7 things I’ve learnt from designing This War of Mine
前言：關於這篇譯文為多年前作者自學所用，後受遊資網編輯邀稿首發在該網上。如今自己開設公眾號，結廬論道探討遊戲，所以想著把這篇譯文重新放上來，希望大家能夠喜歡。
譯者與原作者的twitter授權聊天截圖
I spent the last two years of my life as apart of the great project which has
been This War of Mine. I’ve beeninvolved since the very beginning, mostly as a game designer and partially as a writer. Now,that my adventure with both This War of Mine and 11 bit studios is over, I letmyself look on a game from a distance. I’ll do my best to analyze those keydesign features that I think did the most for its benefit. These are the thingsthat I will remember for my future projects.
過去的兩年間，我的人生是與《我的戰爭》這個偉大的項目融為一體的。從最初開始，我便以一個主做遊戲設計者和兼做編劇的身份，參與到開發中去。而現在，我在《我的戰爭》和11 bit工作室的經歷都已畫上句號，我讓自己從中抽離出來以一個旁觀者的角度去審視這個遊戲。我將竭盡所能的去分析，那些在我看來對這款遊戲極其有益的設計要點。我將牢記這些要點把他們運用到我之後的項目研發去。
I had a pleasure tohave my face and body used for one of the characters.
非常榮幸在遊戲中用到了我臉和身體來作為參考設計了其中的一位角色
(Mind that thearticle is not an official statement of the company, it’s my own opinion, aview on the game seen from one of the designers’ seat.)
（請注意這篇文章並非公司的官方性聲明，而是我以一個設計者的角度去觀察這個遊戲，所得出的個人觀點。）
You can be innovatory
你可以創新
It was clear sincethe beginning that we’re going to make a game that is unlike any other. It wasmeant to be, as far as we knew, the first game about the civilians in thewarzone, which demanded a different than usual approach to its design. Therejust wasn’t a tested game design formula for this kind of project, because thiskind of game never existed. So the key was to find the ways tosymbolize the real problems of such events as a game mechanics in respectfuland credible way, avoiding “gamisms” as much as we could.
一開始我們就明確的想要做出一款與眾不同的遊戲。所以它意味著，這是一個超出我們認知範圍的遊戲，是第一款關於戰爭區域內平民的遊戲，這要求我們要走一條完全不同的路去設計和開發他。對於這類遊戲，它沒有一個被驗證過的公式和規律可循，因為之前根本就沒有此類遊戲存在過。所以重點是將真實發生的問題和情節以一種令人敬畏和信服的方式，改變成遊戲機制，儘可能不讓他淪為“戲說”。
If I was to guess,before the release, how the game’s innovation will affect its popularity, it would be a huge miss. Because of how different TWoM is, both in terms of thetheme and the gameplay, personally I was seeing it as a niche game, that willbe appreciated only among a small crowd with discerning taste. Thankfully I waswrong.
如果在遊戲發售之前，要我去猜想，這款遊戲的創新將如何影響遊戲的受歡迎程度，我想它反而是一個很大的阻力。因為《我的戰爭》它太特立獨行了，無論是它的關注點、主題或是他的遊戲玩法，在我個人看來，它將是那種只會在一小部分懂得欣賞它的玩家中流行的好遊戲。可是令人欣慰的是我錯了。
… Or perhaps I wasright about the discerning taste, but I underappreciated the size of theaudience. This mistake taught me that the players still like to be surprised.That they don’t solely crave another Spectacular Action Game 6 HD, but willalso appreciate new ideas. Why won’t we give them a fix?
或許我對懂得欣賞這部分是對的，可是我低估了這個群體的規模。這個錯誤讓我認識到玩家依然希望看到驚喜。他們不僅僅渴望玩到另一款場面宏大的動作遊戲，也同樣欣賞那些奇思妙想的新創意。為什麼我們不這樣做呢？
… and if you’re small, innovation may be the only way
……如果你的規模很小，創新是你唯一可走的路
Let’s face it, youcan’t make better Call of Duty than Call of Duty. But perhaps you can afford totry making better This War of Mine than This War of Mine. Or a one-of-its-kindgame that will automatically become… well, the best of its kind. What I mean isthat the more derivative your design is, the bigger the competition and thusthe harder it is to stand out.
