作者：Andy Robertson

在本文中，我们将探讨行业失去的那些游戏玩家，发现导致他们不像幼年时那样玩游戏的原因。

尽管目前游戏玩家数增长速度已达史上巅峰，但仍有许多年轻时玩游戏现在却不会在闲暇时间考虑到游戏的人。

在他们成长的这些年里，生活肯定发生了明显的变化，因而现在可自由分配的时间、金钱和注意力也更为有限。

但除了这些普遍因素外，我们想要看清楚的是让他们远离控制器和鼠标的更为细节的原因。在暑假的数周时间里，我们组织这些离去的玩家开展系列玩乐活动，这些玩家的年龄介于25至35岁之间。

从这些活动的经验和讨论中，我们总结出离去玩家真正想要的电子游戏体验，有如下几点：

1、融合社交体验

尽管多数离去玩家并没有游戏主机，但他们乐于在Facebook、Twitter和Tumblr等各种社交网络中投入大量时间。

当被问及为何她更倾向于将闲暇时间花在Facebook而不是视频游戏上时，一名离去玩家说道：“我并不介意将自己的时间花费在Facebook上，因为我觉得自己是在与好友交流。”

当我们向某个群体介绍Xbox Live及其社区功能时，他们表现出的缺乏热情度让我们感到惊讶。他们提出的问题是：我要如何更新自己的状态？我要如何上传照片或分享链接？

看来，这类网络的丰富体验对这些准玩家来说意味着更高的使用门槛。

向他们介绍某些游戏与现有社交网络融合的方式似乎是个更为成功的举措。Xbox Live的MSN功能和Xbox Facebook页面及其iPhone应用受到了大家的欢迎。这些功能似乎让玩家群体觉得游戏“有意义”。

多数游戏平台都有社交功能，但这部分离去玩家群体似乎更能接受他们现在使用的社交网络。

他们对那些提升和改良现有群体关系的服务反响更好，包括网络和现实生活中的服务。如果他们觉得这些游戏能够融入他们的社群中，他们会更愿意投入时间和金钱。

2、隐蔽性的游戏特点

在招募活动参与者的过程中，我们逐渐认识到这个群体能够理解何谓玩家。但这种想法并没有鼓励他们玩游戏，起到的反倒是相反的作用。

有个想法显而易见：他们并不把自己看做玩家，甚至不愿意回到游戏中。他们认为玩家文化与众不同，他们对此并无兴趣。

然而，当描述起他们在Facebook上或每晚与好友相会时的活动，相似性就此突显。他们仍然在享受与朋友一同玩游戏的乐趣，只是形式稍有改变。有时较为明显（游戏邦注：如与好友玩卡片游戏和桌游），有时比较不明显（游戏邦注：即在社交网站上与好友玩乐）。

当被问及他们是否觉得这些体验与过去他们玩游戏的体验相同时，很显然他们并不认同这个看法。他们会说道：“Facebook并不是游戏。”

尽管这个群体有玩游戏的潜力，但他们更偏好那些并非明显面向玩家的体验。他们很清晰地理解和认识到何谓游戏，但并不觉得游戏适合他们。

他们喜欢那些并不带有常见游戏元素的Wii游戏，这是可想而知的事情。《Wii Fit》很畅销，这些人忽略了其中的小游戏，更偏好互相之间比较瑜伽技术等。

3、极富挑战性

当测试群体不断增加时，话题通常都会转到扑克上，这是他们最近的游戏体验。

许多离去玩家投入大量的时间来提高他们的扑克技术（游戏邦注：如Texas Hold ‘em），形式包括在线和离线。还有些人的对象是象棋。少数人甚至偏好新型桌游，如《Carcassonne》或《Diplomacy》。

当问及这些游戏哪里吸引他们时，答案很快便浮现出来。有个活动参与者谈及他的扑克体验时说道：“我喜欢玩那些几年后我仍然能够继续学习的游戏。女友去年送给我一本扑克方面的书籍，读过之后我的技术确实得到了提升。我从未想到过，如此简单的纸牌游戏中居然包含如此丰富的内容。”

根据这种想法，我们向他们展示了某些更有深度的游戏。有些人似乎对《光晕3》和《FIFA》表现出极大的好感，《魔兽世界》虽然更有深度，但他们认为这款游戏需要投入大量的时间。

很显然，该群体玩家对那些充满极大挑战的游戏比较感兴趣，也就是那些他们可以花数年时间来研究和理解的游戏。

4、与邻近玩家的多人游戏

我们将测试主机与网络相连，看调查这些离去玩家对在线游戏的反应。虽然他们刚开始对能够跟全世界玩家一起玩表现出极大的热情，不久之后他们就发现与他们一起玩的人要么太强要么太弱。

