作者：JC Fletcher

Insomniac Games之前在SXSW Interactive上发表了令人惊讶的声明，称公司将成立新部门，负责为Facebook和其他社交游戏平台制作游戏。新雇佣的团队已经就某个还未公布的项目展开工作。

JC Fletcher采访了Insomniac的两位高管，市场总监Ryan Schneider和首席艺术师Tony Mora，讨论新部门如何将Insomniac风格与“社交游戏”融合，探寻“社交游戏”的真正内涵。以下是游戏邦编译的访谈概要：

Insomniac Click_logo

我们开始讨论的主题是，这个新部门将设计出何种游戏。尽管Schneider和Mora无法明确指出游戏的风格，但对某件事情他们却十分清楚，即这将是款全新的游戏。Schneider说道：“我们想做的不是把《瑞奇与叮当》开发成Facebook游戏。”Mora补充道：“尽管这么做也有可能很棒。”

那么Insomniac Click的真正目标是什么呢？Schneider说道：“我认为手机平台和Facebook上的游戏都是休闲和社交游戏。Click的方向是利用Insomniac此前制作过的控制器游戏的乐趣、易接触性和可玩性深度，将此类游戏特征带到休闲游戏和社交游戏的世界中，这对我们整个工作室来说是桩大事。”

依Schneider所述，控制器游戏的“可玩性深度”指游戏不仅能够满足玩家短期内的需要，而且可以长期体验。他说道：“Insomniac Games以其控制器游戏的再玩性而闻名，我们想将这种再玩性带到社交和休闲游戏领域中。Insomniac Click的首款游戏也会以更明确的方式展现公司的传统。我认为目前未公布的项目带有很明显的特色，如果人们足够关注，我想他们会认出这是Insomniac的游戏。”

包括首席艺术师Mora（游戏邦注：Mora此前曾在Spümcø工作，后为《瑞奇与叮当未来：时空裂隙》制作动画）在内的五名团队成员将密切配合，而不是单打独斗。Schneider告诉我们道：“我们会互相学习，共享获得的经验，这最终会让我们获得可以运用于所有平台之上的经验。在游戏制作中采用各种方法时，整个团队感到统一和团结，这对我们来说才是最重要的事情。为实现上述目标，我们必须确保所有人紧密配合。”

公司所制作的游戏不太可能模仿当前Facebook巨头Zynga的作品。Mora说道：“对我来说，Zynga的游戏确实是很棒的产品。《Cityville》相当精致，它是一款模拟城市建设游戏，并在其中添加了大量需要玩家付费的内容，他们在自己专注的领域做得很好。”对于Click来说，盈利并非首要目的，但也需要考虑在内。Schneider说道：“我们致力于制作出绝佳的游戏体验，如果游戏的质量足以吸引玩家投入其中，那么盈利也会变得更为自然。”

事实上，Mora并不认为《Cityville》和Facebook目前的热门游戏（游戏邦注：包括PopCap某些优良的游戏）具有“社交性”。他说道：“那些游戏属于不同的类别，它们只是短期内取得成功而已，只能算是好游戏。不管吸引你的是游戏哪个方面的内容，它们也都只是好游戏而已。将它们定义为‘社交游戏’是错误的。如果游戏在Xbox或PlayStation上出现，你不会把它叫作社交游戏。你可以把任何游戏归类为社交游戏，但事实上你不能那么做。这些都是单人游戏。”

有些游戏真正具有“社交性”，其中包括手机文字游戏《Words with Friends》。Mora解释道：“对于我来说，那些才是社交游戏，因为你确实是在同其他人玩游戏。游戏简单，你通过社交化行为获得分数。Facebook上的许多游戏反社交。我不知道最初是谁这么归类，但看到那些游戏之时便断定它们不是社交游戏。《街头霸王》才真正具有社交性。”

团队意识到“社交游戏”的特征带有某种瑕疵，这些通常在Insomniac的其他游戏中看不到。Schneider说道：“许多硬核玩家并不看好我们的做法，这是可以理解的。硬核玩家对休闲游戏和社交游戏并没有多大好感。我们认识到这种现象，我们也尊重这种想法，但我们想请他们耐心等待。在判别或谴责我们的做法之前，请耐心等待看我们能做出什么产品，玩过游戏之后再发表评论较为恰当。请关注我们吧。”（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Interview: Click here to learn more about Insomniac Click

JC Fletcher

Insomniac Games made the surprise announcement at SXSW Interactive that a new division would make games for Facebook and other social gaming platforms. The newly hired team is already at work on an unannounced project based on a new IP.

