《Dark Souls》设计的9大可借鉴之处

作者：Robert Boyd

From Software的《Dark Souls》因其高难度而颇受关注，但是将这款游戏视为虐待狂游戏是不公正的评判。在这篇文章中，我将阐述《Dark Souls》做的较好的9个方面，讨论我们要如何使用这些收获来改善游戏设计。

Dark Souls(from gameinformer.com)

关卡设计——在我所见过的游戏中，《Dark Souls》的关卡设计算是最为复杂的。每个关卡都有一条主线路，但是也有无数的支路、隐藏地区和捷径，而且关卡中有各种点连接到许多其他的关卡。

虽然关卡高度复杂而且我的方向感很差，但是我很少在游戏中迷路，尽管这款游戏完全没有内置地图！游戏可以在不让玩家迷路的基础上维持如此高的地图复杂程度，这无疑证实了开发者创造可记忆地域的实力，使用的方法包括使用特别的视觉风格和发生在地域中的令人印象深刻的事件。

关卡设计中需要特别提及的层面是，游戏使用3D空间。游戏中充满了阶梯、斜坡、楼梯和悬崖。在1分钟的时间内，玩家总是会碰到需要以某种方式上上下下的情形。

即便当玩家所处地方的上下跟关卡毫无联系时，探索各个方向总是件很有趣的事情，比如你正在探索的山洞上有个小开口射入奇异的光线，或者一路战斗前往靠近悬崖边的亡灵村庄下的山谷。

如果你是个职业关卡设计师，你需要去研究《Dark Souls》中的关卡设计，以期能理解如何更好地改善关卡。如果你正在制作的是3D游戏，应当充分利用其中的优势沿着各个方向构建关卡，而不是只注重平面。

范围感——这个层面属于关卡设计，但是其重要性决定有必要单独讨论这个方面。自《Shadow of the Colossus》于2005年面世之日起，我还从未见过有游戏如此精巧地向玩家描述整个世界的范围。

当你在《Dark Souls》中的某个地域探索时，你可能会看到远方的地平线上有个城堡。在多数游戏中，这种城堡只是背景而已，美工会尽量将其做得看起来很漂亮。但是《Dark Souls》中的情况并非如此。持续玩游戏，你会发现不久之后可以亲身探索这个城堡（游戏邦注：在探索时看到远方有某些新的东西，同样接下来可以探索得到）。

这种范围感也被运用到游戏的敌人设计中。有时你会看到远方有某些东西，但是由于距离过远，你不确定那到底是什么。靠近一点后，你可能就会意识到自己的悲惨境地，你看到的那个大型物体是个活物，如果再靠近的话毫无疑问会受到攻击。

通过向玩家描述范围感，《Dark Souls》让游戏中的世界、敌人和探索显得颇为庞大，似乎前方有很长的游戏还未完成。《Dark Souls》通过关卡和敌人的设计来实现这个目标，但是还有些方法可以展示范围感。

比如，在古老的SNES角色扮演游戏《Lufia》中，游戏开始的教程中玩家可以使用许多传奇英雄。游戏开始之初便看到这些英雄和他们的敌人的力量，这使得玩家清楚地认识到游戏世界中力量的极限和范围。

敌人种类——当今许多大预算游戏有着广袤的世界，但是却缺乏有趣的敌人。以《杀出重围：人类革命》为例，这是款很棒的游戏，但是在前6个小时的游戏里，我只见到一种敌人——拿着枪的家伙。

诚然，这些敌人有些正在行走而有些站在原地，有些是士兵而有些则只是雇佣兵，有些拿的是狙击步枪而有些抱着机枪，但是从视觉效果和机制上来说，这些敌人之间都非常相似。这让人感到多么无聊啊。

《Dark Souls》的设计并非如此。仅仅在前1到2个小时的游戏中，我就看到了会复活的骷髅、只能在特别条件下才能对其造成伤害的幽灵、携带各种武器（游戏邦注：如燃烧弹等）的亡灵战士、有毒的老鼠、装备精良的骑士和某些令人印象深刻的BOSS。但是，许多敌人都是科幻形体，但是他们的视觉类型都各不相同，能够很容易将其区分开来。更为重要的是，他们之间的行为也各不相同，从而能够产生更具多样性的游戏玩法。

