2010-2014
随心游玩(以及创造)任何游戏

多年以来,游戏业都被几家大型开发商牢牢捏在手中,而在本世纪的第二个十年里,这个行业终于迎来了大众化的曙光。

游戏线上销售蓬勃发展,其中 Steam 占了市场的大头。2012 年绿光(Greenlight)系统[1] 推出后,每一个开发者都有机会让他们的游戏登上 Steam 平台,或者说至少可以朝这个方向努力。2013 年,Steam 又推出了“抢先体验”(Early Access)服务,这使开发者能够售卖仍在制作中的游戏,以此募集资金、完成开发。

众筹同样为许多开发者铺建了一条逐梦之路。仅仅 Kickstarter[2] 一家就表示有过万款游戏在其平台上完成集资。游戏引擎以及主机开发工具也变得便宜不少,有些时候甚至会免费赠送。

手游和独立游戏一并崛起,改变了人们对游戏定价与销售方式的看法。均价大约 60 美金的 3A 大作仍然是热门之选,不过也有许多人将 5-10 美金的低成本独立游戏和 20 美金左右的中型游戏收入囊中。放在今天,这似乎稀松平常,但其背后实际是一条漫漫长路:哪怕在 2009 年,Runic 将《火炬之光》(Torchlight)定价为 20 美元时,大众也还认为这是项激进大胆的策略。

种种因素影响下,一个有意思的 2D 独立游戏赚取的利润可能会和一部价格高昂、技术先进的 3D 大作旗鼓相当。此时,数年来一直高耸于游戏业面前的金钱门槛已然倒塌。

海外市场[3] 和我们的距离也更近一步。直到 2012 年,第一部《黑暗之魂》(Dark Souls)才在大量玩家的请愿下移植到 PC 端,不过很快人们就能在 Steam 上看见日本主流工作室的作品,以及《露塞提娅:道具屋经营妙方》(Recettear)[4] 和《片道勇者》(One Way Heroics)[5] 这样的独立游戏,而这一切都归功于一批新兴的本地化公司。

结果,每年发售的游戏越来越多,每部作品就更难到吸引到人们的注意力,有些人将这种现象称为“独立游戏泡沫”或是“开闸泄洪”。这最终导致很多游戏发行后因无法盈利而很快关停。玩家也往往颇有怨言,因为不少开发者也通过 Kickstarter 或者 Steam 的“抢先体验”筹集资金,最终却没有真正完成开发,只留下一片埋葬着无数烂尾游戏的坟茔。

尽管如此,和 2000 年初的游戏发行荒相比,这一转变还是喜闻乐见的,因为玩家此时的选择之多前所未有。

现在,一款游戏可能是一个独立制作人的心血,也可能是中型工作室或是 3A 大厂的作品;可能来自美国、欧洲,也可能来自日本、中国、南美和非洲;开发者可能是专业程序员,也可能是由免费开发引擎助力,独具匠心的业余人士;开发目的可能是追求情怀,也可能仅仅是想探索新事物。

说真的,这是多好的一个游戏时代啊。

2010-2014
The freedom to play
(and create) any game

After years in the hand of a few giant publishers, the new decade brought in a widespread democratization of the gaming industry.

Digital distribution bloomed, with Steam dominating the market. With its Greenlight system introduced in 2012 it became possible for any developer to (try to) get their game on the platform. Introduced in 2013, the Early Access service also allowed developers to sell still-unfinished games, thus gathering the necessary funds to complete the project.

Crowd-funding also empowered many developers to pursue their dreams, with Kickstarter alone reporting over 10,000 game projects successfully funded. Game engines and console development kits started to get cheaper as well – or were even offered for free.

The rise of mobile gaming and indies also changed the way people thought about game pricing & buying games. While $60 AAA releases are still popular, it become common to have $5-10 low-budget indies or $20 mid-sized games. This may seem like common sense now, but it was a long process – as recently as 2009 Runic's decision to sell Torchlight at $20 was still seen as a bold pricing strategy.

The result is that a charming 2D indie can be as profitable as an expensive cutting-edge 3D game. The massive monetary entry barrier that surrounded the industry for years had now fallen.

Foreign markets also grew closer. The first Dark Souls was only ported to PCs in 2012 thanks to a overwhelming public petition, but it quickly became common to see games from major Japanese studios on Steam, as well as indie titles such as Recettear and One Way Heroics, courtesy of several new localization companies.

This eventually led to what some call the “indie bubble” or the “opening of the floodgates”, as more and more games are released each year, making it harder for titles to get noticed. As a result, many developers release a game, fail to profit and end up closing down soon after. Players also had issues with some developers pitching their games under Kickstarter or Early Access but failing to actually finish them, leaving behind a graveyard of abandoned projects.

Still, it's a much welcome change compared to the drought of the mid-2000s, as the amount of choice players have is unrivaled.

Games now come from one-man indies, middle-sized studios and big AAA studios. From the US & Europe, but also from Japan, China, South America and Africa. From expert programmers and from those with an idea in their head and a free engine in their PCs. From nostalgia driven-projects and from those seeking to expand the boundaries.

Truly, what a time to be gaming.

__________

1 译者注:绿光系统于 2012 年推出,用户可以通过投票来决定哪些独立游戏能够进入 Steam 商城。2017 年,Valve 关停绿光系统,并推出 Steam Direct 作为替代。
2 译者注:Kickstarter 于 2009 年在美国成立,目前是全球最大的网络众筹平台之一。
3 译者注:显然是相对西方而言。
4 译者注:日本同人游戏开发商 EasyGameStation 的一款模拟经营 RPG 游戏。
5 译者注:日本独立游戏开发商 SmokingWOLF 的一款 roguelike RPG 游戏。

《电脑 RPG 游戏史(The CRPG Book Project)》原书信息

英文原版主编:Felipe Pepe
原项目网址:https://crpgbook.wordpress.com/
授权协议:知识共享 署名-非商业性使用 4.0 国际许可协议 (CC BY-NC 4.0)

这本书历时四年,由 119 名志愿者共同完成。

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