作者：Staff

本文节选自Rhianna Pratchett（游戏邦注：代表作《Mirror’s Edge》、《Heavenly Sword》和《Overlord》等）的深入专谈。Pratchett表示，过场动画仍然是游戏开发者的重要工具，我们不应该“因噎废食”。

rhianna-Pratchett(from elmundotech.wordpress.com)

当被问及过场动画的有效性时，Pratchett回答：

“毫无疑问，像《合金装备》和《最终幻想》系列的粉丝非常享受过场动画，就算那些过场动画异常地啰嗦、冗长。

个人认为，我不希望把游戏做成自封的“电影”，我相信制作精心、时限合理、节奏把握明智的过场动画仍然有生存空间。可惜的是，能够处理好这三部分的游戏少之又少。

暂时撇开交互性不说，要提升线性剧情叙述仍然有很多办法。但凡事总有例外，就我们的实力而言，不可能全面覆盖。我们仍在一步一个脚印地前进。

过场动画仍然是叙述工具箱中的一件重要工具，我们不能因为老是被锤子砸到拇指就把它丢了。我们要做的是学会如何更好地使用这把锤子。”

接着，当提到过场动画和直接叙述之间的效果比较问题（及二者能否共存），Pratchett表示：

“过场动画和直接叙述是可以在同一款游戏中和谐共存的。我参与制作的大多数游戏都混合运用叙述输出技术。如《Overlord》里就融合了大量的实时场景和向性对话，当然还有过场动画。

但是，在视角受限或被锁定的情况（如冰封在《生化奇兵》中的Fort Frolic中，或困在《半条命2》中的金属保垒运输系统里）下，有必要添加更多的交互过场动画或更多的情境（个人喜好）。但这里存在两个问题（其实可能还有很多，只是这两个问题我印像最深）。

第一个问题是，我之前也提到过，交互式叙述应该受到游戏核心关卡结构的技撑，而不能只是嵌在其中。开发者必须持有这么一种态度，即在项目的最初就考虑到叙述问题。我认为我们在这方面尚需努力。

第二个问题是，交互式叙述问题不存在以一应全的解决方案。虽然《生化奇兵》、《传送门》和《半条命2》在游戏剧情叙述上取得了长足的进步，但交互性元素所占据的空间相当狭小、封闭和有限（关卡设计占据了大部分）。另外，在庞大开放的RPG世界（拥有大量外景）或传统的策略/冒险游戏等中，交互性元素显然很难重现。

我不否认，这些是重要的步骤，但仍然是很小的步骤，且不存在立即、全面的办法来调解交互式和非交互式之间的矛盾。然而，我确实认为，上述游戏展示了视觉叙述的威力，它们的展示方法能够启发整个行业。”（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Pratchett: Cut-Scenes Still ‘Important Tool’, If Used Correctly

by Staff

Talking to Gamasutra as part of an in-depth interview, Mirror’s Edge and Overlord writer Rhianna Pratchett has suggested that cut-scenes are still a great tool for game developers — and “we shouldn’t throw out the hammer just because we keep hitting our thumb with it.”

When the writer for Heavenly Sword and Mirror’s Edge — who has also taken a larger narrative role in the development of the Overlord franchise — was asked about the validity of cutscenes, she noted:

“There’s no denying that given the fan-base of games like the Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy series, many gamers enjoy cutscenes, even incredibly loquacious and lengthy ones.

Whilst, personally, I’d rather a game wasn’t turned into a wannabe movie, I believe there’s still a place for artfully crafted, well timed and smartly paced cutscenes. Granted, the games that manage to do all three are fairly rare.

Putting interactivity aside for a moment, there’s still a lot we can do to improve our linear storytelling. There are exceptions (there always are) but our strength in this regard is by no means across the board. It is improving though, title by title.

Cutscenes are still an important tool in our narrative toolbox, and we shouldn’t throw out the hammer just because we keep hitting our thumb with it. We just have to learn how to wield it a little better.”

Moving on, when quizzed about cutscenes vs. direct during-gameplay storytelling, and whether one is more or less effective (and, indeed whether they can coexist), Pratchett noted:

“They can coexist in the same game just fine. Most of the titles I’ve worked on have used a blend of narrative delivery techniques. The Overlord games use a lot of on-the-fly ambient and directional dialogue, as well as cutscenes.

However, more interactive cutscenes or, what I’d personally like to see, more context for limited/locked view points (like being frozen in ice in BioShock’s Fort Frolic, or being held on the metal Citadel transport pods in Half-Life 2) is eminently desirable. But there are two problems inherent in that (actually there are probably loads, but these two shout the loudest to me.)

The first is, as I mentioned earlier, that interactive narrative has to be supported by a game’s core level design structure. It can’t just be slotted in. Developers need to adopt the mindset of thinking about narrative right at the start of a project. I think we’re still a little way off from that.

The second issue is that there’s simply no one-size-fits-all solution to this. Whilst BioShock, Portal and Half-Life 2 made undeniable progress in game storytelling, the interactive elements were composed in relatively small, closed-off and controlled spaces (again, with level design playing a large part.) This would certainly be hard to replicate in something like a large, open world RPG with lots of exterior locations, or a traditional strategy/adventure game.

I’m not denying that these are important steps, but they’re still quite small ones, and not an instant and all-encompassing solution to the interactive versus non-interactive debate. However, I do think the ways in which the aforementioned games showcased the power of visual storytelling, in particular, has something to teach the industry as a whole.” (source:gamasutra)