作者：Nicholas Lovell

我正在玩《超越光速》，我喜爱这款作品。它是款战略游戏，其中你将扮演一艘全能太空船的首领。在横穿银河系时，你会跳过一个个星球，击败海盗船，帮助平民，收集提高生存率的装备。天空中的资源相当匮乏，你只能随机获得拼凑装备，而游戏本身具有相当大的重玩价值。

这是款完美的免费游戏。原因如下：

FTL(from gamesbrief)

1.趣味性

设计免费游戏应遵循的首个原则是“趣味性”。对众多用户而言，《超越光速》非常有趣。虽然截稿期限将至，生活颇为忙碌，但我已在该游戏上投入了19个小时的体验记录。

2.短期游戏循环

成功的免费游戏应呈现小型体验模式。你不必担心自己应投入数小时才有体验感（游戏邦注：比如《天际》）；相反，你会想：“哦，现在有时间玩一会。”体验时间的长短根据平台的不同有所差别。在移动平台上，获得有意义的体验可能需要泡制一杯玛奇雅朵咖啡的时间。在Steam平台上，你需要打开PC，等待Steam启动，而后下载游戏，因此需要较长时间，可能是5分钟或10分钟。《超越光速》在此表现出色，因为其中的每次跳跃都会将你带入一个全新星系，在此，你可能需要选择叙事模式，或是对抗海盗船。如果没有遇到敌人，那么每次跳跃可能只持续15秒。而遇到敌人可能需耗费5-10分钟。每当打算体验该作时，我都能轻易许下承诺“只玩十几分钟”。

3.沉浸性

刚刚我承诺道只玩十几分钟，但如果你体验过该作，你便知道这是个大谎言。一旦我进入该作，我便会无法自拔。在击败敌人后，太空船可能会有所损坏。我需要进行修补。此时我应决定如何利用敌船碎片巩固自个船只。接着我会查看星球地图，制定通往下一个地点的线路。这时，巨大跳跃按钮会亮起，鼓励我采取行动，一览下个星系的动态。此后游戏不断循环，一连数个小时。

4.操作简单，难于精通

在我的设计原则中，我认为免费游戏应增加复杂层面。相对其它免费游戏，《超越光速》具有较高难度，但这种复杂性是逐层递增。我也是刚刚理解游戏中的深度策略与灵活操作。我刚学会利用激光与导弹削弱敌人的盾牌，知晓电波武器具有摧毁功能。我还没有熟练掌握火焰攻击。我仍不打擅长指挥板上船员作战（虽然我喜爱这种做法）。我仍旧无法有效分配船员，布置力量。我仍不知道如何对抗甲板上酷似螳螂的昆虫。然而，新玩家可能在接受一些训练后，将比我更加精通，且在未充分了解底层系统的情况下，便有出色体验。我相信该作中还有许多需要学习的地方。

5.无止尽模式

我认为《超越光速》永无止境，但我并不完全清楚。我仍然还未打败联邦船舰。但据我所知，该作希望你反复体验。借此，你可以解锁所有太空船（我花了4个小时），了解新策略，获得一定成就。你之所以沉浸其中，是因为它相当有趣。只有推动用户留存率，免费游戏才有望成功，《超越光速》便是个典范。

总结

《超越光速》已具备免费游戏应包含的趣味性与可玩性。而且，它通过付费形式在获取新用户上设置了一道准入门槛，同时还通过设定预付新内容为社区聚集狂热粉丝设定了障碍。总之，《超越光速》是一款完美的免费游戏。（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）

Five reasons why FTL is a perfect free-to-play game

by Nicholas Lovell

I’m playing FTL and loving it. It is a strategy game where you play the role of an omniscient spaceship captain. As you flee across the galaxy, you jump from planet to planet, fighting pirates, aiding civilians and gathering equipment to help  you survive for longer. Resources are scarce, the equipment you are able to cobble together for your ship is random and the game is hugely replayable.

It’s a perfect free-to-play game.

1. It’s fun

The first rule of free-to-play game design is “is it fun”. For many users, FTL is fun in spades. I have a book deadline and a busy life, but I’ve already logged 19 hours on the game.

2. It has short play loops

Successful free-to-play games have bite-size chunks of engagement. You don’t worry about whether you have a couple of hours to spare to get really engaged (as you might with Skyrim); instead, you think “Oh, I;ve got time for just one go.” The size of the bite varies with the platform. A mobile game needs to be a meaningful experience in the length of time it takes for a barista to make a machiato. For a Steam game, where you need to turn on your PC, wait for Steam to initiate and then load the game, it is longer, maybe 10 or 15 minutes. FTL delivers this brilliantly, because each FTL jump drops you into a new star system where you may have to make a narrative choice or defend yourself against a pirate. If you don’t meet a pirate (and don’t choose to read Tom Jubert’s entertaining writing), each jump might last 15 seconds. If you do meet a pirate, it probably takes 5-10 minutes. I can easily defend committing “just a few minutes” to FTL whenever I want to.

3. I stay for an hour

I may say I’m just committing a few minutes to FTL, but if you have played the game, you know that I am a great big fibber. Once I’m in the game, it grabs me. I’m defeat a pirate but I’m damaged. I need to patch up the ship. Then I need to decide on what upgrades to build with the scrap from the destroyed pirate. Then I need to look at the star map to plot the route to the next sector. Then the gigantic JUMP button lights up, encouraging me to press, just to see what is awaiting me in the next system. And so the loop starts again. For hours on end.

4. Be simple to play, hard to master

In my design rules, I recommend that free-to-play games should add complexity in layers. FTL is a little difficult to get into compared to many F2P games, but boy does it layer on the complexity. I am only just beginning to understand the depth of tactics and flexibility which the game offers. I am just learning how to use lasers and missiles to weaken the shields of an enemy so the beam weapons are devastating. I haven’t got to grips with how to use fire as an offensive weapon. I’m still rubbish at sending boarding parties although I love the idea. I still don’t allocate crew efficiently or route power well. I still don’t know what the best defence against a boarding party of insect-like Mantises is. Yet a new player could up one of my games and, with a tiny bit of coaching, have a great experience with vastly less knowledge of the underlying systems than I have gleaned over my 19 hours. I am confident that there is much more there for me to learn.

5. It never ends

I’d like to say that FTL never ends, but I don’t entirely know. I still haven’t defeated the Federation flagship. But as far as I can tell, the expectation is that you play again, and again, and again. You play to unlock all the different ships (I’ve got four). You play to learn new tactics. You play to get the achievements. You play because it is too darned fun not too. A free-to-play game needs to drive retention to be successful, and FTL already does this extremely well.

FTL is a perfect F2P game

FTL has the fun and replayability of an free-to-play game already baked in. Yet it puts a barrier to entry in the way of acquiring new customers by not being free and it puts a barrier in the way of getting a community of passionate fans from funding more and new content by having a fixed, upfront price. FTL would be a perfect F2P game, and it could be done without ruining the game. Read my next post to find out how.(source:gamesbrief)