作者：Kobus vd walt

鼓励玩家在经历最初30秒的游戏初体会后继续玩1个小时以上是件非常困难的任务。

当我们在玩游戏时，我敢打赌你并未真正思考为什么你正在做着这些事。你只是像个没有思想的机器人麻木地完成自己所收到的任务。所以游戏是如何让玩家如此“浪费”时间，并且作为游戏设计师的你又是如何做到让玩家坚持看到一款独立游戏的最后内容。

我总结了一些设计师实现这一目标的方法，有些方法非常有利，但是有些方法却非常邪恶。首先让我们先了解本文中会出现的某些术语：

动机：动机是玩家玩游戏的原因。为什么我会不断做着设计师让我做的事？——从玩家角度来看。

刷任务：刷任务是玩家为了在游戏中不断前进而反复做的一些行动。

乐趣：我们玩游戏是出于娱乐（为了逃避现实世界的痛苦）。所以乐趣并不是出现在玩家获得奖励之时，而是体现在他们为了获取奖励所花费的时间。在《天际》中的某一随机洞穴里第十次获得一个道具而继续前进便不是一种乐趣（游戏邦注：尽管玩家是随机遇到该洞穴）。而在《涂鸦跳跃》中超越高分便是一种乐趣（至少对于我来说）。

动机的分类：

1.成就感

2.好奇心

3.故事勒索

4.竞争性

动机是与游戏设计本身交织在一起的理念。如果一款游戏并不存在任何动机，我便不可能去玩这款游戏。所以每一款游戏都有自己的动机。我所接触过的某些玩家和设计师认为游戏中所使用的动机方法存在差异性。如果你为了确保玩家继续游戏而提供给他们一种虚拟道具，或围绕着某些难度设计游戏这都不成问题。因为这都是为了推动玩家继续游戏。

像《魔兽世界》等MMORPG中常会使用点数去呈现一些无意义的奖励，不过我认为真正的问题并不在于奖励，而是刷任务。这些游戏都很强调刷任务机制，但是玩家所获得的大多数奖励通常都不是自己想要的。

还有《FarmVille》。这款游戏的重点在于确保玩家尽可能长久地玩游戏，这点并没有错，但是他们这么做的理由却是邪恶的。当你在玩《FarmVille》时，你会感觉到通过刷任务而获取奖励是没有价值的。然后你便会想：“我没有必要玩这部分游戏，我可以通过花钱跳过它，并立刻获得奖励。”也就是：

1.让玩家上瘾。

2.让整个奖励过程没有乐趣可言。

3.给予玩家获得奖励的选择但却不起作用。

我认为，作为游戏设计师我们就应该通过缩减刷任务去激励玩家。《三十航班之恋》便在这点上做得很出色，当我在玩这款游戏时便从未感受到：“我等不及在这个愚蠢的关卡最后去获得奖励了。”其游戏玩法本身就是一种奖励。

成就感

成就感是一种让玩家更长时间待在游戏中的传统方法。我们通过围绕着难度设计一款游戏，并通过设置某些处于玩家能力范围内的任务而让他们获得满满的成就感。

2000年以前的许多老游戏便是如此。当你玩一款游戏并失败了100次后，最后的成功总是能弥补之前的所有失败，而当挑战出现时，成就感更能够有效地推动玩家再次游戏。

使用了这一方法的游戏：

《超级食肉男孩》

《谈谈跳跳闪避人》

《I want to be the guy》

《Mighty jill off》

《暗黑之魂》

作为一名游戏设计师，你可以轻松地将这一方法整合到具有难度的游戏设计中。

你需要注意的一些问题：

1.尝试着设计带有紧张感的关卡。定时器便是一个典型的例子，即要求玩家必须准时完成相应关卡。紧要关头和难以执行的动机也是非常典型的例子。

2.不要让玩家感到沮丧。如果玩家觉得某一行动是不可能的，但最后却获得了成功，他们便会认为这些游戏出现问题或者只是源于自己的运气。

3.《超级食肉男孩》做得很好的一点便是确保死亡和再生之间未出现延迟，从而保留了玩家的兴奋感。不要让兴奋感消失了。一个失败的例子便是：在关卡加载中呈现某些游戏内部道具的广告。这样还不如设置定时器，黑屏，甚至是不加载。

好奇心

我想好奇心是人类不可能避免的，因为它是直接连接在我们的大脑中。它会告诉玩家如果完成了任务便能获得奖励，但却从来不告诉他们奖励会有多大，只是提及存在获得巨大奖励的机会。自然地，玩家便会因为想知道存在怎样的奖励而努力完成任务。

