Why is the game called a game?

"What is a game?" Many friends have asked me this question, but what should I say? This was originally a very simple meaning, but it was somewhat complicated. In English, Game is usually used as a noun and play is usually used as a verb. This is what some players ask. If it is a Game magazine or a game website, the word game will often appear, while the early games running under Dos will have play.bat in the execution file.

Nowadays, "playing games" often refers to electronic games, that is, electronic game programs running on home computers (PC) and home electronic game machines (PS, SS, SFC, MD, 3DO, etc.). ) or video games and arcades.

In fact, the history of word games is much earlier than that of video game programs. As early as in the Song Dynasty, Su Shi had the word "game wine and food", which originally meant "play". Before the electronic game program appeared, the word game was widely used by people, such as "kindergarten teacher:' children, shall we play a game today?" ""or "shall we play an intellectual game?" Something like that

Well, to put it bluntly, we have been focusing on the history and usage of word games. Let's go back to the video game plan.

In fact, the prototypes of various video game programs are all games that we can see. Take the role-playing game (abbreviated as RPG) that many players and friends talk about. Its prototype is actually a role-playing game that was popular among American teenagers in the 1960s and 1970s.

Although this kind of chess is much simpler than the video game program, it can't be said to be the originator of RPG games. The general game is like this. Double or multiplayer games, according to different game scripts, everyone can choose their favorite characters, such as knights, wizards, elves and so on. Designate a person to be responsible for executing the game script, such as reading "Before everyone comes to a cave, shall we go in?" The player chooses "Enter" or "Don't Enter"; Another example is "a terrible dragon appeared in front of us." Shall we kill it or run away? " It is up to the player to choose "kill" or "escape". There is also the concept of hierarchy in the game. The higher the level, the higher its ability. With the different roles, the conversion relationship between their grades and abilities can generally be seen in the description of role chess games. From the above, we can easily see that this is very similar to the RPG video game plan. In addition, this kind of chess also has the concepts of saving and loading. A game of chess often takes a lot of time, so the rules of the game stipulate that players who participate in the game can maintain their profession and rank when they are away from home, so that they can continue to use it in the next game. As long as it is the same game, players can take risks with any other players with the same level. There was a conversation at that time, "Hi, Knight ii im, Grade 9, and you?" (I'm a knight, grade nine, and you) "Oh, I'm the Black Five Classics, grade three" (I'm dark wizard, grade thirteen). If these two players don't have props to supplement their physical strength, and find it difficult to take risks like this, they can also invite a partner with a white magician who is good at supplementing their physical strength to start the future game together. According to the game script, the game has an ultimate goal and an ending. Of course, if the game is improper, the player's role will also die and he has to quit the game. But on the whole, there are other ways to bring him back to life. The game is a game after all.

Where were we before introducing this role chess? By the way, the prototypes of various video game programs are all games we can see. Needless to say, the SLG and TAB games of war chess have been heard of, even if they have never been played. For example, the "strong hand" game that appeared in China a few years ago is not the embryonic form of monopoly.

There are also some video game programs that simulate the previous game itself in the game machine. Such as sports games, racing games and puzzle games. Just like football, basketball or other ball games, and racing cars, isn't it a game to put aside the elements of electronic games and the modern sports spirit for a while? The electronic game program only plays the role of electronic simulation on the premise of retaining its rules.

There are also many educational toys and games, such as chess, military chess, Go, Mahjong, Huarong Road, Nine Rings, Tetris, Black and White ... When these games were "transplanted" into electronic game programs, some of them kept their rules intact, while others made some changes or upgrades. From the change of Tetris, we can easily see the flexibility and randomness of video game programs.

In English Game and Play, both contain the meaning of competition, and the fun of the game itself lies in competition. This is true for both sports and chess.

Sports: Whether it is the struggle of athletes from all over the world on the court or the competition in the track and field, even if there is no Olympic peak, there is also the fun of competition. It can be said that there is no sports without competition.

