游戏邦在:
杂志专栏:
gamerboom.com订阅到鲜果订阅到抓虾google reader订阅到有道订阅到QQ邮箱订阅到帮看

开发者谈运用知名第三方IP制作游戏面临的三大挑战

发布时间:2019-12-25 08:56:45 Tags:,

开发者谈运用知名第三方IP制作游戏面临的三大挑战

原作者:Joel Julkunen 译者:Vivian Xue

品牌的力量是强大的。早在1976年,世嘉就推出了全球首款IP游戏Fonz(基于美国热门情景喜剧Happy Days,游戏邦注)。自那时起,一些IP游戏大获成功——也有一些成了败笔。每一款GoldenEye脚下都踩着E.T.的炮灰(前者是根据詹姆斯·邦德电影《黄金眼》改编的热门游戏,后者是《E.T.外星人》同名游戏,风评很差)。

在手游市场中,第三方品牌和IP在收入榜中稳稳占据头部位置。根据我们GameRefinery的分析,美国App Store收入排名前100的游戏中,30%是基于第三方IP,从《星球大战》到艾伦·杰尼勒斯(Ellen Generes,美国著名脱口秀主持人)。把范围扩大到收入前200,这个比例只下降到了25%。

由此我们可以发现,在全球手游市场中,尽管原创IP获得了成功,正确使用第三方品牌和IP是制作成功游戏的有效途径。尽管预付成本很高,但IP游戏能够立刻打响知名度、吸引玩家,并且比起完全靠自己创作,基于IP制作游戏更容易。

制作IP游戏的挑战在于使IP符合三个关键因素:游戏类别、产品机制和玩家类型。从某种程度上看,这近似于Cerberus Interactive的Sami Khan最近提出的观点:站在“营销至上”的角度设计游戏。我们将看到,使游戏符合这三个因素是成功的关键所在——但游戏市场中不乏这三者发生偏移的例子。

挑战1:正确地匹配IP和游戏类型

不是所有游戏类型与IP的结合都能产生良好的化学反应。换句话说,IP产生的附加价值很大程度上取决于游戏类型。我们都见过把知名品牌或名人直接“贴”在现有产品上的游戏——早期手游和Facebook软广告游戏在这个方面做得特别糟糕。相反,成功IP游戏往往实现了IP和游戏风格的统一,形成协同效果。

[根据GameRefinery数据,美国手游市场收入前200的游戏中,30%基于第三方IP,不同IP占比情况:影视/电影(37%)、名人(6%)、消费产品(17%)、漫画/小说(12%)、动漫/日本漫画(13%)、运动(15%)]

例如,市面上存在许多基于知名IP、动画电影或流行符号的休闲三消游戏。然而,即使这些IP完美符合游戏的目标用户群体,它们都没能超越同品类的原创IP,如最著名的《糖果传奇》。IP对这种类型游戏的核心机制没有任何影响,在这个竞争激烈的品类市场上,它不过是一个获取用户和营销的手段。

Scopely工作室的解谜游戏Dice with Ellen是此类IP应用的一个范例。基于Scopely原创IP游戏Dice with Buddies,这款新游戏保留了相同的核心玩法,但升级了界面外观,内含大量美国脱口秀主持人艾伦·杰尼勒斯的图片和音频。GameRefinery的调查分析表明,与前作相比,Dice with Ellen对40岁以上的玩家有着更大的吸引力。

Pokemon Go(from xzxyxx)

Pokemon Go(from xzxyxx)

若我们把目光转向另一个流行品类,许多基于第三方IP的中核RPG游戏都有着强大的吸金能力。更重要的是,与其它品类相比,RPG中使用IP的游戏成功率更高。

这很容易理解,IP通常包含了个性鲜明的人物、故事和/或传说元素,这些能够自然地融入到RPG游戏体验中。在你强化卢克·天行者或者使用你最爱的漫威角色战斗时,那些无尽的重复性内容也变得更有意义了。

