阐述游戏设计经验之玩游戏与评估游戏

蚊子

第一步：玩和评估

所以，第一步就是玩游戏，玩大量不同类型的游戏。如果你只玩一种类型的游戏（电子游戏、桌面游戏等），那么你应该拓宽眼界，探索不同类型的游戏和访问不同的游戏论坛。在你玩不同类型的游戏时，你要思考是什么让这种游戏“有趣”，以及游戏的机制和元素如何让游戏变得“有趣”。（如果你觉得某游戏对你来说无趣，那么是什么让别人觉得有趣？你不可能是所有你玩到的游戏的目标受众。）

evaluate-games-1(from theknowledgeguru.com)

本文将解释以下三点：

1、“乐趣”为什么重要？

2、如何通过评估你所玩的游戏来学习更多关于游戏设计的知识，以及为你自己的游戏设计提供灵感？

3、玩并评估6款游戏作为学习游戏设计的起点

“乐趣”为什么重要？

为什么强调“乐趣”？因为游戏中的乐趣可以刺激学习——或者说就是学习。乐趣是成功的游戏的必要成分。Kevin Werback在他的关于“游戏化”的在线课程中，定义了8种类型的游戏乐趣。这8种类型的乐趣都恰好与学习行为或人们必须学习的东西大有关系。

evaluate-games-2(from theknowledgeguru.com)

1、竞争（你认为这与工作无关？我们都喜欢获胜——例如，克服挑战、打败对手、超越自我等）。

2、达到目标（人类是目标导向型动物。目标对于我们大部分来说都是强大的激励因素，达到目标能让我们产生满足感。与现实学习有关的游戏中的目标是非常强大和有效的。目标在商业中无处不在：减少报废率、减少安全故事、增加多少的销售量、开发多少的客户……达到大部分目标都要求改变行为；往往要求学习以不同的方式做某事或做得比你现在能达到的程度更好。）

3、战胜——可以是战胜对手或游戏本身，或游戏中的个人挑战。我们享受胜利的感觉，尤其是我们通过解决某个难题或克服某种挑战而取得的胜利。我们在工作中也会感受到胜利：完成一个困难的项目、挫败严峻的商业挑战等。

4、合作——非常可贵的商业技能，这也是许多游戏中的乐趣元素。人们从与他人的合作中获得社交和情绪上的满足感。相比于竞争，人们通常更喜欢合作。任何公司或机构都希望员工通过工作上的合作达到商业目标。

5、探索和建设——像《模拟人生》、《我的世界》和《文明》都与创造某物有关。许多人把探索和建设作为强大而有趣的激励因素，所以他们可以在游戏中长时间做这些事。这些也是工作的关键技能。探索是一种被低估的商业技能，与另一种人们更理解的东西—-研究紧密相关。

6、收集——大量游戏都有收集系统，即以收集某物作为玩家的目标。扑克本质上也是一种收集游戏—-收集到最好的牌你就赢了。几年以前在玩家中非常流行收集《口袋妖怪》卡片。桌面游戏《冒险》与包含收集玩法——通过策略开拓领土。如何开拓领土？收集玩法能吸引很多人，可以轻易地与学习游戏相结合。在商业中，在做出下一步决策前，我们通常需要收集信息。

7、解决问题或制定策略——这些是更高级的思考技能，很多人都喜欢的活动。所以，具有这些元素的游戏通常有很多粉丝。象棋是策略游戏的古典例子。《魔兽世界》也可以当作是一款现代策略游戏。冒险类游戏都解决问题的玩法更有关系——想出如何从A点到达B点。解决问题和制定策略是商业发展和管理以及商业中的大多数工作的重要部分。

8、角色扮演或想象——许多游戏都允许玩家进行这两种活动中的一种或全部，而人们也喜欢做这些事。《第二人生》这款一度风靡的游戏通过允许人们创建代表自己的角色，来激发人们角色扮演的渴望。GameOn网站上有两款学习游戏，让学习者一边想像自己处于不同的时空中，一边学习时间管理和协商技能。幻想让人们得以放心大胆、不惧失败地尝试新活动和学习新技能。

好了，你们已经知道那8种乐趣是什么了。现在，为了培养你的技能，你应该玩多少款游戏？我的答案？很多——永远尝试新游戏！我的iPad上有三个文件夹是放游戏的。以下是部分游戏图标的截图：

iPad Games(from theknowledgeguru)

这个文件夹里有传统游戏（如拼字游戏）、热门游戏（《Words with Friends》、《切绳子》）、益智游戏、冒险游戏、街机风格的游戏等。类型广泛。有些游戏我只玩了一次；有些我玩了非常多次（即使我并没有很喜欢它们）。我仍然希望知道是什么让我不太喜欢的游戏流行起来，为什么有些人认为它们有趣，我可以借鉴其中的什么机制。

如何评估

为了娱乐而玩游戏不同于为了评估其品质和设计而玩游戏。在我玩游戏时，我总是会在心里面评估我所玩的游戏。以下我想到的几个问题：

evaluate-games(from theknowledgeguru)

