作者：Bryan Duke

（Bryan Duke是Acceleroto的创始人（游戏邦注：Acceleroto的作品有《Doodle Hockey》和《Occurro》）。他最近新推出《Invasion Strike》，这是款99美分游戏，他只用了30小时完成。）

我的上款游戏《Rush City》从推出到于iOS平台发行共耗时6个月。

在开发过程中的若干“黑暗”日子里，我幻想着制作如闪电般迅速的game jam风格作品。

这个梦想最终由《Invasion Strike》完成，这是款倾斜控制的2.5D iPhone射击游戏。这款游戏的制作只耗费30个小时。

Invasion Strike from blog.acceleroto.com

在制作这款历时30小时的游戏中，我学到很多。

1. 简单游戏机制亦能够大放异彩

在构思《Invasion Strike》的过程中，我联想到自己最喜欢的空间射击游戏的玩法。想想《Defender》或《Galaga》之类的传统空间射击游戏——玩家能够快速点击射击按键。

如果你将玩家的太空船射击操作设置成自动模式，那么游戏就只剩下调整船只方向这一核心机制。将随意的按键点击替换成收集宝贵升级道具，这样游戏的趣味性就得到显著提高。

2. 花时间审视及设计项目非常值得

在《Invasion Strike》中，通过纸笔所做的记录促使我能够始终保持正确方向。

思考项目的目标，将他们记录下来，然后进行排序，接着逐一解决。

3. 运用正确的工具

我们“独立开发者”引以为豪的是，能够随心所欲做任何事。但这也伴随着相应的惩罚，那就是时间。

我在《Invasion Strike》中用到Unity，若干Unity插件，以及至少8个不同软件包。这些工具都要付费，但运用正确的工具能够帮你省下大把开发时间，会进一步完善游戏作品。

若工具耗费20美元，但能够帮你省下5小时的工作，那么你无疑应该掏钱。

4. 编码操作非常重要

你的八年级编程老师是对的。你应该撰写符合逻辑的清晰编码，且附带详细注释。

由于我在之前的项目中涉猎较多这类元素，因此我可以重复利用其它项目的内容，快速完成《Invasion Strike》的编码工作。

你有编写过菜单吧？为什么不对其进行重新改造呢？

5. 测试非常重要

只要创造出具有可玩性的游戏机制，记得将其呈现给测试者。

避免在测试者体验游戏时同他们进行互动。静静观看和学习。

7岁的儿童都比你更能够判断游戏的问题所在。不管你是多高时的测试者，你对自己的游戏太熟悉了，所以很难发现问题所在。

6. 快速完成的项目也能够受欢迎

我讨厌承认这点，但有很多人告诉过我，他们喜欢这款耗时30小时的游戏胜过我另一历时6个月作品。

不同游戏作品能够迎合不同用户群体。正确把握玩法，对其进行润色，这样游戏就会赢得粉丝。

7. 营销非常关键

如果没有人知道你的游戏，那就不会有人进行体验。

待到时机成熟时，你需要分享自己的开发故事，对游戏进行宣传。如果你没有谈论游戏，那么它就没什么话题新闻。

8. 创造促使玩家游戏的理由

你没有足够时间或资金将所有功能都纳入在内，所以不妨想想游戏的“灵魂”。添加玩家会喜欢的内容，去除不受欢迎的元素。

在《Invasion Strike》中，我选择将焦点集中在创建稳固的控制装置，有趣的难度渐进模式，变化敌人类型，喧闹的爆炸效果，以及提供iCade支持。

判断游戏的关键要素，然后集中进行制作。

9. 第一印象非常重要

玩家通常会在看到图标或截图后对你的游戏形成第一印象。只要玩过游戏几分钟后，印象就会刻在玩家脑中。

若你的游戏无法很快就让人觉得有趣或迷人，那么很多玩家将选择退出，再也不返回游戏（游戏邦注：即便你的游戏融入复杂学习过程，你也不能在1小时的体验后才融入趣味元素）。

10. 这类作品依然能够带来收益

你多半无法从耗时30小时的项目中获得上百万收益。但它们所带来的收益完全值得你投入这些时间。

要确保快速完成的项目和其他作品不相上下。给作品制定合理价格，然后通过此游戏推进公司的发展。

总结

耗时30小时制作游戏不仅只是具有可能性，它还有可行性。如果你能够腾出一个长周末制作游戏，那么我非常建议你这么做。

你将从中学到很多职业道德、技能及弱点方面的知识，而且甚至有望从中获得些许收益。（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）

10 lessons Acceleroto’s Bryan Duke learned making a game in 30 hours

by Guest Author

Bryan Duke is the founder of Acceleroto, an indie game studio responsible for the likes of Doodle Hockey and Occurro. He recently released Invasion Strike, a 99c game he developed in just 30 hours.

