Chapter 5. Character Development 第五章：角色发展
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Using well-defined characters in games has been with us since the earliest days of computer gaming and is becoming increasingly sophisticated as time goes on. The days of anonymous blobs of pixels, such as the gunfighters in the early arcade game Gun Fight (shown in Figure 5.1), are far behind us. Originally, it was fairly difficult to get any real characterization into a monochrome 32-pixel-high figure, but with the increasing capabilities of game hardware, the question of characterization becomes increasingly important. Note that text games had no such problem with characterization (but the graphical aspects were not at all important); the main practical limits that affected this particular genre were the skills of the author/designer.
自电脑游戏诞生之初，我们就开始在游戏中使用定义明确的角色，而且随着时间的推移，这些角色也变得越来越复杂。像早期街机游戏《枪战》（如图 5.1 所示）中的枪手那样，使用简单像素块的时代已经一去不复返了。最初，要在一个 32 像素高的单色角色形象中表现出真正的人物性格是相当困难的，但随着游戏硬件功能的不断增强，人物性格的问题变得越来越重要。需要注意的是，文字游戏在角色塑造方面不存在这样的问题（但图形方面并不重要）；影响这种特殊类型游戏的主要实际限制在于作者/设计者的技能。
Figure 5.1. Gun Fight. 图 5.1. 《枪战》。
In this chapter, we discuss the method used to design compelling and believable characters for your game. It's important to realize that not all games require characters to be anything more than simple stereotypes (consider, for example, the Mario series of games). However, enough games out there require decent interactive characters to warrant a chapter covering the topic.
在本章中，我们将讨论为游戏设计引人入胜、真实可信的角色的方法。重要的是要认识到，并不是所有的游戏都要求角色不仅仅是简单的刻板印象（例如马里奥系列游戏）。不过，有足够多的游戏需要像样的交互式角色，因此我们有必要用一章的篇幅来介绍这个主题。
We've split this chapter into three fairly independent sections. Which is most appropriate for you depends on the type of game you are designing. The first section is for simpler games, in which the appearance of the hero and the characters is the most important consideration. The second is for those games in which the character and personality of the hero is more important. The third section concerns the supporting characters and their interaction with the hero.
我们将本章分为三个相当独立的部分。哪一部分最适合你，取决于你正在设计的游戏类型。第一部分适用于较为简单的游戏，在这类游戏中，英雄和角色的外观是最重要的考虑因素。第二部分适用于英雄的性格和个性更为重要的游戏。第三部分涉及配角及其与英雄的互动。
You can design a character in two main ways: through art-sourced design or through story-sourced design. With art-based design, the appearance of a character is decided upon first, and then a background story is fleshed out to augment it if necessary. Generally, the simpler sorts of games—those that require superficial and simplistic characters—use this approach.
设计角色主要有两种方法：基于美术设计或基于故事设计。在基于美术的设计中，首先要确定角色的外观，然后再根据需要充实背景故事。一般来说，比较简单的游戏——那些需要表面化和简单化角色的游戏——都采用这种方法。
Let's take a look at art-driven design in a little more detail. Historically, art-driven design was the main force behind character design. As we've said, the simpler games didn't rely so much on story, so the design emphasis tended to be visual.
让我们来详细了解一下美术驱动型设计。从历史上看，美术驱动设计是角色设计的主要力量。正如我们所说，简单的游戏并不太依赖于故事，因此设计的重点往往是视觉效果。
The design of the central character in Pac-Man was purely artistic. The game designer, Toru Iwatani, was allegedly inspired by a pizza with one slice removed. Other famous game characters were also born this way: Lara Croft started life as the artist's dream girl and quickly became the "larger than life" heroine that we all know today. (This is despite the fact that somebody with those "proportions" would be unlikely to be as athletic as that—and would most likely run into a few lower-back problems in later life. But this is the games industry: Realism doesn't matter—self-consistency does.)
《吃豆人》中，中心人物的设计纯粹是艺术性的。据称，游戏设计师岩谷彻的设计灵感来自于一块被削去一块的披萨。其他有名的游戏角色也是这样诞生的：劳拉·克劳馥一开始只是艺术家的梦中情人，但很快就成为了我们今天所熟知的“超凡脱俗”的女主角。(尽管拥有这样“身材比例”的人不可能有那么好的运动能力，而且很可能在日后的生活中患上一些腰背疾病。但这就是游戏产业：真实性并不重要，重要的是自我一致性）。
Characters that are developed from a purely artistic source tend to be far more superficial and one-dimensional than those sourced from a story-based design. In fact, we could say that they are the bimbos (or himbos—no sexism here!) of the games industry. This is not necessarily a bad thing. For many games, we simply do not need well-developed characters. It's far better to leave the character as a blank slate and let the player impose his own personality. This can aid the sense of game immersion greatly and is often the superior method, compared to trying to force a player to accept the role of a fully fleshed-out character. Even those games in which the player has a predefined character tend to be deliberately scant on background details, just so that the player won't have to change personalities to fit into the hero's skin. A small paragraph of backstory might give the player some direction, but trying to force a player into a role that does not appeal to her is futile.
源自纯粹艺术创作的角色往往比那些源自基于故事情节设计的角色更加肤浅和单一。事实上，我们可以说他们是游戏产业中的“花瓶”（或者“肌肉男”，这里没有性别歧视！）。这并不一定是坏事。对于许多游戏来说，我们根本不需要人物形象非常丰满。最好让人物保持空白状态，让玩家将自己的个性投射进去。这可以极大地增强游戏的沉浸感，通常比试图强迫玩家接受一个完全塑造出来的角色要优越得多。即使是那些玩家有预设角色的游戏，也往往故意在背景细节上保持简洁，这样玩家就不必改变自己的个性来适应主人公的身份。一小段背景故事可能会给玩家一些方向，但试图强迫玩家扮演一个她不感兴趣的角色是徒劳的。
At this point, we should mention that the second approach to designing characters is to develop a fully fleshed-out backstory before you even visualize their appearance. This approach tends to produce deeper and more realistic characters that the player will believe in more readily. Sometimes this can be a good thing, and sometimes not. It really depends on the result you are aiming for. For example, a fully detailed backstory for the aforementioned Pac-Man, detailing his likes, dislikes, hopes, and fears, certainly would not have added anything to the game. In fact, it would most likely have detracted from it. It would be as effective as replacing Heathcliff and Kathy from Bronte's Wuthering Heights with Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. We cover story-driven design later in this chapter.
说到这里，我们应该提到设计角色的第二种方法，那就是在设计角色的外形之前，先设计一个完整的背景故事。这种方法往往能塑造出更深刻、更真实的角色，让玩家更容易相信他们。有时这是件好事，有时却不是。这其实取决于你所追求的结果。例如，为前面提到的吃豆人设计一个详尽的背景故事，详细描述他的喜好、厌恶、希望和恐惧，肯定不会给游戏增添任何东西。事实上，它很可能会使游戏大打折扣。这就好比把勃朗特《呼啸山庄》中的希斯克利夫和凯西换成科米蛙和猪小姐一样有效。我们将在本章稍后部分介绍故事驱动型设计。
The ultimate aim of the exercise, whether story-based or art-based, is to create a bond between the player and the hero so that the player is compelled to play the game. You should attempt to make the player genuinely care for the plight of the character under his control. A good, detailed backstory is certainly one way to get the player to empathize with the hero, but this is by no means the only way. In fact, the advantage of computer games is that the bond can be created in a number of ways (such as graphically) and is not restricted solely to abstract concepts and literary constructs.
无论是基于故事还是美术的角色设计，其最终目的都是要在玩家和英雄之间建立一种联系，从而使玩家感到有必要去玩游戏。你应该努力让玩家真正关心他所控制的角色的困境。一个好的、详细的背景故事当然是让玩家对主人公产生共鸣的方法之一，但这绝不是唯一的方法。实际上，电脑游戏的优势在于可以通过多种方式（如图形化）建立这种联系，而不仅仅局限于抽象概念和文学构思。
For example, let's consider some physical aspects. Sexual desirability is an often-used method. In Desmond Morris's Manwatching, he discusses the issue of super-senses. In advertising, certain features are often exaggerated to elicit a specific response in the viewer. The classic example is that the breast size and leg length of women are usually exaggerated by about 33 percent, their waists are too small to accommodate the required internal organs, and their hips are disproportionately wide. This apparently increases the sexual desirability of the subject (termed "super-sensory stimulation" by Morris). We've seen this many times in the game industry—I'm sure you can think of a couple of prime examples: Lara and Croft.
例如，让我们考虑一些身体方面的因素。性吸引力是一种常用的方法。在德斯蒙德·莫里斯的《观察人类》一书中，他讨论了超感官的问题。在广告中，某些特征经常被夸大以引起观众的特定反应。经典的例子是，女性胸部的大小和腿部的长度通常会被夸大约 33%，她们的腰围太小，无法容纳所需的内脏器官，而臀部则过于宽大。这显然增加了主题的性吸引力（莫里斯称之为“超感官刺激”）。我们在游戏产业中多次看到这种情况，我相信你能想到几个典型的例子：劳拉·克劳馥。
Cuteness works well, too. Some games attempt to bring out the player's protective feelings. In these games, the hero is almost supernaturally cute, and this causes the player to empathize with the hero much in the same way as he would empathize with a favorite pet or a baby.
