作者：Johnny Tay

IAHGames.com针对《星际争霸II：自由之翼》的剧本作者Brian Kindregan作了独家采访（游戏邦注：原文发表于2010年8月3日，当时Brian正在新加坡忙于《星际争霸II》在东南亚国家的发行工作），并谈论了创作游戏故事的相关要点。

在这次采访，我们主要谈谈游戏故事的艺术。新加坡的游戏产业并不像你们国家市场那般兴盛，而且“游戏作家”在这里也算是新角色。所以我们希望你能够与我们分享关于“游戏作家”的一些观点，以及他们是如何影响一款游戏的成功。

听起来不错！

首先，你能否跟我们说说是何种契机推动你成为一名游戏作家？

我很喜欢讲故事。在我小的时候，总是通过编写或绘画而将一些临时的故事拼凑在一起。起初我是在电影产业中担任情节脚本创作者，因为在这里我可以同时使用我所拥有的两种技巧。我曾经参与了《空中大灌篮》以及《钢铁巨人》等动画片的制作。

《钢铁巨人》？经典！

谢谢！我也曾与Mandy Moore（游戏邦注：美国著名女歌手）合作了电影《总统千金欧游记》。

从动画发展到浪漫喜剧，这真的是个很大的变化！

我知道。但是当我有段时间一回家就开始玩游戏时，我才意识到“我只是想玩游戏”。从此我越来越喜欢编写游戏故事，并希望能够从事这份工作，而最后我也如愿以偿了。

你是什么时候开始致力于《星际争霸》以及其它游戏中？并从何处获得了灵感？

我的第一个灵感是来自于Chris Metzen（游戏邦注：暴雪娱乐创意开发部门的副总裁）。毕竟，我们仍在沿用《星际争霸I》中的故事和角色。因为这些角色已经出现很久了，所以我们需要更深入地了解他们存在的世界，体验《星际争霸》的游戏设置，从而真正理解这个游戏世界。除此之外，我的灵感多来自科幻小说以及其它游戏。

很有趣的是，现在“太空战士”的游戏理念已经非常普遍了。当我们看到《星际争霸》中的“Terran Marines”，我们总是会不禁想到《战锤》（游戏）以及《星河舰队》（小说）。

你是指Robert Heinlein写的小说？

是的。比起电影版本我更喜欢小说。

当然了！自从20世纪三四十年代以来，‘穿着动力服的太空战士’形象开始流行起来。从那以后，至少出现了上百部描写太空战士的小说。而我们所能做的便是利用与之类似的理念，并添加一些新内容，所以我们将战士描写为“太空牛仔”。就像美国西部牛仔的形象，虽然背景设在了外太空。特别是在《自由之翼》中，你将能够深刻感受到枪击场景和感受。

你认为游戏写作在过去几十年中有何发展？

在今天，几乎所有人都对游戏中的故事感兴趣！游戏写作变得越来越重要，而开发者也意识到了他们的玩家真正想要的是——故事情节。玩家总是较为关心游戏角色，而今天我们可以通过使用一些道具创造出真实般的游戏角色，如先进的图像，配音等等。所以说，比起早前的游戏开发前辈，生活在今天的我们真的幸运多了。

从第一款游戏开始，《星际争霸》游戏系列的故事情节发生了怎样的变化？

我们很幸运地拥有早前已经创造好，且深得人心的游戏角色。这些角色都拥有很强的个性，并能够帮助我们更好地推动情节的发展。如果我们想要改变情节，只需要设想角色间是如何相互影响以及我们需要如何改变故事进程即可。最重要的是，《星际争霸》的本质游戏内容已经深深地扎根于玩家们的心中了。

在这款游戏中你是如何想到“人族”的故事情节？

一开始，我们意识到实在有太多故事可以说了！你知道我们是如何进行分配——让每个种族完成10种任务。甚至在第一款游戏中，每个种族的10个任务中都包含了许多故事，总计30种。所以最后，我们便决定将人族的任务拓展到29个，从而让我们自己留点喘息空间，并更好地阐述游戏故事。

