从游戏概念开始：迈出游戏开发的第一步

Creating a Game Concept: The First Step in Getting Your Game off the Ground

从游戏概念开始：迈出游戏开发的第一步

By Mark Masters on June 26, 2014

There are a lot of things that go into creating a great game. You’re probably aware of most of them; great story, solid gameplay mechanics and awesome art. However, while you may have an idea for the next best indie game, or another smash hit like Candy
Crush, you’ll need to convince the other people involved that the idea you have is going to be a success. You also need to give a road map for the other developers so they can have an understanding of what to expect and the type of work that is going to be
required.

创造一个伟大的游戏关系到很多方面。你也许意识到了其中的大部分，好的故事情节，妙趣横生的游戏设定机制和美轮美奂的美工设计。但是在你怀有雄心壮志，想研发下一个伟大的独立游戏，或者像糖果大作战那样的畅销游戏时，你得让其他相关人员信服：你的点子将会取得成功。你还需要向其他研发者提供一个线路图，使得他们能够明白你的预期结果和未来要做的工作。

To do this you need to create a game concept, or game documentation. Let’s go over what a game concept is, and the things you’ll want to include in it so you can get your game off the ground and into the hands of thousands of happy players.

为了实现以上目标，你需要创建一个游戏概念，或者说游戏文档。让我们先了解下游戏概念吧！其中将包含哪些内容使得你的游戏开发能够落实下来，最终呈现在成千上万个高兴的玩家的手中。

What Is a Game Concept？

什么是游戏概念？

The game concept in its simplest form is the vision of your game put on paper in an easy to understand manner so that everyone involved will be on the same page, know exactly what the game is and what is going to be involved in order to create it.

用最简单的话来说，游戏概念是游戏的书面描述版本，它必须简单易懂，因此所有相关人员都能够明白，清楚地知道这个游戏是什么样子的，以及开发这个游戏的途径。

This means that the publisher/investors, the art team, the developers and even the marketers will know what is going to be required of them. The game concept should really follow the stages in which a game is created, from the story to the art, and even
how you’re going to make money with the game.

这就意味着发行人/投资者，美工团队，开发人员甚至是营销商能够确知他们各自的任务。这个游戏概念应当按部就班地遵循游戏的开发过程，从故事情节到美工设计，甚至到最后你将如何用它来赚钱。

You can think of the game concept as kind of the instruction book for each of the departments involved, but it’s also where these designers and programmers are able to express their concerns and lend their own thoughts to make the best game possible.

你可以把这个游戏概念当成对于每个相关部门的指导说明书，但同时设计者和程序员应当能够在这个游戏概念里表达他们的想法并且注入他们的想法，使得游戏能做到最好。

The game concept really means different things to each department, and provides each department with the information they need. For example, it will give the animators a road map for the type of animations that will fit the style of the game.

这个游戏概念对每个部门的意义不同，为它们提供着各自所需的信息。例如，对动画制作人员来说，它将提供适合该游戏风格的动画类型的线路图。

For you, the person with idea, and the one creating the game concept it’s really a way for you to sell your game. Sell your ideas to investors; sell the gameplay concepts to the programmers, and the art to the artists.

对于你，怀有创意并且创建了游戏概念的人而言，这是一个兜售你游戏的好途径。你可以把你的创意卖给投资者，把游戏剧情概念卖给程序员，把美工设计卖给美工人员。

The Core Idea

核心创意

The core idea should really be at the beginning of the game concept, and will present the idea you have for the game. It could be just a few paragraphs describing your game and what it is, including the universe, the type of characters and even a quick overview
of the story.

核心创意是这个游戏概念的第一步，它将展现你对这个游戏的整个思路。它可能仅仅是描述你游戏的几幅图，解释你的游戏是什么，包括游戏中的世界，角色类型或一个简明扼要的故事大纲。

It should get the people involved excited, it can really be where the writer in you comes out.

它得让相关人员感到兴奋，你的文采应在这里展露无遗。

Along with the core idea of your game, you also want to describe some of the key elements of your game and what the player will be doing. Depending on how complex the game is going to be will determine how in-depth this area of the documentation is going
to be. For example, you may have a castle defender mobile game. So this area can be the bullet points of the game, the goal of the game, what the player uses to defend their castle, what items they can collect and how they advance.