《精灵宝可梦GO》是另外一个实现IP与游戏核心机制无缝融合的例子。尽可能多地收集精灵的概念完美符合一款围绕LBS(基于位置的服务)和AR的游戏。事实上,在收入排行前300的游戏中,四款LBS游戏都基于知名的影视或电影IP——宝可梦、侏罗纪公园、哈利波特和行尸走肉。

挑战2:支持游戏的特色&机制

我们已经了解了一些游戏类型更适合使用第三方IP,但即使如此,也无法保证二者的契合。因此接下来你要问自己,该IP将如何支持游戏的特色。

举个例子,那些包含一系列知名英雄和反派的IP将更好地服务于注重角色收集和成长机制的RPG。如果这些角色通过丰富的传说故事联系在一起就更好了。如此一来,游戏的meta及核心特色与IP达成了一致并得到支撑。

如果你选择的IP缺乏上述特质,它将无法以有意义的方式增强游戏的特色。例如游戏Blade Runner Nexus,一款基于《银翼杀手》世界观的RPG。这款游戏于今年1月测试发行,距离影院上映《银翼杀手2049》已经过去很久了。

尽管《银翼杀手》是一个很强的IP,但该游戏中没有任何相关电影里的实际演员。或许不是所有人都想扮演瑞恩·高斯林,从而导致游戏除了主角以外,其他角色都没有什么出彩的地方。这意味着与典型的RPG相比,该游戏面临着一个挑战:建立足够多样化的角色阵容。

挑战3:找寻目标群体

第三点大概涉及到了品牌和IP在游戏中最显著的作用。当你决定使用IP后,游戏的设计——特别是角色、故事线和艺术风格就大体固定了。这些是吸引游戏目标玩家的重要因素,也是你在设计游戏特色时应关注的点。

如果你选择的IP与游戏的类型和机制所吸引的群体不相符,那结果大概不会太理想。换句话说,即便你选对了游戏类型——RPG或策略类,如果你的IP不合典型RPG玩家的口味,他们不太可能尝试。

Glu的《金卡戴珊:好莱坞》(Kim Kardashian: Hollywood)真正实现了IP与玩家群体、游戏特色和类型的统一。Glu发行这款游戏时下了很大的赌注,但它很快就火了,并且在发行将近五年内一直维持在收入排行榜前200。随后,Glu尝试复制这一成功,制作了第二款以卡戴珊家族成员为主题的游戏Kendall & Kylie,以及基于流行歌手Katy Perry和Nicki Minaj的Katy Perry Pop和Nicki Minaj:The Empire——但这些游戏的影响力和生命周期都不及《金卡戴珊:好莱坞》。如今看来,《金·卡戴珊:好莱坞》的成功是天时地利人和的结果——其他明星的个人商标达不到相同的炒作水平,或者不符合玩家偏好。

这种IP与游戏机制的不匹配将导致严重的问题,特别是当IP的受众是休闲玩家,而游戏设计却偏向中核玩家——丰富的meta元素和复杂的用户界面/体验。这导致休闲玩家的游戏体验很艰难,而中度玩家又因为IP对游戏丧失兴趣。

Disney Sorcerer’s Arena就是一个反例,它使用迪士尼经典角色吸引休闲玩家,却是一个中核游戏。问题在于即便游戏的角色阵容很出名,米老鼠或爱丽儿对策略游戏玩家的吸引力远不及钢铁侠或黑寡妇。换句话说,对这些玩家而言,IP不仅不能提高留存率,反而迫使他们放弃了游戏。另一方面,喜欢收集迪士尼角色的玩家大概偏好更简单的玩法机制。

如何充分利用第三方IP?