讓我們面對事實，你不可能做出比《使命召喚》更好的《使命召喚》。但是也許你可以試著做出一個比《我的戰爭》更好的《我的戰爭》。或是製作出一款獨立類型遊戲……那將是最好的一部。在我看來你越多的拷貝他人的設計，你的競爭就越大，因此你也就越難在這個行業中嶄露頭角。
Papers, Please is aone-of-its-kind game done by one man and a great success.
《請出示護照》是個只有一個人開發的並且非常成功的獨立類型遊戲
Of course This Warof Mine is an usual example and no matter how innovative is the design,it won’t GUARANTEE you such a success.Still, my take is that the smaller the game, the more it should look for aninnovation (or a niche) and TWoM reassuredme about this. The last years were rich in successes of relatively small gamesthat seem to support this idea. Like Papers, Please,which was a great inspiration for TWoM. Or like Vanishing of Ethan Carter, FTL, Gone Home and Thomas Was Alone, to name a few.
I think that the onlyway for a small developer to fight a blockbuster is to compete in a differentcategory.
當然《我的戰爭》是個很典型的列子，他的創新性設計並不重要，他並不能保障你一定能獲得成功。但是，在我看來越小形的遊戲開放者，越需要尋找創新，《我的戰爭》讓我消除了之前的顧慮。去年有許多這樣的小遊戲的成功足矣支撐這個觀點。像《Papers, Please》作為《我的戰爭》的啟發者。或者像《Vanishing of Ethan Carter》、《FTL》、《Gone Home 》和《Thomas Was Alone》……
我覺得對於小規模的開發者來說，只有一條路可以讓你的遊戲風靡一時，那就是走一條與眾不同的路。
Don’t forget you’re making a video game (and use it toyour advantage)
始終不忘你是在開發一款遊戲（讓他為你的優勢）
There’s one particular ingredient of This War of Mine that I started to reallyunderstand and appreciate when the game was already released and the playersstarted to tell the stories of how they playthrough looked like. Then Irealized that the strongest storytelling device the game utilized was… well,it’s awareness of being a videogame. But a videogame, where game mechanics notonly don’t conflict with the narrative, but they’re used as its fundaments.
在《我的戰爭》中有一個非常重要的因素，但是我真正的理解並欣賞它的時候，是在他發售之後大量的玩家開始講述關於他們整個遊戲過程的故事時。讓我真正的意識這款遊戲運用了最好的劇情表現方式，它很清楚自身是一款遊戲。作為一款遊戲，遊戲玩法不僅要做到不與劇情敘事衝突，而且要將其作為敘事的基礎和手段。
Steam reviewers often tell parts of their playthorughs as stories.
Steam上的玩家關於遊戲過程的留言經常會變成一個個故事。
(http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197993844742/recommended/282070 )
I don’t think that games, in order tobecome stronger as narrative medium, need to reject what they are and try toincorporate more from other media, such as cinema. In my opinion it’s theopposite – I think they need to embrace what they’re good at and use it wiselyto create stories that couldn’t exist elsewhere. In short, it’s about makingsure that decisions the player makes as a part of the game (and theirconsequences) are meaningful for the narrative. The games were about makingdecisions long before branching storylines of The Witcher or The Walking Dead. Whether you jump or fall, slash orblock, shoot or miss, drive straight or turn – all those little moments thatmake up the gameplay may become a part of an interesting narrative. More – theycan SHAPE the narrative, and that’s an unbelievably powerful feat, that filmnor literature cannot do.
我不認為遊戲，為了成為一個更強大的敘事媒介，需要否定自己價值，並越來越多吸收其他媒體的方式，比如說電影。在我看來那是本末倒置的——作為遊戲應該去擁抱自身的優勢，明智的去創造那些在其他媒介上不可能存在的故事體驗。簡單的來說，需要確定遊戲中玩家的所有決定都將成為遊戲劇情的一部分（且能影響到結局）並對整個劇情是有意義的。遊戲的決定應該在分歧的故事線很久之前就開始類似《The Witcher巫師》和《The Walking Dead 行屍走肉》。無論你是跳起或落下，揮擊或被阻，開槍或者射偏，駕車直行或翻轉—所有這些，來自於遊戲玩法的小片段都有可能構成有趣劇情的一部分。或者—他們將塑造整個劇情敘事，它將是令人難以置信和強大感染力的敘事方式，無論電影還是文學作品都無法企及。
It’s not necessarily obvious. When Iplay Uncharted, I don’t feel that killing an enemy number#4859 with my machine gun is a part of the story where I’m animating this witty adventurer. My goodness, he’d just kissed a girl in this brilliantly craftedcut-scene, and now he’s some kind of psycho?! For me the revelation that thethings can be done differently came when I encountered Papers, Please. It’s really a “gamey game”, with veryvisible core loop. But the decisions you make are part of the monotonousprotagonist’s life and they visibly affect it. They tell his story. Your story.
