ch7.mht

游戏设计大师Chris Crawford的大作《The Art of Game Design》唯一不足的是英文版的

  or different. I would feel trapped immediately.</P>
  <P>Neither of these worlds will happen; we will have both =
technological=20
  development and artistic development. Yet, we must remember that the=20
  technological development, while entirely desirable, will never be the =
driving=20
  force, the engine of change for computer games. Artistic maturation =
will be=20
  the dynamo that drives the computer games industry.</P>
  <P>The relative importance of technological development and artistic =
maturity=20
  is made clear by a comparison of modern movies with the silent movies. =
The=20
  modern movies boast gigantic technological advantages---sound, color, =
and=20
  fabulous special effects. When used with skill and artistry, the new=20
  technologies are indeed magnificent. Yet, all these advantages cannot =
make up=20
  for a lack of artistic quality: the computer-graphics blockbuster TRON =

  compares poorly with any of Charlie Chaplin=92s movies. if Chaplin =
could do so=20
  much with black and white film and no sound, why cannot we do good =
work with 8=20
  bits and 48K? <FONT size=3D-1><A=20
  =
href=3D"http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/peabody/game-book/Chapter7.html#=
top">Top</A></FONT></P>
  <P><A name=3D"ASSESSMENT: TECHNOLOGICAL"></A><B>ASSESSMENT: =
TECHNOLOGICAL=20
  REVOLUTION</B></P>
  <P>To explain my own assessment, I must present some background about =
how I=20
  view technological revolutions. The first great technological =
revolution I=20
  will draw on is the revolution in transportation that swept American =
society=20
  in the first half of the twentieth century. The automobile was =
invented in the=20
  late 1800=92s; by the turn of the century it was available as a =
consumer product.=20
  However, many problems plagued the automobile. It was expensive and=20
  unreliable. It lacked the software (support services such as service =
stations=20
  and appropriate roads) to make it truly practical. It required =
considerable=20
  skill and dedication to operate. Furthermore, it was unnecessary; =
American=20
  culture had developed quite successfully without it, so there was =
little=20
  existing need for it. Thus, the automobile was not a practical tool; =
it was a=20
  plaything of the wealthy.</P>
  <P>With the passage of time, these problems with the automobile =
lessened in=20
  severity. Mass production lowered the cost and increased the =
reliability; more=20
  service stations and better roads became available. More and more =
automobiles=20
  were purchased; by the late twenties the automobile was a common =
fixture of=20
  American life.</P>
  <P>The third stage became obvious in the 1950=92s. The automobile =
changed the=20
  face of American society. Housing patterns began to change. Commuting =
became=20
  practical. Urban sprawl sprawl. Drive-in restaurants and theaters =
became=20
  common. The technology changed the society.</P>
  <P>The fourth stage began asserting itself at about the same time. As =
the=20
  automobile changed American society, so too did society change the =
automobile.=20
  Originally designed as a device to transport people and property from =
point A=20
  to point B as quickly, safely, and reliably as possible, it was =
transformed=20
  into a form of self-expression, a recreational device, and ultimately =
an end=20
  in itself. Could Henry Ford have anticipated dune buggies, vans with=20
  waterbeds, low-riders, and naked-lady hood ornaments? I doubt it.</P>
  <P>Let me summarize the four stages that occurred in this =
transportation=20
  revolution. First, the technology was initially desirable to only a =
small part=20
  of the public. With time, conditions improved and the technology =
conquered=20
  society. Then it began to change society. In the process, society =
began to=20
  change the technology. The direction of this change was away from the=20
  pragmatic and towards the recreational.</P>
  <P>Let us now examine the second great revolution of this century, the =

  entertainment revolution sparked by the television. When television =
first=20
  became available in the late 1940=92s, it was expensive, unreliable, =
and lacking=20
  sufficient software (programs) to make it anything more than a toy for =
the=20
  wealthy. With time, these problems were overcome. Televisions became =
cheaper,=20
  more reliable, and offered more programming. They swept into society =
with=20
  great force. In the process, they dramatically changed the lifestyles =
of the=20
  American people. Nighttime entertainment was now readily available. =
Leisure=20
  time activities changed accordingly. But the public worked its will on =

  television. It evolved from "visible radio", or a means of presenting=20
  lectures, plays, and speeches, into a medium with its own personality. =
Thus,=20
  the same four stages outlined for the automobile occurred with =
television:=20
  pioneer, conquest, transformation of society by the technology, and=20
  transformation of the technology by society.</P>
  <P>The same sequence of stages is occurring with computers. At the =
moment,=20
  personal computers are still expensive, unreliable, hard to use, and =
lacking=20
  software. The situation is changing rapidly; prices are failing, =
machines are=20
  becoming friendlier, and software availability improves daily. All =
observers=20
  agree that personal computers will take society by storm. The only =
differences=20
  of opinion are those of magnitude. Will 1990 see 5 million computers =
in=20
  American homes, or 10 million, or 20 million? No one knows, but =
everyone=20
  agrees that the figure will be large.</P>
  <P>We therefore expect that personal computers will change the face of =

