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谷歌支持Android平台上的第一方社交游戏服务

发布时间:2013-05-25 10:42:24 Tags:,,,,

作者:Carter Dotson

谷歌最终支持了Android所需要的功能:第一方社交游戏服务。

在苹果引进其第一方服务(游戏邦注:包含了排行榜和成就,并且在之后又添加了多人模式和挑战))后三年,谷歌最终也在Google Play Game Services上开启了这一服务。

所以,现在的Android也具有强大的游戏功能,而这对于开发者以及整个市场将会产生怎样的影响?

从理论上来看,Android上的游戏将最终等同于其对立面的iOS游戏

如此进行思考:比起iOS,Android游戏总是面临着功能不足的情况,因为该平台缺少足够的嵌入式社交游戏服务—-尽管跨平台引擎技术在某种程度上取得了很大的进步。

因为具有易用性(只需要一次登录便可),Game Center一直深受用户欢迎。而Android平台因为第三方服务既笨拙又不属于用户友好型,所以总是未能得到用户的心。

说到这里,我们可以发现许多游戏完全避开了社交功能。

Super Stickman Golf 2(from appshopper)

Super Stickman Golf 2(from appshopper)

同样地,这些游戏的质量也因此深受其害。举个例子来说吧,面向Android发行的《超级火柴人高尔夫2》便未拥有同步在线多人模式功能,而iOS上的Game Center则支持该功能。

现在该游戏的续集在两个平台上都具有回合制功能以及实时多人模式。

鉴于Android平台上落实了这些功能,如今的开发者可以围绕着多人模式和社交竞争机制设计游戏,而无需略过这些功能了。

除此之外,谷歌也让这一新服务走进了之前的Android版本中(追溯到Gingerbread),就像其竞争对手iOS平台那样,设置了面向著名引擎(如Unity)的插件。

是时候丢弃第三方组件

对于那些已经开发过Android游戏并深入各种第三方服务的人来说,现在正是关键时刻。

当提到创造具有竞争性的社交游戏服务时,每个竞争者至少已经在谷歌平台上打拼了3年。其它竞争者在功能上是平等的,而如果连OpenFeint在全盛时期都无法取得发展的话(拥有强大的用户基础但却未设置第一方竞争服务),那么便没有人会走到现在了。

谷歌的服务拥有巨大的潜能去超越Game Center的传播速度,因为谷歌决定将Game Services延伸到早前的Gingerbread。

与之相比,苹果采取了完全不同的方法。Game Center最初的延伸受到了一定的阻碍,即用户必须升级到最新iOS版本才能进行使用。结果便是,像iPhone 3G等早前的设备会被彻底忽略。

如今很少有仍在运行的Android设备是早于Gingerbread,这便意味着谷歌的Game Services能够被更广泛的用户所接受。如此,开发者便没有任何理由不转换到Google Play Game Services上了。

唯一可能长久保持下去的服务是什么?高分和挑战,因为这是唯一存在于黑莓上的功能—-说实话,该平台已经成为了最近的一大乐观来源。不过我也不知道为什么会出现这种情况。

但是这是否真的重要?

尽管这看似很重要,但是我们也具有怀疑的理由。

让我们考虑谷歌新平台所添加的各种功能是否真的必要。比较Game Center的挖掘数量与一款应用真正的用户数量可以发现,它们很难达到一致,有些游戏甚至拥有更多多变的数字。

许多玩家更希望独自玩游戏,而忽视与其他玩家的竞争或者累积游戏点—-甚至是在不断发展的手机平台游戏文化中。

结果便是,习惯于不具有成绩等功能的游戏的Android用户将很难随大流前进,而真正聪明的开发者会选择耐心等待,或者不会因为改变现有游戏去支持歌新服务而感到焦虑。

此外,尽管像云储存等新功能从理论上来看非常诱人,但是用户却未曾表现出迫切想拥有它的渴望。

另一方面,当提到云储存时,谷歌作为一家服务导向型公司拥有比苹果更明显的优势。不管怎样,iCloud总是会出现崩溃的情况。

要记住这其实是吸引更多人来到Google+的策略

考虑到该服务与Google+之间的紧密联系,我们不会忽略一个事实,即谷歌一直在想办法将人们带向他们的社交网站。

首先,Google+比起一些媒体来说更受欢迎,而这当然不能与Twitter或Facebook相提并论,这显然是谷歌的目的。

通过吸引人们从游戏中进入Google+将能进一步推动该网站的发展,或者至少能让更多人记得它。

在iOS上也是如此,这并不是一种巧合。这是创造跨平台服务的副效应,但是我不敢保证任何第三方游戏服务是否能拥有现实般的未来。

开发者们都需要拥有慎重的方法。对于那些之前因为缺少社交功能而在Android平台上碰壁的游戏来说,现在它们已经能够享受Google Play Game Services。

在Game Center的发展初期,支持该网站能够推动更多人去关注游戏,而最糟糕的情况则是,对于跨平台开发者而言,这意味着在Android上拥有更好的产品。

但是因为它已经存在于Android上了,所以我们也不要再期待着它也能变成Game Center上重要的功能,尽管其巨大的潜能也是不可忽视的内容。

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

Stateside: Is Google’s social gaming platform the Game Center people think it is?

by Carter Dotson

Google has finally bolstered Android with a much needed feature: a first-party social gaming service.