可爱同样很有效。有些游戏试图激发玩家的保护欲。在这些游戏中，主人公几乎超自然地可爱，这使得玩家对主人公产生共鸣，就像自己喜欢的宠物或婴儿产生共鸣一样。
Compared to fully grown animals, baby animals have large heads and eyes with respect to their body sizes. This can be exploited by a knowledgeable designer to create a "cute-appeal." Usually, this approach is aimed specifically at the younger game players. Targeting the younger gamer with the sexual approach would probably draw unwanted attention from the censors, so, for the most part, this is avoided. Super Monkey Ball (shown in Figure 5.2) uses the cute approach to good effect.
与成年动物相比，幼年动物的头部和眼睛相对于其体型都比较大。知识渊博的设计师可以利用这一点来创造“可爱吸引力”。通常，这种方法专门针对年轻玩家。针对年轻玩家，以性吸引力为目标的策略很可能会引起审查机构的注意，因此，在大多数情况下，这种设计都是被避免的。《超级猴子球》（如图 5.2 所示）采用了可爱的方式，效果很好。
Figure 5.2. Super Monkey Ball. 图 5.2. 《超级猴子球》。
The monkey characters follow Morris's super-sense guidelines—large heads; large, round eyes; and comparatively small bodies. Coincidentally (and rather perversely, to Western eyes), this is also the approach taken by Japanese ultra-violent Anime comics, an example of which is shown in Figure 5.3.
猴子角色遵循了莫里斯的超级感官准则——大脑袋、大而圆的眼睛和相对较小的身体。巧合的是（在西方人看来相当反常），这也是日本超级暴力动漫所采用的方法，图 5.3 就是其中的一个例子。
Figure 5.3. A Japanese-style character. 图 5.3. 日式风格的人物。
We realize that not all Anime is violent. Nevertheless, the artistic style emphasizes childlike super-sensuality while dealing with adult-oriented topics.
我们意识到，并非所有动漫都是暴力的。然而，这种艺术风格在处理成人化主题的同时，强调了孩童般的超感官体验。
Art styles vary wildly among different cultures, particularly for characters. Japanese animation often uses huge eyes and tiny mouths for their characters, but the mouths sometimes swell to huge sizes when they shout, which looks grotesque to Americans. European cartoon characters often seem ugly and strange to Americans, too. Two exceptions to this include Asterix and Tintin.
不同文化的艺术风格千差万别，尤其是人物形象。日本动漫中的人物通常眼睛很大，嘴巴很小，但有时喊叫时嘴巴会膨胀得很大，这在美国人看来很怪异。欧洲的卡通人物在美国人看来也常常是丑陋和怪异的。阿斯特里克斯和丁丁是两个例外。
Care must be taken with the super-sensuality approach to character design because it can backfire badly. We're sure a few of you will remember Bubsy the Bobcat . Bubsy fell out of that oft-forgotten (and rightly so) area of design—market-driven "me too" character design. At the time Bubsy was spawned, there had been a run of successful games based around cute characters. The end result was a hideously cynical "cute" character in a stereotypically poor platform game à la Sonic. Note that we believe that Sonic was a brilliant platform game, as platform games go—attractive, quite variable from level to level, and relatively nonviolent. The Bubsy series of games (see Figure 5.4) was a pale imitation of this, and the designers didn't understand exactly what made the Sonic games so good. The character of Bubsy simply wasn't appealing enough to save them. Contrast this with a game series such as Crash Bandicoot, in which the games are good and the character is appealing.
在使用超感官体验方法进行角色设计时必须小心，因为它可能会产生严重的反向效果。我们相信你们中的一些人还记得大笨猫。大笨猫属于那个经常被遗忘（理应如此）的设计领域——设计市场驱动的“跟风”角色设计。在《大笨猫》 诞生的时候，已经有不少以可爱角色为题材的游戏大获成功。最终的结果是，在千篇一律的劣质平台游戏中，出现了一个玩世不恭的“可爱”角色，就像《索尼克》一样。请注意，我们认为《索尼克》是一款出色的平台游戏——吸引人、关卡设计多样，且相对非暴力。而大笨猫系列游戏（见图 5.4）则是对它的苍白模仿，设计者并没有完全理解《索尼克》出色的原因。大笨猫这个角色本身并不足以吸引人，无法拯救这个系列。与此形成鲜明对比的是像《古惑狼》这样的游戏系列，后者游戏本身很好，角色也很吸引人。
Figure 5.4. Bubsy the Bobcat. 图 5.4. 《大笨猫》。
Figure 5.5 shows a small selection of the virtually infinite variety of cute characters out there. 图 5.5 展示了几乎无穷无尽的可爱角色中的一小部分。
Figure 5.5. A selection of cute characters. 图 5.5. 可爱角色选集。
This form of design has a number of secondary contributing characteristics. The primary consideration is the limitations of the target platform. What looks great as a million-polygon rendered 3D model might not look so hot as a 64-pixel-high sprite. Hence, the appearance of an art-driven character is (obviously) influenced by the technology used to display it.
这种设计形式有一些次要特点。首要的考虑因素是目标平台的限制。百万多边形渲染的三维模型可能看起来很棒，但 64 像素高的精灵看起来就不那么吸引人了。因此，美术驱动角色的外观（显然）会受到显示技术的影响。
The design of the art-driven characters is dependent upon the flavor of the game. You have to consider the target audience when you're deciding upon the style of the characters. For example, the adjectives cute and scary will mean two different things to a 5-year-old and a 25-year-old. Resident Evil-style monsters certainly won't go down well in a Mario-esque style of adventure.
美术驱动角色的设计取决于游戏的风格。在决定角色风格时，必须考虑目标受众。例如，对于 5 岁的孩子和 25 岁的成年人来说，“可爱”和“可怕”这两个形容词意味着两种不同的东西。类似《生化危机》风格的怪物在类似《马里奥》风格的冒险游戏中肯定不受欢迎。
An interesting twist on this unwritten rule was presented in the form of Conker's Bad Fur Day, shown in Figure 5.6. Rare transplanted their cute children's characters into an adult-oriented game. Well, to be more accurate, it was a preteen vulgar, humor-oriented game but that's probably due to the difficulty of taking cute children's characters into an adult world. This form of toilet humor is very British in style and doesn't necessarily translate well to the rest of the world. Fighting the poo monster really appeals to only a certain subset of the intended audience. Note that the reverse would not apply—you couldn't put realistic Resident Evil-style characters in a children's game. It's a one-way transformation.
图 5.6 所示的《松鼠库克倒霉的一天》对这一不成文的规则进行了有趣的改动。Rare 公司把他们可爱的儿童角色移植到了一款面向成人的游戏中。更准确地说，这是一个面向青少年的、带有粗俗幽默元素的游戏，但这可能是因为将可爱的儿童角色带入成人世界存在困难。这种厕所幽默的风格非常具有英国特色，并不一定能够很好地翻译到世界其他地方。与“大便怪物”战斗，只能吸引一部分受众。请注意，反过来则不适用——你不能把《生化危机》式的逼真角色放到儿童游戏中。这是一种单向的转变。
Figure 5.6. Conker's Bad Fur Day. 图 5.6. 《松鼠库克倒霉的一天》。
Another series of games that has attempted the same sort of thing (although without the humor quotient) is Nintendo's Starfox series. Here, the hero, Fox McCloud, and supporting characters are anthropomorphized animals. This is a common approach in literature. Many stories have used this approach, with The Wind in the Willows being a well-known example.
任天堂的《星际火狐》系列游戏也曾尝试过同样的做法（虽然没有幽默感）。在这个系列中，主人公福克斯·麦克劳德和配角都是拟人化的动物。这是文学作品中常见的手法。许多故事都采用了这种方法，《柳林风声》就是一个著名的例子。
Art-driven character design gives probably the most prominent common element in game design: the cute hero with an optional sidekick.
美术驱动的角色设计可能提供了游戏设计中最突出的共同要素：可爱的主角，以及可能伴随的助手。
This doesn't always jell as well as it should. For example, Sonic and Tails didn't work well together as a team because Sonic was much faster than Tails and kept running away from him. In other cases, alternative approaches give more success. Even though Banjo and Kazooie are separate entities, they were really only one player avatar; they just worked together inseparably. Link's fairy in the Zelda games served as a sort of tutorial and hint system. Morte in Planescape: Torment told the player a lot of background information in a funny, wise-guy style, but he was a character in his own right as well.
这并不总是那么完美。例如，索尼克和塔尔斯的团队合作并不顺利，因为索尼克比塔尔斯快得多，并且总是跑在他前面。在其他情况下，另辟蹊径则能取得更大的成功。尽管班卓和卡祖伊是独立的实体，但他们实际上只是一个玩家的化身；他们只是不可分割地一起工作。在《塞尔达》游戏中，林克的精灵充当了一种教程和提示系统。在《异域镇魂曲》中，莫特（Morte）以一种有趣、睿智的风格向玩家讲述了大量的背景信息，但他本身也是一个角色。
Unfortunately, for cute-style characters at least, art-based design seems to have degenerated into an unoriginal money-chasing exercise. "Can we appeal to the kiddie demographic? Can we get the right mix of cute with 'tude?" Switch on the Cartoon Network for 30 minutes, and you'll see all the evidence you need: Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, Spongebob Squarepants, and the rest. You name it, it's there. The evidence is there in the games industry as well. Everyone's looking for the next big cute phenomenon. Check out Spyro the Dragon and Jak and Daxter, or any one of the plethora of other examples. It wouldn't be so bad if it were a new concept, but it's been around since the dawn of the industry. Figure 5.7 shows a fairly early example.
