作者：James Nouch

2011年6月，迪士尼关闭了Black Rock Studio——位于英国Brightton的游戏工作室（游戏邦注：其代表作包括《Pure》和《争分夺秒》等大受欢迎的主机赛车游戏）。

这也解释了前Black Rock游戏总监Jason Avent所说的：“我们是时候开始创造一些新内容了。”

“我们将一些人才和好友汇聚在我的阁楼里（大约5个人），并开始投入工作中。”

结果便是，在2012年6月，新工作室Boss Alien在发行商NaturalMotion的帮助下面向iPhone和iPad发行了一款免费飚车游戏，即《CSR赛车》。

在游戏发行后一个月内，《CSR赛车》便赚取了超过1200万美元的利益，并成为了大获成功的免费游戏的代表。

那么在2012年，这些AAA级主机游戏开发者是如何创造出最受欢迎且最有利可图的iOS游戏？

一种新的心态

Boss Alien现在的总经理Avent说道：“手机游戏与主机游戏不同。”

“一个晚上你需要花3个小时去玩《生化奇兵》或《美国末日》——你不得不长久坐着面对游戏。但是手机游戏并不是如此。”

“你可以在星巴克等咖啡的时候玩一会游戏。你可以地铁上，公交车上，或者在医院等待预约的时候玩游戏。”

最终，能够填补玩家每天较小的休闲时间的手机游戏成为了Boss Alien走向免费游戏设计的基本元素。这听起来就像是一种常识，但是Boss Alien并不是盲目地靠向这一理论。

相反地，主机游戏团队的资深人士花了几个月时间去探索手机和社交游戏的成功故事。Avent解释道：“我们着眼于许多Facebook游戏以及在iPhone上获取成功的游戏。”

所以尽管《CSR赛车》在2011年12月取得了很好的成绩，但是该团队又花了5个月时间去观察竞争情况，研究盈利机制并优化游戏玩法，以达到更高的标准。

游戏时间

在这过程中我们发现了游戏时间的重要性。

Avent解释道：“许多手机游戏之所以如此受欢迎（特别是那些来自Facebook的游戏）便是因为，尽管在一开始面对的是较长的游戏时间，但是玩家总是能够很快地完成挑战。”

“你会在空闲的时候回到游戏中，这能够很好地融入你一天的生活。所以我们发现有必要重视这一点。”

但是单单较短的游戏时间也不能确保手机游戏足够受欢迎。Avent继续说道：“我们需要把这些看似无关紧要的短时间内容整合到更大的内容中。”

“所以我们何不围绕着它们去创建传统的游戏结构——即让你可以升级汽车，扩大车库并经历一个故事，如此这些短时间内容也将具有意义。”

“所以我认为我们可以从AAA级游戏中汲取游戏结构和故事，但同时遵循手机游戏的模式。”

可收集的汽车

所以除了巧妙使用游戏时间外，《CSR赛车》取得盈利成功的秘诀还有什么？

对于日本发型商Marvelous AQL的欧洲分部首席执行官Harry Holmwood来说，这可以归因于类似于纸牌收集游戏的基本原理。

他在Develop in Brighton 2013大会上说道：“着眼于《CSR赛车》，这看起来是一款赛车游戏，但实际上它也是一款纸牌战斗游戏，而这也是其获取成功的主要原因。”

我问Avent，《CSR赛车》是否是赛车和纸牌收集游戏的混合体。他回答“并不是”，并列举了无数CCG类型的复杂元素，并且这些元素都未曾出现在《CSR赛车》中。

Avent笑着说道：“我们本来可以这么做的，如果那时候我们能够更了解CCG的话。但这并不是我们的目标。也不是我们的灵感来源。”

相反地，Boss Alien再一次从AAA级主机开发世界中寻找线索。Avent解释道：“这款游戏的灵感来源是《Gran Turismo》。”

“你可以收集不同的汽车，并升级汽车，这是职业选手会做的事——游戏便是由此诞生的。”

当然，最关键的不同还在于《CSR赛车》允许玩家通过应用内部购买加速所有的这些过程，这对于那些没有足够时间玩游戏的休闲玩家来说是个福音，但同时也有可能冒犯到硬核玩家们。

