魔鱼与Pocket Gamer专访-独家透露《浴火银河3》的计划

浪迹红云

http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/Multiformat/Galaxy%20on%20Fire%202%20HD/news.asp?c=44387

Over the past decade, Hamburg-based studio Fishlabs has become renowned for pushing the mobile gaming boundaries.

Starting off in the Java era with graphically groundbreaking titles likeSnowboard Hero, the German outfit is most recently recognisable for creating the huge virtual smartphone sandbox that is Galaxy on Fire (GoF).

I sat down with Michael Schade, CEO of Fishlabs, just a few days prior to the launch of Galaxy on Fire 2 Full HD on Steam to talk about the company's plans for the future, and to ask the question that's on all GoFfans' lips: where's Galaxy on Fire 3?

Flaming

The reason for the continued absence of a true-blown sequel to GoF 2 is actually a lot more complex than I first thought.

According to Schade, the code being used to run one of the most impressive-looking titles on the App Store is actually still based firmly on the original Java version - in fact, the engine takes up only 1.5MB of the download size.

While it is possible to build upon this codebase further still, Schade believes that the series "needs to have multiplayer" in the future - and this just isn't possible with the way the software is currently coded.

According to Schade, it'll take at least two years to create the next game with a new engine, so the team is instead planning to launch a few spin-off entries at the end of the year that focus on "key game mechanics" that could feature in GoF 3.

Ah, yes: GoF 3. While Schade is naturally unwilling to talk too much about a game that's not been officially confirmed yet, he tells me that Fishlabs will be watching how well these end-of-year spin-off titles fare. This research will then influence the production and design of GoF 3.

Firestarter

One thing that seems certain regarding future releases, though, is the business model Fishlabs will be using.

Once a staunch supporter of premium games, Schade tells me it was "plain stupid" to ignore freemium and F2P, and that developers "ignoring a business model that is flexible will go out of business".

Hold the pitchforks, mind, for Fishlabs isn't making this move lightly. In fact, Schade calls it "the next big transition for the company".

Instead of taking its cues from the endless farming social games, Fishlabs will be once again looking to the PC for inspiration.

Schade states that Turbine games like Lord of the Rings Online (of which he was a paid subscriber before it changed) is the F2P model Fishlabs is looking to emulate, not the games that, in his words, "give a bad experience of F2P".

Double agent?

In fact, Schade tells me he used to be very "anti-freemium" on account of his love for epic role-playing and adventure games on PC, but that Turbine's efforts have really helped persuade him there is still a way of keeping the gameplay intact within the F2P business model.

Given the company's history as one of the most dedicated defenders of premium games on the App Store, I wouldn't bet against it finding that sweet spot between the two camps.

Galaxy on Fire 2 - Supernova will be hitting iOS in September.



在过去的十年中，总部位于汉堡的Fishlabs工作室已成为在移动游戏界享有盛誉的领头羊。Fishlabs工作室从在Java图形化的时代就开始创作突破性的游戏，如滑雪英雄在，在德国以创作了大型虚拟智能手机的游戏——浴火银河 （GOF）而闻名。
我与迈克尔·沙德，CEO的Fishlabs聚在一起，根据短短的几天之前在 Steam上推出的浴火银河2全高清版，谈论有关该公司对未来的计划，并问了一个所有GoF迷的都想问的问题：浴火银河3什么时候面世？
继续开发GOF2的原因其实有很多，很复杂，比如我第一个想到的原因就是缺乏一个真正的成熟的GOF2的续集。
据沙德所说，被用来运行在App Store上最令人印象深刻的前瞻性的游戏之一的代码，实际上仍然是原始的Java版本的牢固基础上的 - 事实上，核心只占用1.5MB的下载大小。
虽然它未来可能依旧是建立在这个代码库的基础上，沙德认为，但是该系列的“需要”在未来有多人游戏 - 而这个软件的核心以目前编码的形式是不可能的实现这一功能的。
据沙德说，它会需要至少两年的时间，以在接下来的游戏开发中创建一个新的引擎，实现多人联机，而不是计划在年底推出一些分拆项目，重点是“key game mechanics”可能配备在GoF3。
虽然沙德是自然不愿过多谈论一个游戏，但没有得到官方的证实，他告诉我，Fishlabs将密切关注年收益。研究结果将影响GoF3的设计和生产。
有一件事似乎是肯定的，在将来的版本中，Fishlabs将使用商业模式。
作为顶级游戏的坚定支持者，沙德告诉我，忽略免费增值和F2P是“纯粹愚蠢的”，而且开发人员“忽略了一个生意之外的灵活的商业模式”。
Fishlabs的这一举动并非轻易之举，而是慎重理智的决定。事实上，沙德把它称为“公司下一个大的转变”。
Fishlabs不是从无尽的养殖社交游戏上，而是将再次在PC上寻找灵感。
沙德指出，Fishlabs是想效仿F2P模式，而不是游戏，像Turbine的游戏，如指环王Online （他是一个付费用户，在它改变前）游戏，是F2P模式，用他的话说，“一个关于F2P的教训” 。
事实上，沙德告诉我他非常“反对免费增值”，考虑到他的爱情史诗角色，在PC上扮演和冒险游戏，但是，Turbine的工作真正说服了他仍保持着游戏的F2P业务完整模式。
鉴于该公司是历史上在App Store上最热忱的顶级游戏捍卫者之一，我也不会赌它发现不了，这两点之间的平衡。
浴火银河2 -超新星在9月登陆iOS

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