1、游戏目标是什么？是否明确？是否吸引我？为什么吸引或为什么不吸引我？

2、游戏的核心机制是什么？是探索、收集、竞赛、解决问题或者两种不同机制的混合如收集与竞赛？

3、规则是否清楚？如何学习？

4、游戏的什么机制（也就是规则）对游戏的乐趣贡献最大？我可以改变哪一条（几条）？如果我改变了，会发生什么事？（提示：尝试改变其中一个机制，然后重玩游戏，看看它如何影响游戏体验和“有趣”的感觉。）

5、游戏的美术设计是否吸引我？让我产生什么样的审美反应？

6、在调节不同玩家的等级方面，游戏是否“平衡”？如何“平衡”？

7、游戏是否符合它的目标受众的期待？（我们玩的游戏有时候是以学龄儿童为受众的。所以，我必须评估游戏的目标受众是谁。）

8、游戏中是否存在与游戏有关的剧情？剧情如何强化游戏体验？设计师如何把剧情穿插在游戏中？如果没有，为什么没有？如果有，是画蛇添足还是锦上添花？

9、策略与运气之间如何实现平衡？我是否可以通过偶然的选择而掌控结果，或者结果基本上是随机的？（游戏邦注：如，卡片游戏《战争》就完全是看运气的；而象棋是策略性的。）“运气”因素如何影响我对游戏的看法？

10、游戏是合作的、竞争的或二者兼有？当我玩游戏时，这让我产生什么感觉？这增加或减少了我玩游戏的动机吗？

11、如果游戏是竞争的，且我输了，我会有什么感觉？是刺激我再玩一次还是退出游戏以避免失败？

12、如果游戏数字的，导航是否容易？是否明确？是否可以通过探索快速学习？

13、最后，作为学习型游戏设计师，我可以借鉴什么元素用于自己的游戏？

下面我推荐读者玩6款游戏并做出评估。其中之一是桌面游戏，其他五款是电子游戏。在我的建议里，我添加了我评估游戏设计和玩法的评估，作为参考（我不是说我的方法就是唯一正确的）。记住，我列出的游戏中也有我不觉得有趣的游戏。好游戏和坏游戏你都要玩，这有助于对比。

《卡坦岛拓荒者》（桌面游戏）：这是我玩过的最优秀的游戏之一，我确实喜欢它。以下是我的笔记和评估评论：

1、这款游戏是合作玩法和竞争玩法的混合体。是我喜欢的类型。我参与合作的动机取决于我自己以及其他玩家的执行程度。我注意到，如果四个人玩游戏，其中二人可能联合起来阻碍第三个玩家。我还发现，如果不与他人合作将很难取胜。游戏的策略是，想出何时合作，何时拒绝合作。

2、玩家在这款游戏中可以使用各种策略。我认为这对游戏起正影响。我可以经营港口。我可以专注于获取发展卡而不是以建设城市和殖民地的形式打造可以看得见的帝国。我可以专注于收集能够帮助我胜利的成就（最长的路或早多的军队）。或者如果我想，我还可以混用这些策略。

3、阅读规则不容易学会游戏——如果我们所谓的“容易”是指花5分钟的话。我认为这种复杂程度的规则不成问题，因为游戏的体验很丰富。我认为规则的复杂度通常与游戏体验的丰富度相当。简短的游戏的规则也简单。而可能性和策略性强的游戏需要的规则和说明也更复杂。然而，我确实认为在有了一两次游戏经验后，我应该能够掌握基本的规则。如果还是不行，那么我就会失去兴趣。

4、我喜欢游戏调整不同难度的方式。你可以调节面板的布局来提高或降低游戏难度。

5、游戏中加入运气成分，使玩家不能单纯地靠运气取胜。这是通过NPC实现，也就是让强盗牵制较强一方的实力，以帮助占下风的一方。

6、当有四名或以上玩家时，强盗的制衡作用就更好了。但在只有两名玩家的情况下就不太管用了。许多玩家发现调整强盗的规则可以弥补这一点，这让我觉得有趣。

7、骰子数是游戏的一部分，我觉得有趣。当我考虑在哪里开拓殖民地和建设城市时，我可以把概率考虑进去。这使得策略中具有机遇的成分。另外，这是我自己也想在我的游戏中使用的一种设计。

8、如果我想制作一款学习型游戏，其中结果是由运气和策略共同决定的，那么我可以从这款游戏中借鉴什么？将运气与策略相结合的情况有很多。任何一款游戏的发布本身就包含运气和策略元素。当我们设计、开发和发布产品时，有很多东西是超出我们控制的。我如何确保游戏基本上是策略的，但包含能反映现实的运气元素？

现在，以下有5款游戏让你玩和评估。我已经给出一两点笔记了，但你还可以提出更多你自己的看法。

《机械迷城》（iPad和PC）：这是一款复古风冒险游戏。注意，游戏中缺少奖励和成就。为什么没有？不需要吗？（不，任务本身就是奖励。解决迷题的过程很有趣。奖励就是来自克服挑战的满足感。）可以评估的其他方面：

1、美学

2、对比在不同平台PC和iPad上玩这款游戏

《Rise of the Blob》（Facebook、Android、iPad）：这是一款恐怖游戏。与《机械迷城》完全相反，游戏中有大量奖励和成就，因为它是靠IAP获得收益的。思考一下你对这么多奖励和成就的看法，以及你对这款游戏的兴趣能维持多久。

