作者：Keith Andrew

如果说有一个原因能够让Peter Molyneux离开Lionhead和微软“安乐窝”的话，那就是用独特的、单纯的想象创造游戏的渴望。

在于阿姆斯特丹举行的2012 Unite大会上，Molyneux发表了他的主题演讲。在演讲台上，他基本上在讲述对于新工作室开发游戏的建议。

Peter-Molyneux(from gametrailers.com)

单一的想法

Molyneux承认：“同时关注多件事是我常犯的错误。”

“新工作室必须专注于一件简单的事。”

他声称，Unity引擎支持他的这种策略。他的新工作室22 Can决定采用这种引擎是因为想避免处理‘开发者必须处理的麻烦事’——即支持多重设备。”

他补充道：“如果Unity在1989年就普及全球，那么《Populous》就不会存在了，因为这款游戏的玩法是由我这个不胜任的程序员想出来的。”

一种想法，多种成分

关于游戏，保持简单并不意味着你的想象不能包含多种成分。

确实，Molyneux向新工作室推荐了5种关键成分：保持简一的想法，保持有趣、让玩家惊喜、吸引玩家和给玩家提供独特的东西。

Molyneux认为“几乎整个世界的人都在变成游戏玩家。”

“如果你真的想吸引这些人，你必须让游戏简单。在今天这个时代，在人们对你的游戏感到厌烦、按下主页键以前，你只有十分之一秒的时间吸引他们的目光。”

忧虑

那真是个可怕的想法。Molyneux表示创办独立工作室的很大一部分时间是令人忧虑的，特别是他已经习惯于微软这样的公司提供的安全感。

“真的是非常，非常可怕。”

“部分是因为没有监督你的上司，没有人告诉你做这个做那个。你可以做任何你想做的事。为什么我想离开微软，原因之一是组建自己的独立工作室意味着可以保持单一的想法——让整个团队都专注的想法。”

22 Cans的第一个项目——《Curiosity》的主题当然是一个简单的概念：全世界都在合作，一点一点地挖开一个方块，只有一个幸运的人可以揭开藏在里面的神秘物体。

Curiosity(from shacknews.com)

他承认：“太疯狂了。但我们必须疯狂，必须在这些东西上做实验。将你自己锁在象牙塔里，想出一个游戏然后发行——这样的时代结束了。你必须与玩家接触。”

老习惯

大胆地引诱他们，最终使他们感到惊喜。

Molyneux补充道：“我们很容易产生固守于原先的设计基础，而不用新技术做实验的惰性。”

“惊喜应该是我们所做的一切事情的核心。特别是在今天这个世界。我厌烦了电影和电视节目——我们从事最娱乐的行业，绝对可以给人们制造惊喜。我们可以创造真正吸引人的体验。”

“在今天这个普遍乏味的时代，我们可以制作出独特的、前所未有的东西。”

资金问题

工作室不应该害怕游戏不能盈利。

“钱对于独立游戏开发者来说是一个脏字——但我们不应该这么看待盈利。

“我们不应该让玩家成为盈利的工具，而是将他们变成投资者。”

的确，所有在《Curiosity》中消费的玩家都将成为工作室的忠实投资者，工作室将给予他们奖励，比如邀请他们参与测试22 Cans即将完成的游戏新作——这是带给玩家的“大惊喜”。（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）

Unite 2012: Peter Molyneux reveals the 5 key ingredients to put in your development cooking pot

by Keith Andrew

If there was one reason that caused Peter Molyneux to depart Lionhead and the “safety” of Microsoft, it was the desire to create something with a singular, simple vision.

That’s according to Molyneux’s keynote speech at 2012′s Unite conference in Amsterdam, where he spent the majority of his time on stage advising how start up studios should approach development.

Simply speaking

“Trying to focus on more than one thing is the mistake I’ve always made,” admitted Molyneux.

“Start ups need to focus on one simple thing.”

Such a strategy is supported by Unity, he claimed, stating that his new studio 22 Can’s decision to utilise the engine was born out of a desire to avoid dealing “with the tedium of what developers have to deal with – supporting multiple devices.”

“If Unity had been around back in 1989, Populous would never have existed, because a lot of the gameplay was born out of my total incompetence as a programmer,” he added.

One vision, multiple threads

Keeping things simple when it comes to the games doesn’t mean your vision can’t touch multiple bases, however.

Indeed, Molyneux has five key ingredients that he recommends new studios seek to employ in everything they do: keep things simple, keep things delightful, try to surprise your audience, engage them, and offer them something unique.

“Almost the whole world is becoming gamers,” claimed Molyneux.

“If you really want to engage those people, you’ve got to keep things simple. You have about a tenth of a second before people to get bored of your game and press that home button these days.”

The big fear

That’s a scary thought. Indeed, Molyneux said a big part of going indie is the fear that it instils in all involved – especially if you’re used to the security of a company like Microsoft.

“It’s very, very scary,” he said.

“Part of the reason is you have less masters standing over you telling you to do this, do that. You can do whatever you like. One of the reasons why I wanted to leave Microsoft was because starting up your own dev means you can have a single idea – an idea the entire team can utterly focus on.”

22 Cans’ first project – Curiosity – is certainly a simple concept to understand: the whole world working together to chip away at a cube, with only one lucky person getting to unveil the “life changing” object inside.

“It’s crazy,” he admitted. “But we’ve got to be crazy and experiment with these things. Locking yourself away in an ivory tower and coming up with a project and just releasing it – those days are over. You’ve got to engage with your audience.”

Old habits

Engage, be brave, and ultimately surprise them.

“It’s so tempting to fall back on the cornerstones of our design and not to experiment with and use the new technology,” added Molyneux.

“Surprise has got to be at the centre of everything we do. Especially in today’s world. I’m bored with movies and TV programmes – we’re in the last entertaining industry that really, truly can surprise people. We can create experiences that really engage with people.

“In today’s world of mass blandness, we can make things that are unique that have never been seen before, never been touched before.”

Money matters

Studios shouldn’t be scared of monetising their games, however.

“Monetisation is a dirty word for indies – but it shouldn’t be,￡ he concluded.

“We shouldn’t think of it as monetising gamers, but rather turning them into investors.”

Indeed, everyone who buys an in-app purchase in Curiosity – now due to launch in September – will be a certified investor in the company, afforded perks such as their name in the game’s credits to an invite to the beta of 22 Cans’ forthcoming “big amazing” game.(source:pocketgamer)