任天堂switch「塞尔达传说：荒野之息」中的游戏体验设计 | 第一部分

原文地址：点我去作者是WhatsApp的产品设计师。

一个产品设计师的思想

As a long time fan of Zelda games, I was excited to dive into Breath of the Wild. It is both the largest game in the series as well as the one that most successfully provides a sense of adventure. It has ushered in a new era of gameplay mechanics focused on making every moment of play engaging and meaningful.

作为一个「塞尔达传说」的长期粉，荒野之息真的让我非常兴奋。她既是这个系列中世界观最为庞大的一作，也是冒险氛围营造最为成功的一代作品。「荒野之息」可以说是开创了一个游戏机制设计新世代，一个让每一个游戏时刻都如此让人身心投入又回味无穷的新世代。

Controls 操控

Early Zelda games lacked a third dimension as well as complex controls but still managed to deliver a rich gaming experience. As technology of the Nintendo gaming platforms advanced, so did the complexity of controllers. Instead of embracing that complexity, the series traditionally tried to restrain its controls to the bare minimum set of inputs as to help make the game accessible to more players.

早期的塞尔达传说，没有第三人称和复杂的操作，但这并不妨碍其丰富的游戏体验。时过境迁，随着任天堂平台机器性能的提升，游戏操作复杂度也随之提升。之前任天堂的传统是试图仅仅保留最简单的操作，减少操作复杂度以获取更多玩家。而不会因为硬件的复杂度上升而提升游戏的复杂度。

Controls for The Legend of Zelda for NES (left), Ocarina of Time for N64 (middle), BotW for Switch (right).

从上到下分别是NES、N64和Swtich平台的塞尔达操作

BotW abandons this methodology of simple controls and presents a larger set of input options. It addresses the added complexity by starting the player with the simplest set of controls. Incrementally introducing advanced controls as they become necessary during the game.

「荒野之息」放弃了以前极简操作加提供大量选项的设计理念。取而代之的做法是，循序渐进地增加复杂度，最开始仅仅教你最简单的操作，到需要用到时才介绍高级操作

译者注：我觉得放弃全程使用简单操作的传统是对的，一来高级操作虽然需要学习，但反过来也提升了高级用户的效率。试想让一个高级用户去频繁操作选项是多么累的事情；二是对于初级用户（如我老婆这种连视角都控制不好的新手），就算操作做得再简单，他们该学习还是得学习，所以说操作简单就能获取更多用户这观点是一个假命题。所以设计并不是越简单越好，而是需要一套易于学习的操作成长体系，让初级玩家在成为高级玩家之前不**作难度吓跑就行。

The controls require more learning than previous games. Even deep into the game you might occasionally find yourself mashing the wrong button in the heat of battle. The complexity of the inputs offer you more control and unlock possibilities not available in previous Zelda games, such as the ability to throw your weapon. The choice to add complexity is a risky one as it will undoubtedly dissuade some players from continuing forth with the game since the gameplay will take longer to master.

这种操作需要比前作更多的学习。就算我已经玩了很久但也会时常在战斗中因为误点意外发现一些新操作。操作的复杂性带给玩家更多的操作和可能性，例如前作并不能投掷手上的武器。增加复杂性无疑会阻挡一部分玩家继续深入，因为要花更多的时间去学习。

译者注：我不同意上文最后一句的观点，并不会因为加了高阶操作就会吓跑用户，正如Sketch也有高阶操作，但这是为了增加效率，不懂这些高阶操作也不影响平常工作和使用。在游戏中高阶操作除了效率，发现及掌握高阶操作也是游戏乐趣的一部分。玩家在没学会高阶操作之前，只要保证低阶操作足够简单易学，就不会吓跑初级玩家。游戏毕竟与工具类设计理念有所区别，游戏必然要“要求”玩家逐步上升为高阶玩家，不然一直停留在初级水平就缺乏了挑战和成长感带来的乐趣，反而会影响玩家的存留。

One new control worth noting is the ability to quickly change between swords, shields, bows, arrows, and the rune powers of your Sheikah Slate, without accessing the full menu system. This is beneficial to the gameplay by keeping you in the action, since your weapons are prone to break in combat.