  American society. We expect that networking will allow more Americans =
to=20
  participate in economic activities from the home, decreasing the load =
on=20
  transportation and accelerating the pace of economic life. The ease of =

  manipulating information will give information an even more prominent =
role in=20
  our society. Our financial system will become less dependent on =
currency. Our=20
  lives will be changed by these machines.</P>
  <P>But we ourselves will not be changed. The computer will change our =
habits=20
  and our leisure time, but it will not change our personalities, for=20
  emotionally we are still the same people who built the pyramids, =
fought the=20
  Crusades, and colonized the New World. Our analysis of the two =
previous=20
  revolutions leads us to expect that the relationship between society =
and the=20
  computer will be one of reciprocal transformation. We further expect =
that the=20
  nature of this transformation will be a shift from the pragmatic =
toward the=20
  recreational, from the functional to the frivolous. This leads us to =
suspect=20
  games as the primary vehicle for society to work its will on =
computers.</P>
  <P>Ten years ago, even five years ago, this suggestion would have =
seemed=20
  ridiculous. Computers were the awesome creatures of man=92s =
cleverness, the=20
  intelligent progeny of the machine age. They were perceived to be =
powerful,=20
  endlessly capable, and not a little fearsome. Most people=92s only =
concern with=20
  computers was whether they would be man=92s slave or his master. The =
possibility=20
  that they might be his playmate never crossed anyone=92s mind.</P>
  <P>We were wrong, for the computer game has already established itself =
as a=20
  primary form of use of the computer. By any number of measures, =
computer games=20
  are already a major portion of the world of computers. Consider, for =
example,=20
  the number of computer games in existence. What is the most reproduced =
program=20
  in human history, the one program with more copies in existence than =
any other=20
  program in the world? At the moment, the #1 program is undoubtedly =
COMBAT, the=20
  game cartridge supplied with every ATARI 2600. Millions and millions =
of copies=20
  of this cartridge have been distributed. Perhaps you object that this =
measure=20
  is unfair because nobody buys the program by itself. Very well, then, =
consider=20
  PAC-MAN, ASTEROIDS, SPACE INVADERS, and MISSILE COMMAND, each of which =
has=20
  sold millions of copies. Indeed, were we to compile a "Top Forty" lit =
of the=20
  best-selling programs of all time, I very much doubt that Visicalc =
(trademark=20
  of Visicorp) or any serious piece of software would make the list. =
Games=20
  dominate. Perhaps you object that numbers alone do not adequately =
measure=20
  social significance. Perhaps you would prefer to measure economic=20
  significance. Very well, let=92s try a comparison. Visicalc, the most =
successful=20
  personal computer serious package, has sold, say, 400,000 copies at, =
say, $200=20
  apiece. That amounts to $80 million gross. By contrast, if Atari =
sells, say, 5=20
  million copies of PAC-MAN at $30 apiece, that=92s $150 million. And =
that=92s just=20
  one title; there are many other games generating large sales =
figures.</P>
  <P>Thus, games are already a primary form of use of computer =
technology. They=20
  have established themselves as a major component in the world of =
computers. In=20
  the accelerated world of the 80=92s, the fourth stage (transformation =
of=20
  technology by society) is upon us even as the second phase (conquest) =
is=20
  beginning. <FONT size=3D-1><A=20
  =
href=3D"http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/peabody/game-book/Chapter7.html#=
top">Top</A></FONT></P>
  <P><A name=3D"THE NATURE OF"></A><B>THE NATURE OF CHANGE</B></P>
  <P>Games are the vehicle with which society will change the computer. =
How will=20
  the games themselves be changed by society? We can expect two =
processes to=20
  affect games: the mass market and the flowering of heterogeneity. In =
some=20
  ways, these processes work against each other. <FONT size=3D-1><A=20
  =
href=3D"http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/peabody/game-book/Chapter7.html#=
top">Top</A></FONT></P>
  <P><A name=3D"The Mass"></A><B>The Mass Market</B></P>
  <P>As computer games become a mass market item, they will fall prey to =
the=20
  homogenizing forces of the mass market. The emphasis will not be on=20
  originality or creativity, but rather on adhering to the time-honored=20
  formulas. Just as movies and television fell prey to the formulas of =
sex and=20
  violence, cops and robbers, sitcoms, and the other mechanical =
incantations of=20
  the mass media, so too will games fall victim to the tyranny of the =