作者：Joe Osborne

《JetSet Secrets》不仅是EA将在Facebook发行的第一款寻物解谜游戏，也是自PopCap发行《Solitaire Blitz》和《Outernauts》（由Insomniac Games开发）之后，EA首次在该平台推出的原创作品。EA在加利福尼亚工作室（针对手机和社交平台）总经理Aaron Loeb最近透露了关于该游戏的一些具体细节：

machupichu(from games)

能否简要介绍下《JetSet Secrets》的相关情况？

《JetSet Secrets》是我们最新开发的寻物解谜游戏，游戏中含有一些RPG元素，但背景是在一个迷人且好玩的世界，而你是世界上最伟大的侦探，你环游世界，解决一切高端犯罪案件，遏制各种邪恶报复计划的发生。游戏以有趣、快节奏、轻松的基调进行。我们在画面流行元素上投入了相当部分的精力，确保你们可以体验很棒的事件，进入梦寐以求且令人兴奋的地方。

你能具体谈谈关于《JetSet Secrets》中的微量PRG元素吗？

作为一位卓越且富有的侦探，你需要构建巨大的豪华宅邸。建筑物部分有点类似于其它的一些HOG（寻物解谜游戏），但是这款游戏中，你所增建的物品会影响游戏的玩法。比如，你的大宅内会有一大堆的职员，你的厨师会是位核物理学家，你的保镖会是位医生，你的园丁是一位潜伏的世界著名艺术伪造者（他是你在一次抓捕中逮到的罪犯，并将他移交给了USI）。

你的每位职工都有相应的住所。所以，当你构造它们时，它们也相应地解锁了HOG的不同技能。但你不能建设所有的建筑类型，所以玩家确实需要有所侧重地进行选择。比如，如果你为厨师建造了房子，那房子中需放置科技类产品以便提供更好的线索，为游戏过程中提供更多暗示。如果你为司机构造物品（他是一位退休的宇航员），你可以从他那获取更多能量。如果你为园丁构造物品，你可以在游戏中获得更好的药水，因此，不同的选择实际上会影响你的玩法。

angkorwat(from games)

你们初期推广时将《JetSet Secrets》定位为“迷人”。我们从未在寻物解谜游戏中听到类似的描述，所以你能就此谈一下吗？

当然可以，这款游戏偏向于惊险喜剧案件而不是严酷的犯罪事实。游戏本身不带任何残酷基调。通常是快速、轻松的风格，角色之间的互动总带有诙谐幽默的喜剧效果。它不是一部涉及死亡的黑暗游戏，你也不需在游戏中寻找尸体。它不会走这类犯罪风格。

画面通常是隐藏游戏最大的卖点之一。这款游戏的美术风格是怎样的？它给人的感觉如何？

游戏中的主题多数位于地球上一些迷人的地方，你知道吗，它们是我们团队最想去的地方，所以我们认为玩家也会这么想。因此，我们最早的主题之一发生在意大利的五渔村。那是我们团队成员真正到过的地方，他们惊呼道：“这是我所见过的最美的地方，我们必须在这取景，”真的？最终我们在游戏中设置了这一场景。

我们不想把游戏事件设为你到类似于柴草间的黑暗角落寻找锤子。我们的游戏场景总是精选迷人的景色。所以，场景可以是两岸的山脉，从那可以俯瞰圣索菲尔大教堂前面的古老寺庙。如果你有无限量的金币且可以四处旅行，那么你就可以达到你想要的地方。游戏最开始的画面是游轮里的豪华赌场。

《JetSet Secrets》中含有特殊的社交元素吗？

有的，你将帮助更多的朋友解决他们的困境。你的每位好友都会拥有一个犯罪事件的卷宗，这些都是他们无法解决的案件，而你必需帮助他们。通过提供帮助，你可以获得社交值（类似于《模拟城市社交版》），你可以用这些社交值在RPG中构造特殊房屋，解锁无法进入的关卡。同时在游戏发行后，我们会马上推出其它一些有趣的社交物品，我们现在已经在着手开发这些内容，它们最初主要是让你帮助好友破案。