不幸的是，至少对于可爱风格的角色来说，基于美术的设计似乎已经退化成了一种缺乏原创性、追逐金钱的行为。“我们能吸引儿童群体吗？我们能正确地混合可爱与‘态度’吗？”打开卡通频道看 30 分钟，你就会看到所有你需要的证据：《飞天小女警》、《德克斯特的实验室》、《海绵宝宝》等等。你说得出的，那里都有。游戏行业也是如此。每个人都在寻找下一个大型的可爱现象。看看《小龙斯派罗》和《杰克与达克斯特》，或者无数其他例子中的任何一个。如果这是一个新概念，情况还不会这么糟糕，但它从游戏产业诞生以来就一直存在。图 5.7 展示了一个相当早期的例子。
Figure 5.7. Head and Heels from Head over Heels. 图 5.7. 《狗狗迷宫》的头仔和脚仔。
These two characters, Head and Heels, are buddies fighting against the evil emperor. The only difference between these two and the majority of today's examples is the originality in the relationship between the two characters: Head and Heels are both symbiotic creatures. Head can jump and glide, and Heels can run fast. When they are linked together, they combine their abilities and can solve problems that would be impossible to achieve individually. The difference between Head and Heels and the rest of the cute brigade is that Head and Heels actually had unique characteristics that made an original difference to the gameplay.
这两个角色，头仔和脚仔，是对抗邪恶皇帝的伙伴。这两个角色与当今大多数例子之间的唯一区别在于两个角色之间关系的独特性：头仔和脚仔都是共生生物。头仔可以跳跃和滑行，而脚仔可以快速奔跑。当它们连接在一起时，就能将各自的能力结合起来，解决单独行动无法解决的问题。头仔和脚仔与其他可爱角色组合的区别在于，头仔和脚仔跟实际上具有独一无二的特征，使游戏玩法与众不同。
NOTE 注意
To an extent, this was also true of Banjo and Kazooie. Even though they were implemented as a single avatar (much like Head and Heels when joined), each had individual abilities that complemented the other's.
某种程度上，班卓和卡祖伊也是如此。尽管他们是作为一个化身（就像头仔和脚仔合体时一样）实现的，但每个化身都有各自的能力，与对方的能力相辅相成。
Most of the examples from today are just minor variations on a rather old theme. At least try to inject some originality into it. Don't just go for the "It's like Sonic, except that he's called Phaser and he's a Porcupine!" approach.
今天的大多数例子都只是在一个相当古老的主题上做了些许改动。至少要尝试注入一些新意。不要只是采用“这很像索尼克，只不过他叫 Phaser，而且是只豪猪！”的做法。
If we might risk boldly stating our opinion at this point, we believe that this strain of "cute with attitude" character design is getting very clichéd. It also seems to be quite cold and calculating from a marketing point of view: The "cute" part attracts children, and the "with attitude" part alienates parents. With the recent troubles the games industry has had with the threat of censorship, a cute character spouting off attitude to other characters (especially those representing authority figures) probably isn't the best way to ingratiate ourselves with parents—and some of these parents are the people with the power to enforce regulation on the games industry. This doesn't mean that we should make our characters sugary-sweet and peachy keen, but we should be very aware of the age and developmental levels of our target audience.
我们认为，这种“有态度的可爱”的角色设计风格已经变得非常老掉牙。从市场营销角度来看，它似乎也相当冷酷和算计：“可爱”的部分吸引儿童，“有态度”的部分则疏远了家长。鉴于最近游戏行业面临的审查威胁的困扰，一个可爱的角色对其它角色（尤其是那些代表权威人士的角色）大放厥词，这可能不是讨好家长的最佳方式——而其中一些家长正是有权对游戏产业实施监管的人。这并不意味着我们应该把角色塑造得甜美可爱和完美无瑕，但我们应该非常清楚我们的目标受众的年龄和心智发育水平。
NOTE 注意
Don't forget that kids hate goody-two-shoes characters just as much as parents dislike characters with foul attitudes—but just because a character doesn't cop an attitude with authority figures doesn't make him a goody-two-shoes. The Scooby Doo kids are a pretty good example of nonattitude characters who nevertheless retain their appeal: intelligence, bravery, and resourcefulness. Scooby is funny, too, because despite his large size, he is a coward—hence, he helps make sure scary situations aren't too scary. In addition to this, because he's a dog and not a child, he doesn't get picked on or treated with contempt for being scared. This is actually a very clever solution. Notice also the Archie kids from the famous comic: You have the Everyman (Archie), the Goofball (Jughead), the Girl Next Door (Betty), the Fashion Plate (Veronica, whose beauty is offset by her vanity), and the Handsome Guy (Reggie, somewhat similar to Veronica in attitude). One common theme is that Jughead is pursued by an ugly girl, in a humorous (but actually slightly sexist) role reversal.
别忘了，孩子们同样讨厌“乖孩子”角色，就像家长们讨厌态度恶劣的角色一样——但一个角色不对权威人士摆架子，并不意味着他就是“乖孩子”。《史酷比》中的孩子们就是一个很好的例子，他们是没有态度的角色，但仍然保持着自己的魅力：聪明、勇敢、机智。史酷比也很有趣，因为尽管他身材高大，但他是个胆小鬼——因此，他能帮助确保可怕的情况不会太可怕。除此之外，因为他是一只狗而不是一个孩子，所以他不会因为害怕而被人欺负或轻视。这其实是一个非常聪明的办法。请注意著名漫画《阿奇》中的孩子们：他们分别是普通人（阿奇）、傻瓜（朱格海德）、邻家女孩（贝蒂）、时尚达人（维罗妮卡，她的美貌被虚荣心所抵消）和帅哥（雷吉，他的态度与维罗妮卡有些相似）。一个共同的主题是朱格海德被一个丑女孩追求，这是一个幽默（但实际上略带性别歧视）的角色反换。
译者注：goody two shoes，来自于一个小童话故事《两只小好鞋的故事》（The History of LittleCordy Two-Shoes）。故事的寓意是，如果你是个好心又正直的人，你就会遇到很多好事。但后来这个用法渐渐演变为了贬义的意思，表示假正经。
The best approach to developing a well-fleshed-out character is to start with the story behind the character and develop the character's traits and personality before you even consider the appearance. Often artists prefer to work from a detailed description such as this; it allows them to really understand and visualize the character.
要塑造一个丰满的人物形象，最好的办法是从人物背后的故事入手，在考虑人物外貌之前，先塑造人物的特征和个性。通常美工人员更喜欢根据这样的详细描述进行创作；这能让他们真正理解角色并将其形象化。
Even games that you would not expect to have fully developed characters can gain much by including them. Consider the multi-format title SSX Tricky , shown in Figure 5.8. This is an extreme sports snowboarding game that pays attention to character development. The player is allowed to make friends, foster rivalries, and enhance her character throughout the game. The addition of this storylike element enhances the game above the simple level of a straight sports game. The player chooses the preferred character and begins to identify with her. This causes a greater sense of immersion in the game—and best of all, it's not prescripted. The player can choose who to make friends with and who to antagonize, and it does have an effect on the gameplay. You can be sure that anyone who you make an enemy of will try their hardest to sabotage your run—and there will be a few sharp words exchanged at the finish line.
即使是那些你不会想到会有完整的角色的游戏，也可以通过加入角色来获得很多东西。请看图 5.8 所示的跨平台游戏《疾风滑雪》。这是一款注重角色发展的极限运动单板滑雪游戏。在整个游戏过程中，玩家可以结交朋友、培养对手并强化自己的角色。这种故事性元素的加入使游戏超越了单纯的体育游戏。玩家选择了喜欢的角色，并开始认同她。这让玩家更有身临其境的感觉——最重要的是，这不是预设的。玩家可以选择与谁交朋友，与谁作对，这确实会对游戏产生影响。可以肯定的是，任何与你为敌的人都会竭力破坏你的比赛——在终点线上也会有一些尖锐的言语交锋。
Figure 5.8. SSX Tricky. 图 5.8. 《疾风滑雪》。
Admittedly, it's not complex stuff—it could be taken further—but it's refreshing to see this sort of thing being attempted in the sort of games in which previously it was unheard of. Interaction between characters is one of the most interesting aspects of stories—sometimes more so than the actual plot. Although a plot details the path of a story (we cover this in the next chapter), the character interactions add a lot of flavor and subtlety that differentiate a well-crafted story from a fifth-grade English composition assignment.
诚然，这并不是什么复杂的东西——它还可以更进一步——但令人耳目一新的是，这种尝试在以前闻所未闻的游戏中出现了。角色之间的互动是故事最有趣的方面之一，有时甚至比实际情节更有趣。虽然情节详细描述了故事的发展轨迹（我们将在下一章介绍），但角色之间的互动却增添了许多韵味和微妙之处，使精心制作的故事与五年级的英语作文不同。
One of the major problems with the games industry when it comes to character design and story content is our unoriginality. We are quite content to plagiarize our characters wholesale from other media, and we are almost afraid to develop original characters in their own right. For example, Lara Croft is simply a female version of Indiana Jones, except that she doesn't have anything like the depth of Indy—his vulnerability, weak spots, and so on. If he is two-dimensional, then she is one-dimensional. Lara eminently demonstrates that not only are we ripping off the movies, we're also doing a bad job of ripping off the movies, as far as characterization goes.