跨越终点线

在经过5个月的研究和优化后，《CSR赛车》便做好了发行准备。

Boss Alien吸取了来自现有手机游戏的教训，并将其与工作室资深的AAA级敏感性结合在一起，并最终创造出一款即将发光发亮的游戏。

Avent解释道：“我们知道游戏在软发行后能够取得多大的成功。之后我们便参加了WWDC2012，并获得了很好的接待。”

“之后我们进行了游戏的硬发行，并获得了非常出色的成绩。”

虽然Avent拒绝分享具体数据，但是App Annie的数据显示，《CSR赛车》在发行两天内便登上App Store下载榜单的第一位。并在2天后就成为了畅销游戏榜单的榜首。

在2012年8月，《CSR赛车》的发行商NaturalMotion宣称游戏在第一个月内的收益为1200万美元。为此我询问了Avent是否有关于获得如此巨大成功的诀窍。

他回到道：“没有，我们也对此感到非常惊讶。这远超过这类游戏所获得的财务业绩——所以说这款游戏的成功是空前的。这真的是个巨大的惊喜。”

天生一对

在2012年7月初，该工作室被《CSR赛车的》发行商NaturalMotion所收购。”

Avent回应道：“回首过去，这是必然的结果。虽然我们也努力想要维持独立，但是最终还是抵挡不住对方诱人的报价。”

此外，Boss Alien与NaturalMotion的关系是在该工作室诞生时便一直维系着。当初出茅庐的团队挤在Avent家的阁楼开发游戏时，Boss Alien为NaturalMotion完成了好几个加工承揽项目。

Avent回忆道：“我认为，一开始他们愿意与我们合作便是因为我们面向的是免费游戏和手机游戏，并对此类游戏的发展充满兴趣。所以我们才能够彼此分享共同目标和兴趣。”

我问他，这次的收购是否会对Boss Alien带来任何改变。Avent回应道：“因为我们更加信任彼此，所以我们获得了更多的自由。”

“非常简单，我们能够更轻松地作为NaturalMotion的内在组成部分。关于收购我们所担心的一点就是怕失去自由，如此我们有可能会因此彻底被毁掉。”

“所以我们关于收购的一大条件便是，每个人都必须理解我们想要保留一定的独立性。”

而据Avent所述，NaturalMotion始终都履行着这一条件。

他继续说道：“这对双方都是有利的。我们仍然像一家独立工作室，但却能够获得大型公司的多方面支持。”

“这真的很棒。而我们的工作室也正在开发多款游戏。”

一个变成两个

Avent并未向我们透露这些游戏的相关内容。当我询问他们是否在开发《CSR赛车2》时，Avent谨慎地回答了这一问题。

“严格上说，我并不敢保证这款游戏的续集仍能在手机上获取巨大的成功，因为当你在一款游戏获取成功后继续开发后续内容，你最终只是将游戏作为一种服务而持续维持着它的发展。”

Avent继续说道：“但是如果我们发现一个人们所喜欢的规则，即提供更多不同的内容，这便会是有意义的后续内容。”

而对于Boss Alien会在《CSR赛车》的续集中添加哪些不一样的内容还是有待进一步的考察，而Avent唯一肯定的是，该工作室的所有工作（游戏邦注：不管是对于《CSR赛车》还是全新的项目）都将是面向手机平台的高端免费游戏。

Avent说道：“我们并不打算只是作为一个赛车游戏工作室，我认为我们也会在图像，产品质量，游戏结构等等内容上不断突破与发展。”

“我也想要尝试开发一些更有技术含量的游戏。”

免费商业模式影响

在部分玩家等待着全新的《CSR赛车》更新时，还有部分玩家认为它只是讨厌的盈利模式的代表。

很多硬核游戏社区仍对免费游戏模式抱着怀疑态度—-这也是Avent所知道的问题。

Avent解释道：“我认为这与那些坚持Xbox 360而不相信PS3的用户是一样的。”

“但是我们必须承认免费模式也在发挥着作用。如今有数百万名玩家在玩着免费游戏。与任何业务模式和市场一样，这里既存在着正面的实践也存在负面的实践，而这种模式也会随着时间的发展不断成熟。”

对于免费游戏的未来，Avent相信西方开发者应该瞄准东方市场去提高盈利目标。

“我认为我们需要向日本学习，即他们在盈利方面更有耐心，同时我们还要努力创造一些需要玩家投入更多技能和金钱的游戏。”

“我认为从玩家投资角度来看，如果他们真心喜欢游戏所提供的内容，他们便会对游戏更感兴趣，并更久地留在游戏中，从而投入更多金钱于游戏中。”

至于硬核玩家社区，Avent也希望能够尽早赢得他们的芳心。

“我所说的是那些对免费游戏仍心存芥蒂的人。而我们最终一定能够创造出他们愿意接受的免费游戏。”

（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）

Pedal to the metal: The making of CSR Racing

by James Nouch

In June 2011, Disney closed Black Rock Studio, the Brighton, UK-based developer of much-admired console racers such as Pure and Split/Second.