《The Grading Game》：我喜欢这款游戏的设计，我认为非常巧妙。思考一下你对其美学、游戏目标、消极反馈的运用（在学习型游戏中一般不使用消极反馈）、以及以时间作为严格的约束。消极方面，你认为把“教学”信息放进规则中如何？是否可以改进？如果可以，你会怎么改？

《Mystery Math Mansion》（iPad）：这款游戏针对的是学生。注意游戏的美学、奖励系统和选择数字还是符号的策略。也有必要注意一下，它们如何把游戏活动与成就等级相结合。问你自己，游戏的目标（解放萤火虫）是不是符合目标受众的期待。你认为目标受众会重复玩这款游戏几次？

《Dragonbox》：这款可爱的小游戏是用来教五岁小孩子学习代数的。想一想：这款游戏应该当成纯粹的教学工具还是将其他形式的教导结合进来？游戏的美学是否具有广泛的吸引力？你认为作为玩家完成和取得成就的奖励的三星系统如何？（如果你得到至少一颗星，那么你可以继续游戏；如果你拿到三颗星，那说明你找到了解决问题的最佳方案）。我的观点？我自己也会使用三星系统；我喜欢这种系统，因为它一方面允许玩家进展，另一方面玩家能通过获得的星星数得知自己的表现如何。我认为游戏的美术设计很简单但很聪明。只靠这款游戏，我是不可能学会代数的，但如果能加上一位好老师的正规解释，我认为会是一种很棒的学习方法。（顺便一提，我讨厌代数。这款游戏确实给力。）

蚊子

游戏机制是指引导着玩家的规则和程序，以及对于玩家的移动或行动的回应。通过你所创造的机制，你可以定义游戏是如何作用于玩家。而我们只需要明确的一点便是，机制描写的是玩家遵循的规则以及游戏本身遵循的规则。

game-mechanics（from theknowledgeguru）

玩家遵循的具体规则或机制的例子

这些规则是玩家在玩游戏前会阅读的一些书面规则集：

在每个月末，玩家需要滚动骰子去决定他们是否能够继续待在收容所里。如果他们获得的点数是1或6，他们便能够继续待在收容所里。否则他们便需要离开那里。（游戏邦注：这是我们在桌面游戏《A Paycheck Away》中所创造的一个规则。）

当玩家通过Go时，他们便收集到200美元。（你们会意识到这是《大富翁》中的一个规则。）

如果你是Pilot（飞行员），你便可以朝着岛屿中的任何地方飞去。（这是来自《禁闭岛》中的规则。）

游戏遵循的机制或规则的例子

以下所罗列的机制都是源自我参与开发的数字游戏。游戏都未直接将这些机制呈献给玩家，不过玩家通常都会在游戏过程中意识到相关机制。

一个只会在玩家完成之前关卡后才解锁的关卡。（《The Knowledge Guru》便是一个典型的例子。接下来两个机制也出现在这款游戏中。）

knowledge guru(from bottomlineperformance)

当玩家未准确回答一个问题时，他们便会立刻收到有关正确答案的反馈，并拥有再次尝试回答该问题的机会。

对于道路A问题的正确回答能够带给玩家50个点，对于道路B的正确回答能够带给玩家250个点，对于道路C的正确回答能够带给玩家1000个点。积分算法是游戏本身遵循着游戏机制的一个有效例子。

当玩家完成了第一个关卡时，之后所有的关卡便会解锁，如此玩家便可以基于任何顺序选择关卡。（我们在自己创造的一款销售游戏中使用了这一规则。）

玩家会因为每一次向消费者提出适当且相关的问题而获得销售现金。但是如果他们提出的是不相干的问题便会失去销售现金。如果玩家选择提出一个“中立”的问题，他便不会获得或失去任何现金。

游戏机制和学习体验间的联系

游戏机制有助于提高游戏的乐趣，同时它们也是学习体验的重要组成部分。以下是关于游戏机制是如何与学习体验联系在一起的例子：

在销售游戏中，通过问消费者问题而赚取现金或失去现金都是直接与现实销售员的责任联系在一起，即现实中的销售员必须在问题出现时问消费者一些有意义的问题。比起那些不知道如何提出一个有效问题的销售员，那些了解自己的产品且能够提出相关问题的销售员更能轻松地实现销售目标。这些支持并鼓励现实行为的游戏机制正是游戏公司想要看到的。

在《The Knowledge Guru》中，机制会提供给那些错过问题的玩家即时反馈，让他们能够立即再次尝试。这样的游戏机制支持通过反复帮助玩家巩固记忆，通过反馈帮助玩家学习的学习原则。即时反馈加上再次尝试的即时机会能够进一步巩固玩家的记忆，并在之后唤醒这些相关信息。

