作者：Jim Squires

去年10月，就在ZeptoLab的《割绳子》推出不久，Gamezebo同团队创意总监Semyon Voinov进行了交流。该游戏自此就已成为标杆作品，重现绝无仅有的《愤怒的小鸟》成绩。9个月后，该游戏推出众多更新内容，随后又发行了Android版本。我们有幸再次同Semyon交谈。他表示《割绳子》的成功给ZeptoLab带来很大影响，他还发表其对复制品的看法，以及谈论这个巨作的下步发展计划。以下是游戏邦编译的访谈内容：

cut the rope from mobiles.com

上次碰面，《割绳子》才刚入驻App Store几个礼拜。9个月后，这款游戏同其他顶级iOS游戏一样具有持久生命力。可以谈谈这段时间ZeptoLab发生什么变化？

《割绳子》入驻App Store时，我们还只是个小团队，只有几个开发人员和若干兼职员工。《割绳子》能够大获成功实在出乎我们的意料。我们的工作室从零开始。最初是家庭办公形式，随后才设立专门办公场所，雇佣数位员工，快速步入轨道。我们还处在不断发展和学习过程中。

除发展公司实体外，我们还不断在《割绳子》中添加内容。我们已在iOS平台推出若干更新内容，最近正在优化Android版本。Android版《割绳子》反响很好，我们期待其未来发展。

过去1年，App Store出现众多翻版《割绳子》。这似乎是个困扰所有成功iPhone游戏的问题。你如何看待此克隆现象？

我们非常开心能够“启发”其他开发商。游戏能够影响整个App Store市场我很高兴。同类游戏开发商会受我们影响，这很自然，反之，我们也能够从他们的作品获得些许灵感。我们常常能够从其他工作室那获得启发，希望知道他们如何再现《割绳子》，探究其中利弊。进一步拓展《割绳子》的同时，我们也能够学习其他成功作品。

有没有特别好或特别糟的复制品？

优秀范例：《House of Mice》就非常不错。我们很欣赏游戏的运作模式（游戏邦注：其表达方式和画面效果都非常不错），游戏呈现卡通外观和风格。有款很糟的中文版《割绳子》，游戏竟然还使用我们的商标。

鲜有游戏能够取得《割绳子》般的成就，《愤怒的小鸟》除外。从棋牌游戏，到T恤，再到卡通玩偶，Rovio似乎打算尽可能把作品多元化。《割绳子》未来是否也有类似计划？

是的，我们目前正在制作很多商品。遗憾的是，现在不方便透露过多，所以你们只有拭目以待。

作为开发工作室，ZeptoLab目前完全着眼《割绳子》是否会显得有些停滞不前？瞄准既有IP相比尝试新内容而言是个更保险策略，但无法发挥创造才能。

我们希望拓展《割绳子》与推出新作能够齐头并进，且这也在我们的计划当中。我们将继续发展《割绳子》，扩充故事内容。出于创新需求，我们也会制作不同于《割绳子》的作品。我们十分关注《割绳子》，但也有若干很棒的构思正在筹划当中。

《割绳子》的未来发展计划是什么？更多更新内容？推出续集？还是入驻Facebook平台？

我们即将推出更新内容。续作未来几周也会问世。Facebook平台也不是没有可能，但目前我们还是主要瞄准手机平台。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Cut the Rope: 9 months later; An Interview with ZeptoLab’s Semyon Voinov

By Jim Squires

Last October, shortly after the release of ZeptoLab’s Cut the Rope, we had a chance to chat with the team’s creative director Semyon Voinov. Since that time, the game has gone on to become a landmark release, attaining a level of success on the App Store only previously seen by Angry Birds. Now, nine months, multiple content updates and an Android release later, we’ve had a chance to catch up with Semyon. He tells us about how Cut the Rope’s success has affected ZeptoLab, what he thinks of imitiators, and what’s next for the burgeoning franchise.

When we last spoke, Cut the Rope had only been on the App Store for a couple of weeks. Now, nine months later, the game has proven to have as much staying power as any other top name in iOS gaming. Can you tell us a little about what things have been like around ZeptoLab since our last chat?

When Cut the Rope hit the App Store we were still a small team with just a few developers and several freelancers. The success of Cut the Rope was a big surprise! We had to build the studio from scratch. We started the company from our houses and had to set up a whole office space and hired several people to build everything up very fast. We are still growing and learning.

Besides actually growing the business physically, we’ve been working on updates to Cut the Rope. We’ve released several updates to iOS and most recently have been perfecting our latest release on the Android platform. So far, we’ve received great feedback on Cut the Rope for Android and look forward to what’s next.

Over the last year, Cut the Rope has seen a plethora of copycat games hit the App Store. This seems to be a problem that plagues every monumentally successful iPhone game. How do you feel about “inspiring” so many developers?

We actually feel good about “inspiring” developers. It’s really cool to see how the game has influenced the whole App Store. It only seems natural that like-minded game creators would be inspired by our games and vice versa. We are continually inspired by other studios and are always curious how people are “remixing” Cut the Rope to see what works and what does not. While developing Cut the Rope further, we are still learning from games that have already been successful.

Are there any imitators that tend to stand out as particularly good or particularly awful?

Good imitations: House of Mice is great. We like the way the game works – the presentation and visuals are great, the game has an awesome cartoony look and feel. There was a pretty bad version of a Chinese Cut the Rope that even had our logo on it.

Few iOS games have achieved the level of success that you’ve seen with Cut the Rope, with the obvious exception of Angry Birds. From board games to t-shirts to cartoons, Rovio seems intent on spreading their IP in as many different directions as they can. Are there any similar plans for the future of Cut the Rope? (I’d love to get my hands on a plush Om Nom)

Yes, we have tons of merchandising items in the works. Unfortunately, I cannot mention most of them at this time, so you’re have to stay tuned.

As a development studio, does ZeptoLab now feel pigeonholed into focusing entirely on Cut the Rope? Sticking with an established IP seems like a safer bet than trying something completely new, but it must feel creatively stifling.

We plan on balancing Cut the Rope with our future developments. We will continue to develop Cut the Rope and expand the story behind the game.To satisfy our creative energy we will also be working on starting some new games that are completely different from Cut the Rope. We’ve been extremely focused on Cut the Rope but we have several really nice concepts in the work.

What’s next for Cut the Rope? More updates? A sequel? Facebook?

We have several updates to Cut the Rope coming, the next in a couple of weeks time. Facebook could happen, but for the immediate future we are focusing exclusively on the mobile game.（Source：gamezebo）