一个值得一提的操作设计是快速换武器的操作。该设计可以使玩家不用进入详细菜单就可以直接切换各种装备，如剑盾弓箭和魔法。这为什么重要？因为「荒野之息」的各种装备都很容易破碎，需要频繁更换，这种设计便是为了不打断游戏流程而诞生的

Quick menu for accessing weapons during gameplay.

游戏中的快捷切换。

译者注：如果不这样切换，就要到全屏的详细菜单内换了，如下图，这在工具类APP中，这种设计也比较常见，称为模态操作 Modality

全屏菜单

The left, up, and right arrows of the D-pad are mapped to shield, rune power, and weapon. If you press and hold one of them, the game is suspended and you can choose between other options in your inventory via a horizontal slider menu. However, if you have a bow active as your weapon, the controls are altered. The left button changes your equipped arrows and the right button changes your bow.

方向键的左上右键分别对应着盾、魔法和武器的切换键，只要长按所需的方向键，游戏便进入到快捷切换菜单，再通过右摇杆左右选择后松手方向键，便完成切换。另外，如果你当前拿着弓箭，方向键就会变成弓箭的切换。如下图

弓箭状态下变成弓箭切换

译者注：这是典型的根据当前场景和状态复用同一控件的设计思想。举例子，如电脑的右键菜单根据你点击不同位置或在不同的软件，变化成不同的选项；又如快捷键在不用软件内有不同操作；手机端的栗子如长按或左滑出现的菜单，APP顶栏在编辑状态下出现不同操作icon... 这样做的目的通常是减少操作控件的数量、节省屏幕空间、复用操作控件、减少复杂度等等。

Another novel interaction is the variety of ways in which motion control is used. From aiming your bow, to shooting a photo or solving puzzles, the motion controls take a prominent position in the gameplay.

The way the motion control is introduced to the player is not always the most obvious. I talked to a friend who was not initially aware they could move the controller to aim the bow and arrow shots. They discovered it later on in gameplay by accident.

另一个创新的交互在“动态识别”的使用上（译者注：手柄能识别其位置变化）。射箭、拍照及拼图解密时，动态识别显得非常重要。

Using a bow and arrow, the player can aim with both the right stick as well as tilting the controller.

在射箭时，玩家可以“同时”使用右摇杆与动态识别进行瞄准

译者注：据我所知多数游戏不会允许同时使用两种操作，这的确是我第一次见到这样运用的。

I have occasionally found the motion control to be disturbing when aiming an arrow because it forces me to hold the controller steady. Most of the time when I’m playing I’m not considering the way I am holding the controller. When motion control is activated I am forced to suddenly become aware of my physical reality.

In general, the stick offers me solid aiming control. I am sometimes unsure of when is a good time to use motion control versus not. The ambiguity between these two controls could be solved by allowing more obviously fine control via the motion input and retaining larger motions exclusively for the stick.

Creating additional differentiation would help distinguish when each type of control should be used. This feature can be turned off for those who don’t wish to use it in the options.

我有时候会觉得在射箭瞄准时动态识别会比较干扰，因为我必须在射箭时保持手柄稳定。平时我并不会注意到手柄的位置，但在射箭时突然开始动态识别，我就突然意识到手柄的位置了。

总体来说，摇杆基本已经满足了我的瞄准操作。我并不是十分确定什么时候用摇杆，什么时候用动态识别。解决这两种操作的模糊性的办法是：用动态识别进行精细的位置移动，保留摇杆操作进行大范围移动。

增加额外的区分可使玩家弄清楚每种操作的区别。动态识别也应该是可以关掉的，满足不需要精细操作的玩家的需求。

译者注：感觉作者还是没有跳出工具类应用的设计思路。工具类应用设计目标一般是帮助用户尽快完成工作，因为用户不会享受工作过程本身，工具是免于用户承受工作之苦。而游戏从这方面是反过来的，是要让玩家沉浸在游戏过程本身。要达到这一目标，就要做些设计让游戏更加真实或故意设置一些障碍让玩家去克服。动态识别和摇杆结合的设计，除了精细与大范围位移之外，更重要的是还原射箭在物理真实世界的体验，真实的射箭必然手抖，手抖又为射箭设置了一些人为的障碍让玩家去克服，玩家克服了手抖障碍的同时，又能转化为精细瞄准的好处，这就让玩家有一种克服和成长的快感。所以我觉得提供动态识别开关并不是一个好的选择。

- The End of Episode 01 第一部分完 -玩家可关注本人，更新及翻译第二部分！