chris crawford interview on game design.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

Who are your=20
      mentors? </FONT></B></P>
      <P>My inspirations come from all around me, from the people I =
interact=20
      with -- ALL the people: the checker at the supermarket, the =
veterinary=20
      assistant, Bible-quoting neighbors, a PhD friend, a science =
fiction=20
      novelist, a French lady in England, a real estate agent. I =
minimize the=20
      role of computer people in this, because they're so stiflingly =
inbred, so=20
      caught up in their own world that they can't see the real world.=20
      <BR><BR>My mentor is Desiderius <B>Erasmus</B> of Rotterdam (1466 =
- 1536).=20
      <BR><BR><FONT color=3D#ffffff><B>What do you think of the game =
design=20
      profession and of the work being done?</B></FONT> <BR><BR>I try =
not to --=20
      too depressing. <BR></P>
      <P><B><FONT color=3D#ffffff>How do you see your profession=20
      evolving?</FONT></B> </P>
      <P>Not much potential for significant change in the game design =
industry.=20
      Games have settled down to their steady state in much the same way =
that=20
      comics have settled down. The comics today are, from a marketing =
point of=20
      view, not much different from the comics 40 years ago. =
Artistically, there=20
      has been some progress, but the most dramatic changes have been=20
      flash-in-the-pan sensations; the basic identity of comics has not =
changed.=20
      Computer games are now in the same position. <BR></P><FONT=20
      color=3D#ffffff><B>How do game genres crystallize? For example, =
could we=20
      have an Action Adventure game with no puzzles, physical feats, =
fights,=20
      stealth or social exchange, like a book or a movie?</B></FONT> =
<BR><BR>I=20
      very much doubt that games will ever evolve into anything like =
books or=20
      movies. The games industry had the opportunity to do so in the mid =
to late=20
      80s, and it consciously rejected that opportunity in favor of =
short-term=20
      success. It has now worked itself into a small but profitable hole =
from=20
      which it can never extricate itself.<BR><BR>Its audience is =
precisely=20
      defined, both in the positive sense AND the negative sense. We =
know=20
      exactly who our customers are: young males. We also know exactly =
who our=20
      customers AREN'T: everybody else. Worse, everybody else knows it,=20
      too.<BR><BR><B><FONT color=3D#ffffff>What do you want to do in the =
future?=20
      </FONT></B>
      <P>Interactive storytelling. <BR><BR>Someday it will be a new =
industry,=20
      quite distinct from games. Right now, it's nothing, but it feels =
to me=20
      just like "the good old days" back in the 1970s when computer =
games were=20
      fresh, untried, and bursting with potential. <BR><B><FONT=20
      color=3D#ffffff><BR>Can you explain what Interactive Storytelling =
is - as=20
      well explaining your project Erasmatron? What is the potential for =
this=20
      "erasmatronic fiction" that is perhaps missing from game=20
      design?</FONT></B><BR><BR>Interactive storytelling is not "a game =
with=20
      drama added" or even "a game with dramatically interesting =
characters". It=20
      is a story that unfolds for the player at his direction. It =
adheres to the=20
      principles of drama yet permits the player to make interesting and =

      dramatically reasonable choices. For example, if the player comes =
upon an=20
      obviously haunted house, he is not given a choice between "go =
inside" or=20
      "stay away", as the latter choice is not dramatically reasonable. =
It is=20
      psychologically reasonable, but not dramatically reasonable. In =
other=20
      words, the system follows dramatic logic, not spatial logic. When =
the=20
      captain of the starship Enterprise risks the safety of the crew to =
save=20
      one person, he NEVER loses the gamble; that is dramatically =
unreasonable=20
      for the imaginary universe of Star Trek. Dramatic logic is seldom=20
      reducible to broadly generalizable algorithms; therefore it must =
be=20
      created by a novelist, playwright, or scriptwriter -- but not a=20
      programmer. The product of this artist's efforts is not a story =
but a=20
      storyworld: a complete dramatic universe embracing all the =
dramatic truths=20
      the artist wishes to communicate. This storyworld is not a spatial =
region=20
      populated with walls, tunnels, and characters; it is certainly not =
a set=20
      of specifications for a physical simulation. It is instead a =
collection of=20
      stages, populated with objects and characters. The artist =
specifies many=20
      kinds of interactions between the characters, who then execute =
these=20
      interactions according to their personalities, relationships, and=20
      histories. <BR><BR>The<A href=3D"http://www.erasmatazz.com/" =
target=3D_blank>=20
      Erasmatron project</A> is my attempt to realize this. Version 1 is =

      currently available on the website, but it has many flaws. Version =
2 is=20
      approaching completion; I expect to have an alpha version ready in =
late=20
      January. The artist uses the Erasmatron to edit the storyworld. =
Most of=20
      this work consists of defining the possible interactions between=20
      characters; I call them "verbs". A good storyworld requires at =
least 500=20
      such verbs. The artist must also define the characters' =
personalities,=20
      their relationships, and the stages upon which the story takes =
place. The=20
      Erasmatron also offers lots of analytical and testing facilities =
for=20
      evaluating the performance of the storyworld; I call this =
"rehearsal".=20
      When the artist is satisfied with the storyworld, it can be fed to =
the=20
      storytelling engine, an independent piece of software meant to be =
plugged=20
      into a front end. The storyworld, engine, and front end are used =
by the=20
      player to experience the storyworld. While version 1 has an =
unimpressive=20
      front end, I will provide only a pure text front end for version =
2; I=20
      expect that vendors will prefer to build their own front ends. =
<BR><BR>It=20
      is my hope that such work will appeal to a broader range of =
audiences than=20
      games appeal to. It provides stories, not puzzles, not strategic =
problems,=20
      not tests of hand-eye coordination or reaction time. <BR></P><FONT =

      color=3D#ffffff><B>What was the last great work that really =
impressed you in=20
      or outside your discipline? </B></FONT><BR><BR>Speilberg's =
<I>Saving=20
      Private Ryan</I>. An astounding combination of technical =
perfection and=20
      artistic brilliance. The sound bullets make when they whiz through =
the=20
      air, the ease with which unescorted tanks are destroyed in close =
quarters,=20
      the fellow picking up his arm, the ready shooting of prisoners -- =
vastly=20
      impressive in its attention to detail and its human=20
      feeling.<BR><BR><B><FONT color=3D#ffffff>What was the last book =
that really=20
      pleased you? </FONT></B>
      <P><I>Ride of the Second Horseman</I>, a fascinating study of the =
origins=20
      of warfare. The author demonstrates that our concepts of warfare =
arose=20
      from the economic circumstances surrounding the dawn of our =
civilization.=20
      Thus, we westerners developed total war by fighting the decisive =
battle to=20
      destroy crops, thereby starving our enemies. The Chinese developed =
a=20
      theatrical style of warfare that minimized damage to the =
all-important=20
      irrigation systems. The Aztecs developed a cannibalistic style of =
warfare=20
      to compensate for the lack of protein in their diets.<BR><BR><FONT =

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