IP授权是一桩大生意,而游戏发行商为了实现商业成功背负着巨大压力。因此,许多公司将第三方IP视为成功的最佳途径也就不足为奇了。更重要的是了解如何有效地使用IP达到最佳效果。

总之,我们通过对数百款游戏进行分析,发现了使用第三方IP提升游戏商业表现时应考虑的三个方面:

1. IP与游戏类型的契合度:思考是否使用某第三方IP时,请记住某些游戏类型与IP的结合效果更好(产出更高)。
2. IP与游戏特色的契合度:当你选择使用IP增强游戏时,确保它能够支撑产品的特色。
3. IP受众与游戏机制的契合度:由于IP塑造了游戏的风格和“灵魂”,游戏玩法应符合其IP所吸引的玩家的偏好。

这三个方面从根本上是不可分割的,因此综合考虑这些因素很关键。只有当各个部分彼此契合且互相支撑时,才能产生好的结果。相反,如果在思考IP和产品时没有考虑这种统一性,再高价值的IP也拯救不了游戏。问问游戏E.T.的开发团队便知。

本文由游戏邦编译,转载请注明来源,或咨询微信zhengjintiao

Branding is a powerful thing. Back in 1976, Sega’s The Fonz arcade game was the first-ever licensed game. And ever since, games based on licenses have been some of the biggest hits — and also some of the biggest flops. For every GoldenEye, there’s also an E.T.

When it comes to mobile games, third-party brands and IPs have a solid and sizable presence in the top-grossing charts. In the US, 30% of the top 100 grossing games on the App Store are currently based on some kind of third party IP, from Star Wars to Ellen according to our analysis at GameRefinery. Cast the net a bit wider to the top 200, the figure only drops slightly to 25%.

So we can see that despite the huge global success of original IP in mobile games, licensing the right brand and IP is a viable route to building a successful game. Despite the often high upfront cost, licensed games offer instant recognition and appeal, and in some ways can be easier to build a game around than having to come up with something completely original.

The challenge is matching the IP to three crucial factors: game genre, feature set, and demographics. In a way, this is very similar to designing games through a “marketing-first perspective” as recently outlined by Sami Khan of Cerberus Interactive. As we’ll see, getting all three right is the key to success — but the history of the games industry is littered with examples when these factors have been misaligned.

Challenge 1: matching IP to the right game genre

Not all game types are created equal when it comes to “IP synergies.” In other words, the additional value of licensing IP for a game is greatly dependent on the game’s genre. We’ve all seen games where a well-known brand or individual is simply “skinned” on top of an existing game — the early days of mobile and Facebook advertorial games were particularly bad for this. Conversely, successful use of IP comes when there is an obvious synergy between the IP and the style of game.

For example, there have been (and are) numerous casual match-3 games based on well-known IPs of animated movies and pop icons. However, even if the IP has matched the game’s target demographic audience perfectly, none of them has hit it big as those games based on original IP, with Candy Crush the most obvious example. With this kind of game genre, the addition of the license rarely has any impact on the core game mechanic, but in such a competitive genre, the IP may simply be there as a way to boost user acquisition and marketing.

The puzzle game Dice with Ellen from Scopely is a good example of this kind of licensed IP application. Based on the original IP game Dice with Buddies, the newer game retains the same core gameplay but has an updated look and feel featuring lots of images and audio from U.S. talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. GameRefinery’s own analysis of both games suggests that Ellen with Dice has greater appeal to gamers over 40 compared to the non-branded version.

If we look at another popular genre, there are plenty of midcore RPG games based on third party IPs that are raking in tons of money. And more importantly, the ratio of successful RPGs using licensed IPs to those without is much higher than in other genres.

This makes sense because relevant IP usually comes with strong characters, stories, and/or lore elements that RPGs are naturally able to integrate as part of the gaming experience. Endless grinding becomes more rewarding when you’re beefing up Luke Skywalker or sending your favorite Marvel character into battle.

Pokémon Go is another great example of an IP that has been fused seamlessly with a game’s core mechanics. The whole concept of collecting as many Pokémon as possible is perfect for a game built around location and AR. In fact, all of the four location-based games currently in the top 300 grossing rankings are based on very well known TV or movie IP — Pokémon, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, and The Walking Dead.

Challenge 2: Support the game’s features & mechanics

We’ve looked at how some game genres are more suited for third party IP than others. But even with these “IP synergistic” genres, the fit isn’t always guaranteed. So the next question you need to ask yourself is how well the IP you’re licensing supports your game’s feature-set.

For example, RPGs with a heavy focus on character collection and development features are much better off with an IP that comes with a wide range of distinguishable heroes and villains. Even better if they’re tied together by rich background lore. This way, your meta and core layer features are aligned with and supported tremendously by the IP.