你拥有纸笔游戏设计、编辑以及最近的电子游戏设计背景。你能谈谈这些经历如何影响你在《JetSet secrets》中的领导力吗？

我想，从事传统主机游戏的五年来，可能是六年，我们已成功转向了休闲游戏开发领域。你应该知道，我开始涉足这一领域时开发的多是那些子弹爆头游戏。我们都有孩子，所以我们希望可以公开讨论自己制作的游戏，而且我发现，我渴望制作任何人都能够体验的游戏，而且可以从制作各种游戏中积累经验。

在Smarty Pants，我们观察各种年龄层的人们一起玩游戏，当时认识到将事情简单化其实很困难，特别是针对硬核游戏。所以，那次经历对我产生了深远影响。然而我获得游戏的关键信息要数在编辑部门任职时，那时我们游戏的高级制作人Jim Preston和我一起在The Daily Radar工作。实际上他后来去了PC Gamer。于是，Jim和我制作编写了电子游戏网站——如你所做的一样——十多年前，我们通过用户的回馈信息积累了大量经验，特别是在主机游戏方面。

你的客户发行了一款游戏后，你就会在论坛上看到小部分用户对它的评价，然而多数评论多是抱怨内容。但是在担任编辑时，你每天都会收到用户的邮件。你可以看到他们阅读了什么，从读者的来信中，你也可以了解他们的喜好。这可以明显指出游戏应用的发展发向，对吧？你可以通过用户了解他们感兴趣的事物，发现有价值的事物。

sirbasilestate(from games)

《JetSet Secrets》可有什么跨平台和发布移动版本的计划？

我想，你应该清楚，开发出这类游戏的人早前已经做好在所有平台推广的计划。我不能透露详细计划，我们处在电子游戏15年来最辉煌时期，用户可以使用任何设备随处体验游戏。

如今大多数的游戏要么免费要么价格低廉。我很高兴我们能够挖掘多种渠道来满足用户。我在EA中合作的团队也研究移动平台，我们当然也希望在这一平台有所作为。

在此要分享一件事：先前谈话中，我提到这款游戏主要由旧金山团队开发，实际上我们盐湖城的团队也有参与开发，所以这也有我们的一部分功劳。这款游戏是跨区域团队的共同结晶，盐湖城的队员们很了不起，我们应给予表扬。（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 skinny on JetSet Secrets, EA’s first hidden-object social game [Exclusive]

by Joe Osborne

If you couldn’t already tell, with two of its most popular brands on Facebook (The Sims Social and SimCity Social), EA is more than bullish on social games. But the publisher has rested on the immense shoulders of its top properties on its ride to social sucess … until now. Enter JetSet Secrets, a super stylish hidden-object game set to launch on Facebook this fall.

Not only is JetSet Secrets the company’s first hidden-object game on Facebook, but also its first original property on the platform since PopCap came out with Solitaire Blitz and Outernauts by Insomniac Games. EA’s Group GM for Mobile & Social California studios Aaron Loeb recently gave us all the details:

Hit us with the elevator pitch for JetSet Secrets on Facebook.

JetSet Secrets is our new hidden-object game with a light RPG element, but set in a glamorous and playful world, where you’re the world’s greatest detective traveling the globe, solving high-end crimes and thwarting the plans of various evil nemeses. It’s a fun, fast-paced, light hearted tone. A big part of our effort is in making the artwork really pop, and to make sure that everything you do is gorgeous and everywhere you go is aspirational and exciting.

Can you tell us more about this light RPG element to JetSet Secrets?

Because you’re a detective, you’re building out the estate of your big swanky mansion. You’re an incredibly famous, rich detective. The estate builder portion is somewhat similar to what you’ve seen in some other HOG [hidden-object games], but in this case, what you’ve built out affects your gameplay. For instance, you have a whole bunch of staff members in your mansion, so your chef is also a nuclear physicist, your bodyguard is also a medical doctor, your gardener is secretly a world famous art forger, who you once caught in a crime and turned over to the USI.

Each of these folks in your staff have buildings associated with them. So, when you build them, they can unlock different abilities for HOG. The way the economy works in the game is that you can’t build absolutely everything, so the player actually needs to make choices, as to which things they want to focus on as a player. For instance, if you build the buildings for your chef, it’s all sort of scientific stuff that’s giving you better clues, and certain hints during the HOG play. If you’re building stuff for your chauffeur, who is also a retired astronaut, you get more energy. If you build stuff for your gardener, you get better drops when playing the HOG, so it’s all different choices that you make that actually affect your gameplay.

