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增加游戏深度和重玩价值的10种方式

发布时间:2011-06-14 18:36:49 Tags:,,

游戏邦注:本文作者为Andrew Patel,文章主要讲述增加游戏深度和重玩价值的10种方式。

我一直都在思考游戏如何产生巨大重玩价值,但为防止遗忘,我觉得是时候发表相关博文。我显然不是标准iOS玩家,我不会时不时花15分钟玩游戏。我偏好体验一次耗时几小时的游戏,或上下班、飞行途中,或夜晚闲暇时候。所以我所分享的这些观点和非休闲游戏无关。这些观点很多很简单,只要事先计划,大多能够轻易添加至游戏当中。开发者务必记住这些观点,除非你想要开发在线PvP游戏,只要游戏得到适当扩充,你就能够充分利用角色的能量等级。

1. 更新游戏内容

游戏不应停滞不前。想想若《魔兽世界》玩家晋升至60等级便无事可做,而《星际战斗 2》只有战斗任务。理想角度来看,贯穿游戏故事情节的角色应该需要完成相应任务,这样玩家才能够持续扮演角色,不断接受挑战(游戏邦注:或者甚至提升挑战)。《罗恩流浪者》系列在这方面就做得很好。这也是为什么《最终幻想 7》在整个系列中最受欢迎。有人还记得玩家曾努力饲养和繁殖Chocobos,换取金Chocobo,然后获得Round目录中的骑兵吗?主流故事情节完成之后的玩家活动才是游戏的迷人之处。

chocobo from ientrymail.com

chocobo from ientrymail.com

2. 增加升级难度

这也许包括充当最佳战利品的稀有降落物品。但从长远来看,我们不妨将稀有降落物品视作扩充道具或宝物。若稀有降落书籍能够提高能力呢?增加玩家成为终极赢家的难度。我可不希望从大量降落物品或随便搜寻就白白获得顶级战利品。这让我毫无成就感。

3. 添加成就元素

添加各种各样的成就元素,或困难的,或不合常理的。这很容易理解。很多玩家试图在一款游戏中获得所有成就。这是很多游戏采取的策略(游戏邦注:例如,谜题游戏设有的1星级、2星级和3星级系统或融入游戏中心/假动作)。

4.添加解锁模式

增加实现难度。在有难度的成就中融入解锁模式。增加解锁行为的价值,从而吸引玩家。植入广泛而困难的协调链条,供玩家访问新领域。解锁内容促使玩家愿意长久体验游戏(如掌机游戏)。例如,我之所以认为PSP的《Everybody’s Golf》是该平台最好的一款游戏,仅仅因为我花费几个小时才解锁所有路线、角色、俱乐部和服装等内容。简单解锁主角不同皮肤不及解锁能够增加角色力量的新等级或新道具那样富有吸引力。解锁模式是个值得参考的元素。

Everybody's Golf  2: hits the spot

Everybody's Golf 2: hits the spot

5. 融入数据

公开相关数据。和成就一样,数据是个值得吹嘘的元素。数据若应用得当,将会取得非常显著的成果,开发者只要在制作游戏过程中将此铭记于心,便能够轻易找到切入点(游戏邦注:如体验时间、致命等级、杀死怪物数量、最长连击时间)。对某些更具沉浸性的游戏而言,融入数据能够帮助玩家选择装备设置。例如,DPS、暴击率、平均袭击伤害度及平均治愈率。若数据能够在线共享,其价值将更高。

6. 融入随机性

随机生成世界。随机生成道具。魔法系统是基于运气。不妨想想流氓类型的游戏或者《火炬之光》。随机性使得玩家能够创建无数地下城。有关魔法随机性,不妨参考《火炬之光》或《罗恩流浪者》的魔法系统。这些“投机”风格的道具更新系统能够促进玩家之间形成独特性(游戏邦注:因此带来炫耀机会)。

