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解析优秀休闲游戏设计的10大秘密

发布时间:2013-02-01 09:46:50 Tags:,,,,

作者:Aaron James Banda

希望从自己有热情或擅长的部分做起的设计师,总是关于使用能够促进自己成功的信息。无论你或你的公司属于哪一类型,以下实用的技巧可以帮助你开发出更好的休闲游戏。这些行业的秘密可以帮助你把坏游戏变好,或告诉你应该在什么时候停止和再次开始。

casual game icons(from marinafish.com)

casual game icons(from marinafish.com)

适合所有人的游戏

你的休闲游戏设计不应该只瞄准特定的一类玩家。相反地,你要为所有人做游戏。思考一下你希望你的游戏设计成什么样,不要把你的市场定位得太狭窄。你的游戏必然会在市场上找到自己应得的地位,玩家会对适合所有人的好游戏,而不是一款市场狭窄的游戏做出反应。

品质大过收益

基本上,游戏设计师希望将他们的作品和技艺变成财富。关注收益绝对没有错。毕竟,将热情转化为有利可图的事业也是游戏设计师的工作。然而,你应该保证自己以游戏的品质为代价换取财富。如果这个代价太大或如果玩家花太多钱消费不能满足自己需要的东西上,他们终会察觉到的。确保你提供的产品具有高品质,配得上它的标价。好品质可以带来更多收益。

用品质说话

游戏完工后,下一步自然是营销。找营销公司帮忙可能花费会很高,过程会很复杂。然而,营销不必如此复杂。是金子,自己就会发光——好品质的游戏也是这样。游戏设计师应该让作品提供高品质的体验,使玩家对它提出好评,从而刺激玩家的购买欲望。口口相传的推广是最简单、最划算的营销策略。

坚实的基础

太多游戏和游戏设计师专注于把最好的新东西丢进市场里,而忽略了借鉴成功的旧东西。是的,人们都知道长江后浪推前浪的道理,但游戏的以新换旧应该考虑到一些基本的东西。现在最强大的游戏和最受玩家追捧的游戏,都是建立在早期游戏设计的坚实基础之上。回首过去,你才能破解下一款游戏的成功秘密。

团队合作

在任何行业或任何岗位上工作,都会让你用新的视角看待你的产品和生意。它也可能导致停滞,让你想扎根于旧想法。游戏设计也不例外。确保你最大利用你的游戏及其设计,保证这个过程中有其他人参与。你应该让所有员工参与你的设计,甚至是外行人,询问他们有什么新想法,什么部分是必要的,游戏设计的概念如何。这些新鲜的想法就是制作下一款成功游戏的秘密。这么做的另一个好处是,这些员工虽然每天与你一起工作,但可能并没有多少交流,而让他们参与设计可以提高他们的工作热情。

相信直觉

对游戏设计而言,了解你的竞争状态和你的竞争对手是很重要的。然而,太过关注别人的做法可能会阻碍你自己的设计。所以,当你设计游戏时,请相信你的直觉和内心,不要太注意跟你在做的同类型游戏是怎么样的。最好的游戏是那些用热情开发出来的游戏,而不是直接瞄准小众市场的游戏。好游戏会自己在市场上占有一席之地。

提供帮助

如果游戏只告诉玩家规则,而在整个过程中都对玩家不理不睬,这种游戏就别指望成功了。一款优秀的休闲游戏应该不断地教导和帮助玩家。这不是说提供一份带文字的冗长指南或全程监控。相反地,指南应该是选择性的,出现在游戏需要的地方。这会让玩家感到舒服,当面对未知的困难时能够寻得帮助,又不感到自己被游戏当成一无所知的婴儿。一份连续的指南是必要的,但不能做得太过头。

回归基础

休闲游戏设计应该关注老游戏的基础,应该反思游戏概念的基础。休闲游戏没有精心构思的情节和完整的故事主线。相反地,它们专注于玩法本身和高效的基本操作能力。不要把游戏做得太复杂,因为这样可能会脱离了休闲的本质,从而与最终的游戏设计目标背道而驰。

乐意放弃

不断地重制一款糟糕到无可救药的游戏,它仍然无法变成最好的游戏。如果游戏概念不好或者开发方向注定失败,这时你需要给自己一条退路。游戏允许失败。如果在开发阶段就能看出失败之处,游戏设计师必须乐意放弃,并且很快下决心。否则,用于开发另一款成功游戏的精力、才能、资金和时间都会打水漂。

解读反馈的深层含义

典型玩家的反馈和测试是游戏设计的关键环节。如果你希望听到消费者、设计师和潜在受众对你的产品的评价和改进建议,那么反馈对开发一款成功的游戏就是非常必要的。然而,单纯地倾听参与者和测试者的话并不能让你意识到太多问题。因为这些个人通常会使用一些抽象的描述语如“可怕的”或“太容易”来传达他们的意思,这些词往往是他们看到游戏画面时产生的第一个念头而不是他们真正关注的东西。当消极反馈产生时,你必须在充分考虑场景的情况下解读它们的含义,或询问具体的问题。这会帮助你把你的休闲游戏变得更好,让你的产品更可靠。(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

Top 10 Secrets of Casual Game Design

by Aaron James Banda

Gesigners looking to start out in the business or those that have a passion and expertise in the craft can always use information that will help them to succeed. No matter where you or your company may fall in the aforementioned categorizations, the following are some useful tips and tricks to help you develop the next best casual game. Secrets of the industry, these can help a bad game become better or tell you when you need to stop and start again.