Part of the initial pitch was calling JetSet Secrets “sexy”. We’ve never heard that descriptor for a hidden-object game, so could you speak to that at all?

It’s, yeah, it’s sort of more like capers going on than it is sort of grim. There’s actually nothing ever grim in this game. It’s always fast paced, light tone, the characters are always playful with each other there’s a lot of witty banter. It’s that kind of thing rather than dark and somebody’s dead and you have to figure out where the body is. It’s never going to be that kind of crime.

The artwork in hidden-object games is usually one of their biggest selling points. What’s the art style of this game? How is it going to look?

Yeah, so the themes are pretty much always in some extremely glamorous locations around the globe where, you know, we on the team want to go, where we think our player will want to go too. So, one of our earliest themes was in Cinque Terre. There was somebody on the team had actually been there recently and was like, “It was the most beautiful place I’ve ever been, we have to have a scene there.” Right? That’s the kind of thing that will result us putting a scene in the game.

We don’t ever want to have a scene that’s like in a dark corner in the woodshed where you got to find a nail file. It’s always going to be in some place absolutely gorgeous. So, there are scenes set on the sides of mountains overlooking ancient temples, scenes in front of the Hagia Sophia in Turkey. That kind of stuff. Places where you’d want to go if you had an endless amount of money and could travel anywhere. The very first scene is set in a high-end glamor casino inside a cruise ship.

Is there anything particularly social about JetSet Secrets?

Yeah, you’ll be going and helping more friends solve their cold cases. So each of your friends has an old case file of crimes they’ve been unable to solve and you go and help them solve those. You then get social points for helping them, similar to those that you in SimCity Social, and you can use those to construct special buildings in the RPG that unlock levels that you couldn’t get otherwise. Also, post-release, there are going to be some other exciting social stuff that we’re working on right now, starting mostly with helping your friends solve crimes that they can’t solve.

You’ve been through pen-and-paper games, editorial and most recently video game design. Can you speak to how those experiences have influenced your leadership on JetSet secrets?

I think, having worked in traditional console games, about five years ago–maybe six years ago–we made the switch over to casual games at. I started in, you know, games with a lot of head-shots. We all had kids, so we said we want to have games that we can talk about on the playground and I found it very fulfilling to make games that absolutely anyone could play and had a lot of experience from all sorts of games.

At Smarty Pants, we made of watching people of all age groups playing a game together and learning just how difficult it is to make something simple, particularly coming from core games. So, that experience has been very influential. But the other key part is from before, prior to making games in the editorial side, our senior producer of the game, Jim Preston, actually worked with me in editorial at The Daily Radar. He actually went on to PC Gamer. So, Jim and I were making and writing video game websites–like you do–over a decade ago and got great experience in direct feedback from our users, especially when it came to console games.

Your client releases the game, then you would go to the forums to see what some small percentage of people thought about it, and it’s always that they hate you.

And it was, of course, James. But in editorial, you get emails everyday from your users. You’re actually seeing what they’re reading, you learn things from the reader, kind of what they find most interesting, from what they’re telling you, also by watching the patterns. And that has obviously direct applications on games that live on the web, right? You can actually learn from the user what they find most interesting, which I find to be incredibly rewarding.

Are there any plans for cross-platform and mobile with JetSet Secrets?

I think, you know, everybody who makes these sorts of games are thinking about that sort of thing right now. I can’t talk about any specific plans, but we are, in the 15 years that I’ve been in video games, in the most exciting period I’ve seen, where the user kind of is able to pick up any device and play anywhere and is, has huge amount of access to content. So much is free now and so cheap. It certainly is incredibly exciting to figure out the way to treat our users. I have some teams that work with me at EA who are mobile teams as well, we’re certainly, we’re constantly looking at that sort of thing.

Just a quick thing to share: I know that in our previous talk, I said that the game was primarily developed in San Francisco. It was also developed by our teams in Salt Lake City, so they’ve been working as part of our team. It’s been across locations, and the Salt Lake City folks are awesome and deserve their shout-outs.（source:games）