作者：Matthew Jarvis

從企業(yè)面板的極簡(jiǎn)設(shè)計(jì)（最適合今天的觸屏）到Patrick Stewart所扮演的Captain Jean-Luc Picard對(duì)于敵對(duì)勢(shì)力的反應(yīng),，我們可以發(fā)現(xiàn)我們所深?lèi)?ài)的科幻內(nèi)容已經(jīng)成為了眾多工作室的嘗試選擇,。

特別是休閑游戲設(shè)計(jì)師應(yīng)該將Picard精干的命令當(dāng)成咒語(yǔ)，即“Engage（游戲邦注：在戰(zhàn)斗中指的是交戰(zhàn),，但同時(shí)也指代用戶(hù)粘性）,。”

雖然這聽(tīng)起來(lái)很簡(jiǎn)單,，但從概念上看這指的是,，玩家玩游戲時(shí)間越長(zhǎng)，這款游戲的成功率便越高,。

如果你認(rèn)為這做起來(lái)很簡(jiǎn)單的話(huà),，那么iOS和Android的暢銷(xiāo)應(yīng)用排行榜每周都應(yīng)該出現(xiàn)全新的變化。

但事實(shí)上,，像《Candy Crush》,，《戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)游戲》和《部落戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)》等游戲卻一直占據(jù)著排行榜最頂端的位置，

所以開(kāi)發(fā)者到底該如何做才能帶著自己的休閑游戲從短暫的幻想變成能夠賺取巨大收益的強(qiáng)大內(nèi)容呢,？

也許最佳開(kāi)始方法便是去定義“休閑”本身,。

這一詞其實(shí)有點(diǎn)欺騙性，因?yàn)橄裎⒔灰缀椭艺\(chéng)的獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)等休閑元素也會(huì)被整合到AAA級(jí)熱門(mén)游戲中,，手機(jī)設(shè)備也能夠重新創(chuàng)造像主機(jī)內(nèi)容那樣的圖像和機(jī)制,。

《水果忍者》的開(kāi)發(fā)工作室Halfbrick的設(shè)計(jì)指導(dǎo)Alex Richardson說(shuō)道：“在過(guò)去，當(dāng)提到休閑游戲時(shí)我們便會(huì)想到像《寶石迷陣》這樣的內(nèi)容,?！?/p>

“而從技能來(lái)看，像《Flappy Bird》和《過(guò)馬路》這樣的游戲其實(shí)算是硬核游戲,，但他們也仍然被歸為休閑游戲,。”

Crossy Road(from develop-online)

Richardson還補(bǔ)充道，在真正開(kāi)發(fā)之前將你的游戲定義為“休閑游戲”有可能為其貼上死亡標(biāo)簽,。

他說(shuō)道：“當(dāng)你在考慮如何設(shè)計(jì)某些內(nèi)容時(shí),，考慮‘休閑’游戲并不是什么有效的方法?！?/p>

Torsten Reil是NaturalMotion（游戲邦注：2014年初被《Farmville》和《Words With Friends》的創(chuàng)造者Zynga所收購(gòu)）的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人兼首席執(zhí)行官,。他認(rèn)為易用性是定義一款成功“休閑游戲”的關(guān)鍵，同時(shí)也是一種簡(jiǎn)單的檢測(cè)方法,。

Reil解釋道：“必須確保任何人都能夠玩游戲,，不管他們擁有怎樣的游戲經(jīng)驗(yàn),?！?/p>

“除此之外，開(kāi)發(fā)者必須確保玩家能在短時(shí)間內(nèi)玩游戲,。也就是我們所謂的‘星巴克測(cè)試’,，即在玩家等待自己購(gòu)買(mǎi)的瑪奇朵的時(shí)候能夠沉浸于游戲中的能力?！?/p>