网游被更为简单的多画面本地多人游戏服务所取代的时间并不长。这种能够在沙发上彼此打闹（游戏邦注：更不用说分享小点心和饮料）的做法确实相当吸引人。

网游的全屏魅力也无法将他们带离这类游戏。

这些离去玩家更注重在游戏中与朋友和家人的互动。从某种程度上来说，游戏不如社交行为重要。

因而，游戏应该有多个画面，如果能够让玩家进入所有多人关卡而不是强迫他们单人行动，那就更好了。

5、价格因素

此次的离去玩家群体似乎与我们以往测试过的有所不同，价格并非主要的决定性因素。如果体验能够满足他们的需求，那么他们会想办法满足所有条件。

有个群体描述了他们在Gamecube发布当天购买的事情。这款主机发布时，他们想起了曾经在大学宿舍中一起玩SNES游戏的经历，随即便计划筹集资金一同购买新任天堂主机。

随后，他们自称一起在发布当日购买了Gamecube，每个付了一部分钱并选择一款游戏和控制器。

看来，价格并不是让他们离开游戏的原因。但是，Gamecube在游戏方面做得很失败，因而他们只能像上文提到的那样将注意力转向扑克、《Diplomacy》和《Carcassonne》。

6、面向成年人的产品

活动群体中许多人谈起为何他们不将自己视为游戏玩家的原因在于，这听起来感觉他们很不成熟。他们觉得游戏只是孩提时代的玩物。

这种游戏只是少儿玩物的想法使他们不愿意将自己视为游戏玩家群体的一员。

许多人指出，Wii是他们感到别扭的主要原因。很多人说道：“游戏盒子看起来就像是为孩子设计的那样。我不会想去买有那样封面的DVD或书籍。”而且有许多人觉得，任天堂将大部分注意力投放到低龄市场。

在努力寻找某些更适合成年人的游戏之后，我们在游戏架子上放置了《天剑》这款游戏。然而，这些人对封面上丰满的红发女子依然保持距离。他们表示，自己的弟弟或许会选择这款游戏，但他们觉得有些尴尬。

然而，当我们让他们体验下这款游戏时，他们却会很喜欢游戏精心编制的故事剧情和质量堪比电影的动画。

“我好似忘记了自己是在玩电子游戏，觉得自己就像在看一场电影。”这是我们得到的最高的评价。

在营销和包装方面，游戏与流行书籍或电影相比还有很长的一段路要走。游戏包装上要么是孩童般的卡通，要么就是战争般的打斗画面。有玩家表示，如果画面上的人物和地点更贴近生活，他们购买的可能性会更高。

7、理解游戏规则

在调查中，部分群体玩家几乎完全拒绝接触游戏，似乎是由于害怕自己的做法显得很愚蠢。我们经常得到的答案是：我不知道自己该在游戏中怎么做。

我们向他们推荐了游戏教程，他们最初的反应是自己根本不知道有这些指导，他们对开发商的这个想法表示赞赏。

看着他们玩过《传送门》和《Boom Blox》等游戏的些许教程观察后，我们发现尽管游戏教程很好地解释了控制方式，但游戏的目标通常都没有清晰地在教程中体现出来。

这些游戏好似都假设玩家已经明白了游戏想法。因而，教程通常解释的都是控制机制的细枝末节，但忽略了游戏结构基础。

虽然教程中对游戏目标的潜在描述能够为硬核玩家所理解，但对那些已经离开游戏的人而言，他们对此并不明白。

调查群体中那些已经离开游戏十多年的人都要花上很长时间才能明白游戏想法。一旦他们理解了潜藏的想法，他们便能够迅速体验到其中的乐趣，但理解的过程中确实极具挫败感。

结论

虽然你对以上观点的第一印象可能会觉得这些人已经完完全全离开了游戏，但事实在于他们只是需要满足自己诉求的游戏而已。

这些25至35岁的玩家可能是我们遇见过的最注重社交化的玩家。如果社交体验能够与他们所钟爱的游戏相结合，他们肯定愿意投入大量的时间、金钱和注意力。

尽管他们可能会因为某些不熟悉的预设规则而受到打击，但那些无需多花时间思考的内容会马上引起他们的关注。

为他们提供某些有着大量复杂挑战的内容，你会发现他们的表现与现在大不相同。

在这些内容之上用上某些贴近现实生活的包装和营销方法，摈弃那些卡通化或幼稚的包装，他们便会立马明白这款游戏值得他们投入时间。

有些离开游戏的玩家之所以不玩游戏，仅仅是因为他们更偏好其他的休闲方式。但是在我们调查的这部分群体中，如果游戏能够让他们知道如何享受其中的乐趣，他们还是愿意在其中投入时间的。

游戏邦注：本文发稿于2008年10月21日，所涉时间、事件和数据均以此为准。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

What Gamers Want: Missing Gamers

Andy Robertson

Having visited ourselves upon groups of Family Gamers and Silver Gamers, we now turn the labs over to Missing Gamers in an attempt to discover what is keeping them from playing games as they did in their youth.