在《A Paycheck Away》中，我们想要模拟无家可归的现实经历——因为某些艰难的选择或不可预期的事件导致一个人背井离乡。我们的游戏机制主要便是反射这些现实的挑战。一个有效的例子便是在每个月末掷骰子。这便等同于在现实世界中的一个问题，即是否允许一个人在30天过后仍住在收容所里。在现实世界中，收容所通常都遵循着一个规则，即要求人们在30天后离开，但是如果没有其他等待名单的话，这些人便可以继续住下去。

a paycheck away(from spiritandplace.wordpress)

同样地，在《A Paycheck Away》中，玩家还必须在每一轮中选择“工作卡片”和“机会卡片”。工作卡片代表现实中也存在的工作。如果多个玩家同时选择了一份工作，他们便需要通过掷骰子去决定谁才能获得这份工作。（要求掷骰子的机制也等同于现实世界中的工作竞争。）

游戏机制既有可能推动游戏玩法变得更有趣，也可能降低这种乐趣。不要假设你在游戏设计一开始便能够定义机制，然后再也不碰触到它们。测试并完善游戏机制非常重要。你可能会认为游戏机制非常棒，但是通过游戏测试却发现它隐藏了玩家对于游戏“乐趣元素”的认知，更糟糕的是，它还隐藏了学习体验。相反地，你可能会需要添加一些通过观看玩家游戏才意识到的有趣机制。

例子：在《The Knowledge Guru》的早期创造中，游戏性只会出现在定时回合中。玩家每一回合将面对10个问题，并需要在2分钟时间里回答所有的这些问题。如果不能在规定时间里答出所有问题，他们便会遭到处罚。那些乐于竞争（以及擅于快速阅读）的玩家便很喜欢这一机制。但是大多数玩家却不想看到这样的机制，因为这只会导致他们失去动力。他们认为快速阅读能力只是做好一件任务的元素，但却不是游戏的学习点。所以我们便删掉了时间元素，并完善了学习体验，并且未减少游戏体验。当然了，我们也调整了其它机制。即我们为此采取了各种变量，希望最终获得自己和玩家都会喜欢的机制。

总结

你希望游戏机制足够清晰，能够强化游戏体验，支持游戏目标，并有助于学习体验。你不能后知后觉地添加游戏机制。它们是一个优秀游戏设计的重要元素。当然了，你并不可能在第一次设计尝试时便创造出完美的机制，你需要不断测试和完善，但这便是游戏设计过程的所有组成部分。

Learning Game Design Series, Part 3: Game Mechanics

by Sharon Boller

Welcome to Part 3 of my multi-part Learning Game Design series. In my last post, I talked about Step 2 in my 5-step process for getting started in game design: getting familiar with game elements. Specifically, I focused on game goals and game dynamics. This post will stay on Step 2, but now we’ll be focusing instead on game mechanics.

A game’s mechanics are the rules and procedures that guide the player and the game response to the player’s moves or actions. Through the mechanics you create, you define how the game is going to work for the people who play it. So just to be clear, the mechanics describe rules the player follows and the rules the game itself follows.

Examples of explicit rules or mechanics that PLAYERS follow

These kinds of rules are examples of what you might find in a written set of rules the players read before playing a game:

At the end of each month, players have to roll a die to see if they can stay in the homeless shelter. If they get a 1 or a 6, they stay. Otherwise, they have to leave. (This rule is one we created as part of A Paycheck Away tabletop game.)

When players pass Go, they collect $200. (Most of you will recognize this as a rule in Monopoly.)

If you are the Pilot, you can fly to any location on the island. (This rule is from the game, Forbidden Island. It’s available in the App Store as a digital game for the iPad or as a tabletop game.)

Examples of mechanics or rules that GAMES follow

The mechanics listed below are all from digital games I’ve helped develop—they are coded into the game. None of these mechanics are explicitly stated for the player, though players can often figure out what the mechanic is as they play the game.

A level remains locked until a player successfully completes the previous level. (A publicly available sample would be The Knowledge Guru game. The next two mechanics also apply to this game.)

When players respond incorrectly to a question they get immediate feedback on what a correct response should be, followed by an opportunity to re-try answering the question.

Correct responses to Path A questions earn players 50 points, correct responses to Path B questions earn players 250 points, correct responses to Path C questions earn players 1000 points. The scoring algorithm is a great example of game mechanics that the game itself follows.

Once the first level is completed, all subsequent levels are unlocked and available for completion in any order the player chooses. (We applied this rule, and the one below, to a sales game we created—a description of the game is available here.)

A player earns sales dollars for each appropriate, relevant question they ask the customer. A player loses sales dollars if he chooses an irrelevant question to ask.  If a player chooses to ask a “neutral” question, he doesn’t gain or lose any dollars.

The link between game mechanics and the learning experience

Game mechanics contribute to the fun of the game, but they also are a significant part of the learning experience. Here’s some examples of how game mechanics I’ve described link to the learning experience:

In the sales game, the dollars earned or lost by asking the customer questions directly links to the real-world responsibility of sales reps to ask meaningful questions of their customers when issues arise. Sales reps who know their stuff and can ask relevant questions are going to find it easier to meet sales goals than will reps who do not know how to ask good questions. This  game mechanic supported and encouraged the real-world behavior the company wanted to see.

