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阐述定义2013年游戏行业的5大趋势

发布时间:2013-12-17 13:45:29 Tags:,,,,

作者:Kris Graft

我们想要谈谈作为过度年的2013,主要因为在今年出现了两款主要的新游戏主机。但是因为这些新问世的主机是今年游戏产业一些主导趋势的承载物,所以它们并不是过度的唯一来源。

2013年,我们见证了新的分享方式,融入社区的新方式,以及跨越不同平台与系统体验游戏的新方式。以下是影响今年电子游戏的一些趋势,同时这些趋势也将影响着今后的游戏开发与业务。

2013(from gamasutra)

2013(from gamasutra)

电子游戏窥视论

在2013年之前,直播游戏和共享游戏玩法视频就已经存在了,但却是在这一年,电子游戏窥视论获得了真正的牵引力,并朝向主流接受度与可用性而发展。

Twitch一马当先。不管是Sony Online Entertainment,Mojang还是CCP,游戏开发者基于Twitch整合,面向简单的游戏玩法直播而更新了自己的游戏。PlayStation 4的控制器引进了“共享”按键,从而无缝地实现游戏玩法的传播,这是一种简单的体验。Xbox One虽然在Twitch直播机制上稍显落后,但是“Upload Studio”以及命令“Xbox,记录它”去保存游戏玩法并在之后共享的能力仍然是一个美好的奇迹。

继续向前发展,整合直播与视频共享功能将成为游戏和平台的标准—-下一步是让游戏开发者在一开始便记住观察者友好型理念,并因此去设计游戏。

虚拟现实趋于真实性

自从2012年的夏天以来,即当Oculus Rift获得了巨大成功的时候,虚拟现实的新趋势就不断变强。而在2013年,数千个Rift开发系统出现在开发者们面前,硬件的潜能也趋于具体化。

公司告诉我们,在此之前独立开发者将利用虚拟现实护目镜的能力,从而现在他们可以尝试新的互动体验,这便是今年所发生的变化。开发者将平台类型的体验带到了Rift;他们能够呈献给用户砍头的体验;他们将基于恐怖游戏创造出真实的恐怖感等等。同时还获得了强大的势头——就像Oculus VR的出色团队最近便将前id技术负责人John Carmack纳入了自己的队伍中。

Oculus Rift(from engadget.com)

Oculus Rift(from engadget.com)

VR和电子游戏的结合并不会局限于Oculus VR。据说索尼正在研究PlayStation VR的解决方法,而其它初创企业(前Valve的工程师也来到了带有强化/虚拟现实CastAR系统的Technical Illusions中)也将在今后继续探索VR的主流商机。

主流主机创造商努力向独立开发者献殷勤

今年,我们发现主要的电子游戏主机创造者比以往更加关注于独立开发者们。特别是随着PlayStation 4和Xbox One的引进,他们对于这些小型开发者的发行政策和态度都发生了主要的转变—-不再是这些游戏开发者祈求着让自己进入主机领域,现在换成是主机创造者努力向独立开发者献殷勤,希望他们能够帮助自己推广软件阵容。

这一趋势的最大组件是在主机上独立发行的能力。不管是索尼,微软还是任天堂,他们对于独立发行的策略都是不同的(游戏邦注:微软注意到了游戏开发者的呐喊,并为了完善这种情况而改变了独立发行政策),但是要点在于他们都未要求发行商合作伙伴一起进入这些掌控着巨大电子游戏市场的热销游戏主机中。不管是对于玩家还是游戏开发者来说,这都是件好事。

在完成前销售游戏

今年,阿尔法资金—-即允许玩家尽早购买,即使游戏还处于开发阶段,成为了一种更普遍的方法。

Mojang的《我的世界》便是这一做法的早前典例,但2013年的阿尔法资金的一大元素是Valve所引进的Steam Early Access。《Kerbal Space Program》,《Planetary Annihilation》,《物竞天择2》以及《僵尸毁灭工程》等等都是基于阿尔法资金的游戏。开发者们发现,如果他们公开游戏还处于开发过程中,那么玩家便愿意付钱去体验开发中的游戏。阿尔法资金是开发者能够在开发过程中整合社区的另一种方法,并且它也将塑造现代电子游戏的创造方式。

独立现实检查

在过去几年里,独立开发取得了很大的进步,但随着电子游戏市场的日趋成熟,获取经济上的成功变得比之前更加困难了。

我们可以深入讨论日益拥挤的平台(确切地说是手机平台),主导着畅销排行榜单的少部分大型公司,付费游戏被基于参数的免费游戏甩在了后边,以及产品质量如何等等,而因为种种的这些元素,面向“独立友好型”平台开发游戏的成本不断上升也是理所当然的。我们还可以讨论自己不会在此半途而废,以及12月份出现了许多Steam游戏,并且这股热潮仍会继续持续着等等话题。

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

The 5 trends that defined the game industry in 2013

By Kris Graft

Gamasutra editor-in-chief Kris Graft steps back to look at the big picture in 2013.

