2011 Eurogamer
[访谈翻译] Eurogamer 独家专访：增田顺一与杉森建谈《宝可梦 黑·白》幕后心智（纽约曼哈顿采风、156只全新宝可梦大换血的决断与成熟叙事）
增田顺一Contents 本篇 13 章
- 在快速变化的电子游戏市场中，你们如何让宝可梦游戏保持新鲜感和相关性？
- 就这个版本而言，是什么让它感觉新鲜？是什么让它与之前的不同？
- 战斗系统现在加入了三对三的对战。为什么这很重要？
- 你们是怎么设计一只新宝可梦的？
- 怎样才算一只好的宝可梦？
- 我们也会考虑对战平衡。有时我们需要20只电属性，或者一定数量的水属性、火属性宝可梦。把这些...
- 宝可梦的名字是怎么想出来的？
- 游戏的名字都和颜色有关。现在已经出了这么多游戏。你们很快会把颜色用光吗？用光了怎么办？
- 在日本，DS的本地无线功能比在西方用得更多，因为在西方更难遇到同样玩宝可梦的人。你们是否考...
- 你们在本地化宝可梦游戏时经历怎样的流程？这是它在日本发售数月后才在欧洲发售的主要原因吗？
- 任天堂3DS有许多有趣的连接功能。你们是否已经开始思考3DS能如何改变宝可梦系列？
- 你们有想法了吗？
- 这些年来已经有几百只宝可梦了。你最喜欢哪一只？
It is one of the best-selling game franchises, a Nintendo behemoth with truly global appeal. And yet we know so little about where the Pokemon games come from.
它是最畅销的游戏系列之一，一个真正具有全球吸引力的任天堂巨兽。然而我们对宝可梦游戏的来源却知之甚少。
They come from Japan, of course, but, more specifically, they come from a Japanese game developer called GameFreak – somewhat appropriately named given the fanaticism the Pokemon series commands from its loyal fanbase. But what makes the secretive independent developer tick? How does it go about making Pokemon feel fresh version after version? And how does it come up with all those crazy Pokemon names? Here, in a rare interview, Pokemon director Junichi Masuda and graphic designer Mana Ibe reveal all.
它们当然来自日本，但更具体地说，它们来自一家名为GameFreak的日本游戏开发商——考虑到宝可梦系列从其忠实粉丝群体中引发的狂热，这个名字倒也颇为贴切。但这家神秘的独立开发商究竟靠什么运转？它如何让宝可梦在一个又一个版本中保持新鲜感？它又是怎么想出那些疯狂的宝可梦名字的？在这里，宝可梦总监增田顺一和平面设计师伊部麻奈在一篇难得的采访中揭示了一切。
Eurogamer
How do you keep the Pokemon games fresh and relevant in the rapidly changing videogame market?
在快速变化的电子游戏市场中，你们如何让宝可梦游戏保持新鲜感和相关性？
增田顺一
When I create new videogames, I consider not just adapting the last element. First, I look again at all the elements, because the environment has changed. For example, there have been some technology changes and advancements. People may not like what they like in the past, trend wise. I take that into consideration when creating a new Pokemon.
当我创作新的电子游戏时，我考虑的不只是沿用上一个元素。首先，我会重新审视所有元素，因为环境已经变了。比如，技术上出现了一些变化和进步。从潮流上看，人们可能不再喜欢过去喜欢的东西。我在创作新的宝可梦时会把这些考虑进去。
Eurogamer
With this version, what makes it feel fresh? What makes it different to what’s gone before?
就这个版本而言，是什么让它感觉新鲜？是什么让它与之前的不同？
增田顺一
We employed the same strategy as we did with Red and Blue. We delivered all new Pokemon for this new series. Players won’t meet any old Pokemon up until they clear the main storyline.
我们采用了与《红》和《蓝》相同的策略。我们为这个新系列提供了全新的宝可梦。玩家在通关主线剧情之前不会遇到任何旧的宝可梦。
Eurogamer
The battle system now includes three-on-three fights. Why is this important?
战斗系统现在加入了三对三的对战。为什么这很重要？
增田顺一
We’ve introduced two battle systems. One is triple battle, the second is rotation battle. Triple battle inherited the method from the single or double battles we used to have in our past titles, but involves more strategy.
我们引入了两种战斗系统。一个是三打对战，第二个是轮转对战。三打对战继承了我们过去作品中单打或双打对战的方法，但涉及更多策略。
增田顺一
Both sides put out three Pokemon. The positioning is important because the Pokemon on the left is unable to target the Pokemon on the right, and vice versa. The Pokemon in the middle can attack any Pokemon.
双方各派出三只宝可梦。站位很重要，因为左边的宝可梦无法攻击右边的宝可梦，反之亦然。中间的宝可梦可以攻击任何一只宝可梦。
增田顺一
With rotation battles, both sides put out three Pokemon, but each turn you can only choose one Pokemon to battle against another. Only one Pokemon can attack at a time. So you can rotate one to the left or to the right, meaning both players can switch and attack in the same turn.