It took me six months to get my last game Rush City out of the door as a universal app on iOS.

During some of the ‘darker days’ in its development, I daydreamed about doing a lightning fast, gamejam-style project.

That daydream ended up as Invasion Strike, a tilt-controlled 2.5D space shooter for iPhone. A game that took me a mere 30 hours to make.

There’s a lot that developing a game in 30 hours taught – and retaught – me about game development.

I’d now like to share with you those lessons in the form of ten quick pointers.

1. Simple game mechanics can be brilliant

When I brainstormed Invasion Strike, I thought about the gameplay of my favourite space shooters. Take any old space shooter like Defender or Galaga – players typically hit the fire button as fast as they can.

If you make the player’s space ship fire automatically, you’re left with just the core mechanic of steering your ship. Replace mindless button mashing with collecting desirable power-ups and the fun level goes way up.

2. Time spent scoping and designing a project pays off big

For Invasion Strike, I found that the focused hour I spent with a notebook and pen kept me on track throughout the project.

Brainstorm your project goals, write them down, rank them, and knock them out one at a time.

3. Get the right tools

We ‘indies’ pride ourselves in being able to do everything. There’s a penalty in doing that though. Time.

For Invasion Strike, I used Unity, several Unity plug-ins, and at least eight different software packages. Each of these tools cost money, but using the right software cuts immeasurable hours off development time and increases the game’s final polish.

If a tool cost $20, but it saves you five hour’s work, the decision to buy should be a no-brainer.

4. Coding practices are crucial

Your 8th grade programming teacher was right. You should write legible code with logical flow, and comment it well.

Because I did a little bit more of this sort work for previous projects, I was able to reuse parts of my other games to quickly get exactly what I wanted out of Invasion Strike.

You’ve written menus before, right? Why reinvent that every single time?

5. Testing is crucial

As soon as you have a playable game mechanic, put your game in front of testers.

Avoid interaction with the testers while they play. Watch and learn.

A seven-year old can probably tell you more about what’s wrong with your game than you can. No matter how amazing of a tester you are, you’re too close to your game.

6. Quick projects can still be favorites for players

I hate to admit it, but several people have told me they like my 30-hour game better than my six-month game.

Different games strike chords with different people. Get the gameplay right, polish it up, and your game will have fans.

7. Marketing matters

If no one knows about your game, then no one will play it.

When the time is right, you have to tell your story. Spread the word. There’s no way to generate buzz about your game if you don’t talk about it.

8. Give players reasons to want your games

You don’t have infinite time or money to add every feature under the sun, so think about the ‘soul’ of your game. Add what players will love and cut what they won’t.

In Invasion Strike, I chose to spend time on creating solid controls, an engaging difficulty ramp, varied enemy types, great explosions, and iCade support.

Decide what’s important for your game and make that happen.

9. First impressions count

Players will make their first impression of your game after seeing the icon or a screenshot. Once a player plays the first few minutes of your game, their impression is set in stone.

If your game isn’t immediately fun and engaging, many players will quit and never go back. Even if your game has a tough learning curve, you can’t wait until after an hour of gameplay to add in the fun.

10. There’s still money out there

You’re probably not going to make millions off of a game that took you 30 hours to make. However, you can make enough money for it to be worth your time.

Make sure your quick game is worthy of standing next to your other products. Charge the right price for your work, and use your new game to keep your business growing.

The bottom line

A 30-hour game is not only possible, but a completely attainable goal. If you can dedicate a long weekend to making a game, I highly recommend it.

You’ll learn a lot about your work ethic, skills, weaknesses –and potentially even make some money from it.（Source：pocketgamer）