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从主机转向移动游戏的美术设计经验

发布时间:2014-09-01 14:19:48 Tags:,,,

作者:Juan Mendiola

在加入Kiwi Inc.,之前,我有5年时间就职于AAA主机游戏领域。我在Kiwi两年多的工作经验中掌握了这两个平台的许多不同之处。之前参与《使命召唤:黑色行动2》等项目的经历让我获得了在游戏行业中的方向,但是可以运用于移动游戏中的可行经验却不多。

这是因为移动游戏开发过程与PC和主机游戏开发截然不同。即便开发任何游戏的终极目标都一样——创造有趣而富有吸引力的内容,移动平台的本质仍然是不同的,它对美术人员和开发者提出了截然不同的要求。在许多情况下,“传统”游戏开发的经验可能会让移动开发者陷入麻烦!如果你是一名打算从AAA领域跳转到移动领域的开发者或美术人员,在你为移动平台开发游戏时一定要转变思维模式。

image_resize(from gamasutra)

image_resize(from gamasutra)

创建精英小队而不是军队

主机游戏团队通常都很庞大,每个成员都有特定的功能或技能。相反,移动游戏团队却必须能够快速行动,就像海豹突击队一样敏捷。就像这些特种兵一样,移动开发者必须是多面手,能够处理多种新挑战,而不仅仅是自己所在领域专家。移动游戏开发时间较短,开发者必须能够填补任何关键空缺,以便在如此恶劣的气候中生存下来。这种团队还会培养一种信任的环境,因为较小团队不存在大型团队所存在的那种冗员现象,每个成员都要承担更大的责任。

在小屏幕上看到整体情况

在PC或主机游戏中,对细节的关注会让你所创造的世界增添丰富感和深度。在5英寸的屏幕上,我们更难实现沉浸感。所以清楚何时何地撤回视线很重要——当一切内容在巴掌大的屏幕上都要清晰可见时,并非所有细节都是好事。你要尽早在移动屏幕(而不是在监视器或LED TV设备)上测试资产,这可以帮助排除一些小问题,以免它们酿成大麻烦。这有助于削减你的制作时间和成本。

制作过硬的原型

制作游戏并非易事。移动市场似乎每隔数月就会重新洗牌,迫使开发者快速跟上潮流以免被落在后头。为了保持高效性,开发公司必须快速制作产品,从错误中汲取经验,并适应新的环境。创建只含有核元素的原型(游戏邦注:无论是Flash动画形式,还是游戏的部分片段)甚为关键。这里的反馈循环就是:创建核心元素,获得反馈,并且迭代到你认为可行为止。

成功的管道

对于任何想获得成功的游戏开发者来说,他们必须要有过硬的管道。美术人员必须能够快速为游戏创造出资产,迭代和资产交付过慢都有可能导致产品开发受阻。在管道开发中运用同样严格的方法,无论项目规模大小,都是避免未来出现问题的关键。总之,这一点值得开发者投入或雇佣他人来办妥。

规模的问题

移动游戏预算更紧凑,时间也更短暂,团队也比主机或PC工作室要小得多。鉴于这一点,外包工作对于你的业务运营来说就显得十分关键。找到优秀的外包供应商,尤其是那些可以依你所能承担的价格而提供相当服务的外包商可能颇有难度,所以可以考虑雇佣一支自由职业者组成的远程团队。你可能还需要增加一名美术外包经理或亲自管理团队,但自由职业者一般都很灵活,技术过硬,也远比大型美术供应商更易于沟通。(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

An Artist Transitions from Console to Mobile Games: Lessons Learned

by Juan Mendiola

Before joining Kiwi Inc., I spent the first five years of my career working on AAA console games. In more than two years since I’ve been with Kiwi, I have learned a lot about the differences between each platform. Previous experiences with projects like Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 were instrumental to helping me gain a bearing in the games industry, but ultimately offered less tangible experience when applied to mobile games.

That’s because mobile game development is a very different process than building games for PC and consoles. Even though the end goal of building any game is same – to create something fun and engaging – the nature of the mobile platform is different, and demands a totally different approach for artists and developers. In many cases, the lessons of “traditional” game development can get mobile developers into trouble! If you are an artist or developer looking to make the jump from AAA to mobile development, consider shifting these paradigms when you get started building games for mobile.

An Artist Transitions from Console to Mobile Games: Lessons Learned

Build an Elite Squad…Not an Army

Console game teams are generally huge, and each member has a specific function or skill set.  In contrast, mobile game teams need to be able to move fast and hard like an elite team of Navy Seals. Like these commandos, mobile developers need to be be multi-talented to handle new challenges and more than just experts in their domain. Mobile game timelines are short and the pivots can be hard. Developers need to adapt and be capable of filling in key gaps to survive in such a harsh climate. An environment of trust should also be fostered because smaller teams lack the redundancy that larger teams have, and each member is tasked with a larger individual responsibility.

See the Big Picture on the Small Screen

In PC or console games, attention to detail adds richness and depth to the worlds you create. On a 5 inch screen, that level of immersion is much more difficult to achieve. Knowing when and where to pull back visually is crucial – not all detail is good detail when everything needs to be readable on a pocket-sized screen. Think big shapes with contrast and strong color palettes. Testing your assets on a mobile screen as soon as possible (and NOT on a monitor or LED TV) can help troubleshoot small problems before they become major issues. This will help cut down your production time and costs.

Prototype Like Iron Man

Games are not easy to make. The mobile market seems to shift every few months, and developers are forced to get on board quickly or be left behind. In order to be effective, companies have to be able to produce quickly, learn from their mistakes, and adjust to the new climate. Building a prototype, whether it is an animatic in flash or a slice of the game with only its core elements, is crucial. Here is the feedback loop: Build core elements, get feedback and iterate until you get it right.

Pipeline to Success

For any game developer to be successful, they need a rock solid pipeline. Artists need to be able to see their work in the game with the click of a button, and nothing can cripple the development of a game faster than slow asset delivery and iteration.  Applying the same rigorous approach to pipeline development, regardless of the project’s size or scale, is key to avoiding headaches in the future. This is something worth investing in or hiring someone to set up for you.

It’s All About Scale

Mobile game budgets are tighter, timelines are shorter, and teams are smaller than those at console or PC studios. With that in mind, outsourcing work can be crucial to economically scale your operation. Finding good outsourcing vendors, especially ones who can deliver with quality at a price you can afford, can be difficult so can consider hiring a team of remote freelancers. You may need to also add an art outsourcing manager or personally manage the team, but generally freelancers are flexible, skilled, and easier to negotiate with than large art vendors. (source:gamasutra


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