除了游戏的核心创意，你还得描述其中的一些关键元素以及玩家该怎么做。游戏的复杂程度将决定这个区域的文档有多彻底。例如，你有一个塔防的手机游戏。所以我们要搜集这个领域中的游戏要点：譬如，游戏目的，玩家将用什么来保卫他们的城堡，他们能收集什么样的物品和怎么样升级它。

You don’t want to make this a list that goes on for pages and pages, but instead provide a quick overview of the key features of the game, and what will set it apart from other games. The reader should get a good idea of the style of game, and have a clear
vision just from this quick bullet point overview.

你当然不能让这份列表长篇累牍，反之，你得提供一个游戏重点特色的一个总结，以及与其他游戏的显著差异处。读者应该能从中明确了解到游戏风格，对游戏远景的清楚认知。

Keep the Investors Interested

吸引投资者

Unless you’re funding this project yourself, you’re going to either need investors or a publisher that will give you the money you need to create this game.

除非你自己投资这个项目，否则你得需要投资人或者发行商来给你提供开发这个游戏的资金。

Nobody is going to throw money at you unless they know it’s a good investment, and they will get their money back. This is where your game concept will come into play. Investors will need to have a clear understanding of how you’re going to make money off
the game, because no matter how good your game may be, if they don’t see the return investment chances are they won’t bite the hook.

没人愿意把钱扔水漂里除非他们肯定这是一个有前景的投资，将来他们能把钱回收。这正是你的游戏概念发挥作用的地方。投资者需要清楚地知道你将如何通过这个游戏赚钱，因为无论你的游戏有可能会变得多好，如果他们看不到回本收息的可能性他们才不愿意去冒这个险。

You’ll need to have an outlined plan of how you anticipate making money off your game, whether it’s monetizing ads, the initial purchase price, in-app purchases, or maybe a combination of all of these methods.

你需要有一个关于你预期如何用游戏赚钱的概括性计划，是否它能从广告，初始购价，内置应用购买或者这些途径的联合运用中盈利。

Of course, you’ll also want to include a game proposal when trying to secure funding, but it’s also a good idea to incorporate monetizing methods in your game concept.

当然了，在试图保障资金供给的时候你得让游戏提案包含在游戏概念内，但是将盈利模式放到概念中去也是一个好点子。

Keep the Art Team in the Loop

让美工小组始终参与进来

The art team needs to know what type of game they’re going to be designing. Whether it’s creating 2D or 3dassets. This is why it never hurts to include some concept designs for the direction you want to take the game, so the art team will get an idea of
what they can expect.

美工小组得知道他们要设计什么类型的游戏，是2D 还是3D 资源。这就是为什么你得将游戏研发方向的一些概念设计包含在内。通过这种方式，美工小组才能明白他们可以预期什么。

They’ll also be able to identify any hiccups that might occur or the things that will be difficult to accomplish either with the time allotted, or the budget given. They will also be able to provide their own input on areas that might need adjusting in order
to meet the deadline or the budget.

他们也能够意识到一些可能出现的难题或者某些由于时间限制，预算限制而导致实现起来相当困难的部分。在某些需要调整以便于满足预算要求的地方，他们还能够提供自己的见解。

For example, your game concept may say the world is inhabited with giant dragons of all different designs. Well, that’s a huge undertaking, and if the budget or time isn’t there it just won’t be possible. This will also help to eliminate any problems further
down the road.

例如，你的游戏概念可能提到世界中充斥着各种各样的巨型恐龙。可是，那是一个浩大工程。要是预算或者时间方面有所限制，那显然不可能完成。这就能预先扫除未来可能出现的障碍。

Don’t Forget About the Developers

不要忽略研发人员

In the same way you kept the art team in the loop, with potential character designs, worlds, etc. the developers need to have a clear understanding of what is expected of them, and the extent of the development required.

正如你要让美工组在角色、世界设计上参与决策一样，研发人员也要能够清楚地获知他们被要求去做的内容，以及开发的程度。

This will help them identify the things that might be difficult to accomplish. As well as get them involved in the development process early on, so they can find places that could be improved upon, or things to add that can enhance the gameplay.

这能帮助他们识别某些完成起来困难重重的部分。同样地，让他们尽早参与开发过程，他们能够找到需要完善的地方，或者某些可以增添的内容使得游戏性更强。

Platform and Target Audience

平台和受众

You’ll also want to include the planned platforms you want to launch the game on, as well as the target audience.

你还需要把计划运营游戏的平台和受众包含在游戏概念内。

This will not only give the development team an idea for what they’ll need to do in order to create a cross-platform capable game that can easily be ported over to any device or system, but knowing the target audience can greatly influence not only the art
choices but also the gameplay mechanics.

