[分享] "當上遊戲設計師最好的辦法?"

[AmosYang ()]

前兩天在 slashdot.org 上看到這個月經題，其中有些回應很有意思，值得參考；
摘錄原文重點並修飾翻譯如下

http://games.slashdot.org/story/09/07/02/1536226/What-Are-the-Best-First-Steps-For-Becoming-a-Game-Designer

原問題: "當上遊戲設計師最好的辦法?"
        What Are the Best First Steps For Becoming a Game Designer?



以下為眾人的回應

http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1289981&cid=28559503

  遊戲設計師是一個職業；會問這種問題的人永遠辦不到。
  Being a game designer is a vocation. Anyone asking the question
   "what is the best way to become a game designer" will never make
   it. There is no best way, you have to fight your way in by being
   both excellent and probably cheap and overworked in most cases.



http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1289981&cid=28559681

  你想當一個遊戲設計師? 那就去設計遊戲。
  你不需要先找到遊戲設計師的工作再開始設計遊戲。

  如果你會寫程式，那就開始寫遊戲 (XNA/FLASH/JAVA 都可以)。

  如果你不會寫程式，那就從用已存在的工具改造現有的遊戲
  (如 Neverwinter Night / WarCraft3 / StarCraft / Baldur's Gate /
   MUGEN / Unreal Tournament)。

  再不然，去買一分用紙筆就可以玩的桌上RPG，開始設計你自己的冒險故事。

  如果你連這些都辦不到，那就代表你不是這塊料。

  To put the point more directly, don't try to get a job as a game
   designer, then start designing games. Once upon a time, in the
   late eighties, this is how things were done. Now, trying to become
   a game designer is like trying to become a movie star. Huge numbers
   of applicants mean the few entry level designer positions that ARE
   available, are snapped up immediately by people with better
   qualifications than you.

  You want to be a game designer? Then design games. If you have
   programming skills, grab XNA or Flash, or even (like I'm using) Java
   and start coding something. You don't? Then get an existing games
   with already-developed toolsets like Neverwinter Nights or any of
   the several FPS'es with level editors, and get cracking. Even this
   is beyond you? Go buy a pen and paper RPG system, and start desigining
   adventures.

  If you can't hack it, then this is a sign you have not got what it takes.



http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1289981&cid=28562717

  寫遊戲程式並不代表設計遊戲；要設計遊戲也不代表你一定要會寫程式。

  回到一開始的問題: 你到底應該做什麼?

  你應該做的就是"設計遊戲"。
  用現有的遊戲的編輯器去創造出有可玩性的東西；
  或在紙上設計些好玩的遊戲規則。

  如果你能一面做出好玩的東西且一面學到些技術，那你就做對了。

  So in the end, programming games does not necessarily mean designing
   games, and designing games definitely doesn't mean you have to be a
   programmer. It depends very much on the team you are in.

  Back to the original question... what should you do?

  Make games. Use the editors and mod tools that are out there, and
   create some playable stuff. Or start doing paper games and making
   friends play them. If you are not doing something online, try to
   get a paper game in print, even if it's a small run and self-funded.
   Like an artist, you need a portfolio. If you can create material
   that is fun while you develop your technical skills, you are on the
   right path.



http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1289981&cid=28559671

  持之以恆；從頭到尾完成一個作品。

  這作品可以是一個很簡單的 pong-clone 。

  不用在乎有沒有人下載試玩你的作品，好好地完成一個作品並釋放你的作品。
  如果能做到這樣，你就已經勝過九成那些所謂的 indie 遊戲設計師了。

  Look around any indie game developer forum and you'll see tons of
   posts about games that sound great, but only a handful of posts about
   games that are working and finished. Many of these get through the
   initial design stages, but their creators stall out at some process
   after that. Sometimes the design is simply too complicated for a first
   project. Sometimes they get a few lines of code down, but never return.
   Sometimes they implement all the interesting parts, but get hung up
   on the final details necessary for making a release.

  My first suggestion is to use Apple as a model and never talk about
   things you are planning. Only talk about things that are finished
   or very close to finishing. You may need some outside programming
   help at some point along the way, of course, but there's rarely a
   need to get too specific about your game when asking for help.

  Second, finish something. It can be a simple as a pong clone.
   Doesn't matter if anybody ever downloads it, just finish it and
   release it. Just getting that far puts you above 90% of the indie
   "developers" out there.



http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1289981&cid=28559707

[呼應我在此篇文章末的意見，此篇回應無翻譯，請自己讀 :)]

  The best experience for designing, if you still want to continue down
   that path, is to read about it constantly, and actually do it, also
   constantly, and get lots of people to tell you how you're a bad
   designer, until they stop saying that. Get a subscription to Game
   Developer Magazine, read books on game design, and by all means
   design your own games. Start simple and write a complete design
   document for an existing game such as Pac-Man. Maybe even figure
   out how to make it better and incorporate that into your design.
   Join the nearest IGDA chapter and go to meetings. Form relationships
   with people in the industry and ask them to critique your design
   documents from a professional viewpoint.

  Now, you asked about programming languages, which is totally not what
   a designer should be asking. But if you want to go that route and be
   a game programmer, then consider what platforms you want to target,
   and learn the languages appropriate for that. For the iPhone, learn
   Objective-C++. For consoles, C++ is generally the way to go. For
   websites, probably ActionScript in Flash, or you could try lua in
   WildPockets. And if you have aspirations of being a level scripter
   (much easier than arbitrary game programming), then you should learn
   to make a mod in a variety of engines using their native languages:
   lua, python, UnrealScript, QuakeC, etc.

  For any route you want to take, the most important thing for you to
   learn is everything. By that, I mean study all kinds of topics that
   you might think are completely unrelated to game design: history,
   fashion, languages, art, avionics. After you've gotten yourself into
   the habit of learning with great breadth and depth, and hopefully
   applying your new varied knowledge to your ideas, the best way for
   you to get a job in the industry is to meet and hang out with people
   who are already in it. To that end, join your local IGDA chapter,
   as I mentioned two paragraphs ago.

============ 摘錄結束 ====================

給在讀這篇文章的你，我個人的意見是:

你喜歡美國人做的遊戲，就去學習英文。
你喜歡日本人做的遊戲，就去學習日文。

不用說聽讀寫樣樣精通，但至少要能讀；要能讀得懂，還要讀得快。
因為在這個年代，最新、最完整的資訊不是用中文寫出來的。

如果你喜歡華人做的遊戲…呃…至少你已經會讀中文了，可喜可賀，可喜可賀 XD

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推 softwind:大意是 興趣並持之以恆(熱忱) 比專業和工具都要重要!
推 srdrds:這對我真是當頭棒喝阿 感謝大大的啟發 DO才是我欠缺的
推 scbhung:Game Designer對應到台灣的職稱，應該是指遊戲企畫
推 msc0953:這裡的 Game Desiner 應該是泛指從事開發遊戲的人
推 justben:台灣好像沒有遊戲設計的雜誌XD
推 asoedarren:我這邊還有收藏幾本古老的遊戲設計大師雜誌 真懷念
推 BSpowerx:推一個！ 突然發現我一直以還不會寫程式來偷懶QQ
推 biowave:有阿 遊戲設計大師 從創刊號買到停刊號....
→ adms:是本好雜誌阿...可惜了