作者：Brandon Sheffield

游戏行业中有许多让我受挫的事情，但这并不意味着我讨厌这个行业。我这种受挫感来自我对这个行业的热爱，以及对这个行业中尚未实现的潜力的认知（我认为行业中多数人都有同感）。

最近我在思考，为何优秀的人才也会制作出低劣的游戏。令我惊讶的是，我跟一些制作电影授权游戏的开发者交谈时，总会听到他们满怀热情地讲述自己很棒的游戏理念，这几乎使我相信，他们这次肯定会获得成功。

之后，这些历时一年开发时间的游戏终于出炉了，和电影同一天发布，但却遭遇了彻头彻尾的失败。

令人沮丧的是，没有人想知道为何会发生这种结果。其实开发团队中的所有人都清楚答案！比如，开发周期太短，授权方所提的需求很不可理喻，这个项目安排根本就不合理等等。

至于授权方所提的要求，我所得知的情况则类似于：主角不可以死亡，或者不可以是坏人，或者开发者不能使用该授权项目中的X角色，因为这个角色要留到续作问世时才能出场（即使该电影也是根据一本早已问世数年的书改编而成）。那么开发者为何还要接手这种项目？

资金

对，这就是钱的问题。另一种解释方法就是，开发公司需要维持运营的资金，而授权项目可以令其获得大量资金。我理解为何有些公司要采取这种做法——他们仍然没有一炮走红的热作，或者仍在探索自己的强项，所以选择一边制作授权游戏一边寻找出路（但也许有些人会问：如果你都不了解市场，为何还要继续经营？）

而那些拥有一定声誉，掌握了原创IP的部分主动权，以及出色富有创意的人才的公司，为何也要走这条路呢？如果你知道这些游戏有80%都会很糟糕，并且很难完成制作，如果你知道其结果很可能与愿景存在出入，那为什么还要签约？

那么如果是作为读者的你，你又为什么要这么做？长期待在同一个团队中要面临许多压力，但如果是作为一名开发者，这是不是可以让你实现自己的梦想，在项目留下自己的创意烙印？毕竟，授权游戏确实有可能是优秀的产品，或者说至少有一些闪光点。

金刚(from ubi.com)

我在育碧的《金刚》，以及某些卢卡斯《星球大战》系列游戏，科乐美Simpsons街机游戏，Capcom在NES平台的《DuckTales》等游戏看出这一点——但也有一些例外情况，我不知道制作基于《Jumper》的游戏时多数人心里有没有这种念想。

最好的打算

不只是授权项目存在这种情况。我曾看过许多行业会议讨论未来的游戏和设计趋势，以及游戏与其他媒体的融合，许多理念听起来真是极好的主意，其中有一些甚至是非常可行的样子。但是，这些理念实现了吗？

这一行有太多绝妙点子未能得到实现。《侠盗猎车手》就是一个将看似难以实现的理念转变成极具影响力的游戏体验的绝佳典型。如果没有人冒险尝试，就不可能出现这种出众的游戏。

这是一个大问题。你如何冒险？我所遇到的自称拥有绝妙游戏理念的人多得数不过来，但为什么他们没有把游戏做出来？是因为太胆怯？还是因为受到太多大人物干预？

我的同事及前《游戏开发者》主编Simon Carless表示在他个人经历中，要制作一款截然不同的游戏，唯一的方法就是找到一些程序员和美术人员，然后依据你的想法做出游戏。我认为这可能就是现在的情况，但并不认为现实就应该如此。我们当前的行业结构应该推出一些鼓励个人发挥创意的方法。

也有人说这是因为行业中充斥太多原创IP，以及太多出色的工作室，这也许是真的。但如果平庸的工作室就拥有大量杰出人才，行业中就必定存在不少更出众的能手。

看看我们的游戏开发者薪资调查报告，对照下你自己的情况，如果你的收入并不处于自己所在领域的顶端，也许你就该与自己的雇主划清界线，加入或组建更有潜力的工作室。

我只是说，如果你对游戏行业还存在想法、愿景和热情，那就不要在不会尊重你个人才华的工作室中浪费光阴了。（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）

Opinion: Why Do Good People Make Bad Games?