Chess: In the same way, put aside the spiritual and material rewards after victory and face-to-face intellectual contest with your opponent, which is why no one often plays chess with himself.

After these game rules are simulated into electronic game programs, the designers of electronic game programs not only keep the competition between people, but also design single-player games for people who like to play alone, that is, competition with the computer itself. So the concept of AI was born. The so-called AI is the abbreviation of artificial intelligence, that is, artificial intelligence, which uses electronic programs to simulate a series of thinking and judgments similar to people. It is often used in various electronic game programs, but a computer is a computer after all, and all it can do is "judge: if … if … if … if … if … if … if … if … if … if … if … if … if … if …"

It is not hard to imagine that whether it is a multiplayer video game program (a competition between people) or a single-player video game program (a competition between people and electronic AI or people who play according to the rules of the game), from a certain point of view, it is a quiz.

After reading my conclusion above, someone must be unconvinced. Is a single-player game like The Legend of the Sword and the Chivalrous Man also a competition? The answer is yes. For example, during the game, players are required to find a prop to continue the game. This prop is placed in a corner of the game by the game designer. Isn't this a simple quiz between you and the game designer? Ha ha, of course, after you finish a game, you can say, "The pig who designed the game is really not as smart as me." But don't forget, the game is just to let you pass and give you a sense of accomplishment. The designer of the game can make the game make you dare not think about it, even if there is no such prop anywhere in the game, you should scold him all the more.

Another example is the battle with the "King of Tower Protection" in The Legend of the Sword and the Chivalrous Man. The ability value of "King of Tower Protection" is directly given by the designer, and the Li Xiaoyao you control is gradually cultivated from the first level. Isn't the struggle between them a concrete manifestation of the struggle between you and the designer?

If I say that games are culture, there are bound to be many friends who don't understand video games. "Video games? When it's over, it's over. How can there be any culture? "

In fact, the game also contains a strong cultural atmosphere. In the last chapter, we know that the source of games basically comes from life, and the difference between one game and another is the style of the game, which constitutes the culture of the game.

Whether it's magic, medieval knights or fantastic futuristic styles, there are certain rules in the game.

If you are interested, you can list all the games we have played and classify them from the perspective of style, so that several cultural circles of the games can be seen at a glance.

During the stormy days of Street Fighter, once on the bus, I heard several very young students discussing with great interest who was better, Kim, Lang or Chun-Li. In fact, although I am an adult, don't I sometimes talk about this when I am with friends who are both video game fans and game planners? It is this game culture that connects me and Yong with those primary school students. (Laughter) To put it more bluntly, when two fans of StarCraft meet, it is bound to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the three races; When two magic heroes meet, it is inevitable to study that the racial system is developing rapidly, and it is the different cultures of each game that link them together.

In this section, we briefly talk about the sense of accomplishment of the game. Similarly, each player plays a role in the game. Whether it's SLG, which controls thousands of troops, or RPG, which plays a generation of heroes, or racers, pilots, or operators of restaurants, parks and hospitals, it can satisfy every gamer's heroic fantasy more or less.

The so-called heroism, as we know, is the complex of human beings worshipping heroes. And the game can follow one's inclinations, making everyone a hero he worships. Whether it is a killer assassin, a monopoly, a brave man, or even a god higher than human beings, God can also be the object of being played.

Developers try to satisfy players' desire for games from different angles. Hunters, ninjas, submarine commanders, castle owners and even zombies, toys, chickens and cockroaches are all displayed to players who like to play with it.

This is really a very interesting thing, both from the player's point of view and from the game maker's point of view. Everyone can undoubtedly get a sense of pleasure when trying to play a role that he has never tried before. Although in a sense, this kind of innovation and breakthrough has gone beyond the scope of heroism, it is also a question of understanding.

Sometimes I wonder, why not create games from other angles?

