept of a “social games” segment as part of the general gaming industry. Prior to sharing my personal thoughts on the matter, I thought it would be best to give a general overview of social games and the companies behind them.

What are Social Games?

Within months of the platform there was an explosion of “social gaming” and soon enough, many people (including myself) were convinced that social games were the next big thing on social networks. So what exactly makes a social game different from other games? I believe that there are a few factors which differentiate social games from the others:

Turn-based – A social game is not social unless you are playing with another person. As such, social games enable users to take turns. Turn-based games are nothing new but in the current environment, turn-based takes on a new meaning. Keep in mind that turn-based is not a requirement, just a frequent feature found in “social games”.

Awareness of others’ actions in games – I honestly believe this was the catalyst for “social gaming.” When you could see in your news feed that your friend just bit another one of your friends to turn them into a vampire, suddenly there was social context, making you more likely to interact with the game.

Casual gaming – “Social gaming” is not really for so called “hardcore gamers”. As it is currently referred to, social gaming is for the average user and not for someone who plans on playing 24 hours a day. Then again, that may be an unexpected side effect.

Multiplayer – This is a no brainer. You can’t be social without there being other people so whether it’s two or two hundred users, the game has to be multiplayer for it to be social.

Based on Social Platforms – The final component that I believe typifies “social games” is that they are based around social platforms. In the context of social gaming, social platforms provide users with an identity and also can provide the backbone for simple forms of communication (such as notifications, etc).

So for the purpose of this article I’ll go ahead and put forth a definition of social games. As you will see toward the end of this article, there is still room for debate over whether or not such forms of classification are justified. So here is my best definition of social games: Social games are a structured activity which has contextual rules through which users can engage with one another. Social games must be multiplayer and have one or more of the following features: turn-based, are based on social platforms for providing users with an identity and are casual.

What Are the Leading Companies Creating Social Games?

Since the launch of the Facebook platform a little over one year ago, a new set of companies have emerged to tackle the social gaming market. Each different in their approach, a number of companies have begun developing a wide range of games that target a broad audience of users. Below are a few of the leading companies that are involved in social gaming in one form or another. If I miss any, please feel free to let me know.

Zynga Gaming Network

I’ve written about Zynga a number of times on this blog. The company was started by Mark Pincus (who I previously did a podcast with) and really became a leader thanks to their Texas Hold’em game which now attracts over half a million users daily on Facebook and has close to 1 million total installs on MySpace (where active daily users are not publicly reported). The company has raised a number of rounds of funding, the most recent one bringing in a whopping $29 million. Zynga is a company to keep you eye on as they have a killer set of investors and advisors and continue to grow at a steady pace.

Social Gaming Network

Social Gaming Network was founded by Shervin Pishevar and was an outgrowth of Webs.com (formerly Freewebs) after having a successful launch of what remains to be one of their cornerstone games: Warbook. Since the launch the company has raised a number of rounds of funding including a recent round from Jeff Bezos.

While the company has been building and acquiring games, making them the 4th largest network on Facebook in terms of installs, none of the games continue have the same sort of blockbuster quality that a number of Zynga’s games have. That’s not to say that this company is out of “the game” (pardon the pun), they are far from it.

This company definitely needs to start launching new games though. While speaking with Shervin Pishevar at last week at f8, it sounded like launching a number of new games on multiple platforms is part of the short-term game plan. With this company’s team of advisors and investors, there is a ton of potential moving forward.

Kongregate

When it comes to social gaming, Kongregate was in this space before it was defined “social gaming”. The company’s largest presence is their destination site but back in May the company made a play for building their presence on social platforms with the launch of the Kongregate Facebook platform. It doesn’t appear that their first attempt was highly successful but the destination site continues to attract a considerable amount of traffic.

Kongregate attracts a network of game developers and helps them promote their games through their site. The company also occasionally develops games of their own. So far their model has been effective at generating a substantial amount of traffic. Whether or not the company can translate that success onto social platforms has yet to be seen but as long as the company keeps innovating it doesn’t matter where they decide to position themselves.

Gaia Online

Gaia is one of the other large social gaming companies that doesn’t have a substantial presence on social networks. The company has developed a site in which users interact via their own custom avatars. Those avatars can then choose to participate in games, watch movies and simply participate in the community.

Playfish

Playfish is a more recent company on the social platforms but they have a solid team of developers and management. The CEO of the company has a history in mobile gaming and is trying to convert his lessons learned to the social gaming sphere. Right now it looks like the company is doing an amazing job. They only have three games so far but each of them have over 200,000 active daily users and appear to be growing. The company’s most popular game is Who Has the Biggest Brain? and it has been around for months as it continues to attract the attention of Facebook users. I’d keep your eye on this company as it looks like they have some big plans cooking.

Serious Business

Serious Business is best known for their immensely popular Friends for Sale application, written by Siqi Chen. The application was so popular that it has since been duplicated on the MySpace with great success by other companies that ripped off Siqi’s idea. One of those companies (or individuals) now has the most popular application on Facebook.

The company became serious about social gaming when they raised $4 million from Lightspeed Venture Partners back in April. They have yet to release a second game yet but if the second game is anywhere near as popular as their first one, this company could become a serious force to be reckoned with. They already have the 9th most popular application on Facebook so the company has a lot of opportunity to extend that success to future projects.

Are Social Games Really That Much Different?

One key thing that I’ve been trying to determine over the past couple weeks is if “social games” should really be granted their own category. While there is a new set of companies that have emerged as a direct result of the opening of social platforms, most social games mimic the features that make other multiplayer games successful.

Personally, the launch of the iPhone has transformed my idea of “social games”. There are now a number of games that I can play at dinner with my friends and family such as Connect Four, Tic Tac Toe and a number of others, all of which I would consider “social games”. While the users I’m playing against may be physically present and don’t have an identity tied to an online social network, it’s inherently a social activity.

As such, I believe that the “social gaming” networks will slowly begin to mimic traditional gaming companies and simply become part of the group. Those that don’t adapt quickly will slowly drift into oblivion while those that do adapt will quickly become leaders in the gaming industry, not just in this newly created category of “social games”.

Do you believe that social games deserve their own category? How would you define social games? Is there any important points that I missed? (Source: Social Times)