它不是必然出現的。當我在玩《Ucharted 神秘海域》時，當我操控著詼諧的冒險家用武器去殺死編號為#4859的敵人時，我完全感覺不到這是整個故事的一部分。我的神，他剛剛還一個華美的場景中親吻了一個女孩，但是現在他變成了一個殺人如麻的瘋子？！當我玩到《papers,please》時受到了啟發，這一切都可以做的非常與眾不同。《papers,please》是一個“趣味獨特的遊戲”，帶有顯著的因果循環。你所作的任何決定都將成為這個平庸的主角生活的一部分並影響到他的生活。遊戲在講述他的故事。也是你的故事。
Failure can be interesting
失敗也可以變得很有趣
Of course not your failure as a gamedesigner, but the player’s, as a character in the story. There’s a particularcharacteristic of This War of Mine that, I must admit, wasn’t intentionally planned, but emerged from other game design decisions. I noticed it when I was watching Indie (Dan Long,http://www.twitch.tv/Indie) streaming a previewversion of the game on Twitch. The playthrough was fairly typical, giving Indieenough space to joke around with his audience. Until the things got bad. Acharacter died, than another, ultimately leaving the remaining member – Bruno -of the group lonely and broken. The game ended when Bruno committed suicide.Seeing Indie’s reaction I realized that his failure was the most interestingthing in this playthrough.
當然這裡的失敗不是指你作為一個遊戲設計者的失敗，他指的是遊戲玩家扮演的角色在故事中的失敗。它是《我的戰爭》所獨有的，但我必須承認，他並非我們刻意的計劃，而是受其他遊戲設計所影響。當我在Twitch上觀看Indie的遊戲視頻直播時。所有的遊戲過程都很稀鬆平常，讓Indie有足夠的時間和他的觀眾們說笑。直到情況變壞，其中一個角色死亡，其他角色也跟著死去，直到最後整個團隊四分五裂只剩下Bruno獨自一人。最後Bruno上吊自殺遊戲結束。看著Indie的反應，我意識到最終的失敗對他來說是整個遊戲過程中最有趣的事情。
If you consider yourfavorite stories, for example in film or literature, they don’t always revolvearound success. The character may become hurt or defeated, also you usuallydon’t ask a refund for a book just because the main hero dies at the end.Meanwhile the games accustomed us not to treat the failure as a “real” part ofthe story (unless it’s a>
請你回想一向你最喜歡的故事，無論是電影還是文學作品，他們不會總是圍繞著成功而做文章。那些主角或許會受傷和被擊倒，但你通常會因為一本書中的主要英雄以死亡告終而要求退款。同樣的遊戲通常不會將失敗作為整個故事的真正部分（除非是劇情設計的失敗）。讓我們回到Nathan Drake（並非針對該遊戲，我依然非常愛這款遊戲）—如果他被代號為#4860敵人殺死，你應該會讀取上一個記錄點，並當此事從未發生過。因為如果他就這樣死了，對於一個完美故事中的英雄來說，如此結局將是非常恥辱的方式。
If we assume, like Ipreviously argued, that the player’s gameplay decisions and their consequencesmay be treated as a fabric for the narrative, so should be with his failures.They should be given enough weight and acknowledgement to become a real part ofthe story. And preferably an interesting one.
假設，如我之前所主張，玩家的所有的遊戲方式將決定結果將構成整個劇情敘事，所以當然應該包括玩家的失敗。失敗應該被承認並且在整個故事中佔據一個非常重要的位置。並且成為一個可取和有趣的點。
Prototype, period.
原型，節點。
One of the mostimportant things I’ve learnt during my whole time at 11 bit studios (3 years)is how to prototype. And that you won’t get away without doing prototypes, atleast at the beginning of the project.