In the Knowledge Guru game, the mechanic is to provide immediate feedback to players who miss a question and then let them immediately try again. This game mechanic supports the learning principles that repetition helps cement memory and that feedback helps people learn. Immediate feedback, coupled with an immediate opportunity to re-try, further cements memory and the ability to recall the information later.

In the game A Paycheck Away, we wanted to simulate the real-world experience of being homeless—the difficult choices, the unexpected events that throw a person off course, the challenges of securing housing. Our game mechanics were critical to mirroring these real-world challenges. One example is the roll of the die at the end of each month. This equated to the real-world question of whether someone would be allowed to remain inside a homeless shelter once 30 days elapsed. In the real-world, shelters often have a rule that requires people to leave after 30 days, but they will make exceptions if the shelter doesn’t have a waiting list.

Also in the game A Paycheck Away, players have to select a “jobs card” and a “chance card” on each turn. The jobs card represents a job that might realistically be available in the real-world. If multiple players want the job, they each have to roll a die to see who actually gets the job. (The mechanic of requiring the die roll equates to the competition for jobs in the real world.)

Game mechanics can also make gameplay  more, or less, fun. Don’t assume you can define the mechanics at the start of your game design journey and then never touch them again. It’s critical to test and tweak game mechanics. You may think a game mechanic will be great, only to find out via play-testing that it is hindering the players’ perception of your game’s “fun factor” or, worse, actually hindering the learning experience. Conversely, you may discover you need to add a game mechanic that you hadn’t considered until you watched people play your game.

Example: In early renditions of The Knowledge Guru, game play occurred in timed rounds. Players got a round of 10 questions with two minutes to answer all 10 questions. They were penalized for failing to answer questions in the two-minute time period. Those who were wildly competitive (and fast readers) liked this mechanic. However, the majority of players did not like this mechanic, and it actually demotivated them. They felt their ability to read fast was a factor in doing well—and fast reading wasn’t the learning point of the game. We eliminated the time element, which then improved the learning experience and didn’t detract from the play experience as we feared it might. Of course, we also tweaked other mechanics in the process. It took us numerous variations on scoring to get it to a place we, and the players, were happy with it.

Summary

You want your game mechanics to be clear, enhance the game play experience, support your game goal, and contribute to the learning experience.  They are not an afterthought. They are a critical component of a good game design. You will not get them perfect on your first design attempt—you’ll want to test and tweak—but this is all part of the game design process.(source:theknowledgeguru)

蚊子

本文（以及接下来几篇）将着重于第二个步骤：熟悉游戏术语和元素以及如何使用它们。在你能够设计出一款好游戏以前，你必须能够设定游戏目标、选择游戏动态、创造强大的游戏机制和选择合适的游戏元素。现在，我将重点介绍前两个要求：游戏目标和游戏动态以及它们之间如何产生联系。

sharon_chart(from theknowledgeguru.com)

游戏目标

游戏目标描述了游戏的目的，或者说，为了赢利游戏，你必须做什么。以下是我们做过的学习型游戏的游戏目标：

game-goals-alt(from theknowledgeguru)

1、获得所有“Topic Mastery”，成为“Knowledge Guru”。

2、获得70万美元的销量，并且最大化用户满意度。

3、在45钟内建设计和测试一座桥梁，使之达到达到所有国家标准。

4、在3个月内安置所有无家可归的玩家。

5、让所有人在尽可能少的步骤内离开电梯。（这是我们给正在开发中的游戏的全新目标。）

当制作一款学习型游戏是，你要考虑一下：

1、游戏目标与学习目标或学习目的是不同的。例如，在电梯游戏（游戏邦注：上述第5个目标）中，学习目标是能够在5个步骤内完成与某事件调查有关的任务。而我们的游戏目标是，你必须让所有人离开电梯，以帮助他们学习任务和步骤。

2、如果你的游戏不好玩，那就再看看游戏目标。它真的是游戏目标吗？还是只是对如何完成学习任务的一个描述？（匹配任务和步骤是学习活动的一个例子。）

游戏动态

你必须能够识别和选择不同的游戏动态。游戏动态其实有可能变成游戏目标，或者玩家完成目标的方法。游戏可以专注于仅仅一个动态或结合使用若干不同的动态。常见的游戏动态包括：

game-dynamics-alt(from theknowledgeguru)

1、竞速：在使用了这种动态的游戏中，玩家要互相竞争或对抗游戏系统，以争取最先完成任务、达到目的地或目标等。Milton Bradley的《Game of Life》就是一款竞速游戏。《马里奥赛车》也是一款典型的竞速游戏。使用这种常见动态的游戏是非常容易设计的。

2、收集：当游戏具有收集动态时，游戏目标就是通过收集一种或几种东西。《Knowledge Guru》使用收集动态。玩家必须收集“Topic Mastery”徽章。一旦他们收集到所有徽章，就成为“Knowledge Guru”。《Trivial Pursuit》将收集与竞速相结合：首先你必须收集一系列色卡，然后成为第一个到达中心圆圈并正确回答最后问题的人。

