作者：Simon Duke

手机游戏是个庞大的市场，据悉该领域2015年的估值高达540亿美元。就像《愤怒的小鸟》给Rovio带来的影响，一款杰作能够将一家公司，或者甚至是一个人带入其巅峰阶段。但什么因素决定智能手机游戏能否变成杀手级产品？设计师在设计下款《愤怒的小鸟》时应铭记什么？

文章将探究智能手机游戏所面临的局限因素及其带给用户体验的影响，以及若干能够帮助开发者创造杰作的法则。

主要局限因素

智能手机平台最大的局限是屏幕大小。这会影响到所呈现内容的大小，不论是对游戏还是更广阔的游戏环境而言。试图呈现过多内容的游戏会令玩家不知所措，他们无法轻易弄清实际情况。例如，《分裂细胞：定罪》的某些战斗场景包含过多活动，这令玩家难以判断射击来自哪里。

madden from netmagazine.com

多数智能手机如今都靠手势控制。瞄准智能手机平台而设计的游戏能够充分利用手势控制装置，而由掌机转移至智能手机平台的内容则通常不那么成功。通常，游戏设计师会试图复制掌机版本的控制机制，旨在转移其中信息，致使复杂手势无法为手机设备兼容，用户难以掌握。运动模拟游戏受到平台转移的影响尤其突出（游戏邦注：EA Sports的《Madden NFL American Football》系列就是典型例子）。

madden from netmagazine.com

环境也是游戏设计师不容忽视的一个限制因素。手机平台的游戏不适合长时间体验。手机游戏的体验时间通常较短——通常是填充某些零碎时间。需长时间集中体验的游戏并不适合手机平台，其更加适合《愤怒的小鸟》等能够短暂体验的游戏。就环境而言，智能手机游戏常于公共场所进行，这也会给玩家希望体验的游戏类型带来影响。

doodle jump from netmagazine.com

成功作品的主要特点

首先，它们应易于掌握。手机游戏玩家很少投入集中时间体验和学习游戏。这充分体现在用户鲜少进行应用商店交易，会在应用下载后不久删除内容（26%的应用下载后只被体验过一次）。玩家不会像对待掌机那样投入同等时间掌握手机游戏。所以游戏简单易学非常重要。通常游戏通常采用免费模式，简单易学，富有沉浸性。若游戏无法满足这些原则，将无法获得用户回访，用户将很少会由初级阶段晋升至游戏完整版本。就连付费游戏通常也不会设定较高价位。

此外，简单控制装置也是成就成功作品的必要条件。控制装置过于复杂，用户会失去耐心和热情。诸如《愤怒的小鸟》、《割绳子》和《涂鸦跳跃》之类的热门作品均拥有最简单的控制装置（游戏邦注：这不是巧合）。

doodle jump from netmagazine.com

游戏物理心理学也是成功关键要素。《愤怒的小鸟》并非纯粹的瞄准射击游戏，游戏在轨道和力道控制给予用户无限权利，同时还恰到好处地运用因果关系——击中建筑时它们会晃动，然后小猪会爆炸。

智能手机不是另一种游戏掌机。该平台具有的若干限制因素说明杰出掌机游戏并不一定能在手机平台发光发热。创造易学和便于控制的作品是创造优质用户体验的关键。而优质用户体验是成就下款《愤怒的小鸟》的关键。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

How to build a killer mobile game

By Simon Duke

Simon Duke, senior UX consultant, and Mark Westwater, senior usability consultant of User Vision, explain some of the key constraints to gaming on a smartphone and highlight the key attributes of a successful game

Mobile gaming is big business, with the industry predicted to reach $54billion by 2015 (source: Gadgetgizmodo). As Angry Birds did for Rovio, one successful game can launch a company, or even an individual, into the stratosphere. But what gives a smartphone game the killer edge? What should designers bear in mind as they set about developing the next Angry Birds?

This article will explore some key constraints to gaming on a smartphone and outline the impact these will have on the user experience, before going on to highlight some key principles which, if adopted, should help to ensure a successful game is developed.

Key constraints

On smartphones, the foremost constraint is the screen size. This impacts the size of what can be displayed, be it the focus of the game or the wider game environment. Games that attempt to show too much can swamp the player, who becomes unable to easily see and work out what is going on. For example, Splinter Cell: Conviction has so much activity during some battle scenes, it can be impossible to distinguish where shots are coming from.

Most smartphones are now gesture controlled. While games specifically designed for the smartphone usually make good use of gesture controls, those which have been developed from a console into a smartphone version are usually less successful. Often, game designers have attempted to replicate the control systems in the console versions for the purpose of knowledge transference, leading to complex gestures that are both alien to the device and difficult to learn. Sports simulations suffer particularly from the transfer across platform, with the Madden NFL American Football series from EA Sports especially guilty of this.

The environment is a constraining factor game designers should also bear in mind. Games played on mobile devices are not suited to hours of gameplay. Smartphone games are usually played in short bursts – often to fill some time. Games that require long sessions of concentrated play are unlikely to work well on a smartphone while games like Angry Birds that can be played in short bursts are much more successful. Regarding the environment, smartphone games are often played in public locations, which is also likely to have an impact on the type of game players will be happy to start playing.

The key attributes of a successful game

First, they should be easy to learn. Smartphone game players rarely spend dedicated amounts of time playing and learning games. This is evident given the fact that app store purchases are often unused and deleted soon after download (26 per cent of the time an app is downloaded, used once, and never used again, Source: Localytics). Players won’t invest the same amount of time in mastering a mobile game as they would a console game. So, a game that is simple to pick up is of critical importance. Often, a free version of a game is made available and this must be simple to play, quick to learn and addictive. If it fails on one or more of these grounds, the game will not be played again and will hugely impact the likelihood of upgrading from a ‘lite’ to a full version of the game. Even paid-for games are priced at a level that means users do not have much invested in them.

Related to this, a simplistic set of controls is necessary for a successful game. Too complex a set of controls and the user will lose patience and enthusiasm for the game. The most popular of iPhone games such as Angry Birds, Cut the Rope and Doodle Jump have some of the most simplistic controls of any game – this is not a coincidence.

The psychophysics (the relationship between stimulus and sensation) of the game is also a critical success factor. Angry Birds is so much more than a point and shoot – it gives the user unlimited control over the trajectory and force of the shot and also taps into cause and effect nicely – the structures wobble as you hit them and the pigs explode.

A smartphone is not simply another games console. Several constraints exist that mean that many successful console games can’t transfer well to being played on a phone. Creating a game that is easy to learn and simple to control is key to a generating a great user experience.  And a great user experience is the key to creating the next Angry Birds.（Source：netmagazine）