Almost three years after Apple introduced its first-party service – packed with leaderboards and achievements, later adding multiplayer and challenges – Google finally has an equivalent with Google Play Game Services.

Catchy name, I know.

So, now that Android has a major feature for games, what impact will this have on developers and the market as a whole?

Games can finally be theoretically equal to their iOS counterparts

Think about it this way: Android games have always been feature-deficient to their iOS equivalents due to the lack of built-in social gaming services – all despite cross-platform engine technologies advancing to greater degrees.

Game Center has worked especially well because it’s very easy for users to use it seamlessly as it’s one login built in to the system. Because third-party services on Android have been so clunky and user-unfriendly, nothing has reached critical mass.

It’s got to the point where many games just eschew their social features altogether.

As such, the quality of these games have usually suffered. For example, Super Stickman Golf 2 for Android launched without its synchronous online multiplayer feature, despite the fact Game Center supported them on iOS.

The sequel – serving as one of the Google Play Game Services launch titles – is now feature-equivalent to the iOS version with both turn-based and live multiplayer on both platforms.

With these services now available, developers now can design their games around features like multiplayer and social competition without having them crippled on Android due to the lack of features.

Oh, and cleverly, Google has made its new services available on old Android versions – dating back to Gingerbread, in fact – as well rival platform iOS, with plugins headed to popular engines such as Unity.

Time to ditch the third-party components

For those already developing for Android that have tapped into some of the myriad third-party services, it’s time for a moment of truth: ditch the zero and get with Google’s hero .

Every competitor has had at least a three-year head start on Google when it comes to building a compelling social gaming service. Others are equivalent in features, but if even OpenFeint in its heyday couldn’t thrive despite a sizeable userbase and no first-party competition, no one else is going to now.

Google’s service is one that actually has the potential to spread faster than Game Center ever did, largely because of Google’s decision to stretch Game Services back to Gingerbread.

In contrast, Apple took the opposite approach. Game Center’s initial reach was hindered by the fact that users needed to upgrade to the latest version of iOS to get it. As a result, older devices like the iPhone 3G were killed overnight.

Few Android devices still in use are on anything earlier than Gingerbread, meaning Google’s Game Services can hit a far wider audience from day one. As such, for developers there’s very little reason not to switch over to Google Play Game Services in full.

The only service that will probably last? Scoreloop, purely because it’s owned by BlackBerry – a platform that, seriously, has recently become a source of optimism. I don’t know how that happened either.

But does this all really matter?

This seems like a big deal on paper, but there’s reason to be skeptical as well.

Consider whether many of the features Google’s new platform packs in are actually in demand. Compare the number of Game Center players to the number of actual users of an app. It’s hardly unanimous, and some games have wildly-varying numbers.

Plenty of gamers are more than happy to play on their own, ignoring the need to compete with other gamers or rack up gamer points – even in the rise of gaming culture on mobile platforms.

As a result, it’s possible Android users – used to games not featuring such exploits – will be slower to jump on the bandwagon, and it may be wise for developers either to be patient, or simply not to worry about retrofitting their existing games to support Google’s new service.

What’s more, while additional features like cloud saves are a neat feature on paper, users haven’t expressed much of a desire for them either.

On the flip side, Google’s basis as a service-oriented company could hand it advantages over Apple when it comes to saving in the cloud. After all, iCloud has the problem of just plain not working frequently.

Remember what this actually is: A ploy to get more people on Google+

Given that the service is so heavily tied to Google+, we can’t ignore the fact that this is a clear attempt by Google to drive people towards its social network.

While, firstly, Google+ is more popular than the press would have you believe, it’s not quite being mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Twitter and Facebook, and that’s obviously Google’s aim.

By hooking people into Google+ via their games, the growth of the network could and should be driven – or, at least, place it in the minds of a lot more people.

That it’s also on iOS – as with many of their recent innovations – is not coincidental either. It has the secondary effect of creating a cross-platform service, but I’m not certain any third-party gaming service has a realistic future.

For developers, a measured approach is required. For games that are suffering on Android due to the lack of social features, now is a good time to get on the boat with Google Play Game Services.

In the early days of Game Center, support for that network helped drive attention to games, and at worst, for cross-platform developers it means a better product on Android.

But just because it exists on Android now, don’t expect it to be as important a feature as Game Center necessarily is, despite the potential.(source:pocketgamer)


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