I wrangled the two Insomniac panelists, marketing director Ryan Schneider and lead artist Tony Mora, to discuss how the new division will integrate “social gaming” into the Insomniac style, and to find out just what a “social game” is.

We began the discussion by trying to nail down exactly what kinds of games we’d be seeing out of this new division. While Schneider and Mora couldn’t be specific about the exact game or style of game, they were very specific about one thing: it’s an all-new IP. “We’re not looking to make Ratchet & Clank Facebook games,” Schneider said. “Although it would be awesome,” Mora added.

So what exactly is Insomniac Click targeting? “Well, I think games that are on mobile platforms, Facebook games,” said Schneider, “these are all casual and social games,” and thus within Click’s purview. “The big thing for us as a studio is, we want to take the same sense of fun, accessibility, and gameplay depth that mark a console game that’s made by Insomniac, and we want to bring that to the world of the casual/social game market.”

The kind of “gameplay depth” expected of a console game, according to Schneider, means a game is not just satisfying in short-session “bursts,” but is playable long-term. “Insomniac Games has been known for our replayability in our console games. We want to bring that sense of replayability to the social/casual game space.” Insomniac Click’s first game will carry on the company’s legacy in more tangible ways as well. “I will say that there are signature traits in our current unannounced project that I think people will recognize, if they look closely enough, as inherently Insomniac.”

The team of five, including lead artist Mora (who worked at Spümcø before creating animated sequences for Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time) will work closely together, as opposed to being in “separate silos.” “We’re going to learn from each other, we’re going to share lessons across the board,” Schneider told us, “and ultimately it’s going to help us make an experience that can permeate whatever platform it is we’re working on. What’s most important to us is making an IP experience feel unified and cohesive across all the different ways you can access it. So in order to do that, we have to make sure that we’re all communicating tightly together.”

The company’s output is unlikely to be too closely reminiscent of the work of current Facebook champion Zynga. “[Zynga games] still feel like a weird hybrid to me,” Mora said. “Even Cityville. It’s super polished. I think it’s amazing for what it is. It’s SimCity, with the whole thing tacked on of ‘want this? Gotta pay for it.’ But they’re doing a good job of it.” For Click, monetization is not the first step, but will of course be present. “We are focused on making great game experiences,” Schneider said, “and if they’re so great that maybe you will want to engage further and then the monetization aspect becomes more natural.”

In fact, Mora doesn’t see games like Cityville and the current Facebook fads as “social” at all — even the good games, like the PopCap library. “Those are a different ilk,” he said. “Those are just short burst. They’re just … good. I don’t care what you play it on, it’s just a good game. And that’s why the whole premise of “social game” is a misnomer, because it’s a good game regardless. If that game came out on Xbox or PlayStation, you don’t call it a social game. You can call any game a social game. But you don’t. These are all single-player games.”

Other games are getting “social” right, including the mobile word game Words with Friends. “Those to me are social games,” Mora explained, “because you’re actually playing one on one with someone.

It’s simple and you get the point across that you’re actually being social. A lot of the games on Facebook are antisocial. I don’t know who started that word, man, but when I see those games, that is not social. Street Fighter is social.”

The team is aware that the “social game” badge carries a stigma that Insomniac titles usually don’t. “It’s daunting because we know a lot of people on the hardcore side are going to say ‘whatever.’

And that’s understandable,” said Schneider. “There’s a lot of ill will toward casual and social games among hardcore gamers. And we recognize that, we respect it, and what we’d say is just wait and see. Before you judge or condemn what we’re doing, wait and see what we bring out and play the game and see what you think. Give us a shot.” (Source: Joystiq)