Richardson也擁有自己的合格測(cè)試標(biāo)準(zhǔn),。

他說(shuō)道：“一款休閑游戲便是你進(jìn)入游戲中花幾分鐘去游戲并完成游戲的內(nèi)容?！?/p>

“你也可以創(chuàng)造半個(gè)小時(shí)的游戲內(nèi)容,，但關(guān)鍵是，如果我在等公車(chē)的時(shí)候只有2分鐘的空閑時(shí)間,，我便會(huì)選擇玩《瘋狂噴氣機(jī)》,，《水果忍者》街機(jī)模式或者《Candy Crush》的1,2個(gè)關(guān)卡?！?/p>

當(dāng)然了,，你肯定不會(huì)只想獲得玩家的這30秒時(shí)間。一款優(yōu)秀的休閑游戲?qū)⒅铝τ谔钛a(bǔ)玩家的每一點(diǎn)空閑時(shí)間,，并通過(guò)快速累積而達(dá)到數(shù)十個(gè),，甚至數(shù)百個(gè)小時(shí)的游戲時(shí)間。

為了做到這點(diǎn),，游戲的基本游戲玩法就必須提供一個(gè)穩(wěn)定的基礎(chǔ),，即擁有吸引人的外觀能夠快速吸引玩家的注意。

Richardson說(shuō)道：“創(chuàng)造一款簡(jiǎn)單的游戲意味著你必須確保核心游戲循環(huán)始終都很有趣且吸引人,。如果你能在開(kāi)發(fā)過(guò)程中確保游戲循環(huán)足夠吸引人且能夠吸引玩家反復(fù)游戲,，這便算是一個(gè)很不錯(cuò)的開(kāi)始?！?/p>

這是設(shè)計(jì)的關(guān)鍵：如果游戲玩法太過(guò)簡(jiǎn)單,，玩家便會(huì)很快對(duì)游戲失去興趣，但如果游戲玩法太過(guò)復(fù)雜，它也將很難調(diào)動(dòng)玩家的興趣,。而真正成功平衡了這兩個(gè)元素的一款手機(jī)授權(quán)游戲便是《Candy Crush》,。

King倫敦工作室的總經(jīng)理Carolin Krenzer說(shuō)道：“我們的很多玩家總是會(huì)在想要放松或者在通勤的時(shí)候想花幾分鐘時(shí)間輕松下時(shí)選擇游戲?！?/p>

“還有一些玩家則更喜歡競(jìng)爭(zhēng)游戲或者我們游戲中的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)元素,。例如我們便在游戲中添加了一些活動(dòng)讓玩家能夠彼此競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，并在有限時(shí)間內(nèi)收集或?qū)崿F(xiàn)特定目標(biāo),?！?/p>

Halfbrick的產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理Resa Liputra提供了一些更深入的內(nèi)容。

他建議：“游戲的核心機(jī)制就像外包裝,，這是誘導(dǎo)玩家去嘗試游戲的市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷(xiāo)工具,。”

“今天當(dāng)你嘗試著去設(shè)計(jì)能夠長(zhǎng)期留住玩家的游戲時(shí),，你就必須確保游戲的核心循環(huán)足夠優(yōu)秀從而能讓玩家反復(fù)游戲而不會(huì)感到厭煩,。這也是確保玩家不斷回到游戲中繼續(xù)前進(jìn)的關(guān)鍵?！?/p>

盡管這看來(lái)好像是在突顯游戲機(jī)制的復(fù)雜性,，但Reil也強(qiáng)調(diào)需要逐步提升玩家對(duì)于游戲內(nèi)部系統(tǒng)的理解，否則將只會(huì)嚇跑他們,。

他建議：“復(fù)雜性和深度必須在玩家已經(jīng)熟悉了游戲時(shí)才能打開(kāi),，所以它與早期的易用性并不矛盾。就像在《笨拙的忍者》中,，我們連續(xù)好幾個(gè)月每周三次會(huì)在大街上隨機(jī)讓人嘗試我們的全新游戲架構(gòu)以對(duì)其進(jìn)行測(cè)試,。”