7. 提供游戏发展空间

不要设置最高等级。提供可能发展空间,不论代价多高,持续添加新道具元素。自动生成所需新领域。这是以不同方式回顾前个观点。通过简单的运算,开发者便能够扩充敌人数量,这反过来会又会增加所需的降落物品数量。若设计合理,开发者完全无需封顶等级(只需提高晋升新等级所需的经验值,这样就会延长游戏时间)。游戏设置系列地下城,角色只有达到某个等级、完成前个等级,或完成某个协调任务方能享有。至于强化道具,开发者只需提高玩家晋升新等级的成本就便可(游戏邦注:相对投入时间而言)。若玩家希望升至150等级,让宝剑增加30个等级,不论需要花费多长时间,开发者都应该满足他们的要求。

8.融入富有难度的制作工艺

稀有秘诀需要大量昂贵或稀有材料。即便是再稀有的秘诀都需要之前精心制作的道具做铺垫。要求玩家精心制作某些优质元素。只要合理设置储存系统,精心制作是个很好的耗时元素。确保材料以高效方式积累(例如,无需封顶材料积累数量)。提高某些材料的获取难度。没有什么比花数小时获取所需材料,最终完成夺目新宝剑更令人富有成就感。也没有什么比发现稀有秘诀更让人高兴的。

9. 提供游戏强化内容

设置更有难度的内容。切记很多扩充内容不过增加暴徒数量和破坏性。若故事情节有限,而开发者又不想扩充体验内容,那么就让完成游戏的玩家能够重返游戏,重新对抗更顽固的暴徒,消耗他们花费很长时间积累和完善的工具。

XP bar from img1.91huo.com

XP bar from img1.91huo.com

10. 创造惊喜

例如,不要罗列所有诀窍、降落物品、敌人和地点。不要让游戏呈直线发展。若玩家获悉游戏最佳元素,他们显然就能猜出游戏结束时间,但这同时也让玩家知道游戏有尽头。我讨厌给出所有所需道具的直线型游戏,这让游戏缺少惊喜和成就感。我得重访旧领域发现新元素。除主流故事关卡之外,任务完成顺序无关紧要,但我需要完成一定数量的辅助探索方能继续前进。我希望在随后的游戏中能够看见新怪兽,或者看到低等级怪物展现高等级能力。想想角色扮演游戏中的经验值条柱。条柱会不断上升,直至最终填满。然后你就会晋升至新等级,此时条柱就会清空,需再次填满。很多玩家玩游戏只是为了填满条柱(游戏邦注:不论是阶段、级别、声望还是等级),他们只想拥有能够增长的数据。游戏添加越多这类条柱,带给玩家的吸引力就越大。这就是为什么暴雪之类的公司能够取得如此大的成功。并非只有行家才懂得添加这些元素。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

Ten ways to add depth and replayability to your game

by Andrew Patel

I started to think about all the ways I’ve seen games almost create great replayability, but just fall short of the mark, and I decided it was time to write a short blog post on it. I’m apparently not your average iOS gamer who wants to spend 15 seconds every now and then playing. I want games that I can spend hours at a time playing – on my commute, on flights, on my couch in the evening. So these thoughts I’m sharing are to do with non-casual games. A lot of these ideas are extremely simple and cheap to add to a game as long as you plan ahead (a little). Remember that unless you intend to make your game online pvp, you really can go wild with the power level of characters as long as the game scales appropriately.

1) Implement things to do once the main storyline is complete. The game shouldn’t end at that point. Imagine World of Warcraft ending with nothing to do once you hit level 60. Imagine Starcraft 2 having only the campaign missions in it. Ideally, a game should implement things to do with the character you took through the storyline such that you can continue to play with that character and continue to be challenged (or even increase the challenge). The Inotia series does this really well. This is also what made Final Fantasy 7 probably the most loved game in that series. Anyone remember raising and breeding Chocobos up to the gold one to go get Knights of the Round materia? That’s what made the game amazing – all the stuff you could do after the main storyline finished.

2) Implement difficult to achieve upgrade systems. This might include rare drops for the best loot. But think a little ahead. How about rare drops for item enhancement scrolls or gems. How about rare book drops for new abilities or ability improvements? Make it difficult to get the best of the best. I don’t want to be handed my top-tier loot on a plate from trash mob drops or random chests. That doesn’t feel very rewarding.