This, explains former Black Rock game director Jason Avent, “was an opportunity for us to start something new”.

“Lots of talented staff were available, lots of my friends were available, so we all got together in my loft – about five of us – and started work.”

The result was Boss Alien, and in June 2012, this upstart studio released a free-to-play drag-racing game for the iPhone and iPad, through publisher NaturalMotion.

Within one month of its launch, CSR Racing had grossed more than $12 million, and established itself as a poster child for free-to-play success in the process.

So how did a group of triple-A console developers produce one of the most popular – and most lucrative – iOS games of 2012?

A new mindset

“Mobile gaming isn’t like console games,” Avent, now Boss Alien’s managing director, begins.

“You clear your evening to play three hours of BioShock or The Last of Us – you have to sit down and commit a long period of time. But mobile gaming isn’t really like that.

“You play a session or two while you’re waiting for your coffee at Starbucks. You play on the tube, you play sitting on a bus, or you play waiting for a doctor’s appointment.”

This conclusion – that mobile gaming should fill the small “voids of time” in a player’s day – forms the basis of Boss Alien’s approach to freemium game design. It may sound like little more than simple commonsense, but Boss Alien didn’t arrive at this theory through blind intuition.

Instead, the team of console development veterans spent months researching the mobile and social gaming success stories. “We looked at a lot of Facebook games and the games that were successful on iPhone,” explains Avent.

So although CSR Racing was perfectly playable by December 2011, the team spent a further five months scrutinising the competition, researching monetisation mechanics and polishing core gameplay to a high gloss.

Heavy session

One finding of this period was the importance of sessioning.

“The way a lot of mobile games work – especially the ones that have come from Facebook – is that although you have a long session at the start, you soon run out of things to do,” Avent explains.

“You come back in a couple of hours time when you’ve next got a couple of free minutes, and it fits nicely into your day. So we figured that needs to be the case; that needs to be what we do.”

But short sessions alone don’t make a mobile mega-hit. “These small, seemingly insignificant sessions need to build into something bigger,” Avent continues.

“So what’s why we built a traditional game structure around them – where you can upgrade your cars, expand your garage and go through a story – because those small sessions have to mean something.

“So I think we’ve brought with us a kind of idea of game structure and story from triple-A, but noted the play patterns of mobile games.”

Collectable cars

So aside from adroit use of sessioning, what is the secret of CSR Racing’s monetisation success?

For Harry Holmwood, the European CEO of Japanese publisher Marvelous AQL, it can be chalked up to its fundamental similarity to collectable card games.

“Look at CSR Racing. It looks like a racing game but it’s essentially a card battler, and that’s why it monetises so well,” he argued in his Develop in Brighton 2013 conference talk

I ask Avent whether CSR Racing was conceived as a racer/Card Collection Game hybrid. “No it wasn’t,” he replies, before going on to list the myriad complexities of the CCG genre that find no counterpart in CSR Racing.

“We probably could have done, if we’d known more about CCGs at that time,” Avent laughs. “But that wasn’t the goal. That wasn’t what we were inspired by.”

Instead, Boss Alien once again took its cues from the world of triple-A console development. “Really, it’s built on Gran Turismo,” Avent explains.

“You collect your different cars, and you upgrade your cars and that’s how the career works – that’s where it came from.”

The key difference, of course, is that CSR Racing allows players to speed up all of these processes through in-app purchases – a boon for time-pressed casual players, but an affront to much of the hardcore crowd.

Crossing the finish line

After five months of research and polish, CSR Racing was more or less ready for launch.

Boss Alien had taken the lessons learnt from existing mobile gaming hits and blended them with the studio’s own triple-A sensibilities to create a product that was ready for the spotlight.

“We kind of had some idea of how successful it would be from the soft launch,” Avent notes. “Then we were at WWDC 2012 [where the game was demonstrated as part of Apple's keynote] and the reception was really good.