Edmund McMillen所创造的《AVGM》便是一个有效的例子。你可以先尝试下这款游戏。他也在自己的博客上回顾了这款游戏。

他在文章中提到，《AVGM》是个坏家伙，这就像是吸引玩家上瘾的另一种形式。有些玩家只是想要获得虚拟道具。

在《英雄联盟》或《魔兽争霸2》中，这一方法也发挥着有效作用。

《英雄联盟》是一款大型且复杂的游戏，而当我们着眼于一款较简单的游戏，即只需要点击1000次便能够获得道具，我们便能看到好奇心发挥着最大的作用。

使用这一方法的游戏：

《极速快感》，带有能让玩家选择奖励的系统

《超级食肉男孩》（flash游戏）。我认为这是一款最有效利用玩家好奇心的游戏。当你完成5个关卡后，另外5个关卡便会打开，因为关卡会变得更加有趣，所以你便会想要打开新关卡。

你需要注意的一些问题：

1.不要给予玩家任何他们想要的。这听起来很残酷，但现实是，如果你给予我想要的所有内容，那我还有什么继续游戏的动机呢？

2.在思考道具设计时，考虑一些能够让玩家轻松复活的内容，但也不忽视任何挑战性和乐趣。《植物大战僵尸》便是一个经典的例子。当你打开Kitty Tails时，游戏便会变得较简单，但这种情况只会出现在统筹区域中。

3.尝试着创造出有趣的道具。如果你可以让玩家在打开某些内容时开怀大笑，他便会愿意与好友分享，并且他会从这些道具身上感到真正的价值，从而愿意继续游戏。

故事勒索

故事勒索是指在一开始提供给你有趣的故事，并要求玩家通过某些“刷任务”才能看到接下来的内容。如今的大多数游戏都采取这种方法，有些人还认为，如果你不给与玩家一些事做，那么这边不是一款游戏，而是一个互动性故事。

我首先想到的便是《严肃的石头》和Blendo games的《三十航班之恋》。我发现在这些游戏中都不存在刷任务机制。就像在《严肃的石头》中，没有什么能够阻碍玩家去探索故事。尽管这会导致游戏较短，但是玩家在完成游戏后便会感到：时间花得值了！

另外一个使用了这一方法的媒体便是电视。

当我们在观看一些连续剧时，会发现她们总是会以某一让人惊讶的画面结束，从而让我们好奇下一集会发生什么。

使用这一方法的游戏：

《战地3》

《死亡之岛》

你需要注意的一些问题：

1.为了做到这点，故事本身应该足够强大。

2.不要在游戏一开始就呈现出过多信息。只要稍微调动玩家的兴趣便可。

3.尝试在玩家与角色间维系起一条情感纽带。这将让玩家更愿意花时间去面对其他角色。《行尸走肉》便是一个优秀的例子。

竞争性

人类的竞争本性让我们能够更轻松地将价值附加在数字上。也就是如果我的数字高于你的，那就说明我比你厉害，我将获得所有好名声。你无需为此再添加其他人。你只要给予玩家一个高分，他便会想尽办法去打败这一分数，并不断完善自己。

我们发现手机游戏经常出现这种情况，因为当你在设计一款手机游戏时，你并不知道游戏环境会是怎样的。所以在大多数手机游戏中玩家只是在追逐着更高的分数，除了《超级兄弟：剑于武术》。

使用这一方法的游戏：

《涂鸦跳跃》

《狂奔的弗雷德》

《吉他英雄》

你需要注意的一些问题：

1.游戏必须确保玩家玩得越频繁，个人技能水平便能提升越多。即强调熟能生巧。

2.如果你能够有效管理排行榜的话，这便是个不错的方法。《涂鸦跳跃》是个很棒的例子，即将前10个分数保存先来并将其呈现在游戏领域。

3.在这里随机性或运气元素并不能发挥作用。像象棋等游戏则是很好的例子，因为如果你越频繁地游戏，你的技能便会不断提升，这里不存在随即元素。

结论

有些游戏会使用多种动机方法，这并不是件坏事。既然你能够激励玩家继续游戏，那么你所做出的动机决定将影响着游戏的成败。

如果你可以创造一款使用动机去丰富生活的游戏，那么你便算成功地创造出一款优秀的游戏。

我认为有些游戏能够赋予我们现实生活真正的价值。《时空幻境》便是一个显著的例子。当我第一次玩这款游戏时，我们便开始思考种种问题，可以说这款游戏会鼓励玩家思考许多内容，这也是其它游戏未曾做到的。《超级食肉男孩》在这方面做得也很出色，当玩家完成了某些疯狂的关卡后，他们便会获得满满的成就感。此外这款游戏还带给我很多乐趣。