確保玩家能夠長(zhǎng)期沉浸于游戲是休閑游戲存活的關(guān)鍵,。與玩家事先付錢(qián)并能夠決定自己要花多少時(shí)間與游戲的全價(jià)PC游戲和主機(jī)游戲不同,，免費(fèi)游戲是基于相反的邏輯：玩家投入多少時(shí)間將影響游戲最終所創(chuàng)造的收益。

早前的休閑游戲經(jīng)常忘記用戶(hù)留存與收益的對(duì)等性,，即總是嘗試通過(guò)將玩家置于游戲玩法劣勢(shì)中而強(qiáng)迫他們購(gòu)買(mǎi)提高性能的游戲道具,。幸運(yùn)的是，現(xiàn)代的盈利方式讓開(kāi)發(fā)者們能夠更加寬容地對(duì)待那些潛在的玩家,。

Halfbrick的首席游戲程序員同時(shí)也是產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理的Adam Wood說(shuō)道：“如今的開(kāi)發(fā)者可以更輕松地?cái)[脫付費(fèi)獲勝機(jī)制,，因?yàn)樗麄兛梢赃M(jìn)一步轉(zhuǎn)向廣告內(nèi)容?！?/p>

“雖然一開(kāi)始的橫幅廣告或全屏廣告會(huì)突然出現(xiàn)在你眼前并讓你感到厭煩,，但現(xiàn)在出現(xiàn)了全新的獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)性廣告?！?/p>

“這種類(lèi)型的廣告以及激勵(lì)性的視頻之所以很有用是因?yàn)?0%的休閑游戲用戶(hù)基礎(chǔ)都是沒(méi)有信用卡的青少年,?！?/p>

Liputra也認(rèn)為，使用得當(dāng)?shù)脑?huà),，經(jīng)常被誤會(huì)的廣告可以為開(kāi)發(fā)者和玩家創(chuàng)造雙贏的結(jié)果,。

他說(shuō)道：“這與作為孩子的你在周六早上看動(dòng)畫(huà)片的時(shí)候出現(xiàn)廣告的情況一樣。雖然這具有強(qiáng)迫性,，但是它們是出現(xiàn)在預(yù)定的時(shí)間間隔里,，你也清楚它們何時(shí)會(huì)出現(xiàn)?！?/p>

Krenzer提供了一些有關(guān)《Candy Crush》對(duì)于微交易的使用的看法,，即保持玩家不斷游戲比潛在但卻具有破壞性的現(xiàn)金獲取方法更有價(jià)值。

她說(shuō)道：“我們的所有關(guān)卡都是不需要購(gòu)買(mǎi)游戲內(nèi)部提升工具便能夠完成的,。比起短期利益,，我們更看重長(zhǎng)期的玩家留存?！?/p>

現(xiàn)代游戲的發(fā)展?fàn)顟B(tài)意味著開(kāi)發(fā)者仍需要做出各種改變,。也許增加游戲現(xiàn)有的用戶(hù)數(shù)充滿(mǎn)誘惑力，但是Storm8的首席執(zhí)行官兼聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人Perry提醒我們,，保持平衡更加重要。

他解釋道：“即使擁有經(jīng)驗(yàn),，你也必須聽(tīng)取玩家的反饋并不斷改變現(xiàn)狀去保持游戲的新鮮感,。”

“游戲發(fā)行只是開(kāi)始,。當(dāng)你在更新游戲去完善玩家體驗(yàn)時(shí),，你必須確保保持核心且有趣的游戲玩法不變，且不要添加那些只能吸引特定玩家群體的不必要的復(fù)雜性,。：

Tam表示,，手機(jī)游戲這頭猛獸的吸引力將持續(xù)延伸著，所以開(kāi)發(fā)者在將游戲帶向市場(chǎng)前需要更努力去完善自己的設(shè)計(jì),。