3、占领版图：在这种机制中，你的任务就是获得领土、土地或房产。《Risk》是使用这类动态的经典案例。《大富翁》是一款结合了占领版图动态和收集动态的游戏。

4、解决问题：使用这类动态的游戏要求玩家解决益智题或难题。桌面游戏《Clue》和冒险游戏《机械迷城》都使用了这种动态。

5、拯救或逃脱：这类动态广泛运用于冒险游戏：玩家必须找到某物、离开城堡或逃离小岛等。《禁闭岛》将收集动态（找到四件宝物）和逃脱（在小岛沉没前离开）相给合。

6、对齐：在这类动态中，玩家必须把某物弄整齐。许多益智游戏使用了这种动态，即让玩家排列颜色或形状，以赢得游戏（如《宝石迷阵》）。

7、建造/养成：《模拟人生》就使用了这种动态。玩家的目标是建设某物。《我的世界》也是一个例子。

8、捕获：在捕捉类游戏中，玩家的目标是捕获原本属于对手的某物。西洋棋的动态就是吃掉对手的棋子。许多游戏中的“夺棋模式”其实就是夺取敌对团队的“旗子”。

当制作学习型游戏时，你应该思考：

1、游戏的“乐趣”部分是由玩家对你所选择的动态的沉浸程度决定的。当你正在制作初始原型时，你要问你自己：“如果我把游戏的动态从X改成Y，游戏会发生什么变化？”（如，从竞速改成捕获）然后尝试一下再看看发生什么变化。

2、有时候动态会与学习目标相同。思考一下你的项目是否存在这种情况，并把动态调整到合理。例如，我们做一款游戏，给玩家的挑战是，要求他在项目受时间、资金和管理机构要求限制的情况下，始终按公司价值观办事（良好的沟通、职业道德、团队协作等）。在此我们使用了两个主要动态：竞速（玩家要在给定的时间内完成游戏）和构建/养成（玩家必须建设一个符合特定要求的项目）。这些动态确实与他们的真实目标一致，都是在有限的时间下开发一件产品。

总结

确保你能分辨游戏目标和学习目标。熟悉大量不同的游戏动态，并思考如何把不同的动态结合到你的学习游戏中。混合使用若干种动态作为实验。看看当你完全改变一种动态时游戏会发生什么变化。

在下一篇文章中，我将继续解释第二个步骤，但重点将转向游戏机制和游戏元素.

Learning Game Design Series, Part 2: Game Goals and Game Dynamics

by Sharon Bollergame

Last week I talked about Step 1 – Play Games. This week I move on to Part 2 of my multi-part series titled “Getting Started in Learning Game Design.” Here’s a quick review of the 5-step process.

This post (along with the next few) will focus on Step 2:  Get Familiar with Game Terminology and Elements and How to Use Them. Before you can design a good game you need to be able to craft game goals, select game dynamics, create strong game mechanics, and choose appropriate game elements.  Today, I’ll focus on two things: game goals and game dynamics—and how they link together.

Game Goal

The game goal is a description of the object of the game. Or rather, what you need to do to win the game. These are all game goals associated with learning games we’ve created:

Earn topic mastery across all topics and become a Knowledge Guru.

Achieve territory sales of $700K and maximize customer satisfaction.

Build and test a bridge that meets all stated specifications within 45 minutes.

Get all players out of homelessness within 3 months’ time.

Get everyone off of the elevator in as few moves as possible. (This is a brand new one for a game we have under development now.)

What to think about when creating a learning game:

The game goal isn’t the same as a learning goal or a learning objective. For instance, in the elevator game (Goal 5 above), the learning goal is to be able to identify the tasks associated with the 5 steps of incident investigation. We’re using a game in which you have to get everyone off the elevator to help people learn tasks and steps.

If your game isn’t fun, take a look at the game goal. Is it really a game goal or just a description for how to complete a learning activity? (Match tasks and steps is an example of a learning activity.)

Game Dynamics

You need to be able to recognize and select from different game dynamics. The game dynamic can actually BE the game goal, or the means by which players achieve the goal. A game can focus on a single dynamic or combine a couple of different ones. Common game dynamics include:

Race to the finish: If you use this game dynamic in your game, then you have players competing against each other or against the game system to be the first one to finish a task, reach a destination, hit a specific target, etc. Milton Bradley’s Game of Life is a race to the finish game. MarioKart is a very literal example of a race to the finish game. It’s a common dynamic and it’s pretty easy to design games that use it.

Collection: In collection is the dynamic, then the game goal is achieved by collecting one or multiple things.  Knowledge Guru uses a collection dynamic. Players have to collect Topic Mastery badges. Once they get all of them, they become Knowledge Gurus. Trivial Pursuit is a combination of Collection and Race to the Finish: first you have to collect a set of colored chips and then you have to be the first player to make it to the center circle and correctly answer a final question.

Territory Acquisition: In this dynamic you are trying to acquire territory, land, or real estate. Risk is a classic example of this type of game. Monopology is a game that combines Territory Acquisition and Collection dynamics together.

Solve: Games that use this dynamic require players to solve puzzles or problems. Players are trying to figure something out. The board game Clue uses the Solve dynamic. Adventure-style games (such as Machinarium) use this dynamic as well.

Rescue or escape: This dynamic is used a lot in adventure games where you have to get to a treasure and then get out of a castle, off an island, etc. Forbidden Island combines collection (getting four treasures) with escape—get off the island before it sinks.

