从AAA游戏转向手机游戏编辑本段回目录
本文作者为Simon Parkin，文中Zynga with Friends技术总监Vijay Thakkar讲述公司为何选择转投手机游戏领域。原文发布于2011年3月1日，涉及数据以当时为准。
zynga with friends from appadvice.com
手机设备的激增促使独立游戏活动获得重生，这恰好弥补AAA电子游戏领域缺乏创新性。
这是得克萨斯手机游戏开发商Zynga with Friends（游戏邦注：其前称是Newtoy）技术总监Vijay Thakkar在2011年游戏开发者大会上发表的观点，他曾参与众多iPhone和Android游戏的开发，如《Words With Friends》、《Chess With Friends》和《We Rule》。
这位前Robot Entertainment和Ensemble Studios程序员分享了自己及其伙伴在从AAA游戏过渡至手机游戏学到的经验。
他表示，“大型游戏需要大量投资。我们很难灵活操作，排程失误会导致严重后果。这些风险使得该领域鲜有新想法涌现。”
Thakkar表示，“我认为行业正转向更小型游戏，我们因此要调整工作策略配合该趋势。”他随后概述了Zynga With Friends是如何调整策略适应该新兴市场。
Zynga With Friends成立短短2年就在手机领域取得显著成就（游戏邦注：其代表作《Words With Friends》的活跃玩家超过1300万）。他表示，“我们很多人都在AAA开发领域耗尽激情，开始转投那些令人兴奋，同时能够自由发挥的更小型游戏。”
Words With Friends from toucharcade.com
他表示，“我们努力在几个月内完成作品。这种方式的好处是能够缩小范围，有所侧重，维持创造力。”
Thakkar响应了Zynga产品开发副总裁Mark Skaggs的观点，他强调，公司希望能够尽快制作出最低可行性的产品（MVP）。他表示，“我们努力创造最小核心体验，然后逐步完善。”
他接着表示，“这意味着你无需在发行当天就规划好所有内容。我们能够享有灵活性和创造性，尽早发现潜在问题。这帮我们节省大量时间和工作，这是AAA游戏开发领域所无法实现的。”
“开发MVP让整个团队能够瞄准体验本质，这通常会带来更紧凑、更具专注度的游戏体验。”
但Thakkar强调，团队在项目初始阶段就“可行性”达成一致看法很重要。他表示，“如果团队不清楚这个词语对游戏的含义，那么就会出现传统AAA问题（游戏邦注：如沟通障碍）。”
Zynga With Friends克服沟通问题的一个途径是调整团队位置分布，使其呈向外扩散的圆圈，这样员工只要移动椅子，就能展开讨论。
他表示，“这个方式能够促进员工相互沟通。”
Thakkar表示，这个更小型、更集中的策略让团队所有成员都能够富有想法，而这是AAA开发领域所没有的。他表示，“简短工作流程是关键。有时我们提前完成游戏，然而这些时间若用于开发大型游戏，只够制作某个系统。”
然而，有些传统游戏开发原则仍然是手机游戏成功的关键。他表示，“完善工作依旧很重要，只有这样方能留住玩家。任天堂提供这样的模式：通过精细构思传递乐趣。”Thakkar表示Zynga With Friends通常在项目完成后安排为期两周的“完善阶段”（游戏邦注：主要是添加小元素，优化用户体验）。
Thakkar表示，发行前开展游戏检查工作很重要。他表示，“开发者要弄清游戏值得分享的元素，然后对此进行强化。这有助于创造发展机会和保持增长势头。反馈参数能够让开发者深入了解用户，所以开发者应该追踪重要数据，并给予适当回应。”
Thakkar最后总结表示，身处变化快速的游戏市场，最佳应对策略就是随机应变。他表示，“这是我们目前采取的措施。但是，如今市场变化实在太快，我们未来6个月得再探索新对策。但目前小型、灵活的项目最符合市场发展。”（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译）
GDC 2011: Zynga with Friends’ Thakkar On Transitioning from AAA To Mobile
by Simon Parkin
The proliferation of mobile phones is facilitating a rebirth of the indie game movement, one that is making up for a shortfall of innovation in the AAA video game space.
This was the message from Vijay Thakkar, technical director at Texas-based mobile developer Zynga with Friends (formerly Newtoy), developer of iPhone and Android titles such as Words With Friends, Chess With Friends, and We Rule at the 2011 Game Developer’s Conference.
The former programmer at Robot Entertainment and Ensemble Studios was talking about the lessons that he and his co-workers have learned in transitioning from AAA development to making mobile games.
“Massive games lead to massive investments in every way, shape and form,” he said. “It becomes very difficult to be agile and flexible, and scheduling slips have a large impact. The risks mean that very few new ideas coming out of the space right now.”
“I believe fundamentally that the industry is shifting to smaller games and our working practices need to change to meet that,” said Thakkar before going on to outline some of the ways in which Zynga With Friends has adapted to this emerging market.
Zynga With Friends has found huge success in the mobile space in the two short years since it was founded, with over 13 million active users of its flagship title, Words With Friends. “A lot of us came burned out from AAA development,” he explained, “and moving to making smaller games has been both exciting and liberating.”
“We now strive to build games in just a few months,” he said. “The benefit to this approach is that you have to cut scope and keep focus, maintaining a constant state of productivity.”
Echoing yesterday’s statements from Zynga’s product development VP Mark Skaggs, Thakkar emphasized the company’s intent to ship a Minimal Viable Product (MVP) as quickly as possible. “We strive to build the smallest core experience and from there grow and develop with something running”, he said.
“This means you don’t need to predict everything for day one launch,” he continued. “It allows you to be flexible and creative, and identify potential problems far earlier. The net result is significantly less wasted time and effort, a benefit that is simply not feasible in AAA development.
“Aiming for a MVP encourages the team to boil things down to the core essence, which almost always results in a tighter, more focused product.”
Thakkar did stress, however, that it’s very important to agree on what the term ‘viable’ means at the start of the project. “If the team isn’t clear on the definition of the word as it relates to the game in question, then traditional AAA issues such as breakdown of communication creep in,” he said.
One way in which Zynga With Friends works to fix the issue of communication in development is by changing the physical distribution of the team, placing employees’ desks in an outward facing circle, making it easy for developers to swivel their chairs to query one-another and jump into discussions around them.
“The approach is hugely beneficial in encouraging communication between all the employees,” he said.
Thakkar argued that this smaller, more focused approach allows multiple people within the team to be vision-holders, something that is impossible in AAA development. “A small workflow is key,” he said. “Sometimes we can complete an entire game in less time that it takes to create a single system on a major game release.”
Nevertheless, there are principles from traditional game development that are still crucial to the success of a mobile game. “Polish is still key,” he said. “This is what engages the players. Nintendo provides the model for this: delivering joy through delicate touches.” Thakkar revealed that Zynga With Friends always has a two-week “polish phase” at the end of every project, time used to add the little things that make the difference for the user’s experience.
It’s crucial to monitor your game post-launch, Thakkar continued. “Find out what’s convincing your users to tell their friends about the game and emphasize these elements,” he urged. “This is the key to building and maintaining growth. Metrics give you so much insight into your users so track anything you think it vaguely important and respond appropriately.”
Thakkar concluded by adding the caveat that, in a rapidly shifting market, best practices are liable to change regularly. “This is what’s working for us right now,” he said. “But the market shifts so quickly that in six months we might need to find new working practices. But right now, small, agile processes best suit this fast-moving market.”（Source：gamasutra）