在轮转对战中，双方各派出三只宝可梦，但每回合你只能选择一只宝可梦与另一只对战。同一时间只有一只宝可梦能攻击。所以你可以向左或向右轮换，这意味着双方玩家可以在同一回合内切换并攻击。
增田顺一
This battle system involves more luck. You don’t know until you make the move and the rotation what the opponent is going to do. You have to predict what the opponent is going to do. Our intention with the rotation battle was, sometimes if you’re against good players, most of the time you lose. But with rotation battle, even if you’re not good you may win because of the luck rotation brings.
这个对战系统包含更多运气成分。在你做出动作、完成轮转之前，你不知道对手会做什么。你必须预测对手会怎么做。我们设计轮转对战的本意是，有时如果你对上水平高的玩家，大多数时候你会输。但在轮转对战里，即使你水平不高也可能赢，因为轮转带来了运气。
Eurogamer
How do you design a new Pokemon?
你们是怎么设计一只新宝可梦的？
增田顺一
At first I think of ideas about what kind of play I can include. I consider playing content at first, and then what kinds of new elements I can bring in, and the world and communication aspects.
一开始我会想能加入什么样的玩法。我先考虑游玩内容，然后是我能引入哪些新元素，以及世界和通信方面的内容。
增田顺一
I bring up all the ideas at first. Then I start to think about what the world will be like. Which region? What town should we have? What type of gym should we have? I start to map the world next.
我先把所有想法都提出来。然后开始思考世界会是什么样子。哪个地区？该有什么样的城镇？该有什么样的道馆？接下来我开始规划世界。
增田顺一
Once those are fixed I can start to think, so, this gym should have this type of trainer, so we should have this type of Pokemon. Then we start to think about the Pokemon characters.
这些定下来之后，我就可以开始想，那么这个道馆该有这种类型的训练家，所以该有这种类型的宝可梦。然后我们开始考虑宝可梦角色。
增田顺一
You might think we always start to think from the Pokemon first, but actually we don’t. We do it in this order.
你可能会以为我们总是先从宝可梦开始想，但其实不是。我们是按这个顺序来的。
Eurogamer
What makes for a good Pokemon?
怎样才算一只好的宝可梦？
伊部真奈
All Pokemon shouldn’t be just cold or frightening. What we consider first is players have some connectivity, a close feeling with these Pokemon. That’s really important to have. For example, some Pokemon could have really edgy nails and could be really frightening to the players. However, if the Pokemon has a cute look, it could be something you feel close to.
所有宝可梦都不应该只是冷冰冰或吓人的。我们首先考虑的是让玩家与这些宝可梦之间有某种联系、一种亲近感。这一点非常重要。比如，有些宝可梦可能长着很锋利的爪子，对玩家来说可能很吓人。但如果这只宝可梦外形可爱，它就可能成为让你觉得亲近的东西。
Also, for example, if some Pokemon have really big mouths, that could be scary, too. But if the shape of the body is really cute, it will be something you feel close to. That balance is really important when we introduce new Pokemon.
再比如，有些宝可梦如果嘴巴特别大，那也可能很吓人。但如果身体的形状很可爱，它就会成为让你觉得亲近的东西。我们在引入新宝可梦时，这种平衡非常重要。
Eurogamer
We also consider battle balance. We sometimes need to have 20 electric, or a number of water type or fire type. Taking that into consideration, we introduce new Pokemon.
我们也会考虑对战平衡。有时我们需要20只电属性，或者一定数量的水属性、火属性宝可梦。把这些因素考虑进去后，我们再引入新的宝可梦。
增田顺一
What is different from the other videogames is that Pokemon could be your opponent, or Pokemon could be your friend. That’s why she said we should create Pokemon the player could have a close feeling to.
与其他电子游戏不同的是，宝可梦既可能是你的对手，也可能是你的朋友。正因如此，她说我们应该创造出能让玩家产生亲近感的宝可梦。
Eurogamer
How do you come up with the Pokemon names?
宝可梦的名字是怎么想出来的？
增田顺一
There are two different ways of approaching it. One is, sometimes our planning team already have the setting for the Pokemon, so they make a request of the designer team, saying, ‘We like to have this type of Pokemon, for example fire type. This Pokemon has to have this feature.’ At that stage they might have put some name they would like to have.
有两种不同的方式。一种是，有时我们的企划团队已经定好了这只宝可梦的设定，于是他们向设计团队提出要求，说‘我们想要这种类型的宝可梦，比如火属性。这只宝可梦必须具备这个特征。’在那个阶段，他们可能已经想好了希望采用的名字。
增田顺一
Another approach is, some designers come up with some Pokemon ideas. When they present their ideas to the planning team they sometimes already have the name – not fixed, but a temporary name.
