2016年11月14日 星期一

AAA game dev lifestyle is 'unwinnable ' says veteran game designer Amy Hennig __ 3A遊戲的開發生活是"無法獲勝" veteran 遊戲設計師 Amy Hennig 說到


Resource: Here
Amy Hennig knows more about triple-A development than most, having steered the Uncharted ship for so long as the series' creative director and head writer, before leaving for pastures new prior to the release of Uncharted 4.
Amy Hennig 了解相當多3A級遊戲開發,曾長期參與秘境探險系列,擔任創意總監和主編劇,在秘境探險4發售前,她得到一個更好的機會。  
After stepping away from Naughty Dog, Hennig joined up with Visceral Games to serve as creative director on the studio's top secret Star Wars project. But despite having made a name for herself in the realm of triple-A game dev, Hennig isn't exactly smitten with the "unwinnable" lifestyle it imposes on developers.

離開Naughty Dog之後,Hennig加入了Visceral Games,在極機密的星際大戰專案,擔任創意總監。但除了她在3A遊戲開發有名外,Henning沒有真的被"無法勝利"的生活方式給擊倒,而它們逼迫著開發者。
"There are people who never go home and see their families. They have children who are growing up without seeing them," she explained in an interview with the Designer Notes podcastas transcribed by GamesIndustry.biz.

"有些人從沒回家和看他們的家人,他們有小孩,而在成長過程中看不見他們。"她在 Designer Notes podcastas transcribed by GamesIndustry.biz. 的面談解釋。
"There were people who, y'know, collapsed, or had to go and check themselves in somewhere when one of these games were done. Or they got divorced. That's not okay, any of that. None of this is worth that. It's an arms race that is unwinnable and is destroying people."

"這些人,你懂得,崩潰,或是遊戲完成後,必須去某個地方檢查身體。或是與另一半離婚,這些並不好,這些都不值得,這是無法勝利的軍備比賽而且正在摧毀開發者。"
Despite her reservations, Hennig is still happy with how her own career has panned out, although it's not the games themselves she's taking issue with. It's the process behind them.

除了她的質疑,Henning還是很高興她的電玩職涯已經尾聲,雖然她同意這無關遊戲本身,而是這些遊戲背後的過程。
So, how do you sold a problem like triple-A? As it stands, there isn't a quick fix, and according to Hennig there isn't even a clear long-term solution. Sure, studios could ask for more time and resources, but that'd inevitably be offset by the pressure to make their blockbuster game bigger, better, and even more lucrative.

 那麼,你如何解決像3A遊戲的開發流程? 它一直存在,沒有快速解決方法,根據Henning的說法,甚至沒有明確長期的配套。當然,各工作室可以要求更多時間和資源,但製作他們的大作遊戲,想要更龐大更優質,甚至更賺錢,這種壓力必將抵銷一切。
It's pressure that rolls downhill and piles onto those behind the industry's biggest releases, forcing them to go above and beyond to meet rapidly approaching deadlines. 
壓力滾到山谷並在堆積在產業發表背後,強迫他們付出更多,面對不斷接近的截止日期。
"Trying to finish a game like that [Uncharted 3] in two years is insane, especially when you're saying that the two years is everything: pre-production, production," Hennig elaborated, explaining why crunch is still part-and-parcel of triple-A development.  
"試著在兩年內,作出像密境3的遊戲,根本瘋了,尤其是包括:前製,量產,"Henning詳述,解釋為什麼加班仍是三A遊戲開發不可缺少的。
"Time is a huge one, but then everyone is racing with cost versus time. So could we do it with smaller teams longer? Sure, but then we tend to throw people at these things and burn money fast. We've all seen games that took too long and they kind of got lapped. We're definitely at the point where something's got to give."
"時間是很大因素,接著每個人與成本v.s.時間競賽,那我們在比較小的團隊,然後開發久一點。當然,但我們傾向丟人去作那些工作和燒錢快速。我們已經看到遊戲花太多時間,他們有點被困住。而我們必須要在時間點生出東西。"
Hennig's interview has prompted other triple-A developers to share their own experiences. Writing on Reddit, an anonymous Scottish designer, who claims to have had stints at Rockstar and another Edinburgh studio, explained crunch time and over-expectant publishers are "killing the triple-A industry."
Hennig的面談也提到其他3A開發者,分享他們的經驗。寫在Reddit上,an anonymous Scottish designer,他任職於Rockstar 和其他Rfinburgh工作室,說明加班和過度預期(過度樂觀)的發行商正撲殺3A工業。
"I work with a couple of people who have been doing this since the late '80s and they look remarkably older than they are. Going into a smaller studio was the best thing I ever did, we still make triple-A games but it's so much more manageable," they wrote. 

"我和一些人80年代後期,就已經在一起工作,他們明顯看起來比他們年紀還大,去較小的工作室是我做過最好的決定,我們依舊製作3A遊戲但更容易管理,他們寫到。


"The truth is that publishers are more and more demanding, expecting better and better results with less time and less budget and less resources."

"事實是發行商越來越嚴苛,用較少的時間預算和資源,期待更好更棒的成果。"
Another user who purports to have worked in-studio on an unnamed triple-A title spoke about the debilitating effects of crunch, and how it ultimately drove them out of the games industry.

另一個網友聲稱在一個不能曝光的3A遊戲下工作 spoke about the debilitating effects of crunch,並說明這情況最終如何使他們離開遊戲產業。
"In roughly seven or so months in the midst of crunch, while working 12-20 hour shifts, seven days a week, I lost about 70 pounds," they revealed. "On the days when I didn't just crash on the couch in the waiting room, I'd go home, fall asleep, wake up, immediately go back to work."

他們透露"有大約7個月的加班期,每天12-20的工時,一個禮拜七天,我掉了70磅"。那些日子裡,如果我沒有累炸,倒在等候室的沙發上,我就會回家,睡覺,起床,立刻上班。
"I saw the project through to the end and left the industry. Maybe I just wasn't passionate enough about games, but nothing really seemed worth that to me."

"我看到專案的尾聲並離開產業。也許我對遊戲的熱情還不夠,但這樣工作下,沒有甚麼事情對我是值得的"
To hear more from Hennig you can listen to the Designer Notes podcast, which is hosted by Mohawk Games founder Soren Johnson and, sometimes, Finji co-founder Adam Saltsman, right here. You can also see what other Reddit users thought of the interview by clicking here.

要了解更多Hennig,你可以聽Designer Notes podcast,由Mohawk Games創辦人Soren Johnson主持。有時候,共同創辦人Adam Saltsman,right here.,你也可以看Reddit users透過by clicking here.