Lost in space: A powerful spaceship was lost in outer space for some reason. They must search in the endless universe. Because they have been to many planets, these planets have many strange things, such as the space of time reversal, such as devouring their own creatures, such as the entities created by the human mind in the universe ... This story will never end, and the lost people will be lost forever, waiting for them to have more stories.

Revenge: The protagonist was framed and murdered. His soul came to the underworld and really saw many things in the underworld. With the help of his dead friend, his soul returned to this world. All he can do is dream, appear at night, and if there is a dead body, he can be reborn briefly. His purpose is to find out the real murderer who killed himself by listening to people's conversations and let him get the punishment he deserves. Of course, you can also add some touching emotional drama. Generally speaking, emotional dramas with dead people are easier to handle.

……

The world of games can be the reappearance of real history or modern world, and of course it can also be a space that has never existed in fantasy. Whether it's the historical world of tang style's ancient rhyme, the European medieval world of magic and sword, the Wulin Jianghu with bloody wind, the China-colored Tiangong, or a planet in outer space. It can be said that anything imaginable can be regarded as an element of the game world.

Time and space can be virtual and reconstructed, and fantasy and reality can also be peacefully unified in the game. This is the charm of the game world.

Let's give an example. Since you want to create a world that belongs to you, you can completely make the time inconsistent (if the life of a ephemera is a day of human beings, the human beings in their eyes must be close to static, which is the problem that creatures at different times appear in a space), and you can completely make mythical creatures coexist with real creatures in your world, and you can completely make things without thinking think.

It's like writing fairy tales or science fiction. I'm afraid it won't come true, but I'm afraid I can't think of it. Novels are only constructed in the form of words, and readers understand them in an imaginative way. The game clearly shows a world to players in a strong and intuitive way through pictures and sounds. In addition, players can learn more about your world in various ways, and control the character to an object, maybe he can talk; Walking through the mirror-smooth ground, maybe the ground will fall; Walking past a seemingly ordinary tree, maybe it will suddenly attack. This way of understanding and knowing the world is far more exciting and intuitive than reading.

A designer of a good game plot can actually be a screenwriter (of course, whether it is famous or bad depends on this person's writing ability, and a good plot is also a waste if it is not written well).

Let's talk about writers first. Not all novels written by writers have bizarre plots, and each set of plots has its own characteristics. Some are simple and dignified, some are bizarre, and some are touching and delicate. The bizarre is easier to be changed into a game for the simple reason that only bizarre stories can be twisted and twisted in the performance of the game. Therefore, games adapted from written works are generally sci-fi, martial arts, detective and thrilling themes. Similarly, works such as A Dream of Red Mansions and La Traviata, which have a long inner description and numerous dialogues, are hard to be changed into games. Of course, we also rule out that some games focus on delicate love stories, but only a few can succeed.

Therefore, from the perspective of game plot design, science fiction, martial arts, detective and adventure are in the majority, and the plot of the game is often more faltering than novels in order to satisfy the excitement sought by players. This is also the difficulty of game design.

Of course, some game designers add a lot of redundant plots in pursuit of this teetering, which greatly reduces the overall quality of the game. For example, if the protagonist wants to know the whereabouts of his girlfriend, he goes to her friend, who is really not at home. My friend's mother told the protagonist that she had gone to the company, but when she went to the company of her girlfriend's friend, she was not allowed to enter the door. Because she didn't belong to this company, he went to the director of the company to give a gift. But the supervisor went to the store to buy a hangover remedy because he was still sleeping after drinking too much the day before. It happened that the hangover medicine in the store was sold out, so I went to the manufacturer to get it, and the manufacturer replied that there was a lack of raw materials. ...

The plot of such a dog pulling a sheep's intestines can be infinitely increased, which will make players very angry. A good story is not only to make the story coherent, but also to have the feeling that there is no doubt that there is no way out, and there is another village, and the magical story will be the crowning touch that will make the game unforgettable for life.

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