游戏还有许多值得我们探索的地方，只要我们挖掘到该媒体的最大潜能，便会浮现出更多内容。

最后我想强调的一点是：不要围绕着奖励设计游戏。而是围绕着能够到达奖励的整体游戏体验进行设计。

（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）

Motivation in games

by Kobus vd walt

Motivating a player to get past that initial 30 second glance at a game and into a rhythm where he or she plays for hour and hours can be tricky…

When playing a game, I’m willing to bet you aren’t fully thinking about why you’re doing what you’re doing. You just complete the tasks that you are given like some mindless robot. So how do games get you to “waste” your time like this and how can you as a game designer get your players to see the end of your perfectly crafted masterpiece of an indie game.

I have identified a couple of methods designers use that achieve this sort of addiction, some of them are good and some of them are evil. First off let’s define some terms that is used in this article :

Motivation : Motivation is the reason for playing the game. Why do i keep doing what the designer asks me to do? -  from a player’s standpoint.

Grind : Grind is any repetitive action that the player has to complete in order to keep progressing in the game.

Fun : We play games for entertainment (to escape the shitty world we live in). So fun is when the player plays the game not for the reward he/she is going to get but for the time spent getting to the reward. Getting an item from a random cave in Skyrim for the 10th time to progress IS NOT fun (although the random encounters you have on the way to the cave is). Nearly beating the high score in doodle jump IS fun (for me atleast).

The categories of motivation :

1.The sense of achievement

2.The curiosity effect

3.Narrative Ransom

4.Competitive nature

Ok so my views on this subject..

Motivation is a concept that is interwoven with game design itself. If there was no motivation to play a game I would JUST NOT PLAY THE DAMN GAME. So every game has motivation. Some players and designers i’ve talked to feel that there is a difference between the motivational methods used in games. I feel that it doesn’t matter if you give a player a virtual item to keep him/her playing, or design the game around difficulty to keep him/her playing. Both are DESIGNED to keep the player motivated and playing.

People usually point to mmorpg’s like World of Warcraft when talking about meaningless rewards but I feel that the problem lies not with the reward but with the grind. The grind in those games are really prominent and mostly the reward you gain is not what you wanted.

Also there is FarmVille… This games whole point is to keep you playing as long as possible and there’s nothing wrong with that but the reason it wants you to keep playing is evil. When you play FarmVille you feel that the grind to get the reward is not worth it. You then think : “Oh, i don’t have to play this part of the game, i can just PAY TO SKIP it and get my reward right away”. So to sum up :

1.Get player addicted.

2.Make the path to reward not fun at all.

3.Give people the option to get the reward but not do the work.

How i think we as game designers should keep players motivated is by minimizing the grind that is experienced on the journey to the reward. A game i feel does this very good is Thirty Flights of Loving, when i played it there was never a feeling of : “I can’t wait to get my reward at the end of this stupid level” The gameplay itself was the reward. Fez also springs to mind when thinking about this.

First up we have :

The Sense of achievement.

The sense of achievement is a old and well used method to get players playing for longer. It works by designing a game around difficulty and giving the player a sense of achievement by carefully crafting the game to seem like the task at hand is just in reach of the player’s abilities.

Old games from before 2000 were like this. You would play a game and fail 100 times but that rush you get from completing the level makes up for all the times you failed and when a new challenge is presented, the need for that feeling takes over and gets you playing again.

A couple games that use this primarily :

Super Meat Boy,

VVVVVV,

I want to be the guy,

Mighty jill off,

Dark Souls

As a game designer you could easily implement this into a game that is designed to be difficult.

A couple of points to keep in mind :

1.Try and design levels as to have tension attached. An example of this is a countdown timer in which you must complete the level in time. A tight spot or hard to execute maneuver is also effective.

2.Don’t get the player frustrated. If the player feels that an action is impossible and then succeeds he will feel that it was the game glitching or just luck.

3.Something Super Meat Boy does well is keep the excitement up by having no delay between death and respawning and. Never let the excitement die down. A example of what not to do would be : in the time that the level loads show an advertisement to some in game item. Rather have a countdown timer or a black screen or if you can no loading.

The curiosity effect.