我在整個11bit工作室就職期間（3年）學到最重要的事情之一，就是如何去做原型設計。至少你在開始整個項目時候，你不會想要丟開原型設計。
There’s much that hasbeen said about prototyping games, and I certainly recommend to look it up ifyou haven’t done any prototype yet, but basically it comes to one thing: makingyour design work and test it BEFORE it lands in the game. My biggest mistakescame from being overconfident and assuming that things will work just becausethey looked good “on paper”. In reality, sometimes the simplest prototype isenough to discover the problems. And by “the simplest” I mean that it doesn’teven have to resemble the real game – it can be a mockup in Paint, simple boardgame, a level built in Lego, a spreadsheet, a simple mingame written inBasic... Just use the fastest method to test your current problem.
關於遊戲原型設計被反覆提及，我個人建議如果你從未做過任何原型設計，但是有一件最基本的事情你應該做：讓你的設計運行起來並在它被加入遊戲之前測試它。我最大的錯誤是過於自信與自負，認為自己的設計將萬無一失，僅僅是因為他在“紙上”看上去非常的棒。實際上，有時最簡單的原型設計就足夠你發現其中的問題。而我指的“最簡單”是指他不必真的做成遊戲—它可以是繪出來的模型；簡單的桌遊；用樂高設計的關卡；表格遊戲；或者是一個用Basic寫的迷你遊戲……用最簡單的方法去測試你潛在的問題。
When we started to work on TWoM, we made a several prototypes for the crucialsystems, each with a few iterations. For example the characters’ needs systemwas first done as a series of spreadsheets, while combat and crafting weretested as small applications done in C# by the designers. Only after we got thefundaments right, we build a bigger prototype combining all of it in somethingthat looked like a very rough version of the game.
當我們開始開發《我的戰爭》後，我們做了幾個關鍵性的系統原型設計，每個都進行過幾次迭代。舉例來說玩家需求系統是第一個完成，是用電子表格做成，之後是戰鬥和製造系統它們被設計者們用C#寫成小型的APP以供測試。只有在我們找到正確的基礎原理後，我建立了一個更大原型將所有其他的原型結合起來使其看來像一個非常粗糙版的遊戲。
One more thing. I’mspeaking from a design standpoint, but similar principles can be applied toother aspects of the game as well, like technical or artistic decisions. Makethe simplest version first to check whether it works. Iterate till it does.
還有。我僅僅以一個遊戲設計者的角度去闡述，但同樣的觀點或原理可以運用在其他方面使得遊戲變得更好，例如技術和美術決策。製作一個最簡單的版本去驗證它是否能允許，如此反覆直到滿意為止。
Make sure the game is good
確保遊戲是好遊戲
Trying out theprototype by yourself is a good idea, but it’s better to give it to someoneelse. The same applies to bigger and more advanced chunks of your game,ultimately even the whole game. And at some point it might be the best toorganize formal, structured playtests to assess the players’ experience fromthe game. Fortunately this was always a part of 11 bit studios’ ethos and hadbeen done consciously throughout the development of This War of Mine. Knowinghow much was improved using the feedback from the tests, I’m quite sure thatotherwise the game wouldn’t be nearly as good.
嘗試自我審視你的遊戲原型是個不錯的想法，但是最好還是讓其他人來檢查。這樣你的遊戲玩法才會越來越強大和穩固，最終整個遊戲得以提升和進步。並且在某些時候它會促使你變得更加規範和系統，安排遊戲試玩區評定玩家從遊戲中所獲得的體驗。幸運的是11bit工作室在開發《我的戰爭》的時候一直有意識的在堅持這一理念。知道如何通過測試反饋來完善和提升遊戲，我非常確定如果不是這樣這款遊戲很難成功。
How to do it is atopic for at least a separate article. My take is to do it as early as possible(starting from showing the first prototypes at least to your family andfriends) and as often as possible, making sure you’re still on track afterevery major change in the game. However it doesn’t mean it cannot be overdone –the biggest trap is being uncritical about the players’ feedback. Don’t letthem decide, it’s still your game. I personally prefer a doctor’s approach: askhow they feel, but not what remedy they’d like to take.