By Brandon Sheffield

[In this editorial, originally published in the April issue of Game Developer magazine, Game Developer editor Brandon Sheffield wonders why people with passion, creativity and the best intentions end up making licensed games that... fail to make the grade.]

There are a lot of things that frustrate me about the game industry, and to read my monthly editorials you might think I dislike it. But I don’t, of course. The frustration comes from love and an awareness of unrealized potential that I think almost everyone in the industry also feels.

Specifically I’ve been thinking recently about why good people make bad games. It’s amazing to me that I can go and speak with someone working on a movie licensed title, and they’ll be full of legitimate enthusiasm, real ideas, and almost convince me – OK, this time they’re going to get it right.

Then the game comes out, releasing day and date with the movie, with under a year of development time, and totally flops critically.

What’s depressing about this scenario is that nobody wonders why. Everybody on the team already knows! The schedule was too short, the demands from the licensor were unreasonable, and the project wasn’t well managed.

I’ve heard of licensor requests such as the hero not being able to die, or appear to be mean, or that developers couldn’t use X character from the franchise yet, because they’re saving it for the sequel, even though the books upon which the movie is based have been out for years. So why do developers do this to themselves?

Money

Yes, money. What other explanation is there? Companies need money to survive, and there’s plenty of it in license tie-ins. I understand why some companies do it-they still haven’t had a breakout hit, or are still finding their specialty, so are doing licensed games until they can figure it out (though some might say if you can’t figure out the market, why are you still in the business?).

But for companies with a pedigree, and a stock of original IP, and the bright, creative people available to make more-why? If you know that 80 percent of these games are going to be poor, and difficult to make and complete, and if you know that the project will most likely not match the vision, why sign on?

And you, reader-why do you do it? There’s a lot of pressure to stick with one team for the long haul, but what about realizing your dream as a developer, or making your creative mark? It’s true that licensed games can be good, or at least have glimmers of brilliance.

I’ve seen it in Ubisoft’s King Kong and some of the LucasArts Star Wars games for instance, as well as the Konami Simpsons arcade game, and Capcom’s DuckTales on the NES – but these are, of course, the exceptions, and I don’t know that most people have any such illusions when making a game based on, oh, let’s say Jumper.

The Best Intentions

It’s not just licenses, either. I see conferences and talks on the future of games and design, and the true integration and collaboration of games with other media, and many of these ideas are sound, genuinely intriguing, and some of them are even possible to implement. Yet, where are they?

There are so many fantastic ideas out there not getting realized. Grand Theft Auto is a classic example of a difficult-to-realize concept getting honed into an almost universally influential game experience. Games like that don’t happen without someone taking the plunge.

That’s the big question. How do you take that plunge? I can’t count how many people I’ve talked to who have great ideas for games, or who had better concepts for sub-par games that were eventually released. Why don’t their games get made? Too daunting? Too many bosses?

My coworker and previous editor-in-chief of Game Developer Simon Carless says that in his experience, the only way to make a very different game if you’ve got an idea is to just get some coders and artists, and make it. I think that might be the case right now. But it shouldn’t be. There should be methods within our current structure which allow individual creativity to blossom.

It’s said that there’s only so much original IP to go around-only so many brilliant studios out there. Maybe that’s true. But with the number of intelligent people in mediocre studios, there could be quite a few more brilliant ones.

Take a look at our Salary Survey article (the results of which will be printed on Gamasutra April 14th), and if you’re not all the way at the top of your respective field yet, maybe it’s time to cut your losses with your work for hire company and join or form one with more potential.

I’m just saying. If you’re one of those with ideas, vision, and passion for this industry, don’t waste it at a studio that doesn’t respect you enough to let you bring those things to light. （source：gamasutra）