简而言之，人族的故事是围绕着Jim Raynor这个第一款游戏的人族英雄而展开。主要是关于谁才是真正的Jim Raynor？他变成了什么？他是否会屈服于缠绕着自己过去的鬼魅？

但由玩家自己决定Jim该怎么做并定义他的性格？

是的。我认为这个故事的主轴很明显：“我们是按照自己的决定而行动。”我认为这也是人族单人游戏故事情节所必须具备的内容。

除此之外，我还从游戏中看到了很多现实生活的影子，包括政府独裁，政治宣传，带着“恐怖主义”标签的媒体轰炸等等，这些都是我们再熟悉不过的内容了。

我们并未特意去模拟现实生活中的画面或者陈述我们所应对的一些混乱局面。最重要的是，你所说的那些内容都是非常普遍的。就像游戏中的“人族”政府处置“Raynor’s Raiders”那样，任何现实中的政府也都会谴责恐怖威胁。

能否跟我们讲讲，在你的每日工作过程中，是如何处理故事角度与现实理念间的变化？

在这个过程中，游戏往往还未成形，而如果我们认为游戏理念可行，我们便会采用它。经常地，当我们对于一个新理念充满激情并且知道如何使用它时，我们便会将其落实行动。当然了，在这个过程中也免不了争论，而那些持反对意见的人也应该持有一个更加优秀的替代方案。有时候，在讨论过程中会出现一些让人意想不到的结果。

所以，如果用一个词来形容我们的决策过程便是“一致性”。我们既不能简单地用投票进行表决，也不能让一个人决定全局——因为不论这个人多聪明，他也没有100%的能力去判断一个观点是否合适。

作为主流游戏剧本作家，你是如何确保游戏故事合乎逻辑并相互联系？

我采用了所有能够想到的观点，并将它们真正落实到行动中。不断调整这些观点，让它们更加适于游戏，编写出一些对话，而帮助游戏故事更加顺畅，并不断完善所有故事内容。

确保所有内容都富有逻辑，对吗？

如果一款游戏的故事情节完全按照“逻辑”进行，那才是真正的无聊！在游戏中适当添加一些秘密的情节能够保持游戏的平衡性，即一些不可预期的游戏机制能够让游戏更加有趣，让玩家提高警惕感，与此同时也必须保证故事情节有意义。也就是你需要一眼就能看出一个故事是否具有意义。

游戏故事与电影故事有何不同？

游戏具有交互性。玩家是故事发展的重要伙伴，所以当我们在设计游戏故事时必须考虑到玩家的感受。电影故事却与之不同，对于电影观众来说，他们只需要看着屏幕而默默接受电影中所发生的一切便可。但是这些不同的表达模式却都是在讲述着一些故事。虽然它们的表述方法不同，但是却都依赖于一个吸引人的好故事。

在游戏发行前的预告片中，你曾经提到“Tychus Findlay”只是一个默默无闻的“海军”，但是现在他却是以主角的身份出现在我们面前。Kerrigan也是，一开始只是一个小角色，但是现在变成了能够威胁整个“星际争霸”宇宙的举世大恶棍。而你在开发过程中是否意识到角色会发生如此变化？

有时候，角色本身就会给你带来惊喜。你创造了一个角色，并通过故事发展过程而深入了解这个角色。就像Kerrigan在一开始就是个很有趣的角色。你是否记得她刚出现并且与Raynor交涉的那个场景？

我记得！她说了句“你这只猪！”