环境战斗——走向竞技场，大量的敌人产生，杀死全部敌人解开下个竞技场，然后不断重复下去。

我们什么时候居然遗忘了环境是为战斗添加多样性和深度的绝妙方式？在《Dark Souls》中某个狭窄的通道进行探索时，我想你最好把大砍刀扔掉，因为武器会卡住墙壁。

如果你正处在死亡瀑布之上的狭窄小径上，那么要谨慎使用那些快速和火力较弱的武器，因为你可能会将自己逼入死亡境地。但是更好的做法是，你可以将敌人撞下悬崖，以避开不必要的艰苦战斗。

如果游戏中只有战斗会令人感到厌烦。在整个游戏过程中添加某些非敌人的因素，比如环境因素，这会保持游戏中的战斗富有吸引力。

死亡会造成影响——如果你在AAA游戏中遇到某个相对较难的场景会怎么样呢？不用担心，只要不断尝试直到足够幸运得以通关。死亡并不会产生什么影响，因为你只需要重新读取进度即可。

但是在《Dark Souls》中，死亡有时候会造成影响。无论你什么时候死亡，你都会失去所有的灵魂（游戏邦注：这是游戏中的货币），但是如果你可以重新回到死亡的地点而且期间没有再次死亡，那么你可以重新得到这些灵魂。死亡会让你回到最后一个激活的篝火处，但是通常不到1分钟时间就可以回到死亡地点，因为游戏过程中你会解锁所有的捷径。

这种设计不像之前的8位游戏，你花了1到2个小时之后因为生命数耗尽需要重头开始玩游戏，但是失败仍然会带来一定的惩罚。而且有时候你可以利用这个死亡系统，因为死亡不会让你掉落道具，所以有时不顾血量尽量前冲拿到某个有价值的装备或者财宝是个很有效的战略。

如果失败没有任何惩罚的话，玩家就没有了紧张感，成功变成必然发生的事情，这样就失去了胜利感。

Dark-Souls(from rift-class.com)

自由的解决方案——我目前在《Dark Souls》中玩的是巫师，他使用的是把巨大的圣戟。戟是种在矛的末端加上斧的武器。巫师使用巨矛或巨斧，你可曾在其他的游戏中见过此类情形？

《Dark Souls》为玩家提供了种类丰富的装备、咒语和道具，让他们在面对游戏的诸多挑战时制定出自己的解决方案。不仅如此，玩家尝试面对这些挑战的顺序很大部分也取决于玩家自身（游戏邦注：但是游戏中有些地域会比较容易）。

通过让玩家自行拟定游戏玩法，玩家便可以按照自己的方式来玩游戏，掌握自主权。

风格独特并具有创造性的技术——《Dark Souls》使用的并非市场上最高级的引擎。在某些区域帧率较低，物理引擎有时候会产生可笑的结果（游戏邦注：比如有时敌人的尸体会卡在你的脚上，随后你会拖着尸体前行），材质并非总是有着最高的质量，镜头有时也不尽如人意。

但再过10年，人们有可能会忘记了某些技术先进的游戏而去追求技术上更加先进的游戏，但是他们仍然会回过头来玩玩《Dark Souls》，而且觉得这是个很棒的游戏。游戏呈现的是令人叫绝的世界，其中充满了许多可怕的敌人，这才是玩家关注的重点。

有良好的引擎固然很不错，但是想象力才是更为重要的东西。

过程并非一成不变——在游戏中投入5个小时之后，我决定要重新开始玩游戏，尝试不同的角色构建。在第二次的游戏过程中，通过之前的那些关卡所耗费的时间只有原来的一半。

第二次构建的角色的属性和第一次无异，但是我自身已经有了一定的经验，对游戏机制、敌人和关卡的理解使得我能够更快速地进行游戏。

让玩家的角色升级固然很棒，但是让玩家自身升级是更棒的做法。设计精巧的游戏有着足够的深度，玩家可以不断地提升自己的技能。

适合讨厌多人游戏的玩家的多人游戏——对多数多人游戏，我都并不喜欢。诚然，如果你可以与好友在游戏中协作，这确实很有趣，但是由于我们和好友都有着自己的工作、家庭和生活，所以有时角色这更像是个工作而不是多人游戏。