We tend to like to talk about 2013 as a transitional year, mainly because two major new game consoles arrived. But while those launches were vehicles for some overarching trends in the game industry this year, they weren’t the sole source of transition.

In 2013, we saw new ways to share, new ways to involve the community, new ways to experience games, across various platforms and systems. Here are the trends that shaped the year in video games, and that will influence game development and business in the years to come.

Video game voyeurism

Livestreaming games and sharing gameplay videos had been around before 2013, but it was this year that video game voyeurism gained real traction and headed towards mainstream acceptance and usability.

Twitch has been leading the charge. Game developers, from Sony Online Entertainment to Mojang to CCP and others, have updated their games with Twitch integration, for easy livestreaming of gameplay. PlayStation 4′s controller introduces the “Share” button, which makes broadcasting gameplay a seamless, simple experience. Xbox One is a little behind on Twitch livestreaming, but the Upload Studio and ability to yell “Xbox, record that” to save gameplay to share later is still a little next-gen miracle.

Moving forward, integrating the mere functionality of livestreaming and video sharing will become standard for games and platforms — the next step is for game developers to design games with observer-friendliness in mind from the start.

Virtual reality gets real

The new wave of virtual reality excitement has been going strong since summer 2012, when the Oculus Rift became a big crowdfunded success. But 2013 is when thousands of Rift dev kits shipped to developers, and the potential of this hardware began to materialize.

The company told us before that it’s indies who would be pushing the capabilities of the VR goggles, experimenting with new kinds of interactive experiences, and that’s exactly what happened this year. Developers are bringing holodeck-style experiences to the Rift; they’re giving users the feeling of getting their heads chopped off; they’re creating horror games in horror games, just to name a few examples. Momentum is gaining, too — the already-talented team at Oculus VR recently added former id technical head John Carmack to its ranks.

The marriage of VR and video games isn’t limited to Oculus VR. Sony is rumored to have a PlayStation VR solution in the works, and other startups, including former Valve engineers at Technical Illusions with the augmented/virtual realty CastAR system, will be exploring the mainstream commercialization of VR in the years ahead.

Major console makers court independent developers in a big way

This year, we saw major video game console makers give small independent developers more attention than ever before. Particularly with the introductions of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this year, there were significant shifts in publishing policies and overall attitudes toward small developers — instead of game developers begging to be let into the walled console gardens, console makers were courting indies, inviting them in to help them boost their software lineups.

One of the biggest components of this trend has been the ability to self-publish on consoles. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo’s strategies for self-publishing vary (Microsoft famously heeded the cries of game devs and changed its self-publishing policy for the better), but the main point is that none of them require a publishing partner to get onto these heavily-marketed game consoles that control a sizable mindshare of the video game market. That’s good for players, and it’s good for game developers.

Selling games before they’re done

Alpha funding — allowing players to purchase early, in-development games essentially as they’re being made — become considerably more commonplace this year.

Mojang’s Minecraft is one early example of the practice, but a big factor for alpha funding in 2013 was Valve’s introduction of Steam Early Access. Kerbal Space Program, Planetary Annihilation, Natural Selection 2, Project Zomboid — the list of alpha-funded games goes on and on. Developers are finding that players are willing to pay to experience a game while it’s being developed, as long as the developer is transparent that the the game is a work in process. Alpha funding is yet another way that developers are able to include their communities in the game development process, and it will continue to shape the way modern video games are made.

Indie reality check

Indies made a lot of great strides in the past year, but as the video game market matured, finding financial success has become even more difficult than before.

I could talk in-depth about how certain platforms, namely mobile, are increasingly crowded, how a small amount of larger companies are dominating top-grossing charts, how paid games have given way to metrics-driven free-to-play, how production quality, and therefore cost, is ramping up on “indie friendly” platforms. I could talk about how we’re not halfway through the month, and dozens of Steam games have already released in December, and that the churn will only get more intense.

But instead I’ll link you this recent, excellent Gamasutra comment from Dan Cook, lead game designer at Triple Town developer Spry Fox. It’ll give you some perspective on 2013, and some realistic expectations for the year to come.(source:gamasutra)


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