（每个人都笑了）

是的，在这里我们就可以看到这个角色的个性化。而你如何做才能让一个已经深得玩家喜欢的角色变得更加受欢迎？杀了她…

呃…

你永远不知道玩家所操纵的角色会有何下场。也许你并不在乎游戏角色会有何下场，但是对于热爱着这些角色的玩家来说，它们的生死至关重要。

作为一款即时战略游戏，第一款《星际争霸》正是因为让人印象深刻的游戏角色而大受欢迎。对于游戏市场来说，这是一次巨大的变化，玩家能够在游戏战场上控制一些讨喜的角色，并通过点击它们而获得一些有趣的回应。而你又是如何意识到这个观点的可取性？

对于我们来说，采纳这个观点是很自然的选择。不论你是在看书，看电影还是在玩游戏，你都会关心游戏角色以及他们是如何行动。而即时战略游戏更不例外了。当然了，也并非所有游戏都会接纳这个观点，《俄罗斯方块》便不会。

“哦，不好，我把方块落置在一个糟糕的区域了！该死！”

“为什么我的方块总是这个？！啊…！”

在你的工作过程中，你学习到了何种编写故事技巧？

可以说我每天都能学到了不一样的新东西！但是在类似今天这样的谈话中却很难一一阐述。在暴雪的工作体验真的很棒。在这里我能够与世界上最优秀的游戏工作者一起工作，而他们也都非常乐意与我们分享知识。

我知道如何才能构成一个富有创意的开发团队，并因此创造出最优秀的游戏画面。我学会反复思考如何才能够提供给玩家最独特的游戏体验，以及如何去避免糟糕的体验。让玩家成为一名将领，或者是独行侠都取决于你所提供的游戏体验。

最后一个问题！也是对那些梦想成为游戏写手的人有所帮助的问题：游戏工作室招聘游戏写手的标准是什么？

首先，虽然一般意义上的写手都是独来独往，但是在游戏领域，游戏写手必须与一些拥有不同技巧的人一起工作，维持团队的平衡。但一般很难找到一个能够适应团队生活的写手。除此之外，工作室也要求游戏写手富有激情，具有天赋，更重要的是，必须热爱游戏。

游戏作家必须了解游戏，这一点很重要。否则，他将不能真正理解设计师的设计理念。如果你只编写游戏但却不玩游戏，那才是真正的可笑！这只会让你对游戏中的任何情节设置百思不得其解！

而如果你既写游戏又玩游戏，就像我这样，你便能够更好地理解游戏。游戏故事和游戏设置应该相互联系。这是一种体验中的两个同等重要的部分。一个优秀的游戏作家必须懂得如何去寻找平衡点，并让游戏真正富有乐趣。（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）

The Art of Game Writing – Interview with Brian Kindregan, StarCraft? II Lead Writer

WRITTEN BY EDITOR

IAHGames.com is proud to present this exclusive interview with Brian Kindregan, Lead Writer for StarCraft? II: Wings of Liberty?. Brian was in town for the Southeast Asia launch of StarCraft II in Singapore. He finds time for a thoughtful discussion on game storytelling with editor Johnny Tay.

Here is a faithful reproduction of that conversation. Enjoy!

Johnny Tay (JT): Welcome to Singapore! As a StarCraft gamer AND a writer, I’m thrilled to have this conversation with you.

Brian Kindregan (BK): Hey, great to meet you too!

JT: For this interview I’d like to focus on the art of game storytelling. The games industry in this region isn’t as evolved as your home market, and roles such as ‘game writer’ can be very alien to some. So it’ll be wonderful to have you share what it is all about, and how much it really influences a game’s success.

BK: Sounds great!

JT: For a start, can you tell us what led you to become a game writer?

BK: I’ve always loved storytelling. Since I was a kid, I would write and draw pictures to put makeshift stories together. I started off my career as a storyboard artist for the film industry – because here’s a place where I could combine these two skills! I worked on animated features such as Space Jam and Iron Giant…

JT: The Iron Giant? That’s a classic.

BK: Thank you! And I even worked on films like Chasing Liberty, with Mandy Moore.

JT: That’s quite a stretch, from animation to romantic comedy.