Alignment: In this dynamic, you have to get things in order. Many puzzle games use this dynamic by having you get all colors or shapes in a certain order to win the game (think Bejeweled).
Construct/Build: the game of Sims uses this dynamic. Your goal is to build things. Minecraft also uses this dynamic.

Capture: your goal in Capture games is to capture something that belongs to your opponent. Checkers is about capturing your opponent’s checkers. Capture the Flag is literally about capturing the opposing team’s flag.

What to think about when creating a learning game:

The game’s “fun” is partly dictated by how engaging the players find the dynamic you’ve selected. When you are creating initial prototypes ask yourself, “How would the game change if I changed the dynamic from X to Y?” (e.g. from Race to the Finish to Capture)? Then try it and see what happens.

Sometimes a dynamic will logically align with a learning goal. Think about whether this may be true for your project and leverage dynamics that make sense. Example: we did a game designed to focus learners on the challenges of applying company values (excellent communication, ethics, teamwork, etc) within the constraints of a project where time, money, and regulatory requirements had to be managed. We used two major dynamics in this game: Race to the Finish (People had a specific amount of time in which to complete the game) and Construct/Build (They had to build an object that conformed to specified requirements). These dynamics definitely aligned with their real world environment where they worked under time constraints and they were developing a product.

Summary

Make sure you distinguish between game goals and learning goals. Get familiar with plenty of different game dynamics, and think about how you can incorporate different dynamics into your learning games. Experiment with blending a couple of dynamics together. Find out what happens if you change a dynamic entirely.

Next week I’ll stay on Step 2 but shift my focus to game mechanics and game elements.(source:thenowledgeguru)

蚊子

所有游戏都有持续吸引玩家的“元素”。有些游戏有很多元素，有些游戏则很少。游戏中应该包含什么元素，这是一个应该仔细考虑的问题。对于学习类游戏，常见的元素有如下12种：

game-elements-chart(from theknowledgeguru)

注：因为元素太多了，本文只重点介绍前5种；其他几种将放到下一篇文章中继续介绍。

冲突

为了让游戏有趣，必须有一些冲突。冲突可以有多种形式，但总是表现为玩家必须克服的挑战。挑战可以是物理障碍，也可以对抗其他玩家，或者是必须解决的谜题。

当你的学习类游戏具有冲突作为元素时，你应该思考：

1、根据我希望让玩家学习的东西，什么冲突最合适？冲突应该产生于与其他玩家的竞争还是所有玩家合作克服的挑战？或者，冲突是否可以是对抗游戏本身的某种挑战？例如：益智游戏中的冲突其实就是你解决益智题的挑战。

2、如何表现我想让人们处理的现实世界的冲突？例如：质量和时间或质量和预算之间的矛盾。

3、为了模拟现实世界的冲突/挑战，我需要什么样的游戏机制？

合作和/或竞争

对于学习类游戏，以合作为元素通常比纯竞争更好。与其他玩家的直接竞争可能导致玩家失去动力或产生消极反应。相反地，玩家合作克服游戏挑战往往能激励玩家和培养团队精神。合作让玩家们共同努力，竞争让玩家们互相对抗。只有一个玩家或一支队伍获胜，意味着其他人都输了。玩家的关注焦点会因为你采用的元素或结合元素的方法而发生变化。竞争也是可以使用的元素，但你必须考虑到它可能产生的结果。

当设计学习类游戏时，你要问你自己：

1、玩家必须在现实生活中竞争吗？竞争与使用我想让玩家学习的技能或知识无关吧？

2、如果竞争是现实生活内容的一部分，那么我可以把它与游戏结合起来让玩家合作打败游戏或让玩家在游戏中互相竞争吗？

3、竞争会激励目标玩家还是使他们沮丧？如果只有一个玩家赢而其他玩家都输，会产什么什么样的消极后果？我如何安抚这些情绪？

策略和运气

在策略游戏中，玩家控制权表现为玩家决定，这些决定会影响游戏玩法或玩家达到目标的可能性。相反地，在强调运气的游戏中，玩家几乎无法控制结果。

游戏可以只有策略元素或只有运气元素，也可以二者兼有，或偏重于其中一种。赌博游戏基本上是靠运气的。有策略或运气元素的游戏比没有策略或运气的游戏更有趣。

当设计学习类游戏时，你要问你自己：

1、游戏是否无意中造成一种基本上靠运气或一系列事件顺序就能达到成功的局面？（这比你想象中的要容易发生。我们最近玩了一款桌面游戏，玩了几次以后，我们发策首先占上风的玩家获胜的机会比占下风的玩家高得多。）

2、我可以把策略和运气混合起来，做成一种我希望玩家学习的技能或一种列家必须应用这种技能的情境吗？

3、在现实世界的决定中，玩家有什么控制权？我如何在设计游戏时运用它？

案例

例1：我们设计了一款辅导游戏。游戏中的跨国公司希望把产品开发和发行时间从10-12年减少到8-10年。他们认为辅导是减少这些时间的方法之一。但我们也知道，有时候超出人的控制之外的因素会影响开发时间……所以我们把运气当作一种元素放进游戏中。当玩家登录面板的特定空间时，他们抽出一张“生命开始”卡片，这张卡片会积极或消极地影响他们的时间表。策略不起作用。这些卡片模拟诸如经济衰退、公司雇用冻结、预算损失等现象。