在角色设计和故事内容方面，游戏业的一个主要问题是我们缺乏原创性。我们很满足于全盘抄袭其他媒体中的角色，几乎不敢开发自己的原创角色。例如，劳拉·克劳馥只是女性版的《夺宝奇兵》，只是她没有印第那样的深度——他的弱点、缺陷等等。如果说他是二维的，那么她就是一维的。劳拉充分说明，就人物塑造而言，我们不仅在模仿电影，而且模仿得很糟糕。
Joanna Dark (from Perfect Dark) is a female version of James Bond (or any other secret agent you prefer). As the industry gets bigger, game designers can no longer borrow ideas wholesale from other industries. They will need to carry themselves as an original art form, unless they want to suffer the same fate as the British movie industry—meagerly surviving on borrowed concepts (and borrowed time). Of course, this is a black picture to paint and is unlikely to come about in the extreme case. The games industry has survived one big crash so far, back when Atari went down the pan, and the resulting slow consolidation of the bulk of the industry into a small group of giant conglomerated corporations has done little to aid creativity.
《完美黑暗》中的乔安娜·达克是女性版的詹姆斯·邦德（或其他你喜欢的特工）。随着产业规模的扩大，游戏设计师再也不能全盘借用其他行业的创意了。他们需要将自己作为一种原创的艺术形式，除非他们想遭受与英国电影业相同的命运——靠借来的概念（和借来的时间）勉强生存。当然，这是一个很悲观的描绘，在极端情况下不太可能出现。迄今为止，游戏产业只经历了一次大崩溃，那是在雅达利倒闭的时候，而随后导致大部分产业缓慢整合成一小群大型集团公司的格局，对创造力的促进作用微乎其微。
The primary indicator of good characters in any medium is how well they develop and adapt to changing circumstances.
在任何媒介中，优秀角色的首要指标是他们如何塑造和适应不断变化的环境。
Language is a key cue to a character's personality. His grammar and vocabulary send all kinds of signals—about his social class, education, ethnic origin, and so on. These, in turn, connect with patterns—or stereotypes, if you prefer—in the player's mind. This is also true of the character's accent. One of the most interesting uses of this in recent years was in Starcraft, which drew on a variety of American accents to create several different types of characters. Although they did include the "redneck Southerner" stereotype, which was regrettable but practically inevitable, they also included the "Southern aristocrat" and "Western sheriff" speech patterns for Arcturus Mengsk and Jim Raynor, respectively; the laconic, monosyllabic diction of airline pilots for the Wraith pilots; a cheerful, competent Midwestern waitress for the pilots of the troop transports; and a sort of anarchic, gonzo biker for the Vulture riders. This gave the game a great deal of character and flavor that it would have otherwise lacked if it has used bland, undifferentiated voices.
语言是人物个性的关键线索。他的语法和词汇会发出各种信号——关于他的社会阶层、教育程度、民族血统等等。反过来，这些信号又与玩家头脑中的模式或刻板印象联系在一起。角色的口音也是如此。近年来，《星际争霸》中最有趣的用法之一就是利用各种美国口音创造出几种不同类型的角色。虽然游戏中包含了“南方乡巴佬”的刻板印象，这虽然令人遗憾，但实际上是不可避免的，但他们还分别为阿尔库图斯·蒙斯克和吉姆·雷诺加入了“南方贵族”和“西部警长”的语言模式；为幽灵战机飞行员加入了航空公司飞行员的生硬、单音节的发音；为运输机飞行员加入了开朗、干练的中西部女服务员；为秃鹫车手加入了一种无政府主义、古怪的摩托车手口音。这为游戏增添了许多特色和韵味，否则，如果使用平淡无奇的声音，游戏就会缺乏特色和韵味。
If a character is flat and one-dimensional, then it shows. Sometimes this can be the desired effect, especially in the case of comedic computer games. Consider Duke Nukem, a muscle-bound, blond-haired, misogynist killing machine. You would not expect him to develop his sensitive side and start calling his mother halfway through the game. In this case, his one-dimensionality is funny—it's used well as part of the game. It also allows the player to easily slot himself into the role, knowing that it will remain consistent. This works so well because the player is glimpsing only a limited part of the life of Duke. For the player, it is part of the fun for him to play the role of a thinly motivated hero.
如果一个角色是扁平的、单一的，那么它就会表现出来。有时这可能是有意为之的效果，尤其是在喜剧电脑游戏中。比如毁灭公爵，一个肌肉发达、金发碧眼、厌恶女性的杀人机器。你不会想到他会有敏感的一面，在游戏进行到一半时开始给母亲打电话。在这种情况下，他的单面性就显得很有趣——它被很好地用作游戏的一部分。这也让玩家可以轻松地将自己融入角色，并知道角色会保持一致。之所以效果如此之好，是因为玩家看到的只是杜克生活中有限的一部分。对玩家来说，扮演一个动机不纯的英雄角色也是乐趣之一。
Of course, this is also dangerous ground to tread upon. This sort of thinking landed Doom an (undeserved) starring role in the lawsuits following the Columbine tragedy back in 1999. Notwithstanding the fact that blaming the escapist world of a computer game for encouraging this sort of tragedy is simple witch-hunting, we should be aware that the games industry is a prime target for litigation. Computer games are still looked upon as "entertainment for children," and even though this is no longer true, we need to do more to encourage the maturation of the art.
当然，这也是一个危险的领域。这种想法让《毁灭战士》在 1999 年科哥伦拜恩悲剧之后的诉讼中获得了（不应有的）主角地位。尽管指责电脑游戏的逃避现实的世界是助长这种悲剧的原因的做法是简单的找替罪羊行为，但我们应该意识到，游戏产业是诉讼的主要目标。电脑游戏仍被视为“儿童娱乐”，尽管这已不再真实，我们需要做更多的工作来促进这门艺术的成熟。
译者注：1999 年 4 月 20 日，美国科罗拉多州杰佛逊郡哥伦拜恩高中发生重大校园枪击事件，一共造成行凶者在内 15 人死亡。调查发现，两名行凶者曾经在他们的个人网站上保存游戏《毁灭战士》的存档数据，于是人们开始关注游戏暴力和现实世界中暴力的关系。Witch-hunting，历史上出现过将无辜的女性指控为巫术的实践者，并因此遭受迫害。这些做法缺乏法律和道德基础，导致很多冤假错案。
One way to do this is to tackle serious subjects in a mature fashion, with the benefits of good character development and story lines. One way not to do it is to tackle serious subjects in an immature fashion, as Postal and, to a lesser extent, Soldier of Fortune did (see Figures 5.9 and 5.10).
要做到这一点，一种方法是以成熟的方式处理严肃题材，并通过良好的人物塑造和故事线来实现。不这样做的一种方式是以不成熟的方式处理严肃题材，就像《喋血街头》以及在较小程度上《命运战士》所做的那样（见图 5.9 和 5.10）。
Figure 5.9. Postal. 图 5.9. 《喋血街头》。
Figure 5.10. Soldier of Fortune. 图 5.10. 《命运战士》。
"The most notable feature in Postal is the violence, and this is definitely NOT a game for the kiddies. It even comes with the gaming version of an NC-17 rating, as well it should. You don't kill demon spawn or mutant dino-zombies. You're shooting at people, watching their blood spill onto the street, hearing them wail for mercy or to be put out of their misery. There's a button for execution; just stand over a victim moaning in pain and finish him off. And if things get too grisly, you can even end your own life via a shotgun to the head. This is really some unprecedented and uncensored violence, so parents beware."
“《喋血街头》最显著的特点是暴力，这绝对不是一款适合儿童的游戏。它甚至带有游戏版的 NC-17 评级，这也是理所应当的。你不会杀死恶魔之卵或变异恐龙僵尸。你是在向人们开枪，看着他们的鲜血洒满街道，听着他们哀嚎着求饶或脱离苦海。游戏中有一个处决按钮，站在痛苦呻吟的受害者身旁，然后把他干掉。如果事情变得过于残忍，你甚至可以用猎枪爆头来结束自己的生命。这真是前所未有的未经审查的暴力游戏，家长们可要小心了。”
”Extract from a web review of Postal on www.gamerevolution.com
"摘自 www.gamerevolution.com《喋血街头》的评论
Soldier of Fortune's main advertising thrust was the ability to accurately shoot individual body parts. It's fine to have this as a game feature, as long as it's appropriately marketed. It should not be the primary focus of the advertising because it does not add much to the gameplay. The focus of the marketing should be the story and gameplay, not the realistic deaths. The game would still play the same (a standard first-person shooter) with or without the accurate body part–shooting capabilities. It's the difference between marketing a mature game and a murder simulator.
