作者：Brent Knowles

当游戏设计者在开发了一款游戏后有了空闲时间，他们需要审视之前的游戏（或者下一款游戏）是否可以移植到（不一定需要移植）其它平台。

事实上，为了获得真正的多元化平台体验，游戏应该在一开始便以约束性最强的平台为目标，尽可能地添加适用于这些平台的功能，从而让游戏能够灵活地进入各种平台。有时候，一点点尝试，或者投入一些时间，你便能够发现那些被认为是单一平台的游戏也能够在其它平台上大展拳脚——如单机游戏适用于掌机，也有可能同样也适用于Mac或者手机，iPhone或iPad平台。如果你近期发行了一款单一平台游戏，你可以尝试着去挖掘出它的移植潜能，你也许会因此获得意想不到的结果！

即使你的尝试失败了。你也会因此对其它目标平台有进一步的了解，并明确下一款游戏是否将以平台性能为目标。

当你在不同平台上做出尝试并挖掘不同资源的同时，你将会意识到你这么做也是在抢救原来的游戏资源并创造一种副产品。

Port-iOS-Games-to-Android(from techiser.com)

副产品

我认为一些公司在尝试进行游戏移植中出现了一些问题，因为有时候他们的产品更适合开发内容有所差异的副产品，而非移植版本。

并不是所有游戏类型都适用于各种不同的平台。它们是针对于特定的控制模式而制作，不论游戏团队如何努力，当被移植到一个不相同的平台上时，它们会变得难以控制，或者不再像原来那样有趣。

同时，副产品也有可能进一步充实并推动游戏的深入发展。副产品为设计者提供了一大机会，让他们针对其它类型的控制机制而调整游戏，因而磨练了他们的游戏设计技巧。

所以，从现在起凭借你在公司里的资历（虽然这听起来有点专横）将公司资源用于跨平台的体验中吧，如果你能发现一些有趣的东西，你的上司将会很乐意地默认你的行为。至少能让你因此提高自己的技能（何乐而不为呢？）。这是关于平衡时间与报酬的有效尝试。

专属游戏

比起将整款游戏进行移植，倒不如更好地利用那些可用资源。想想看之前的游戏元素是否适用于iPhone游戏，也许这是两种完全不同的游戏，但是它们最初却是来自于同一个游戏世界。也许会因为不同平台的时间限制而截去原来游戏中的一些对话或者角色，但是它们也有可能因此在手机平台上获得复苏。

这么做将建立一款新的专属游戏。至少这能为原本的游戏吸引到新的利润，或者可以被当成一种有益的广告形式。同时这也能够更好地提高游戏开发团队的技能，即使他们还未完全发行游戏。（或许这么做也可以作为游戏开发商创造下一款迷你游戏的跳板）。

如果移植后的游戏改变了原貌，看起来更像是一款新游戏，那么你需要想尽办法将这款游戏与原本的游戏联系起来（或者与其系列游戏连系起来）。也许你可以在移植游戏中导入文件存档功能（游戏邦注：在游戏中当玩家玩到一定阶段时，进行存档能够保证他在下一次游戏时不至于从头开始），让玩家能够在上一次的游戏阶段中重新开始。即使你所使用的设备并不具有可让用户通过移动设备在线访问存储游戏的功能，但这一方法至少能够帮你更好地获得用户数据，并因此掌握用户在游戏中的行动。

如果你的开发团队正在计划着制造游戏续集，试着想想你的移植游戏与这一续集之间的关系吧！也许你的玩家可以通过移植游戏而解琐后续游戏中的一些小功能。

针对不同平台而巧妙设计的游戏能够帮助你在不同平台上推广产品，并因此吸引到更多的游戏玩家。与书籍，动画，在线视频等衍生产品一样，游戏的副产品（特别是那些基于原来游戏中的主要元素而移植的游戏）可以为你带来更多的利益，并提高游戏的曝光率。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Cross Platform Experimenting

by Brent Knowles

OVERVIEW

When a designer has free time between projects another useful activity is for them to investigate how previous titles (or the next one) might be moved (though not necessarily as a port) to other platforms.

Generally, to achieve a true multiple platform experience a title should be designed for such from the start and developed towards the most restrictive platform with more features added (as schedule allows) to more flexible platforms. But sometimes a little experimenting and time can reveal that a project that seemed doomed to a single platform might still be able to be moved to another platform — a PC game on console or vice versa, PC to Mac, or even on a mobile phone, iPhone or iPad. If you have recently released a single platform project, at least check out the porting possibilities. You might be surprised.

Even if your experiments accomplish nothing you’ll probably learn a bit more about these other target platforms that you can use to help make sure the next project has the potential be cross-platform.

And since you are digging around in the resources anyways you might realize there is the potential to salvage some of the original game’s resources and make a spin-of.

SPIN-OFF?

I think some companies make a mistake in trying to port when it might make more sense to build a secondary product, in the same franchise but different.

Many game types do not play equally well on all platforms. They are intended for a different control scheme and no matter the team’s good intentions they remain hard to control or become so simplified that they are no long enjoyable.

But there are always possibilities for secondary titles to flesh out a game franchise. And secondary projects, or spin-offs, offer opportunities to hone design skills on other types of game mechanics.

Now depending on your seniority level in the company this might seem presumptuous (to devote company resources — you! — towards investigating cross-platform opportunities) but if you hit on something interesting, your manager will be pleased. At worst you improve your skill set. It is all about balancing time spent versus reward.

FRANCHISE?

Instead of porting an entire game look at the resources available. Can the original game’s art be used to make an iPhone game… maybe a completely different game but one that takes place in the same world as the original? Maybe there was dialog or a character cut from the original game due to time restrictions… can they be resurrected into a mobile game?

These efforts can help build a franchise. At worst they attract some new interest, serving as a form of revenue-capable advertising. And they can be a fun way of developing skills, even if the game is never ultimately released. (Or they might serve as a springboard towards building a mini game in the next project).

If it looks like a new version of the game is possible, think about and experiment with how this secondary platform title can interact with the original (or the sequel). Maybe you can import a save game into the new version that gives the player benefits based on how they played the original? Even if the device used does not have direct file access you might be able to allow uploading of save games to an online user account and access it from the mobile device that way — this is also a useful way of receiving user data to help understand what players are actually doing in your released games.

If your team is planning the sequel to the original think of how this spin-off project can interact with that sequel — maybe players can unlock minor features in the sequel only through the secondary project.

Franchises that are designed cleverly to sprawl across several platforms have the potential of hooking a wider audience into all that the franchises offers. Like ancillary products (books, comics, online videos) secondary projects — especially when they can capitalize on the expensive art produced for the primary project — can bring in revenue and a wider exposure.

And because these secondary projects tend to experiment with new design techniques they are a great way for designer’s to exercise their design muscles.（source:gamasutra)