这能使研发者明白，为了创造一个能够在任何设备或系统上切换自如的跨平台游戏，他们该做什么。此外，对目标玩家的定位，能够很大程度上影响美工设计和游戏设定机制。

For example, if the target audience is around the 6-12 year old range then having complex gameplay mechanics may not be the best idea, or designing that zombie creature might deter some of the players. Knowing these things will help both departments come
up with the right choices that would best suite the target audience.

例如，如果目标玩家是在6到12岁范围内，那么复杂的游戏设定可能不是一个好主意。或者一些僵尸角色的设定可能会让玩家放弃。了解了这些事有助于使这两个部门能够做出最合乎目标玩家要求的选择。

Don’t Ask for a Ridiculous Amount

不要要求一个荒谬的金额

A game concept may also be used to present to potential investors or the publishing studio for the game. You don’t want to go overboard with the amount of money you’ll need, try and keep it realistic. If this is your first game, find places where you can
cut costs in order to appeal more to the people with the wallets. This could be something as simple as using the free 3D application Blender, or Maya LT to save money on expensive license fees.

一个游戏概念还能展现给潜在的投资者或者游戏发行工作室。你不要鲁莽地要求大大超过你实际所需的金额，要现实一些。如果这是你的第一个游戏，找找你可以削减成本支出的地方使你的游戏对于可能愿意掏腰包的人更有吸引力。其中一个就可能是仅仅简单地用免费的3D应用Blender或者Maya LT来省钱，这样就不用去花昂贵的执照费用。

If this is your first game, publishers and investors will be reluctant to throw money at you. Sure, games like Halo andCall of Duty get budgets in the hundreds of millions, but publishers are willing to make that investment because records show they will
make that money back, and much more.

如果这是你的第一个游戏，那么发行商和投资者可能对投资于你的游戏感到有些勉强。当然了，像游戏Halo 和Call of Duty 得到了上亿的资金，但是发行商乐于做这个投资时因为纪录显示他们能够拿回本金，甚至赚到更多。

Until you release the next smash hit like Halo or Call of Duty it’s good to level your expectations on the budget you’ll have, and try to do what you can to work around the hurtles. Hopefully your game concept gave them enough trust to invest in your project,
but definitely don’t expect millions to be thrown your way.

除非你会开发出下一个像Halo 或者Call of Dut一样的畅销游戏，你最好还是把你的期望和你所拥有的预算放在同一水平线上，然后在避免冲突的情况下试着做些力所能及的事。或许你的游戏概念能幸运地让他们充分信任你，给你的项目注资，但是你最好还是不要期待会有百万美元砸下来。

Mistakes to Avoid

避免错误

When creating a game concept you want to provide enough detailed information for every single department. Making the mistake of having a short game concept that isn’t detailed enough will discourage and confuse every department involved. The game concept
should be something the developers and artists can revert back to when they need answers for a question. This means providing the information they will need to work properly.

在你创建一个游戏概念的时候你需要为每个部门提供足够详细的信息。一个不够具体的简陋概念所带来的错误会让所有相关部门感到沮丧和迷惑。一个游戏概念应该让开发者和美工师能够在有问题的时候拿来参考。这就意味它必须提供能够使他们的工作正确无误的信息。

You also don’t want your game concept to be jumbled and put together in a rush, take time with it, because it’s one of the most important things you need to get your game off the ground. Having a game concept that isn’t professional can deter not only the
publishers or investors but also the artists and developers that will help bring your game to life.

你肯定不想让你的游戏概念混乱无章，匆匆忙忙组合在一起，你要慢慢地构思它。因为这是让你游戏制作起步的最关键环节。一个不那么专业的游戏概念不仅会让开发商或投资人打消念头，还会大大阻碍能让你游戏构想成为真实的美工师和开发人员。

If you have a great idea for a game, put it on paper, because the game concept is one of the vital ways to not only get publishers involved but developers and artists excited to work on the project. It will help create a road map for your game, and make
the creation process from beginning to end much quicker so you can get your game into the hands of the players.

如果你有一个游戏创意，把它写在纸上，因为游戏概念是吸引开发商，鼓舞研发人员和美工师的关键点。它能为你的游戏构建一个线路图，并且加速从头到尾创造游戏的过程。因此你能让你的游戏最终呈现在玩家们的手中。