BK: I know! But at one point, I was coming home and finding myself playing games in my free time. So then I realized that I ‘just wanna play games’. I became more interested in storytelling for games and wanted to get involved. And so I did.

JT: When you work on the StarCraft story or other projects, where do you get inspiration?

BK: Well, my first source of inspiration is Chris Metzen (Vice President of Creative Development, Blizzard Entertainment?). After all, we are using his story and characters from StarCraft I. These are characters that have been around for years, so we need to get immersed in their world and experience the StarCraft gameplay to really understand the StarCraft universe. Beyond that, I get ideas mostly from science fiction novels and other games.

JT: It’s interesting how the concept of ‘space soldiers’ has been so prevalent. When one looks at the Terran Marines in StarCraft, one can’t help but think of Warhammer, and from there… Starship Troopers.

BK: The novel by Robert Heinlein?

JT: Yeah… I liked that much more than the movie.

BK: Of course!

The idea of ‘space soldiers in power suits’ has been commonplace since the 1930s and 40s. Since then, hundreds of novels featuring space soldiers have been published. What we have done is take this familiar idea and add a twist to it, by portraying the soldiers as ‘space cowboys’. It’s like being in a Western, albeit in space. In Wings of Liberty especially, you’ll get bar scenes and tense gun-toting standoffs.

JT: How do you think game writing has evolved over the last few decades?

BK: Today everyone is interested in games with stories! Game writing has definitely become more important, and developers recognize what their gamers want – storylines. People want to care about characters, and today we have the tools to make realistic characters – with cutting-edge graphics, voice acting and the like. So I can say we’re very fortunate, compared to the old days of game development.

JT: How has the StarCraft story evolved since the first game?

BK: We’re very lucky to have strong, established characters to work with. They all have great personalities, and that helps advance the plot a lot. If we’re thinking of a plot twist, we can easily visualize how each character will react and change how the story progresses. The bottom line is, we have made the StarCraft story more epic and more outstanding for fans.

JT: How are you developing the Terran storyline in this sequel?

BK: Quite early on, we realized that there was too much story to tell! You know how it was supposed to go – 10 missions for each race. Even in the first game, there was a little too much story packed into 10 missions per faction, 30 in all. So finally we decided to expand the Terran story to 29 missions (for Wings of Liberty), to allow ourselves more breathing space to really tell a great tale.

In short, the Terran story is about Jim Raynor, the Terran hero from the first game. Just who is the real Jim Raynor? What has he become? Will he succumb to the ghosts of his past?

JT: And the player decides what Jim will do and define his character?

BK: Yeah. There is a line in the story that I think is very memorable: “We are who we decide to be”. I think this is the essence of the Terran single-player storyline.

JT: Apart from that, I see a lot of mirrors on real life – governments turning tyrannical, political propaganda, media assaults on individuals with the use of ‘terrorist’ labels… It all seems so… familiar.

*everyone laughs*

BK: We don’t try to draw analogies to real life events or make statements on messy situations we’re all dealing with. The thing is, these trends you mentioned are pretty universal. Any government wanting to condemn a threat (rightfully or otherwise) will do what the Terran government is doing in-game to character-assassinate Raynor’s Raiders, for example.

JT: Can you give a run-down on how a story arc/angle flows from concept to reality, in your daily work process?

BK: Calling it a ‘process’ is too formal! Crafting a story idea is a very organic undertaking, which usually begins with getting a bunch of very talented people into a room to ‘cook up a storm’. We talk through an idea, sticky good ideas on the board, and bounce concepts back and forth endlessly.

JT: Who decides on finalized ideas? Is it a vote or does one person call the shots?

BK: Titles don’t come into play here – if an idea works, we’ll take it. Usually an idea gets established if someone feels very passionate about it and can explain how it can be applied properly. There might be a debate, and the person who objects should come up with a great alternative. And sometimes, something surprising might come up in the midst of the discussion.