要如何做那可能需要另開一片文章專門來說這一主題。但我的意見是儘可能的越早越好（最開始可以將原型設計給身邊的家人或朋友玩）越頻繁越好，要保障你在每次遊戲有大的變動之後已然在跟蹤他們的反饋。但也不是說不能中斷—最重要的一個誤區是對這些玩家的反饋完全不加以評論和區別一股腦的接受。不能讓玩家做決定，這已然是你的遊戲。我個人非常同意醫生的方法：只問他們如何感受，不問他們該如何醫治。
Consider YouTube and Twitch when designing the game
在遊戲設計的時候考慮YouTube和Twitch
There’s no one recipe for the game’smarketing, but nowadays contacting people that can show it on YouTube andTwitch is without doubt worth considering. It’s been done with TWoM and went really well, resulting with many greatvideos that attracted many viewers interested in the game.
遊戲市場沒有秘訣，但是現在我們完全不用懷疑那些將人們連接起來的流媒體比如YouTube和Twitch會告訴我們市場現狀。《我的戰爭》已經很好驗證了這一點，其結果是非常多很棒的，視頻他們吸引著無數的觀眾並讓他們對這款遊戲產生興趣。
But I’m afraid it won’t work for any game.Some can be spoiled by “let’s play” video or a stream, especially those thatrely on a linear plot. This War of Mine seemsto be different – people, after watching, still want to play. This propertywasn’t planned in the game’s design, but from hindsight I can speculate whataspects of it worked here. I think it’s because of the importance of thepersonal attachment to the events on screen and the ability to build the storyon individual decisions – no matter how many playthroughs you see, you won’tsee everything. Because you won’t see YOUR playthrough.
但是我不能保障這點適用於所有的遊戲。有些人可能會說“讓我們玩“視頻或者直播吧！看完視頻就不需要再去玩遊戲了，特別是那些一條線走到底的遊戲。《我的戰爭》這款遊戲卻有所不同，人們看完視頻，依然會想要玩它。這點可能是遊戲設計中沒有計劃的，但是從更深層的看我可以推測他是如何做到這一點的。我想造成這以原因最重要的是每個人的遊戲偏好不同造成遊戲中的事件變化不同，遊戲讓每個玩家根絕偏好做出選擇創造出一個充滿自我特色的故事。所有無論你看了多少次這個遊戲的通關視頻，但是你不會看到全部。因為你無法預見，你會如何去玩這款遊戲。
A Polish YouTuber Remigiusz “Rock” Maciaszek was scanned and had a cameo in thegame (https://www.youtube.com/user/RockAlone2k)
以為波蘭的YouTuber主播在直播我的世界
So I’d like to proposea bold experiment, which I may also try one day. Let’s design a game havingYouTube and Twitch in mind from the very beginning. If this way of promotion isindeed so powerful, trying to adapt may be a good idea. So let’s create a gamethat gives the YouTubers and streamers something worthy of SHOWING, but alsohas something for the rest, worthy of PLAYING.
所有我想提出一個大膽的實驗，某天我也會去嘗試這一實驗。讓我們設計一款從設計之初，就在考慮以後YouTube和Twitch直播的遊戲。如果這樣讓的方式是如此行之有效，那麼從一開始就規劃那麼不失為一個好的想法。所有讓我們創造一款對於Youtube和那些流媒體主播值得去分享和展示，但是在看完直播之餘還有所保留，依然值得玩家去玩的遊戲。
----
When working on TWoM I knew it’s a special game, but ultimatelythe reception is beyond my expectations, and probably a surprise to everyone inthe company. I’m glad I could contribute, but it also worked the other way –the influence of the project and the great team I’ve been part of will stay with me for a long time.
當我做《我的戰爭》時就知道這是一款特別的遊戲，但是最終的表現完全出乎我的預期，甚至是整個公司的意料之外。我非常榮幸在其中貢獻過自己的力量，但是終究我要走上自己的人生道路，作為這個偉大團隊曾經的一份子做出了這樣一款偉大的項目，在很長一段時間內他們依然會影響著我。
以上翻譯文章內容若有錯誤之處望海涵，有更好譯法，還請不吝賜教。感謝理解與支持！
更多及時更新，業內研發秘辛，遊戲評測及推薦。歡迎關注我們。
亦可在weixin搜索：遊戲草廬，關注我們的公眾號
閱讀更多 遊戲草廬 的文章