《命运战士》的广告主旨是能够准确射击身体的各个部位。只要营销得当，将其作为游戏功能并无不妥。它不应该成为广告的主要焦点，因为它并没有给游戏增添多少乐趣。营销的重点应该是故事和游戏性，而不是逼真的死亡。无论有没有精确的身体部位射击功能，游戏的玩法都是一样的（标准的第一人称射击游戏）。这就是成熟游戏和杀人模拟器在营销上的区别。
That doesn't mean we can solve all these problems by making our characters shed a tear when they kill. In general, though, treating these subjects with a bit more care and attention will improve their perceived value to the outside world.
这并不意味着我们可以通过让角色在杀人时流泪来解决所有这些问题。但总的来说，对这些主题多一些关心和关注会提高它们在外界眼中的价值。
Developing believable characters is not a straightforward process. Although there is no surefire method, there are three golden guidelines to developing effective, believable characters:
塑造真实可信的人物并非一蹴而就。虽然没有万无一失的方法，但有三条金科玉律可以帮助塑造有效、可信的角色：
The character needs to intrigue the player. 角色需要引起玩家的兴趣。
The character needs to get the player to like him. 角色需要让玩家喜欢他。
The character needs to change and grow according to experience. 角色需要根据经验变化和成长。
These rules are fairly obvious. If a character does not interest the players, they aren't going to play the game. Similarly, if the players don't develop an affinity for the character over time, they will not be particularly sympathetic to the hero's plight—and, consequently, won't be particularly compelled to take part. Generally, the first two guidelines are followed pretty well—or, at least, attempts are made. The previously mentioned Bubsy the Bobcat fails on all counts.
这些规则相当明显。如果玩家对某个角色不感兴趣，他们就不会参与游戏。同样，如果玩家没有随着时间的推移对角色产生亲切感，他们就不会特别同情主人公的遭遇，因此也不会特别愿意参与游戏。一般来说，前两条准则都得到了很好的遵守，或者说，至少是做出了尝试。前面提到的《大笨猫》 在所有方面都不合格。
The third guideline is the one that seems to fall by the wayside. Although it is fairly easy to invent an interesting character that conforms to the first two guidelines, it's far more difficult to develop that character further so that it develops and grows realistically. If it were that easy, a lot more people would be writing best-selling novels.
第三条准则似乎被忽略了。虽然创作一个符合前两条准则的有趣人物相当容易，但要进一步发展这个角色，使其真实地发展和成长，却要困难得多。如果真有那么容易，那么写畅销小说的人就会多得多了。
One important consideration for realistic characters is based on the diagram shown in Figure 5.11. The growth and progression of the hero is an important part of the story—as important, if not more so, than the plot itself.
现实主义角色的一个重要考虑是基于图 5.11 所示的图表。主人公的成长和进步是故事的重要组成部分——与情节本身同等重要，甚至更为重要。
Figure 5.11. Character growth cycle. 图 5.11. 角色成长周期。
The common character growth cycle that is tied in with the Hero's Journey advises how to manage the growth of the hero character. The hero starts with a limited awareness of himself and his situation. As the story unfolds, the hero's awareness increases to a point at which he realizes that a change is necessary. At this point, the hero often exhibits a reluctance to change—the point at which he would be leaving his ordinary world and entering the special world—and has to dedicate himself to overcoming his reluctance. The point at which the hero has committed himself to change usually signals the end of the first act of the story.
与英雄之旅相联系的是常见角色成长周期，它为如何管理英雄角色的成长提供了建议。英雄一开始对自己及其处境的认识有限。随着故事的发展，英雄的认识不断提高，到了一定程度，他意识到有必要做出改变。此时，主人公往往表现出对改变的不情愿——在这一点上，他将离开平凡的世界，进入特殊的世界——并且必须致力于克服他的不情愿。主人公决心做出改变的时刻通常标志着故事第一幕的结束。
After the hero has entered the special world, he experiments with his new environment, trying to discover the rules and customs that will allow him to prepare effectively for his adjustment to the special world—his big change. This point usually marks the end of the first part of the second act. From this point, the story winds up toward the climax point of the second act by showing the consequences and setbacks of the hero's first attempt at change.
英雄进入特殊世界后，会对新环境进行尝试，试图发现规则和习俗，从而为适应特殊世界——他的重大转变——做好有效准备。这通常标志着第二幕第一部分的结束。从这一点出发，通过展示英雄第一次尝试改变的后果和挫折，故事逐渐走向第二幕的高潮点。
The third act starts with the rededication of the hero to the efforts to change. Here, he makes his final attempt, resulting in a mastery of the circumstances of the special world, closing the cycle and finishing the story—and the development of the character.
第三幕开始，英雄重新致力于改变。在这里，他进行了最后的尝试，最终掌握了特殊世界的环境，结束了整个故事的循环，也完成了角色的塑造。
The various martial arts are a field full of Eastern traditions, with each style encompassing its own unique set of traditions, with many of these often traceable back to a single root. Common to most of these arts is the venerable black belt, the symbol of mastery of the art. These belts are constructed in such a way that over time, the black thread of the belt wears out and the white of the underlying material shows through. Contrary to initial appearances, this is not just a sign of shoddily made belts: It is representative of a tradition rich in symbolism. The painful transition from novice to master—from white to black—is a hero's journey. The symbolism of the black belt fading to white is to indicate that the master is, in fact, a novice at a new higher level. The master has an understanding of the physical aspects of the art; now he can start again and learn the spirituality behind them. The symbolism is beautiful: The master is still a novice, and the path to mastery is cyclic. In addition to this, martial arts tradition never originally called for colored belts. Rather, a white belt gradually became brown and then, over the years, black. This was a sign of experience. At the end of each session, the martial artist would wipe his sweat with the belt.
各种武术领域充满了东方的传统，每种流派都蕴含着其独特的传统体系，其中许多传统往往可以追溯到同一个源头。大多数武术都有一条象征精湛技艺的黑带。这些腰带的制作方式使得，随着时间的推移，黑色的编织线磨损，底下的白色材料逐渐显现。与初看之下认为这是腰带质量低劣的表现相反，这实际上是一个充满象征意义的传统体现。从新手到大师——由白转黑的艰难转变，正是英雄的旅程。黑带逐渐褪为白色的象征意义在于，表明大师实际上在一个新的更高层次上又成了新手。大师已经掌握了武艺的物理层面，现在他可以重新开始，学习这些技艺背后的灵性内涵。这种象征意义极为美好：大师依然是新手，而精通之路是循环往复的。此外，最初的武术传统中并未要求使用彩色腰带。实际上，白带会随着年月逐渐变为褐色，最终变成黑色。这是经验积累的标志。每次练习结束后，习武者都会用腰带擦汗。
This same analogy is often applied to the hero's character development. That's why the diagram shown in Figure 5.11 is a circle. The hero, having achieved mastery of the special world, becomes a novice of circumstances in a new special world. This is the mechanism that is often used to create effective sequels.
同样的类比也经常应用于英雄的角色塑造。这就是为什么图 5.11 中的示意图是一个圆形。英雄，在特殊世界中取得了精通之后，又在新的特殊世界中成为一个新手。这就是通常用来创作有效续集的机制。
This is a difficult concept to grasp, and it is even more difficult to implement well. Don't be too discouraged, though—some common techniques for effective character development are summarized at the end of this chapter. However, before we get to this new material, we need to cover some of the common character archetypes found in stories.
这个概念很难掌握，要很好地实施更是难上加难。不过不要太灰心，本章末尾总结了一些有效塑造角色形象的常用技巧。不过，在了解这些新内容之前，我们需要先介绍一些故事中常见的角色原型。
According to classic literary theory, a number of character archetypes crop up in some form in most stories. This section covers these archetypes and describes their nature and roles.
根据经典文学理论，大多数故事中都会以某种形式出现一些角色原型。本节将介绍这些原型，并描述他们的性质和作用。
These archetype definitions are taken from Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey , a treatment of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey aimed at screenwriters , as discussed in the previous chapter.
这些原型定义摘自克里斯托弗·沃格勒的《作家之旅》一书，该书是对约瑟夫·坎贝尔的《英雄之旅》（Hero's Journey）的探讨，主要针对编剧，上一章已经讨论过。
The common archetypes are not restricted to a single character in any particular story. The same character can play any number of different roles. For example, the character playing the mentor could also be an ally, a herald, a threshold guardian, or even a shadow at a different point in the story. This is how good drama is constructed.
常见的原型并不局限于特定故事中的单一角色。同一个角色可以扮演多种不同的角色。例如，扮演导师的角色在故事的不同阶段，也可以是盟友、传令官、门槛守护者，甚至是阴影。好的戏剧就是这样构建的。
The hero is traditionally the center of the story. In our case, the hero is the player's avatar. In literature, the hero is traditionally a character with one or more problems. The story tells how the character solves these problems. This apparently simple pattern is the basis for all stories. In general, stories revolve around a conflict and the resolution of that conflict. This is where the hero fits in.
英雄历来是故事的中心。在我们的游戏中，英雄就是玩家的化身。在文学作品中，英雄通常是有一个或多个问题的角色。故事讲述角色如何解决这些问题。这种看似简单的模式是所有故事的基础。一般来说，故事都围绕着冲突和冲突的解决展开。这就是英雄的作用所在。
The most important thing to do with the hero is ensure that the players can identify with the character. The hero should have qualities that the players can appreciate and empathize with. The hero's goals should become the player's goals. How you choose to implement this depends very much on the nature of the hero. For example, in Oddworld: Munch's Odyssey, the two heroes, Abe and Munch (shown in Figure 5.12), certainly don't win any beauty awards, but they still appeal successfully to the player.