他認(rèn)為：“與幾年前相比,，今天的不同在于很多用戶(hù)會(huì)玩一款或多款手機(jī)游戲，所以如今的新游戲很難將玩家從自己當(dāng)前喜歡的內(nèi)容中拉出來(lái),?！?/p>

“如今的質(zhì)量標(biāo)準(zhǔn)已經(jīng)提高了很多。全新開(kāi)發(fā)者需要?jiǎng)?chuàng)造更多獨(dú)特的內(nèi)容才能獲得玩家的注意,?！?/p>

（本文為游戲邦/gamerboom.com編譯，拒絕任何不保留版權(quán)的轉(zhuǎn)發(fā),，如需轉(zhuǎn)載請(qǐng)聯(lián)系：游戲邦）

Harder than you think: Exploring the hidden depth of casual games

By Matthew Jarvis

From the minimalist design of the Enterprise’s panels – ideal for today’s touchscreens – to the measured reaction of Patrick Stewart’s Captain Jean-Luc Picard to hostile forces – an allegory for effective community management if there ever was one – the beloved sci-fi show is ripe with ‘how to’ examples for studios.

Casual game designers, in particular, should consider taking the pithy command of Picard as their mantra: “Engage.”

It sounds simple and, in concept, it is: the longer gamers play, the more successful a game becomes.

If it were as easy in practice, however, the iOS and Android top-grossing charts would offer a fresh set of names every week.

Instead, podium staples such as Candy Crush, Game of War and Clash of Clans have become exactly that, with contenders left to scrap over their 15 minutes in the spotlight.

So how can developers help their casual game cross the thin rope between fleeting fancy and financial powerhouse?

“Thinking about games as ‘casual’ isn’t useful in figuring out how to design something.”

Alex Richardson, Halfbrick

Perhaps the best place to start is with the definition of ‘casual’ itself.

It’s somewhat of a deceiving term, with casual tropes such as microtransactions and loyalty gifts bleeding into triple-A hits, and mobile devices able to recreate the graphical and mechanical prowess of console efforts.

“In the past, when we thought of casual games we would think of stuff like Bejeweled,” observes Alex Richardson, design coach at Fruit Ninja studio Halfbrick.

“Games like Flappy Bird and Crossy Road are actually hardcore games in terms of skill, but still feel like casual category.”

In fact, Richardson adds, considering your game as merely ‘casual’ can sign its death warrant before development even begins.

“I don’t think that thinking about games as ‘casual’ is useful in figuring out how to design something,” he says.

Torsten Reil is co-founder and CEO of NaturalMotion, which was acquired by FarmVille and Words With Friends creator Zynga in early 2014. He sees accessibility as the defining feature of a successful ‘casual’ title – and has an easy way to check.

“The game needs to be playable by pretty much anybody, regardless of their game playing experience,” Reil explains.

“In addition to that, the game needs to be playable in short chunks. We call it the ‘Starbucks line test’ – the ability to be immersed in a game in the time it takes for you to order your daily macchiato.”

Richardson has his own eligibility test.

“A casual game is something where you can go in, have a play session that’s only a few minutes long and that’s it – you’re done,” he states.

“You could do a half-hour session, but the point is that if I have two minutes to wait for this bus, I could do a run of Jetpack Joyride, Fruit Ninja’s arcade mode or a level or two of Candy Crush.”

Of course, you’re not looking to capture just 30 seconds of someone’s time. A well-made casual game is designed to fill every free space, quickly totalling up to tens or even hundreds of play hours.

To achieve this, the gameplay fundamentals of the title must provide a solid foundation – an aesthetically-pleasing wrapper will quickly disintegrate under the intense scrutiny of dedicated players.

“Having a simple game means making sure that the core game loop is always fun and engaging,” says Richardson. “If you can make that loop engaging enough that people are playing it over and over internally while you’re developing, that’s a really good start.”

This is the crux of the design: if gameplay is too simplistic, players will quickly lose interest, but if it’s overly complex, it will appear impenetrable and fail to gather momentum. One mobile franchise to have successfully balanced the two seemingly opposed forces is Candy Crush.