Although the ranks of the gaming masses are swelling more than ever, there are still thousands who used to play games when they were younger that have yet to return to the pastime.

Their lives have obviously changed in the intervening years — so that available time, money, and attention are now in more limited supply.

But beyond these generalizations, we wanted to discern the detail of what it was that kept them from picking up controller, mouse, or remote. Over a few weeks in the summer we organized a series of play sessions with some of these absentee gamers, a group ranging in age from 25 to 35.

As with our Silver Gamer sessions, we weren’t sure what would result but again, by the end of each day we had armfuls of notes on what they now wanted from games.

From these experiences and discussions we have compiled the following list of what our Missing Gamers really want from a video gaming experience:

1. Integrated Social Experiences

Despite not owning a games console themselves, most of the missing gamers in our tests were happy to invest a lot of time in various social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

“I don’t mind wasting my time on Facebook, because I feel like I’m doing it with my friends,” one Missing Gamer thoughtfully retorted when asked why she was happy to spend non-productive time on Facebook but not on video games.

When we introduced one group to Xbox Live and its community features (with something of a twinkle in our eye) we were surprised at the lack of enthusiasm. “How do I update my status, though? And how about adding pictures and links?”

It seems that the rich experiences of their existing networks mean the usability bar is pretty high for these would-be gamers.

A more successful tack seemed to be introducing them to ways which gaming could plug into and integrate with their existing networks. The MSN features of Xbox Live, and the Xbox Facebook and iPhone applications were met with pleasant surprise and enthusiasm. These features seemed to go some way to “making sense” of games for the group.

The bottom line here seems to be that most games platforms have a “come join our community” ethic, but members of this group of would-be gamers already have well-established, functioning networks of their own.

They respond much better to services that enhance and amend these existing groups, both online and in real life. When they discover that games can “come to their community” they are much more willing to invest some time and money.

2. Covert Gaming

While recruiting for our lab sessions, it became clear that this group understood what it means to be a gamer. But rather than encouraging them to play, this actually worked in the opposite direction.

One thing was clear — they didn’t see themselves as gamers, or even want to get back into gaming. Gamers were a particular breed with a distinct culture, one that they were not interested in aspiring to.

However, when describing their time on Facebook or time spent together in the evenings there were clear similarities. The enjoyment of playing games with friends persisted here, but in a different form. Sometimes more obvious (card and board games they enjoyed together), and sometimes less so (time spent on social websites with friends).

When questioned whether they felt these experiences were similar to the games they used to play it was clear they hadn’t made the connection before. “Facebook’s not a game though, is it?”

Although this group has plenty of gaming potential, they got on better with experiences that weren’t overtly gamer-oriented. They clearly understood and recognized anything that was stereotypically “gaming”, and didn’t consider this to be something for them.

Not surprisingly then, they got on well with Wii games that are light on the usual gaming elements. Wii Fit went down well, although they largely ignored the minigames, preferring instead to test themselves against each other on the Yoga and Strength activities.

3. Monumental Challenges

When our test groups included more guys, the conversation often turned towards poker, this being the most recent gaming experience they could reference.

Many of our Missing Gamers had invested many hours perfecting their (Texas Hold ‘em) poker skills both on- and offline. Others had a similar story to tell about Chess. A few could even reference less traditional board games, such as Carcassonne or Diplomacy.

When asked what it was that attracted them to these games, a clear pattern emerged. “I love playing something that three years later I’m still learning,” said one, talking about his poker playing. “My girlfriend gave me a book about poker last year, and reading it really improved my game. I hadn’t realized how much was involved in a simple game of cards.”

Following that revelation, we showed them some of the more in-depth games on our shelves. Some seemed to react well to the likes of Halo 3 and FIFA, although World of Warcraft seemed to be too much of a time commitment, even for all its depth.

Even though we could point to the detailed guides on sites like GameFAQs, we had to admit that these linear walkthroughs were a long way from the books that taught the psychology and steady tactical improvement for games such as poker.

It was clear that this group loves to rise to a really monumental challenge — games that they could study over many years to really understand.

4. Adjacent Multiplayer

We had some of our test consoles rigged up to an internet connection to see how these Missing Gamers would respond to online play. But whilst they were initially impressed at the ability to play with other people all over the world, they soon picked up on the fact that many of the people they were playing with were either too good, or too immature to endure for any length of time.