Create For All

Your casual game design need not focus on a specific group of individuals or target a trending demographic. Instead, focus on creating a game for everyone. Think about how you want the game design to be and do not narrow your market too much. It will, as will be discussed below, find its place in the game’s market it supposed to and gamers will respond to a good game that is fit for everyone rather than a narrowed market game.

Quality Over Profit

Ultimately, game designers want to turn their creations and craft into monies. There is nothing wrong with focusing on profitability. After all, it is the game designer’s job to turn their passion into a lucrative business. However, make sure that you are not focusing on making money in sacrifice of the game itself. Gamers will notice if the cost is too much or if they are spending more for in game purchases that do not meet their needs. Make sure that you are offering a quality product at an affordable price and the quality can lead to more sales and more money in your pocket.

Marketing Through Quality

After designing your game, there is the inevitable need to market it. Marketing campaigns can be expensive and elaborate. However, they do not need to be that complicated. Often, a good and quality product will market itself. Game designers should allow their creations to work for them by providing incentives for purchase through customer reviews and the quality of the entertainment they provide. Word of mouth promotions are one of the simplest and most lucrative marketing strategies.

Solid Foundation

Too many games and game designers are focused on bringing the next best thing to market instead of looking to the past and what has been successful. Yes, there needs to be a fresh take on the old games people love but this should come with knowledge of the basics. The strongest games and the ones that are being requested by gamers now, are those that call upon the solid foundation of the earliest game designs. Look to the past and you may just find the secrets to the next best thing in game design.

Team Effort

Working in any profession or any career gives you a perspective of your product and business that no one else has. It can also cause stagnation and thinking that stays rooted in old ideas. Game designing is no different. To make sure that you are getting the most from you game and its design, be sure to include others in the process. Consider having group workshops for anyone in your business, even outsiders, and get their take on what is new, what is needed, and where game design concepts can go. These fresh ideas can be just the secret you need to making the next big hit and can boost morale for all those employees you work with every day but may not interact with on a regular basis.

Follow Your Instinct

Knowing your competition and your competitors is important in any game design. However, dwelling on what the others are doing can delay your own design. Follow your instinct and your heart when designing a game and do not focus too much on the other games in your genre. The best games are those that are developed with passion and not those that are made to fit a niche directly. A good game will find its own location in the market.

Provide Help

A game should not expect to be successful if it provides the rules and sends the player off with no check in throughout. The greatest casual games are those that continual teach and help the player. This does not mean a continual tutorial of words and of consistent monitoring. Instead, the tutorial should be selective and placed when needed in the game. This will help the gamer to feel comforted and able to play when confronted with unknown presences in the game but not feel like they are being babysat. A continual tutorial, then, is needed but does not need to be overt.

Back To the Basics

In much the same way that casual game designs should focus on the roots of the past, they should also get back to the basics in game concepts. Casual games are not about elaborate plots and fantastical story lines. Instead, they are focused on the play of the game itself and basic control mastering to play the game effectively. Do not try and make a game too complicated because it will fail to be casual and, thus, undermine your ultimate game design goals.

Be Willing To Stop

The greatest games are not those that are worked and reworked to make a bad game look good. If a concept is bad or the path just seems to be a failed one, there needs to be an exit strategy. Games can fail. That is the truth of it and if this failure can clearly be seen in the development stage, game designers must be willing to stop and make a decision on this quickly. If not, energy, talent, monies, and time are wasted when the next big and successful project could be just around the corner.

Feedback More Than Face Value

Focus group feedback and testing are a crucial part of game design. You want to hear what consumers, designers, and potential markets are saying about your product and the ways it can be improved. This feedback is crucial to developing a successful game. Yet, simply listening to the words of your participants and testers may not provide you with a clear picture. Often, these individuals use descriptive terms such as “scary” or “too easy” to convey their messages. The reality is though that often these are focused on the visual phrases that come to mind or the first words rather than what it is really their concern. Be sure to think about what they are saying in the full context or ask specific questions when negative feedback arises. This will help to give your casual playing game a greater chance at making the changes necessary to build a solid product. (source:ajibanda)


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