The curiosity effect, i feel, is one that human’s simply can’t avoid because its hard wired into our brains. Its works by telling the player that he will be rewarded if he completes a task, but the player is never told how big the reward is, only that there is a chance that the reward will be very big. So naturally the player wants to complete the task because he wants to know what the reward is going to be..

A good example game that Edmund McMillen created is AVGM – It stands for Abusive Video Game Manipulation. If you haven’t played it go play it quickly and come back. Also he did a retrospective write up on his blog about the game here : Linky

He noted in the post that AVGM is a bad thing which i don’t necessarily agree with, its just a different form of getting players hooked. Some players sincerely like getting virtual items.

When we look at League of Legends or DOTA 2 we can clearly see that this method works.

LoL is a big and complicated game, when we look at a simpler game in witch you get items for clicking 1000’s of times we can see the curiosity effect at its best.

A couple of games that use this primarily:

Need for Speed, with its system that lets you choose rewards.

Meat boy (flash game). This is a game that i feel uses the curiosity effect in the best possible way. When you complete 5 levels another 5 levels Unlocks and the levels are generally exciting so you want to unlock the new levels.

Some pointers on using this method in your games:

1.Don’t give the player what he wants. This sounds evil but the reality is that if you give me what i want, what incentive is there to keep playing?

2.When thinking about item design, think of stuff that would make the players life easier but not take away any of the challenge/fun of the game. A example where this happened is Plants vs Zombies. When you unlocked the Kitty Tails the game was so easy to beat, although this only happened in the pool area.

3.Try to be comic about the items you give the player. If you can make a player laugh at what he has unlocked, he will tell his friends and he will feel as if that item has given him some sort of REAL VALUE and he will keep playing.

Narrative Ransom.

Narrative Ransom works by giving you the beginning of an interesting story and then holding it ransom until you do some “grind”. Most games these days work like this and some people argue that if you don’t give the player something to do its not a game its merely an interactive story.

The first thing that springs to mind is Gravity Bone or Thirty Flights of Loving from Blendo games (Brendon Chung). Its a game which i find has all the narrative punch of Call Of Duty Modern WarGhost 1521359 without the shity grind getting in the way. In gravity bone there is nothing keeping you from exploring the narrative. Although this makes the game much shorter, the feeling you get upon completion is : TIME WELL SPENT.

Another medium that uses this method almost exclusively is TV.

We see in series that mostly they end on a shocking revelation that dispose of information that makes you wonder about the nature of the characters or the developments etc.

Games that use this primarily:

Battlefield 3

Dead Island

A bit of advice when using this method in your games :

1.For this to work the story should be very strong in its own right.

2.Don’t give too much information at the beginning of the game. Just poke the player’s interest a bit.

3.Try and create an emotional bond between the player and the character. This will cause the player to want to spend time with the other characters. A good example of this would be The Walking Dead.

Competitive Nature.

The competitive nature of human being’s makes it easy to attach value to a number. So if my number is higher than yours i am a better human than you and i’ll get all the fame. You don’t even need another person for this to work. You give a player a high score and he will naturally try to beat that and improve himself.

We see that mobile games mostly fall into this bracket because when you’re designing for mobile you don’t know the how the play environment will be like. So most mobile games have you just chasing a high score except the wonderful Superbrothers Swords and Sworcery.

Games that use this primarily:

Doodle Jump

Running Fred

Guitar Hero

A couple of pointers when using this in your own games :

1.The game should be designed in a way so that the more you play the better your personal skill level gets. A sort of practice makes perfect game.

2.Leaderboards would be great if you could manage it. An good example of this is doodle jump where the top 10 scores are saved and shown on the playing field when you play.

3.Randomness or luck also doesn’t work well here. A game like chess would be a good example because you can add a number to it, you get better the more you play, there is no randomness.

Conclusion.

Some games use more than one of these motivational methods and thats not a bad thing. Now that you got the player motivated and playing, what you do with that motivation decides if the game is a success or not.

If you could create a game that uses the motivation to enrich your life you have successfully created, in my opinion, a great game.

I can think of a few games that do give real life value. Braid is a good example. When i played that for the first time i had so much to think about in terms of regret and not just that, it encouraged thinking which a lot of games don’t do. Super Meat Boy is also a good game because of the sense of achievement that you get from completing the insane levels.It also made me laugh alott so i was a happier person because of it.

As McMillen said in his post The Curiosity Effect feels hollow but i can’t see how this motivational method is any different from the other. Games still haven’t been explored very much and i think once we reach the medium’s full potential some great things can happen.

If i can get one point across in this article it would be : Don’t design games around the reward. Design games around the whole experience leading up to the reward.(source:gamasutra)