随机找个陌生人玩游戏是个不错的选择，但是就个人之前的经历而言，我觉得在碰到成熟玩家之前要碰到更多不成熟的玩家。我还是觉得这样得不偿失。

《Dark Souls》处理多人游戏的方式很让我感到欣喜。你可以阅读或者给其他玩家留言（游戏邦注：只能使用规定的词语和句式，所以不必担心会看到污言秽语）。

你偶尔会在附近看到其他的玩家。使用某些道具后，玩家能够以好友或敌人的身份加入到其他人的游戏中。但是，如果你不喜欢多人游戏的话，可以完全不考虑这个方面。

如果游戏中有个更加健全的组队系统，让你可以同好友组队，对那些更倾向于多人游戏的玩家是否算是个福音呢？或许是。但是，游戏目前所采用的方式对我这样并非传统多人游戏粉丝的人来说甚为理想。

结论——《Dark Souls》并非完美的游戏，但其设计确实值得称道。作为游戏设计师，我们可以学习游戏的这些设计方法。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

9 Things We can Learn about Game Design from Dark Souls

Robert Boyd

From Software’s Dark Souls has gotten a lot of attention for featuring an extremely high level of difficulty, however it would be unfair to dismiss it as just another masochistic game. In this article, I examine nine areas that Dark Souls excels in and discuss how we can apply those lessons towards improving game design.

Level Design – Dark Souls has some of the most complex sets of level designs I’ve ever seen in a game. Each level typically has one main path but countless detours, secret areas, and shortcuts, and is usually connected to a number of other levels at various points as well.

Despite the high level of complexity and my horrible sense of direction, I’ve rarely gotten lost in the game DESPITE the complete absence of an in-game map! The fact that the game can maintain such a high level of map complexity without completely confusing the player is a testament to the skill of the developer’s ability to create memorable areas, both through the visual style and through the memorable events that happen therein.

One aspect of the level design that bears special mention is the game’s use of 3D space. The game is full of stairs, inclines, ladders, and cliffs. Rarely a minute passes where the player isn’t going up or down in some way.

Even when there are not actual parts of the level above or below the player, there are always interesting things to look at in all directions such as the cavernous roof with a small opening for strange light in the top of the cave that you’re exploring or the valley below the cliffside undead village that you’re fighting for your life in.

If you’re a professional level designer, you need to study the level design in Dark Souls to gain a better understanding of how you can improve your craft. If you’re making a 3D game, take advantage of that fact and build your levels in every direction, not just x & y.

Sense of Scope – This aspect goes along with the level design but is sufficiently important to be worth discussing individually. Not since Shadow of the Colossus came out in 2005 have I seen a game that has such a great mastery of portraying the scope of its world to the player.

While you’re exploring an area in Dark Souls, you might see a castle on the distant horizon. In most games, that castle would just be a nice piece of background art that the artists drew ’cause it looks pretty. Not in Dark Souls. Keep playing and no doubt before too long, you’ll actually be exploring that castle (and have found something new on the horizon that you’ll explore later).

This sense of scope also applies to the game’s enemies. There are moments where you might see something in the distant that’s so far off that you’re not even sure what it is. Get a little closer and you may realize to your abject horror that the huge thing you see is alive and will probably destroy you without a moment’s thought if you get any closer.

By portraying a sense of scope to the player, Dark Souls makes its world, enemies and quests feel epic in a way that simply having a long game would not accomplish. Dark Souls does this through its use of levels and enemies, but there are other ways to give a sense of scope.

For example, in the old SNES RPG, Lufia, the game begins with a playable introduction that lets the player use a group of legendary heroes. By seeing their power and the power of their foes firsthand, it gives a clear sense of the range of power in that world right from the start.

Enemy variety – It boggles my mind how so many big budget games today can have huge worlds, and then fail to populate them with interesting enemies. Take Deus Ex: Human Revolution for example. It’s a good and often great game, but in the first 6 hours of playing it, I only saw one real enemy archetype – guy with gun.

Sure, some of the guys were walking and others were standing around, some of them were soldiers and others were punks, some had sniper rifles and others had machine guns, but for most practical purposes, the vast majority of enemies were very similar to each other, both visually and mechanically. How boring.

Not Dark Souls. Just in the first hour or two, I saw skeletons that won’t stay dead, ghosts that could only be hurt under specific conditions, undead soldiers with a variety of weapons (including fire bombs), poisonous rats, well armored knights, and some impressive bosses. Sure, many of the enemies were fantasy archetypes, but they each had their own distinct visual style that set them apart and more importantly, they behaved differently from each other thus resulting in more varied gameplay.

Environmental combat – Walk to an arena. Have enemies spawn. Kill the enemies to unlock the next arena. Repeat. Bleh.