“Then we hard launched, and the numbers just went astronomical.”

Avent declines to share any hard figures, but App Annie’s store stats show that CSR Racing shot to #1 in the App Store’s download charts within 2 days of release. It reached #1 in the top grossing charts just 2 days later.

Then in August 2012, CSR Racing publisher NaturalMotion announced the game had grossed $12 million in its first month of availability. I ask Avent whether he’d had any inkling as to the level of success it would achieve.

“No, it was a surprise,” he replies. “It was bigger than any published financial results for this type of game – the success was unprecedented. We were very pleasantly surprised.”

“We got a case of champagne and drank it on the roof in the rain,” Avent tells me. “With big cigars.”

Two become one

An influx of posh booze and Cuban tobacco wasn’t the only change going on at Boss Alien during this time, though. In early July 2012, the studio was acquired by CSR Racing’s publisher, NaturalMotion.

“Looking back, it was probably inevitable,” Avent reflects. “We did definitely put up a fight to remain independent, but in the end the offers were too attractive.”

What’s more, Boss Alien’s relationship with NaturalMotion was almost as old as the studio itself. When the fledgling team was operating out of Avent’s attic, Boss Alien completed a number of work-for-hire projects for NaturalMotion.

“I think the reason they were open to working with us initially is that we were very open to freemium and mobile and were very interested and excited about where that could go,” Avent recalls. “So I think we shared a lot of common goals and common interests.”

I ask whether much has changed at Boss Alien since the acquisition. “We’ve had more freedom because we’re more trusted,” Avent replies.

“Very simply, it’s easier to work as an internal part of NaturalMotion. One of the concerns we had regarding the acquisition was that we would have less freedom, and that we would be completely subsumed and destroyed.

“So one condition of the acquisition was that everyone understood we wanted to retain a degree of independence.”

And according to Avent, NaturalMotion has consistently honoured its part in this deal.

“We’ve got the best of both worlds,” he continues. “It still feels like an independent studio, but we’ve got all the backing of a large company and the backing of this financial success.”

“It’s great, and we’re working on… We’ve got multiple titles in development at our studio.”

One becomes two

I press Avent on what some of those titles might be, and receive a firm ‘no comment’. When I ask specifically whether CSR Racing 2 is currently in production, Avent chooses his words carefully.

“I’m not sure that sequels in their strictest sense make so much sense on mobile, because you continuously develop a game when it’s successful, and the kind of things that you’d normally do as a sequel, you end up doing as part of the product path maintaining the game as a service.

“However, I think it makes sense – now that we’ve found a formula that people like – to provide more of that with different slants on,” Avent continues.

Exactly what different slants Boss Alien will put on the CSR Racing template remains to be seen, but Avent is clear that all of the studio’s work – whether a CSR game or an entirely new project – will be high-end free-to-play on mobile.

“I don’t think we’re going to be a solely racing game studio, but I do think we’re always going to push the graphics, push the production qualities, push the game structure and push things forward a little bit,” Avent ponders.

“I’d like to try and develop games that are more skilful, I think. ”

Freemium fallout

But while one set of gamers eagerly awaits news of CSR Racing updates and expansions, another group sees it only as the posterchild of a hated monetisation model.

Much of the core gaming community remains deeply sceptical of the free-to-play model – a fact that Avent is only too aware of.

“I see it as being on a par with the people who’ve got an Xbox 360 and they don’t believe the PS3 is as good,” Avent explains, referring to the mistrust of freemium harboured by many gamers.

“But free-to-play works. Millions of people play games with freemium business models. There are good practices and bad practices, just like there are with any business model and any market, and it’s maturing all the time.”

As for the future of free-to-play, Avent believes western developers should – and eventually will – look east for their monetisation inspiration.

“I think we need to learn from Japan to be a bit more patient about monetisation, to be a bit less in your face with upselling things, and make a game that requires a bit more skill and bit more investment,” he argues.

“I think from that investment, players get more interested in the game, they’ll be retained longer, and I think they’ll end up spending more if they enjoy what we give to them.”

And as for the core community, Avent hopes he’ll be able to win them over too.

“What I’d say to people who are still a bit wary of free-to-play is be patient. We’ll get there in the end and make a free-to-play game that you won’t find unacceptable.”(source:pocketgamer)