3) Implement achievements. Implement lots of them. Implement difficult ones. Implement insane ones. This goes without saying, really. Many people try to get all of the achievements in a game. This is a simple idea that a lot of games implement already (for instance, the one, two, three stars system that lots of puzzle games have or game center/open feint integration).

4) Implement unlockables. Make some difficult to get. Tie unlockables to difficult achievements. Make the unlockables so worth getting that people will get them. Make long and difficult attunement chains to access new areas. Unlockable stuff is what gives a lot of games on other devices (console games, etc.) their long play time. For instance, I consider “Everybody’s Golf” on the PSP to be one of the best games on that platform simply because I spent months unlocking all the courses, characters, clubs, clothes, etc. Simply unlocking a different skin for your main character isn’t really as good of an incentive as unlocking a new level or an item that improves the strength of your character. Unlockables have to be worth getting and not just fluff.

5) Implement statistics. And make them visible. They are as much bragging rights as achievements. Statistics are cool, if they’re done right, and are really easy to implement if you’ve designed your game with them in mind. Time spent playing, largest crit, monsters killed, longest combo, etc. For some more involved games, you might want to implement stats that players can track while experimenting with different equipment setups. DPS, crit %, average damage per hit, average heal done, etc. If you can make some statistics shareable online, they definitely become more valuable.

6) Implement randomness. Randomly generate the world. Randomly generate items. Do enhancements systems based on luck. Think rogue-like games or something like Torchlight. Randomness allows you to build essentially infinite dungeons. For randomness on enchantments, look at Torchlight’s or Inotia’s enchantment systems. These “gambling” style item upgrade systems allow for complete uniqueness between players (and in-turn bragging rights).

7) Make your game endless. Don’t implement a level cap. Allow the possibility, however expensive, to keep adding another plus one to that item. Auto generate new areas as needed. This reflects on the previous point, but in a different way. With some simple maths, you can scale the stats of enemies and in turn the stats on drops as far as you want. If designed correctly, you don’t need to even implement level caps (just scale the XP needed to get to the next level such that it ends up taking longer and longer to get another level). Your game world could have a series of dungeons that are only accessible after the character has reached a certain level or completed the previous one, or done some attunement quest. For item enhancements, just make it more and more expensive (in terms of time invested) for each additional +1. If a player wants to grind to level 150 and get +30 to their sword, no matter how long it takes, they should be able to do that.

8) Implement difficult crafting. Rare recipes that need lots of expensive or rare ingredients. Even rarer recipes that need the previous crafted item as a precursor. Make some of the best stuff crafted. Crafting, as long as you can implement the storage system properly, is a nice time sink. Make sure that reagents stack in an effective way (there’s no need to cap the stacking number of a reagent, for instance). Make some reagents difficult to get (rare chance to drop from a difficult boss). There’s nothing more satisfying than finally assembling a truly awesome new sword after hours and hours of fetching the reagents needed, and there’s nothing more satisfying than finding that super-rare recipe drop.

9) Open harder modes that you play with the same character you just finished the game with. And an even harder one after that. Remember that a lot of scaling is just mob health and damage output. If your game has a finite story line and end point and you don’t want to extend play past that, allow your character that you just finished the game with to go back out, from the beginning, against even harder mobs, wearing the gear they just spend a lot of time collecting and improving.

10) Implement discovery. For instance, don’t document every recipe, drop, enemy and location. Don’t make the game linear. If I know what the best stuff in the game is, sure it allows me to know when I’ve finished the game, but it also lets me know that the game has a defined end point. I hate linear games that give out the gear needed as I go – it doesn’t feel like discovery or accomplishment. I should have to re-visit old areas to find new things. It shouldn’t matter what order I do things in, aside from the main story quests, but I should have to do a certain amount of side questing to move on. I want to see new monsters later in the game, or at least new abilities on higher level versions of lower-level monsters. Think of an XP bar in an RPG. The bar goes up and eventually fills. Then you gain a level, the bar empties and you have to refill it again. Many many gamers just want to fill bars like this. Whether it be levels, ranks, reputation, ladders or whatever, they just want a number that they can make go up. The more of these bars you can add to your game, the more engaging it will be for gamers. This is where companies like Blizzard are so successful. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to add these to your game.(Source:gamasutra


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