“A lot of our players choose to play when they want to relax and unwind or just want to spend a few minutes having fun while they’re on their commute,” says Carolin Krenzer, who is general manager of King’s London studio.

“Others are more engaged and enjoy the competition or the more complex elements of our games. For example, we run events in our games that allow players to compete against each other, collaborate or to achieve a certain goal in a limited amount of time.”

Halfbrick product manager Resa Liputra expands on the necessity to offer something beyond the surface.

“The core mechanic of the game is just packaging – it’s a marketing tool for someone to get enticed and check out that game,” he advises.

“When you’re trying to design games today that retain players for a long time, the core loop needs to be good enough that you do that action over and over without getting bored. It’s the meta stuff that keeps you coming back and progressing.”

Although it may be tempting to advertise the complexities of a game’s mechanics right away, Reil highlights the need to gently ramp up players’ understanding of in-game systems – or risk scaring them off.

“Complexity and depth should only unfold once the player is familiar with the game, so it’s not necessarily contradictory to early accessibility,” he suggests. “With Clumsy Ninja, we did ‘man on the street’ testing with new builds of the game three times a week, over several months.”

“It’s critical to listen to player feedback and challenge the status quo to keep the game fresh.”

Perry Tam, Storm8

Keeping players engaged for as long as possible is uniquely vital to the survival of casual games. Unlike full-price PC and console releases, where gamers pay upfront and decide how many hours to invest, the freemium model works on contrary logic: the number of hours invested by players dictates the revenue generated by the product.

Early casual games often forgot that retention runs parallel to revenue, attempting to coerce players into paying for performance-boosting in-game items by placing them at a gameplay disadvantage. Luckily, modern advancements in monetisation have allowed developers to be more lenient with their prospective audience.

“It’s a lot easier for developers to not be pay-to-win, because they can shift back further to the advertising front,” says Adam Wood, lead games programmer and product manager at Halfbrick.

“When that first came in, it was banner ads or full screen ads and was really in your face and annoying, but there’s now a new approach to it where it’s rewarded advertising.

“The advertising and incentivised video route is extremely good because 70 per cent of the casual games user base is teenagers that don’t have a credit card.”

Liputra agrees that the oft-maligned presence of advertising can be a win-win situation for developers and players, as long as it is treated with respect.

“It’s not very different from Saturday morning cartoons when you’re a kid and you watch commercials during the ad break,” he suggests. “It’s forced upon you, but they happened at scheduled breaks and you knew when they were going to occur.”

Krenzer offers some insight into Candy Crush’s own use of microtransactions, indicating that keeping gamers playing is ultimately more valuable than a potentially damaging cash-grab.

“All of our levels are possible to complete without having to pay for in-game boosters,” she reveals. “Our priority is long-term retention of our network of players, rather than short-term monetisation.”

Even when the stars align and a game is simple yet deep, monetised yet fair, attractive yet substantial, it’s still not time for a developer to breathe easily.

The ongoing state of modern games means that changes will need to be made as time drags on. It may be tempted to double-down on the audience that already exists for a title, but Perry Tam, CEO and co-founder of Storm8, warns that balance must be maintained.

“Even with experience, it’s critical to listen to player feedback and challenge the status quo to keep the game fresh,” he explains.

“Launches are only the beginning. When updating games to improve the player experience, it’s critical to remain true to the core, fun gameplay and not unnecessarily add complexity that may only appeal to a limited set of players.”

Tam concludes that the magnetism of mobile behemoths continues to grow, making it vital that developers perfect their design before they hit the market – or risk becoming another name in the long footnote of casual gaming history.

“The difference now, compared to several years ago, is that a good portion of the audience has likely played one or more mobile games, which makes it even harder for new games to pull users away from their existing favourites,” he observes.

“The quality bar has gone up tremendously. New developers really need to bring something unique to be noticed.”(source:develop-online)