英雄最重要的一点是确保玩家能够认同这个角色。英雄应该具有玩家能够欣赏和同情的品质。英雄的目标应该成为玩家的目标。如何实现这一点在很大程度上取决于英雄的性质。例如，在《奇异世界：芒奇历险记》中，两位英雄阿比和芒奇（如图 5.12 所示）肯定不会赢得任何选美奖项，但他们仍然成功地吸引了玩家。
Figure 5.12. Abe and Munch. 图 5.12. 阿比和芒奇。
There are a number of possible reasons for this. Note that both Abe and Munch follow the super-sensuality guidelines mentioned earlier, with large eyes and big foreheads, echoing those of babies. Despite (or perhaps because of ) their ugliness, and the fact that they are enslaved underdogs of a much uglier ruling class, they appeal to a wide range of players and have been a surprising success. It's surprising, that is, for the developers. However, close examination of the archetypes and the characteristics of Abe and Munch (as well as the quality of the games in which they were introduced) indicates that the success isn't as surprising as it might initially seem.
这可能有多种原因。请注意，阿比和芒奇都遵循了前面提到的超感官体验准则，他们的大眼睛和大额头与婴儿的眼睛和额头如出一辙。尽管（或许正因为）他们的丑陋，以及他们是更丑陋的统治阶级中被奴役的弱势群体这一事实，他们还是吸引了众多玩家，并取得了令人惊讶的成功。对于开发者来说，这是令人惊讶的。然而，仔细研究一下阿比和芒奇的原型和特点（以及推出他们的游戏的质量）就会发现，他们的成功并不像最初看起来那么令人惊讶。
Of course, as we stated in our guidelines, after the initial interest has been created, it has to be maintained. One of the primary methods for doing this is to make sure that the hero changes and grows during the course of the game. Depending on the style of the game, this could be a real growth—in personality and demeanor—or a more straightforward approach, such as with power-ups and improvement of characteristics. The latter method is far more common in games, although some games do make use of the former to some extent. Planescape: Torment is a specific example that springs to mind, even though it uses standard stats-pumping growth, too.
当然，正如我们在准则中所说，在最初的兴趣产生之后，还必须保持下去。做到这一点的主要方法之一就是确保英雄在游戏过程中不断变化和成长。根据游戏风格的不同，这可以是性格和举止上的真正成长，也可以是更直接的方法，比如使用能量升级和改进特性。后一种方法在游戏中更为常见，不过有些游戏也在一定程度上使用了前一种方法。我想到的一个具体例子就是《异域镇魂曲》，尽管它也使用了标准的属性增长。
The main defining characteristic of a hero in a story is that the hero performs most of the action and assumes the majority of the risk and responsibility. This doesn't mean that other characters can't take the mantle of hero temporarily. For example, in cut scenes, they might be shown sacrificing themselves for the hero.
故事中英雄的主要特征是英雄完成大部分行动，承担大部分风险和责任。但这并不意味着其他角色不能暂时继承英雄的衣钵。例如，在过场动画中，他们可能会为英雄牺牲自己。
Perversely, the hero doesn't necessarily have to be heroic: The antihero is also a classic motif. The Dungeon Keeper series of games uses this particular form, in which the aim of the game is to destroy the forces of good.
反之，英雄并不一定是英雄：反英雄也是一个经典主题。《地下城守护者》系列游戏就采用了这种特殊形式，游戏的目的是摧毁正义的力量。
Heroes are not always on their own. In some games, the "hero" is represented by a group of individuals: the hero team. These are common in role-playing games. Often, though less frequently nowadays, character development in hero teams is limited; in the case of role-playing games, they are computer-generated characters created and customized by the player. However, when hero teams are used in multi-player games (such as Diablo and Diablo II), each player represents an individual hero. In single-player games, the player tends to pick a "favorite," and that character becomes her avatar. Sometimes games even mandate this choice for the player; examples of games that do this are Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment, and Anachronox (shown in Figure 5.13).
英雄并不总是单打独斗。在一些游戏中，“英雄”由一群人代表：英雄团队。这在角色扮演游戏中很常见。通常情况下，英雄团队中的角色塑造有限，但如今这种情况已较少见；在角色扮演游戏中，英雄团队是由电脑生成的角色，由玩家创建和定制。不过，在多人游戏（如《暗黑破坏神》和《暗黑破坏神2》）中使用英雄团队时，每个玩家都代表一个独立的英雄。在单人游戏中，玩家往往会选择一个“最喜爱”的英雄，这个角色就会成为她的化身。有时，游戏甚至会强制要求玩家做出这样的选择；《博德之门》、《异域镇魂曲》和《源毒》（如图 5.13 所示）。
Figure 5.13. Anachronox. 图 5.13. 《源毒》。
In fact, Tom Hall's Anachronox is one of two excellent games that came out of Ion Storm. ( Deus Ex is the other.) Unfortunately, by the time these games were released, the well had already been poisoned by the lamentable Daikatana (starting with the infamous "John Romero's about to make you his bitch" advertising campaign).
事实上，汤姆·霍尔的《源毒》是离子风暴推出的两款优秀游戏之一（另一款是《杀出重围》）。(不幸的是，当这些游戏发布时，这口井已经被可悲的《大刀》毒化了（从臭名昭著的“约翰·罗梅洛要把你变成他的婊子”广告宣传开始）。
The hero of Anachronox, Sylvester (Sly) Boots, is a down-on-his-luck private detective who is being harassed by the local mob to pay back some debts. Sly Boots is a good example of a hero because, characteristically, a hero can be made more appealing by giving them a vulnerability. Heroes often have an inner problem and an outer problem. These can shift as the game progresses. The outer problem is the general quest that is the aim of the game. The inner problem is usually something personal to the hero. In Sly's case, his vulnerability is his debt. At the start of the game, Sly is being beaten to a pulp by a goon. His vulnerability is his lack of cash, so the first task for the player is to help him find a job. Initially, this is his outer problem. However, as the game progresses, this morphs into a grander quest to save the universe. Sly's inner problem is that he is a low-life. This affects the attitude of the other characters in the game toward him and serves to make the quest more difficult than it might have been otherwise. More important, it adds an extra dimension to the character that creates an air of believability.
《源毒》的主人公西尔维斯特（斯莱）·布茨是一名倒霉的私家侦探，他受到当地黑帮的骚扰，要求他偿还一些债务。斯莱·布茨是英雄的一个很好的例子，因为从特点上讲，英雄可以通过赋予其弱点而变得更有吸引力。英雄往往有内在的问题和外在的问题。随着游戏的进行，这些问题会发生变化。外在问题是游戏的总体目标。内在问题通常是英雄的个人问题。以斯莱为例，他的弱点就是他的债务。游戏一开始，斯莱就被一个恶棍打得鼻青脸肿。他的弱点是没有现金，因此玩家的第一个任务就是帮他找一份工作。起初，这是他的外在问题。然而，随着游戏的进行，这演变成了拯救宇宙的更宏大的任务。斯莱的内在问题是他是一个卑鄙小人。这影响了游戏中其他角色对他的态度，也增加了任务的难度。更重要的是，这为角色增添了一个额外的维度，营造出一种可信的氛围。
In summary, the hero's outer problem can be stated as the aim of the game, whereas the inner problem is a character flaw or some other dark secret. The player might not even know the inner problem at the outset. Planescape: Torment uses this particular mechanism well.
总之，主人公的外在问题可以说是游戏的目的，而内在问题则是性格缺陷或其他一些不可告人的秘密。玩家甚至可能一开始就不知道内心的问题。《异域镇魂曲》很好地运用了这一特殊机制。
The mentor is the guide character. It can come in many formats: the clichéd d wise old man or woman , the supernatural aid, or even the hero's own internal voice. The most familiar example of this that will spring to mind for most people is the character of Obi Wan Kenobi and his relationship with the would-be Jedi, Luke Skywalker.
导师是指导角色。它有多种形式：老生常谈的睿智老人、超自然的助手，甚至是主人公自己内心的声音。大多数人脑海中最熟悉的例子就是欧比旺·克诺比（Obi Wan Kenobi）这个角色，以及他与即将成为绝地武士的卢克·天行者（Luke Skywalker）之间的关系。
Anachronox uses the mentor archetype brilliantly: Boots' mentor is his dead secretary. After she dies in some unspecified accident , Sly had her brain digitized and stored in a small device called a "life-cursor" (which also doubles as the player's game control cursor). This allows her to continue to function as a secretary, with the added benefit of being hooked into the world's computer systems. This also allows her to manage the adventure bookkeeping, providing timely advice and hints to Sly, and acting as a story guide to seamlessly keep the hero within the bounds of the designer's gameplay plans.
《源毒》出色地运用了导师原型：博茨的导师是他死去的秘书。在她死于某次不明事故后，斯莱将她的大脑数字化，并储存在一个名为“生命光标”的小型装置中（同时也是玩家的游戏控制光标）。这样，她就可以继续担任秘书一职，而且还能与世界上的计算机系统相连接。这也让她能够管理冒险的记账工作，为斯莱提供及时的建议和提示，并充当故事的引导者，将主人公完美地控制在设计者的游戏计划范围内。
Mentors are not always positive. A mentor can also give bad advice deliberately designed to mislead the hero or to lead him down an evil path. A classic example of this form of "dark mentor" is the devilish advisor in Peter Molyneux's Black & White.