If you do decide to go with an IP that lacks the things mentioned above, it won’t reinforce your game’s feature-set in a meaningful way. Take the example of Blade Runner Nexus, an RPG based on the Blade Runner universe. The game soft-launched in January of this year, so a considerable amount of time after the theater release Blade Runner 2049.

Although the Blade Runner IP is pretty strong, the game doesn’t include any of the actual actors from the films. Maybe not everyone wants to pretend to be Ryan Gosling — but as an IP the movie – and therefore the game — doesn’t boast dozens of memorable characters aside from the leads. This means that the game faces a challenge in building up a diverse enough character roster in comparison to the typical RPG.

Challenge 3: Finding the target demographic

My third point touches probably the most obvious effect of brands and IPs in games. When you decide to go down the path of licensing, you’re pretty much locking down a lot of major design aspects, particularly the characters, storyline and art style. These are really important factors in defining a games’ demographic appeal, which in turn is something to keep in mind when designing your feature-set.

If the IP you are sticking with doesn’t fit the natural demographic appeal of your game mechanics and genre, the outcome probably won’t shoot through the charts. In other words, even if you choose an “IP synergistic” genre like RPG or strategy, if the IP doesn’t appeal to a typical RPG gamer they unlikely to try it — even if the IP supports your feature-set with, for example, lots of characters backed by rich lore and story elements.

A great example of a game that found the right fit of demographics, game features and genre is Kim Kardashian: Hollywood from Glu. At the time it was launched it seemed like quite a gamble by the company, but the game quickly became a huge hit and remains a top-200 grossing title after almost five years. Conversely, Glu attempted to replicate its success with a second Kardashian-themed game Kendall & Kylie, as well as licensing singer Katy Perry for Katy Perry Pop and Nicki Minaj for Nicki Minaj: The Empire — but none had anything like the same impact or longevity. In hindsight, attaching a game to the personal brand of Kim Kardashian was the perfect license at the perfect time — the other celebs simply didn’t reach the same level of hype or demographic fit.

This IP versus game mechanic mismatch is especially dangerous if the IP clearly appeals to casual audience but the game design for mid-core gamers, with heavy metagame elements and complex UI/UX. This leads to a situation where your casual player base has a hard time getting its head around the actual game while the mid-core audience gets turned off by the IP, which can cause some serious pain.

One example of this challenging mix is Disney Sorcerer’s Arena, which combines Disney characters likely to appeal to more casual gamers with midcore gameplay and meta elements. The problem is that even though the game has a huge roster of well-known characters to collect/play with, the tactical battler audiences are not likely to find Mickey Mouse or Ariel as appealing as Iron Man or Black Widow. In other words, for these people, the IP is likely to act as a deterrent — not a retention driver. On the other hand, the people who’d love to collect Disney characters would probably engage more with simpler gameplay mechanics.

How to make the most of third party IP

Licensing is a huge business, and the pressure on games publishers to achieve financial success is relentless. Therefore, it’s no surprise that many companies see third party IP as the best way to achieve this. So it’s more important than ever to know how to use them effectively for optimal results.

In summary, our analysis of hundreds of games shows there are three key aspects to consider when using a third party IP to boost your game’s performance:

1. IP versus genre fit: When thinking if you should invest for a third-party IP, keep in mind that certain genres work better with (and get more out of) IPs than others
2. IP versus feature-set fit: if you decide to utilize an IP to boost your game, make sure the IP supports your game’s feature-set
3. The demographic fit of IP versus game mechanics: as an IP greatly affects the style and “soul” of your game, it’s crucial that the demographic appeal of the IP you choose matches your audience’s preferences from a game-play perspective

These three aspects are fundamentally connected, so keeping an eye on the whole mix is crucial. Only when all the pieces of this puzzle are matched and support one another can you expect good results. If, on the other hand, the IP vs. product integration is not thoroughly thought out and well-executed, then even the most valuable IP won’t save a bad game. Just ask the team behind E.T.(source:Venturebeat)

 


上一篇:

下一篇: