看台湾地区Indie game开发产业的崛起

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若是说有哪一个勾当可以或许作为台湾Indie game财产的气压表的话，那就非台北游戏开辟者论坛（TGDF）莫属了。这是从几年前的一场小型勾当成长而来的，致力瘦蝴蝶袖,于让Indie game开辟者们在此分享本身的设法。而如今该勾当已酿成了台湾最重要的游戏财产峰会，本年乃至吸引了跨越800名介入者。它同时也吸引了来自世界各地的Indie game开辟者的存眷，而且动员了一批活着界舞台上逐步发光发亮的台湾Indie game开辟者。但是在几年前像如许的勾当是其实不存在的，而这些勾当恰是创建在那些身处被AAA级免费游戏和外包游戏所主导的台湾游戏市场中还勇于去发掘自力游戏开辟可能性的自力开辟者们的绝对意志力之上。

不论是从玩家根本仍是消费来看，固然台湾的面积不大，可是它简直具有一个范围不容小觑的游戏开辟市场。在80年月，这里方才构成一个PC游戏开辟范畴，并在90年月的时辰进入黄金成长期，即出生了很多持久成长，乃至在今天仍具备影响力的游戏。跟着时候的成长，大型刊行商们经由过程授权外国IP并举行本土化而逐步主导着这里的游戏财产。而这一趋向也于其它台湾财产和基于外包的台湾总体经济相一致。在2000年月和2010年月夙起，由于盗版的疯狂，台湾游戏刊行商起头逐步接管MMO，即经由过程变化本身的游戏注重力或从韩国，而且近来也起头从中国引进更多游戏。而这类情势即是咱们如今所熟知的免费游戏模式的早前形态。像Softworld和Gamania等刊行商的范围起头不竭强大并经由过程授权各类免费游戏而统治着台湾的游戏财产。

当时候的Indie game开辟者由于还找不到可行的分销渠道，以是只能选择与台湾的大型刊行商互助，但这却不是一种同等的互助瓜葛。大型刊行商请求掌控专有的刊行权，享有游戏收益的大比例份额，IP，而且不留给Indie game开辟者任何选择退出的余地。大型刊行商深信免费游戏是独一的成长前途，成果即是开辟者们只能局限于这一既定的营业模式中而不克不及追求具备缔造性的挑战。如斯的必定成果即是，缔造性游戏理念不竭被掩埋在深不见底的地下。在如许的空气中，自力开辟者面临的是不成能有出头的日子，更别提阐扬缔造性这件事了。

跟着iOS App Store和Google Play的成长，自力开辟者终极迎来了可行的全世界分销平台和模式。Unity引擎被遍及采用也象征着游戏开辟本钱大大低落了，这对付那些想要挑战更具缔造性内容的人来讲是件功德。跟着可行分销渠道的开启，开辟者所面对的第一个挑战即是追求创意认知。由于台湾Indie game游戏开辟财产还很新，以是这里不存在有关自力游戏的文化，当地需求或意识。早前的自力项目必需基于故事，主题，艺术标的目的或机制去寻觅来自外洋的参考工具和灵感。此中一支乐成做到这点的早前开辟团队即是Monkey Potion。他们的游戏《Boonie’s Brunch》是一款精巧的时候办理游戏，得到了遍及的称颂并向其他布满理想的开辟者证明了这条路是可行的。

同时，跟着玩家起头厌倦那些翻新的项目而且更多玩家起头转向iOS，Android和近来的Steam上的游戏，台湾的大型刊行商必要起头好好尽力了。意识和缔造性实践的良性轮回起头阐扬感化，并支撑着自力开辟者起头逐步得到更多存眷。让咱们以台北最大的自力网站IGDShare为例。他们一起头只有几小我，每一个月会举行一些小型的集会，而在曩昔3，4年间，他们的社区已成长到有好几百号开辟者了。他们的成长同时也鼓励着台湾其它都会（如台中和高雄）的一些开辟者去组建本身的Indie game团队。Indie game团队组合在一块儿将缔造更大的收集而且他们也起头与台湾当局举行互助去组织一些以前在台湾从未有过的一些勾当。

在曩昔几年里，台湾开辟者履历了很多具备缔造性的挑战，而且他们不但得到了阐扬缔造性的讲话权，同时也从本地文化中吸收了一些灵感。就像Sunhead Games中的团队便在快节拍的手机游戏《A Ride into the Mountains》中将像素作品与传统的中国主题交融在了一块儿。以后，在《The Swords》中，他们更是摸索了中国的绘画，书法，剑术和技击等范畴。

A Ride into the Mountains(from play.91)

Red Candle Games也是另外一家履历了缔造性挑战同时也专注于本土文化，主题和艺术的自力团队。他们经由过程Steam的青睐之光的游戏《Detention》是一款以台湾暗中时代为布景的可怕冒险游戏。很多基于校园的可怕小说和片子都因此阿谁时代为灵感。而《Detention》不但捉住了此中的精华同时也进一步摸索了台湾的动漫。这是一个特别的主题，并提供应玩家领会阿谁时代的失望与动荡的机遇。Game Stew的《Tower of Fortune》系列则是将Rogue机制与简略斗胆的像素图象连系在一块儿，即同时包括了Cthulhu神话与台湾的宗教主题。

近来，有愈来愈多具备才能的人从外洋回到了台湾去组建Indie game团队。在80年月的技能鼎新时代，这张环境只产生在硬件和电子装备制造中。而如今，这张环境也呈现在了游戏开辟范畴，真是让人惊喜。AMD的前首席步伐员同时也是《战神》的首席脚色设计师建立的Qubit Games便专注于利用像素艺术去缔造有趣的手机游戏机制。他们的游戏会凸起他们本身所开辟的像素编纂器。一群来自卡耐基梅隆技能大学文娱技能汐止借錢,中间的结业生在2013年回到了台湾并组建了Team Signal，而他们也经由过程了本身的第二款游戏《Hyper Square》（游戏邦注：一块快节拍的手指游戏）得到了来自国际上的承认。他们的最新游戏，即得到IMGA提名的《OPUS: The Day We Found Earth》超出了宇宙和太空摸索游戏弄法并致力于经由过程论述内容去叫醒人们更深条理的感情表示。如今的台湾自力开辟者已起头将游戏作为提出具备深度的哲学问题并摸索人类感情的深度和广度的一种方法了。

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，回绝任何不保存版权的转发，如需转载请接洽：游戏邦）

Rise of Taiwan’s Indie Scene

by Howard Tsao

If there is one event that serves as the barometer for Taiwan’s indie scene, it would be the Taipei Game Developer’s Forum (TGDF). It started a few years ago as a small gathering of primarily indie developers sharing ideas. From humble beginnings, it grew to be the premier game industry su妹妹it in Taiwan with more than 800 ant高尿酸飲食,icipated attendees this year. It attracts prominent indie devs internationally to speak, and it is inspiring a generation of Taiwanese indie developers who are getting more and more recognition worldwide. Events like this didn’t exist a few short years ago, and it happened through the sheer force of will of a few individuals who dared to see the possibilities for independent game development at a time when the Taiwanese game industry was dominated by AAA free-to-play and game outsourcing.

Whether it is by player base or spending, Taiwan is actually a sizable gaming market despite its tiny landmass. In the 80s, it had a nascent PC game market development scene, and entered a golden age in the 90s that saw the birth of a number of long-running titles that continues to influence to this da眉毛增長液,y. Yet over time, bigger publishers emerged to dominate the industry largely by licensing foreign IPs to distribution and localize. This trend wasn’t inconsistent with the other Taiwanese industries and an overall economy that was outsourcing based. In the 2000s and early 2010s, because of the rampancy of piracy, Taiwanese game publishers became early adopters of MMOs, either by shifting their development focuses or by importing numerous titles from South Korea, and more lately from China. This also led to the early exposure of the business model now known as free-to-play. A number of publishers, such as Softworld and Gamania, exploded in size, and licensing plus free-to-play ruled the day.

As viable distribution channels for indie developers were yet to be seen, they tended to work with the bigger Taiwanese publishers, and the relationship tended to be exploitative. Bigger publishers would demand exclusive publishing rights, the lion share of a game’s revenue, the IP, and often leaving no way to exit the relationship for an indie. There was a prevailing belief by big publishers that free-to-play was the only way to go, and as a result, developers were severely limited by a desired or preferred business model to take creative risks. As a corollary, creative game ideas would be unlikely to see the light of day. In that climate, indie developers faced long to impossible odds to survive, let alone innovate or thrive.

With the rise of the iOS App Store and later Google Play, there was finally a global and financially viable distribution platform and model that was accessible to Taiwanese developers. The growing adoption of the Unity engine also meant that cost barrier to game development was lowering enough for people to want to start taking more creative risks. With possible distribution avenues opening, one of the early challenges was searching for creative identity. The Taiwanese independent game development scene was very new, and there was no existing culture or local demand or awareness for Taiwanese indie games. Early indie projects tended to find references and inspirations internationally in terms of story, theme, art direction, or mechanics. One of the early teams to find success was Monkey Potion. Their game Bonnie’s Brunch was a polished and well crafted time-management game that received critical acclaim and showed other aspiring devs what could be possible.

At the same time, larger Taiwanese publishers started to struggle as players began to fatigue over their retread projects and as more and more players turn to gaming on iOS, Android and recently Steam. A virtuous cycle of awareness and creative undertaking started to take place, and support networks for indies started to slowly gain traction. Take IGDShare, the largest indie network in Taipei, for example. They started with just a few people, hosting small monthly meetups, and over the last 3-4 years, the co妹妹unity grew to hundreds of developers. It also inspired developers in other cities in Taiwan, such as Taichung and Kaohsiung, to form their own indie groups. The indie groups together established a bigger network and worked together with the Taiwanese government to organize events that were unseen in Taiwan previously.

Over the last couple of years, Taiwanese developers have been taking more creative risks and not only finding their creative voices, but inspirations from their native culture as well. The team at Sunhead Games for example fused pixel art with traditional Chinese themes in the fast-paced mobile gem A Ride into the Mountains. Their follow up this year explored Chinese landscape painting and calligraphy as well as swordplay and Chinese martial arts in The Swords.

Red Candle Games is another indie team taking creative risks while paying homage to native culture, theme, and art. Their upcoming, Steam green-lit project Detention is a horror puzzle adventure set in a dark period of Taiwanese history under marshal law. The residue from that period led to a genre of fiction and film centered on school yard horror. Detention captures the spirit of that while exploring Taiwanese comic and animation art. It is thematically unique and offers its audience a window into the angst, despair, and uncertainty of that time and place. Game Stew’s Tower of Fortune series blends Rogue-like mechanics with a simple, bold, and no-holds-barred pixel art style that contains a mixture of both Cthulhu mythos and Taiwanese religious themes.

Recently, more and more talented people are returning to Taiwan from abroad to form indie teams. During the tech revolution of the 80s, this used to only happen in hardware and electronics manufacturing. Now, it’s happening in game development, which is exciting. Qubit Games, founded by a former senior progra妹妹er at AMD and the lead character artist of God of War, focuses on weaving interesting mobile gameplay mechanics with voxel art. The games feature a slick voxel object editor they developed. A group of graduates of Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center came back to Taiwan in 2013 to form Team Signal, and they garnered global recognition from their second game Hyper Square, a fast-paced finger twitch game. Their latest title, the IMGA nominated OPUS: The Day We Found Earth, transcends cosmic and space exploration gameplay elements to invoke deeper emotions and spirituality through its narrative. Indie devs in Taiwan are beginning to use games as vehicles to pose deeper philosophical questions and explore wider ranges and depths of human emotions.

At a time when Taiwan struggles with recognition and real economic issues and battles uphill to find an independent identity and its place in the world, people are increasingly looking to independent games as a medium of artistic expression, to tell their unique stories and to share measures of Taiwanese culture and tradition with the rest of the world. And they are succeeding.（source：gamasutra）