It wasn’t long before the online games were abandoned in favor of the simpler split-screen local multiplayer offerings. The ability to nudge, rib, and cajole each other on the sofa (not to mention share snacks and drinks) was simply too much fun to resist.

Even the suggestion that they could have the full screen to themselves if they were to play online wasn’t enough to get them off these games.

These Missing Gamers want experiences that provide contexts in which they can catch up with friends and family. The play was, in many respects, secondary to the social event.

Accordingly, games that provided split-screen play were a good fit and even better if you could access all the multiplayer levels without being forced to work through a single-player campaign.

Luckily we had already unlocked most events in Mario and Sonic at the Olympics. But the realization that they would have to put in a good few hours themselves was enough to put off some of our subjects from seriously thinking about buying the game.

5. Price Point

Our Missing Gamer group seemed to be different from others we had tested in that cost wasn’t the main determining factor for them. If the experience was one they wanted, then one way or another, they would work out a way to afford it.

One group described buying a Gamecube on the day it was released. As it transpired, after reminiscing one night about the SNES games they used to play together in University dorm rooms and each others’ bedrooms, a plan emerged. “Why don’t we buy the new Nintendo console together? We could all chip in.”

They went on to tell us how they went on to buy a Gamecube together on launch day, each paying a part of the cost and choosing a game and controller.

Since then, though, they had fallen off the gaming wagon, but it wasn’t the cost that kept them away. The failure of the Gamecube to deliver the games they wanted meant they simply moved on to other things — poker, Diplomacy, and Carcassonne as mentioned before.

6. Adult-Oriented Products

Many in the group talked of how they didn’t consider themselves to be someone who plays games because it was perceived as a bit immature. “Isn’t it just for kids?” was a common refrain, along with “I used to do that when I lived with my parents.”

The perception of gaming as something kids do meant they weren’t willing to seriously consider themselves part of the gaming crowd.

Many pointed to the Wii as the main culprit. “The boxes just look like they are for children. I wouldn’t buy a DVD or book that had a cover like that.” That’s not all that surprising considering Nintendo does largely aim towards the younger market.

Looking for something more substantial with a grown up narrative, we pulled Heavenly Sword of our shelf. Again, they balked at the busty redhead on the cover: “My kid brother would go for this, but it just makes me mildly embarrassed.”

Once we got them playing it, though, they were genuinely impressed at both the well-directed storytelling and general filmic quality of the experience.

“I actually forgot I was playing a video game and not watching a film at one point,” was probably the highest praise we had from one of our gamers.

Compare the marketing and packaging of games with that of a popular paperback or film and they are a mile apart. Games are largely packaged with either childish cartoons or warlike aggressive images. “If they had images of people and places that looked like my life, I think I’d be more up for giving them a go.”

7. Assumed Gaming Grammar

Some of the groups we had in almost refused to get hands-on with the games. When we dug into why this was, it seemed to step from a fear of looking stupid. “I just don’t understand what I need to do,” was another common comment.

When we directed them to the tutorials their initial reaction was that they hadn’t realized these were provided, and what a good idea they were.

After watching them work through a few tutorial levels on games like Portal and Boom Blox, it was apparent that whilst the controls were well explained, the wider aim of the game was often left without clear instruction.

These games often draw on an assumed gaming grammar that players need to have to make sense of the experience. Tutorials often explained the minutiae of the control mechanics whilst ignoring the basics of the game structure.

Although this “inside baseball” talk was what the hardcore would lap up, to our Missing Gamers it was all but incomprehensible.

Those in our group that had been out of the gaming loop for more than ten years simply took a lot longer to “get” what the game was essentially about. Once they understood they quickly started enjoying the experience, but up and till then their frustration (and sometimes embarrassment) was apparent.

Conclusion

Here we have another group with a very specific set of concerns. Although first impressions may make you think they have permanently moved on from gaming, a deeper look reveals that they just need games that are tailored to their needs.

This group of 25 to 35 Missing Gamers is perhaps one of the most socially motivated cohorts we have come across. From a desire for integrated social experiences to a love of playing games next to each other they certainly have plenty of time, money and motivation to play.

Although easily discouraged from the pursuit of gaming experiences because of the hard-to-get “assumed gaming grammar”, get them playing something without thinking about it too much and they soon rise to the occasion.

Get them playing something that presents a sizeable and complex challenge and you discover a whole different side of their personalities.

Wrap all this up with some packaging and marketing stories that look and sound like the lives they are already leading, rather than a cartoon or juvenile version of themselves, and they soon “get” why games are still applicable.

Some Missing Gamers aren’t playing here because they simply prefer other leisure activities, but in our groups we discovered there were just as many who would join in the gaming fun if only they knew how and where to do it. (Source: Gamasutra)