导师并不总是积极的。导师也可能故意给出错误的建议，误导主人公或将其引向邪路。彼得·莫利纽克斯的《黑与白》中的魔鬼顾问就是这种“黑暗导师”的典型代表。
The higher self is the hero as he aspires to be. It is the ideal form of the hero. In many cases, the object of the game is to transform the hero into his higher self. Of course, this is not explicitly stated as a gameplay aim, and it usually happens as a side effect of completing the game.
更高的自我是英雄的理想。它是英雄的理想形态。在许多情况下，游戏的目的就是将英雄转变为更高的自我。当然，这并不是游戏的明确目标，通常只是完成游戏的副作用。
There are many examples in role-playing of this particular motif. For example, the whole premise of Planescape: Torment is based on the transmutation of the Nameless One into his higher self. He is a character with amnesia but a distinct past, who seeks to regain his name and his memory. In the process of doing so, he might also have amends to make to people he has hurt in the past.
在角色扮演游戏中，这种特殊主题的例子比比皆是。例如，《异域镇魂曲》的整个前提就是“无名者”转变为更高的自我。他是一个患有失忆症但有着清晰过去的角色，他试图恢复自己的名字和记忆。在这个过程中，他可能还要对过去伤害过的人做出补偿。
Allies are those characters placed in the game to aid the hero. Many games use the ally archetype. The aim of the ally is to aid the hero in the quest and help to complete tasks that would have been difficult or nearly impossible without aid. Han Solo is the classic example of the ally archetype that most people know.
盟友是指在游戏中为英雄提供帮助的角色。许多游戏都使用盟友原型。盟友的目的是协助英雄完成任务，帮助完成那些如果没有援助就很难完成或几乎不可能完成的任务。韩·索罗是大多数人都知道的盟友原型的典型例子。
We are sure you can think of many examples of this because it is one of the most common archetypes. An obvious example is the role of the scientists and security guards in Half-Life. In many instances, they team up with the hero, Gordon Freeman, to provide advice and help him get past obstacles, such as doors with retina scanner-based locks.
我们相信你能想到很多这样的例子，因为这是最常见的原型之一。一个明显的例子是《半条命》中科学家和保安的角色。在许多情况下，他们会与主人公戈登·弗里曼合作，为他提供建议并帮助他越过障碍，例如装有视网膜扫描仪锁的门。
The shape shifter is the most elusive archetype used in stories. The role of the shape shifter is to appear in one form, only to be revealed later in the story as another. It's a catch-all transitional archetype that governs the transformation of characters.
变形人是故事中最难以捉摸的原型。变形人的作用是以一种形态出现，但在故事的后期又会以另一种形态出现。它是一种包罗万象的过渡原型，支配着角色的转变。
For example, an ally or mentor could turn out to be a trickster or a shadow. A character that initially helps a player could turn out to have been acting in his own interests, finally betraying the hero when his aims are achieved.
例如，盟友或导师可能会变成骗子或阴影。一开始帮助玩家的角色可能会被证明是为了自己的利益而行动，最终在英雄的目的达到后背叛了英雄。
An example of this archetype from classic literature is the evil queen in Snow White . She appears to Snow White as an ally and mentor (the wizened old woman with the apples) before revealing herself to be a shadow and a trickster when Snow White is poisoned. An example from a game is the White Lord from the old role-playing game Dungeon Master. The White Lord initially acts as a mentor/herald, tasking the adventurers to enter a dungeon and seek out and destroy the Black Lord. If they achieve this, then upon return to the surface, the White Lord declares that they have been tainted by the evil of the dungeon and attempts to destroy them (becoming a shadow).
经典文学作品中这种原型的一个例子是《白雪公主》中的邪恶皇后。她以盟友和导师的身份出现在白雪公主面前（拿着苹果的老妇人），然后在白雪公主被毒死后显露出自己的阴影和诡计。游戏中的一个例子是老式角色扮演游戏《迷宫魔兽》中的白魔王。白魔王最初扮演导师/预言家的角色，要求冒险者进入地牢寻找并消灭黑魔王。如果他们完成了任务，那么在返回地面时，白魔王就会宣布他们已经被地牢中的邪恶所玷污，并试图消灭他们（变成了阴影）。
The threshold guardian is another very common archetype used across the whole spectrum of game types. The role of the threshold guardian is to prevent the progress of the hero by whatever means are necessary—at least, until the hero has proven his worth. Sometimes the threshold guardian appears as a lesser form of the shadow archetype, maybe as a henchman or a lieutenant of the main shadow.
门槛守护者是另一种非常常见的原型，在所有游戏类型中都有使用。门槛守护者的作用是通过一切必要手段阻止英雄前进——至少在英雄证明自己的价值之前是这样。有时，门槛守护者会以较低形式的阴影原型出现，可能是主要阴影的随从或副手。
The most obvious example is the classic end-of-level boss used in virtually every arcade game since the Creation. A more subtle use of this archetype does not use force to dissuade the hero. It could be voiced by the hero's own self-doubt, or the warnings and ministrations of a mentor character. Consider the role of Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back . Although he acted as a mentor in training young Luke in the ways of the force, he also cautioned strongly against Luke leaving to face Darth Vader. Luke's training had not been completed, and he was not yet ready to face his nemesis.
最明显的例子就是《创世纪》以来几乎所有街机游戏中都会出现的经典关卡终结头目。这种原型还有一种更巧妙的用法，即不使用武力来劝阻英雄。它可以是英雄自己的自我怀疑，也可以是导师角色的警告和教诲。考虑一下《帝国反击战》中尤达的角色。虽然他以导师的身份训练年轻的卢克掌握力量之道，但他也强烈警告卢克不要去面对达斯·维达。卢克的训练尚未完成，他还没有准备好面对他的克星。
Tricksters are often neutral characters in storylines who delight in making mischief for the hero. They can also make an excellent (incompetent or otherwise) sidekick for the hero or the shadow, giving an easy opportunity to inject some comic relief to lighten the storyline.
诡计多端的人通常是故事情节中的中立角色，他们乐于为英雄制造恶作剧。他们也可以成为英雄或阴影的优秀（无能或其他）跟班，为故事情节的轻松愉快注入一些喜剧色彩。
There are many examples of trickster characters that we can draw on. For example, Bugs Bunny from Warner Brothers cartoons is one; Wile E. Coyote is a trickster, too, but his tricks always fail, or the Roadrunner out-tricks him. The trickster is someone who achieves his ends through cleverness , resourcefulness, or lateral thinking, especially in the face of superior force. Actually, this could be said of the hero in a fair number of adventure games; the puzzles represent the "tricks" in a way, especially if they're set up that way.
我们可以借鉴很多骗子角色的例子。例如，华纳兄弟动画片中的兔八哥就是其中之一；威利狼也是一个骗子，但他的诡计总是失败，或者被哔哔鸟耍得团团转。骗子通过聪明、机智或横向思维来达到目的，尤其是在面对强大的力量时。实际上，这也可以说是相当多冒险游戏中的主人公；谜题在某种程度上就代表了“诡计”，尤其是当谜题是这样设置的时候。
For example, the hero often has to trick a threshold guardian into leaving the threshold. In a way, this was the role of Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit : He wasn't brought along on the adventure for his strength, but for his cleverness, which was eventually augmented by the Ring that made him invisible.
例如，主人公往往要骗过门槛守护者，让他离开门槛。在某种程度上，这就是《霍比特人》中比尔博·巴金斯的角色：他并不是因为力气大才被带上冒险的，而是因为他的聪明才智，而他的聪明才智最终又被能让他隐身的魔戒增强了。
The shadow is arguably the second most important character after the hero himself. In some stories, the shadow is elevated to the number-one rank. For example, Ritual Entertainment's Sin's main selling point was the shadow, Elexis Sinclaire, a beautiful, sexy CEO of a massive bio-tech corporation who happened to have a penchant for clothes and makeup that wouldn't appear out of place on a street-walking extra from the film Pretty Woman. Aside from the fact that the biographical details for Elexis Sinclaire (shown in Figure 5.14) are straight out of a (bad) schoolboy fantasy, the emphasis of the game is on her as the primary character in the game.
阴影可以说是仅次于英雄本身的第二重要角色。在一些故事中，阴影被提升到了第一位。例如，Ritual Entertainment 公司的《罪》的主要卖点就是阴影埃莱克西斯·辛克莱尔，她是一家大型生物科技公司美丽、性感的首席执行官，同时还喜欢穿衣化妆，这与电影《风月俏佳人》中的街头女演员并无二致。除了埃莱克西斯·辛克莱尔的详细履历（如图 5.14 所示）直接来自（糟糕的）学生幻想之外，游戏的重点在于她是游戏中的主要角色。
Figure 5.14. Elexis Sinclaire. 图 5.14. 埃莱克西斯·辛克莱尔。
In other games, the shadow lives up to its designation—remaining mysterious until the story climax, when it is revealed in a flourish and a flash of lightning. This can add a lot to the gameplay, especially because part of the gameplay is often to find out the identity of the shadow. This can add a lot of dramatic tension and mystery to augment the gameplay.