Example_CME_GameBoard_final-copy（from theknowledgeguru）

例2：我设计了一款游戏，它模拟保持公司职业道德同时处理联邦机构的临时要求变更的压力。基本上，如果玩家计划做得不好，就会导致在机制前来调查时没有时间测试他们的产品。许多玩家表示有执行测试。这款游戏模拟了现实世界的问题，而我的策略元素就是为了支持这种玩法而设计的。

例3：以下卡片出自《A Paycheck Away》。它们玩家每回合都必须抽的运气卡。这款游戏模拟了现实世界的问题—-可能发生但玩家无法控制的好事和坏事。

Example(from theknowlegeguru)

Learning Game Design Series, Part 4: Game Elements

by Sharon Bollergame

Welcome to Part 4 of my multi-part Learning Game Design series. In my last post, I talked about game mechanics. These are are the rules and procedures that guide the player and the game response to the player’s moves or actions. Now we’ll move on to game elements.

Every game has “elements” or features that keep people engaged. Some games have a lot; others have very few. The choice of what to include should be deliberate. With learning games, you should consider how each element supports the learning process. There are many game elements you can include; this graphic shows 12 common ones:

Note: Because there are so many, this post focuses only on the first five. I’ll be covering the others in my next posts.

Conflict

For a game to be interesting, there needs to be some sort of conflict. Conflict comes in many forms, but it always represents a challenge for the player to overcome. The challenge could be physical obstacles, it could be combat with another player, or it could be a puzzle that has to be solved.

Things to ask yourself about incorporating conflict as an element in your learning game design:

Given what I want people to learn, what conflict is most appropriate? Should I incorporate a conflict that arises with other players or should I incorporate challenges that all players work together to overcome? Or should I include some sort of challenge against the game itself? Example: puzzle-style games are really a challenge that pits you against the puzzle.

How can I best represent the real-world conflicts I want people to deal with? Example: conflict between quality and time constraints or quality and budget.

What game mechanics can I create to simulate the real-world conflicts/challenges players encounter?
Cooperation and/or competition

With learning games, cooperation is often a better element to use than competition alone. Direct competition with other players can demotivate learners or set up a negative dynamic. In contrast, cooperation between players to overcome a game challenge can often motivate players and foster teamwork. Cooperation gets people working together; competition pits people against one another. Only one person or team wins—while everyone else loses. The players’ focus is very different depending on which element you employ or how you combine the two elements together. Competition can be appropriate, but you need to consider the outcomes it can produce.

Questions to ask yourself when designing a learning game:

Do my players need to compete in the real-world or is competition not a factor in using the skill or knowledge I want people to learn?

If competition is part of the real-world context, do I incorporate it into the game as players working together to beat the game or as players competing against each other within the game?

Will competition motivate or demotivate the target group I’m designing the game for? What negative consequences might occur if only one person wins and everyone else loses, and how do I manage those emotions?

Strategy and chance

Strategy puts control into the players’ realm in the form of decisions they can make that affect gameplay or their odds of achieving the goal. On the other hand, games that are heavily based on chance put the player in a highly reactive mode, one where they have little control over the outcome.

A game can have neither strategy or chance, it can combine both, or it can only focus on one. Gambling games are largely games of chance. Games with little or no strategy or chance built in can be less interesting to play than those that use these elements.

Questions to ask yourself when designing a learning game:

Is my game unintentionally creating win states that are largely achieved by chance or a specific sequence of events? (This can happen more easily than you think. We recently played a board game where it became clear over several game plays that the person who got to go first—which was determined by age—had a much greater chance of winning than the person who went last.)

Do I blend strategy and chance in a way that mirrors the skill I want my player to learn, or the context in which they will have to apply the skill?

What control do players have  in the real-world over decisions? How do I design that into the game?
Case in Point

Example: We devised a coaching game for a global company that wanted to reduce its product development and launch timeframe from 10-12 years to 8 to 10 years. They felt coaching was one means of reducing this timeline. We also knew, though, that sometimes factors outside someone’s control would affect the development timeline… so we included chance as an element. When players landed on specific spaces on the board, they drew a “Life Happens” type of card that either positively or negatively influenced their timeline. Strategy played no part in the effect. These cards simulated things such as an economic downturn, a hiring freeze within the company, a loss of budget dollars, etc.

Example: I designed a game to simulate the pressures of maintaining the company value of ethics and honesty while dealing with last-minute requirement changes from a federal agency. In essence, if players hadn’t planned well, they ended up not having enough time to test their products before the regulatory agency arrived to inspect things. Many players signed forms in the game indicating that tests had been performed. The game mimicked a real-world issue, and my strategy elements were designed to support this.

Example: The cards below are from A Paycheck Away. They are chance cards that players have to draw on each turn. These simulate real-world things—good and bad—that can happen but which the player has no real control over.(source:theknowlegeguru)