When did we forget that the environment can be a great way to add variety and depth to combat? Exploring a tight passage way in Dark Souls? Guess you’d better put away that huge broadsword since its wide swings will just bounce off the walls.

On a narrow ledge high above a deadly fall? Be wary of using fast, weak weapons because you might just combo yourself into an early grave. Better yet, you might decide to knock off that tough enemy off a cliff and avoid an otherwise hard fight.

Just fighting can get old. Add non-enemy factors like the environment to keep your combat engaging throughout the entire game.

Death matters – Stuck on a relatively hard part of your typical AAA game? No worries – just keep trying until you get lucky. Death doesn’t matter since you can just reload whenever you mess up.

In Dark Souls, death hurts…some of the time. You lose all of your souls (the game’s currency) whenever you die, but if you can return to the spot of your death without dying again, you can reclaim them. Dying does return you to the last bonfire you’ve activated, but those are usually never more than a few minutes away, what with all the shortcuts you unlock.

It’s a far cry from the old 8-bit games where you could have been playing for an hour or two and have to start the entire game over due to running out of lives, but there’s still a penalty involved for failure. And hey, sometimes you can take advantage of the death system – items are not lost upon death so making a nearly suicidal run to grab a valuable piece of equipment or treasure before your demise can be a valid strategy at times.

When failure has no penalty, tension is lost and victory becomes a matter of inevitability and loses its feeling of triumph.

Freedom of Solution – I’m currently playing a sorcerer in Dark Souls who wields a giant holy halberd. A halberd, for those unfamiliar with ancient weaponry, is basically a spear with an axe at the end. A wizard who is a master of the giant spear/axe – how often have you seen that in a game?

Dark Souls gives the player a wealth of possible equipment, stats, spells and items to play with and lets them forge their own solutions to the game’s many challenges. Not only that, but the order that the player attempts those challenges is largely left up to the player (although some areas are easier than others).

By allowing the player to dictate their style of gameplay, you let them play the game they want to play and not the game you think they should be playing.

Style and creativity trump technology – Dark Souls doesn’t have the most advanced engine out on the market. The frame rate suffers in the more demanding areas, the ragdoll physics sometimes result in laughable results (like when an enemy corpse gets stuck on your foot and you start dragging them around), the textures aren’t always the highest quality, and the camera doesn’t always do what you might want it to.

However, in 10 years, when people will have long forgotten many of the more technologically advanced games released this year in favor of even more technologically advanced games, people will still be going back and playing Dark Souls and thinking “What a beautiful game this is!” The game presents an amazing and cohesive world filled with terrifying enemies and that’s what matters.

A great engine is nice, but vision is more important. The engine should serve the design’s purpose and not the other way around.

Progression isn’t just stats – About 5 hours into the game, I decided I wanted to start over and try a drastically different character build. I was able to surpass my progress from the first time in less than half the time that it had taken me the first time around.

My stats weren’t any better the second time, but I had gained experience and understanding into the game’s mechanics, the enemies, and the levels that allowed me to make much more rapid progression.

Allowing the player’s character to level up is great. Allowing the player themselves to level up is even better. Well designed games have enough depth that the player can constantly improve themselves.

Multiplayer for people who hate multiplayer – I’m not a big fan of most multiplayer games. Sure, it’s fun if you can get your friends together to play some co-op, but with most of my friends scattered around the world and all of us with our own jobs, families, and lives, it sometimes feels like more work than it’s worth to arrange a multiplayer game session.

Playing with random strangers is an option, but from past experience, I’ve found that for every decent mature player that you run into, you’re bound to run into twice as many immature ones. Again, it doesn’t feel worth it.

Dark Souls handles multiplayer in a way I can appreciate. You can read and leave messages for other players offering tips (only using a set vocabulary and syntax so you don’t have to worry about long strings of obscenities).

You can occasionally catch a glimpse of another player in your vicinity. And players can join other players as both friends and foes using certain items. However, if you want to, you can ignore all this (just stay undead all the time if you’re worried about invading players).

Would it be nice for the more multiplayer inclined players out there if there was a robust matchmaking system that let you team up with your friends? Oh, probably. However, the way it is currently set up is ideal for people like myself who aren’t fans of traditional multiplayer experiences.

Conclusion – Dark Souls is not a perfect game but it is a well designed one. As game designers, we would be well advised to learn the lessons it has to teach. (Source: Gamasutra)