在其他游戏中，阴影的称号名副其实——一直保持神秘，直到故事的高潮部分，阴影才会在闪亮的闪电中现身。这可以为游戏增色不少，尤其是因为游戏的一部分玩法往往是找出阴影的身份。这可以增加游戏的戏剧张力和神秘感。
The shadow is the ultimate evil, the great adversary that is responsible for the hero being in the predicament that he is in. Sometimes this is a personal decision: The shadow has a vendetta against the hero. In other situations, the shadow doesn't even know of the hero, and only the actions of the shadow affecting the hero on a personal level spur him to action. Of course, the shadow doesn't even have to be a concrete entity: It could be just a set of circumstances or feelings within the hero himself. His own dark side could be the shadow.
阴影是终极恶魔，是导致英雄陷入困境的强大对手。有时这是个人的决定：阴影与英雄有仇。在其他情况下，阴影甚至不知道英雄的存在，只有阴影在个人层面上影响到英雄的行为才会促使他采取行动。当然，阴影不一定是一个具体的实体：它可以只是主人公自身的一系列情况或感受。他自己的阴暗面可能就是阴影。
The herald archetype is used to provide the hero with a change of direction and propel the story in a different direction. The herald is often used to facilitate change in the story.
预言家原型用于为英雄改变方向，推动故事向不同的方向发展。预言家通常被用来促进故事的变化。
Princess Leia's message to Obi-Wan Kenobi that Luke discovers in R2D2's memory serves this function. It's unclear whether Princess Leia or R2D2 is the herald, but it doesn't really matter: Luke gets the message from a figure who provides his necessary "change of direction."
卢克在 R2D2 的记忆中发现的莱娅公主给欧比旺·克诺比的信息就具有这种功能。目前还不清楚是莉亚公主还是 R2D2 是预言者，但这并不重要：卢克从一个为他提供必要的“改变方向”的角色那里获得了信息。
Another example is the voice of the narrator in Dungeon Keeper. This could be described as a herald: He describes the challenges to be faced in the level ahead and keeps the player appraised of the progress of the campaign.
另一个例子是《地下城守护者》中叙述者的声音。这可以说是一个预言家：他描述了前方关卡所面临的挑战，并让玩家随时了解活动的进展情况。
The function of a herald is to provide a motivation to the hero to progress in the story. Heralds can be positive, negative, or neutral. It doesn't need to be the classic herald of Greek literature. In fact, the herald doesn't have to be a character at all: The call of the herald could simply be a set of tricks to mislead the hero into a certain route or path.
预言家的作用是为故事中的英雄提供前进的动力。预言可以是正面的、负面的或中性的。它不一定是希腊文学中的经典预言家。事实上，预言者根本不一定是一个角色：预言家的召唤可能只是一套误导英雄进入特定路线或路径的把戏。
Character Development Worksheet 角色塑造工作表
Are the game's characters primarily art-based or story-based? 游戏中的角色主要是基于艺术的还是故事？
What style is your art-based character drawn in: cartoon, comic-book superhero, realistic, gothic, and so on? Will your character be exaggerated in some way: cute, super-sensual, or otherwise? 你的基于艺术的角色是什么风格：卡通、漫画超级英雄、写实、哥特等等？你的角色是否会有某种夸张：可爱、超感性或其他？
Do your art-based characters depend upon visual stereotypes for instant identification, or are they more subtle than that? If they are more subtle, how does their appearance support their role in the game? 你的基于艺术的角色是依靠视觉上的刻板印象让人一眼就能识别出来，还是比这更微妙？如果更微妙，他们的外表如何支持他们在游戏中的角色？
Can the player tell by looking at a character how that character is likely to act? Are there reasons in the story or gameplay for wanting a character's behavior to be predictable from his appearance, or is there a reason to make the character ambiguous? 玩家能否通过观察角色就能判断出该角色可能采取的行动？在故事或游戏中，是否有理由让玩家从角色的外表就能预测到他的行为，还是有理由让角色的行为模棱两可？
If the game has an avatar, does the avatar have a sidekick? What does the sidekick offer the player—information, advice, physical assistance? How will the sidekick complement the avatar? How will the player be able to visually distinguish between the two of them at a glance? 如果游戏中有一个化身，那么这个化身是否有一个跟班？他能为玩家提供什么信息、建议、实际帮助？小跟班如何与化身互补？玩家如何一眼就能分辨出他们两人？
With a story-based character, how will you convey the character's personality and attitudes to the player? Through narration, dialog, gameplay, backstory , or other means? 对于基于故事的角色，你将如何向玩家传达角色的个性和态度？是通过叙述、对话、游戏、背景故事还是其他方式？
How does the character's grammar, vocabulary, tone of voice, and speech patterns contribute to the player's understanding of her? 角色的语法、词汇、语气和说话方式如何帮助玩家理解她？
Specifically in the case of avatar characters, what about the avatar will intrigue and interest the player? 具体到化身角色，化身的哪些方面会引起玩家的好奇和兴趣？
What about the avatar will encourage the player to like him? 化身的哪些方面会促使玩家喜欢他？
How will the avatar change and grow throughout the game? 在整个游戏过程中，化身将如何变化和成长？
Does the character (any character, not just the avatar) correspond to one of Campbell's mythic archetypes: the hero, mentor, ally, threshold guardian, and so on? Or does he have a less archetypal, more complex role to play, and if so, what is it? 角色（任何角色，不仅仅是化身）是否符合坎贝尔的神话原型之一：英雄、导师、盟友、门槛守卫等？还是他扮演一个不那么典型、更复杂的角色，如果是这样，那是什么？
In any character design effort, some technical considerations need to be taken into account. For example, the player's avatar needs to have the largest number of animations, and they must be the smoothest animations of all because this is the character being watched all the time.
在任何角色设计工作中，都需要考虑一些技术因素。例如，玩家的头像需要有最多的动画，而且必须是最流畅的动画，因为玩家一直在观看这个角色。
The avatar's movements must be attractive, not clumsy, unless that's part of the avatar's character. The player should be able to see the avatar easily: The avatar should be a distinct color that stands out from the background (at least, in action games ) and should not be able to be mistaken for an enemy or a sidekick. When designing a group of human characters , consider useful ways of differentiating them: sex, hair color, general body shape, clothing, distinctive weapons or tools. You can also give them distinctive names and ethnicities, if appropriate. (The men of Sergeant Rock's Easy Company in the old DC Comics World War II series reflected the ethnic diversity of America, with names such as Dino Manelli, Izzy Cohen, and "Reb" Farmer—not to mention our square-jawed American hero, Sgt. Frank Rock.)
化身的动作必须吸引人，而不是笨拙，除非这是化身性格的一部分。玩家应能很容易地看到化身：化身的颜色应该鲜明，能从背景中脱颖而出（至少在动作游戏中是这样），而且不能被误认为是敌人或跟班。在设计一组人类角色时，要考虑区分他们的有用方法：性别、发色、一般体形、服装、独特的武器或工具。如果合适的话，还可以给他们起独特的名字和种族。(旧版 DC 漫画《二战》系列中的“洛克中士简易连”的士兵们反映了美国的种族多样性，他们的名字包括迪诺·马内利、伊兹·科恩和“雷布”法默——更不用说我们的方下巴美国英雄弗兰克·洛克中士了）。
Of course, there is a flipside to this as well. Naming your characters in such a fashion lends a "cartoon-like" style to it. This is fine for some purposes, but for others it is not necessarily such a good fit. It's just not realistic, and if realism is your aim, then it cheapens the final result. Notice that we, the authors of this book, are not called Ernest O'Scribe or Andrew Penn-Wielder.
当然，这也有一个反面。以这种方式命名角色会使角色具有“卡通”风格。这在某些情况下没有问题，但在其他情况下就不一定那么合适了。这并不现实，如果现实主义是你的目标，那么它就会降低最终结果的价值。请注意，我们，本书的作者，并不叫欧内斯特·奥斯克里布或者安德鲁·潘·维尔德。
译者注：Ernest O'Scribe or Andrew Penn-Wielder，直译是欧内斯特·抄写员，安德鲁·笔·挥舞者。这种命名方式在《魔兽世界》里面很常见。
Names do not have to spell out explicitly the name of the character. For example, the name of the hero in Anachronox , Sylvester Boots, says little or nothing about the character. However his nickname, Sly, is altogether more revealing . Another example is Lara Croft. Although this does not immediately seem to indicate anything about the character, it does (to English sensibilities, at least) imply a degree of upper-class Englishness.
名字不一定要明确揭示出角色的身份。例如，《源毒》中的主人公西尔维斯特·布茨的名字几乎没有点明这个角色任何信息。然而，他的绰号“Sly”（斯莱，直译是狡猾）却更意味深长。另一个例子是劳拉·克劳馥。虽然名字也似乎不能立即说明角色的任何特征，但它确实（至少在英国人看来）暗示了一定程度的英国上流社会的气质。
In short, the importance of character design on your game really depends on the nature of the game itself. However, the success of character-based franchises such as Duke Nukem, Oddworld, and the Mario Brothers certainly indicates that you should consider effective character design as one of your top game-design priorities.
总之，角色设计对游戏的重要性取决于游戏本身的性质。不过，《毁灭公爵》、《奇异世界》和马里奥兄弟等以角色为基础的成功无疑表明，你应该将鲜明的角色设计视为游戏设计的首要任务之一。