So the word I’d use to describe our decision-making process is ‘consensus’. It can’t be put to a vote because that’s the easy way out, and it definitely can’t be one person deciding it all – that won’t give you good ideas 100 per cent of the time, no matter how smart this guy is.

JT: What do you do as Lead Writer to ensure the story is logical and flows seamlessly?

BK: I take all the ideas that have been banded about, and boil them all down to something workable. I make all the ideas fit, write some dialogue perhaps to help the story flow, and polish up everything.

JT: Making sure everything is logical, right?

BK: If a story is completely ‘logical’, it must be pretty boring! The secret to getting a good story is balance – there must be enough unexpected twists to make it interesting, to keep you on your toes; yet the story must make sense in the context of these twists. You literally have to ‘feel’ that a story is right.

JT: How different is game storytelling from movie storytelling?

BK: Games are interactive. The player is a partner in the story’s development and we have to engage the player when crafting our story. This is different from movies, where the viewer merely accepts what happens on the screen.  However, underneath these different forms of expression lies the same impulse to tell a story. The tools may be different but the need for a cool story remains just as important.

JT: At the launch earlier on, you mentioned that Tychus Findlay was supposed to be a nameless Marine in the first teaser video, but now he’s a major character. Kerrigan began as a minor character too, but now she’s a world-famous villain who threatens the entire StarCraft universe. How do you know which characters can be developed to get such results?

BK: Sometimes the characters themselves surprise you. You make a character, and through the storytelling process, want to know more about him/her. Kerrigan was interesting from the get-go. Remember that cut-scene when we were introduced to her and her interactions with Raynor?

JT: I remember! “You pig!”

* everyone laughs *

BK: Yeah, here was a character with a personality. And how do you make fans love an already popular character even more? You kill her off…

JT: Hmmm…

BK: You can never know how a character will turn out. You might be in a situation where you think a certain character is no big deal, but fans turn out loving him/her and that gives you a big surprise!

JT: The first StarCraft was famous for having memorable characters… in a Real-Time Strategy game. That was revolutionary for the market, to have likeable units to play on the battlefield, and units you can persistently click on to get funny responses. How did you realize it was a good idea?

BK: It was a natural idea to have, for us. Whether you are reading a book, watching a film or playing a game, you want to care about characters and what drives them. So why not an RTS game?? Of course this can’t work for all games. We can’t do this for a game like Tetris…

JT: “Oh noes! I put that block in a horrible spot! Poor block!”

BK: “What happened to my square? Noo…!”

JT: What important aspects of game story-crafting have you learned in the course of the job?

BK: Wow! I learn something new everyday and it’s impossible to put it all down in an interview like this. Working at Blizzard has been a wonderful experience. I work with some of the most talented people in the world, and they genuinely want to share their knowledge.

I learn what it’s like to be part of a creative team, to play a role that fits into a big picture. I learn to consistently think about what the fantasy is for the player – what experience you are getting out of the game. Are you a general? A lone wolf? It’s all about the fantasy experience.

JT: Last question! And this helps all those writers who game and dream of being a game writer one day. What qualities does a game studio look for in a game writer?

BK: A unique combination! First of all, writers are solitary creatures, but being a game writer requires you to work in a team with people of different skill sets. So to find a good writer who can work in a team isn’t easy to begin with. In addition, a game studio would want someone who is passionate, creative, talented, and most of all, a gamer.

It is vital that a game writer knows gaming. Otherwise, he will not understand why the game designer would come in and ask to cancel a pivotal scene because it “interferes with a boss fight”. If you just write and don’t game, that would sound  ridiculous! You’d think “To hell with the boss fight, I want my scene!”

But if you write and play games, like I do, you’ll understand such an issue. There should be no conflict between story and gameplay. They are two halves of one whole experience. A good game writer should be able to find a balance and make a game truly enjoyable.

To experience the incredible story that StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty offers, visit our Blizzard portal for more information and local retailer listings.（source:iahgames）