另一种方式是，有些设计师自己构思出宝可梦的点子。当他们把想法提交给企划团队时，有时已经带了名字——不是定稿，而是临时名字。
增田顺一
So, most of the time we have about five names to one Pokemon. But then there’s the issue of trademarks. We have to go through a legal process and check out whether we can use the names in the Japanese market. That’s how we do it in Japan, first.
所以，大多数情况下，一只宝可梦会有大约五个候选名字。但接下来还有商标的问题。我们必须走法律流程，确认这些名字能否在日本市场使用。我们在日本就是这么做的，先在日本确认。
增田顺一
Overseas, of course we try to localise all of the Pokemon names - most of them - so other people overseas understand the original meaning we had from the Japanese. We try not to dilute the meaning. That’s how we come up with all the Pokemon names.
到了海外，我们当然会尽量对所有宝可梦的名字进行本地化——大部分名字都是如此——让海外的人能理解我们从日文原名中赋予的含义。我们尽量不稀释原意。宝可梦的名字就是这么定下来的。
Eurogamer
The names of the games are associated with colours. There have been so many games now. Will you run out of colours soon? What happens when you do?
游戏的名字都和颜色有关。现在已经出了这么多游戏。你们很快会把颜色用光吗？用光了怎么办？
增田顺一
This time, for Black and White, the main concept was extreme in the scenario. So, that’s where the name Black and White comes from. It’s extreme, different, opposite. This time was the first time we put the title based on the scenario and the world point of view. This title was based on the content of the videogame scenario.
这一次，《黑／白》的主要概念是剧情上的极端。所以‘黑与白’这个名字就由此而来。它是极端的、不同的、对立的。这一次是我们第一次根据剧情和世界观来定标题。这个标题是基于游戏剧情的内容。
增田顺一
Going forward, I predict we will continue putting titles based on the worldview, like we did for Black and White. But of course, it’s really difficult!
往后，我预计我们会像《黑／白》这样，继续根据世界观来定标题。当然，这真的很难！
Eurogamer
In Japan, local wireless DS features are used more than they are in the West, where it’s harder to meet people who also play Pokemon. Do you consider adding depth to the single-player side of the game so those players get as much out of Pokemon as those who can play with friends?
在日本，DS的本地无线功能比在西方用得更多，因为在西方更难遇到同样玩宝可梦的人。你们是否考虑过加深游戏的单人部分，让这些玩家也能像那些能和朋友一起玩的玩家一样，从宝可梦中获得同样多的乐趣？
增田顺一
When I developed this videogame I tried to create a system that, even if you’re playing by yourself, the single player can enjoy it. I always try to make the videogames something a single player can enjoy at first.
我在开发这款游戏时，试图打造一个即使你独自游玩、单人玩家也能享受其中的系统。我一直努力让游戏首先能让单人玩家享受。
增田顺一
The element you can connect to others, that is something we added as spice to expand the videogame. Most people play by themselves up until they clear the main storyline. Up until the point of clearing the main storyline, most of the time players try to grow up the Pokemon, raise them, then once they clear the main storyline, they start to battle against others and exchange with others. So this videogame is totally designed for both.
可以与他人连接的元素，是我们作为调味料加进去、用来扩展游戏的东西。大多数人在通关主线剧情之前都是独自游玩。在通关主线剧情之前，玩家大多数时候都在培养、养育宝可梦，而一旦通关主线剧情，他们就开始与他人对战、与他人交换。所以这款游戏完全是为两者设计的。
增田顺一
Also, when I create videogames I do consider the situation in the West, for instance Europe. In Japan kids sometimes gather in the park and play against others. In Europe I’ve overheard there are not many situations like that, so I always consider this. But of course, until I came to Europe, I didn’t notice much about the situation, so it’s really important to come to Europe and get information.
另外，我在制作游戏时也会考虑西方的情况，比如欧洲。在日本，孩子们有时会聚集在公园里互相对战。在欧洲，我听说这种情况不多，所以我一直会考虑这一点。当然，在我来欧洲之前，我对这里的情况了解不多，所以来欧洲获取信息真的很重要。
Eurogamer
What process do you go through when localising Pokemon games? Is that the main reason why it launches in Europe months after Japan?
你们在本地化宝可梦游戏时经历怎样的流程？这是它在日本发售数月后才在欧洲发售的主要原因吗？
增田顺一
For Black and White we totally changed the scheme of the organisation. This time we translated directly from Japanese to all other languages. Before, we localised from Japanese to English, and from English to other European languages. So this time it was Japanese directly to European languages.
对于《黑／白》，我们彻底改变了组织的架构。这次我们直接从日语翻译成所有其他语言。以前，我们先从日语本地化成英语，再从英语本地化成其他欧洲语言。所以这次是从日语直接到欧洲语言。
增田顺一
That made the launch timing a little closer to the Japanese launch. This time, the launch in Europe is 4th March, which is two days before the US launch. So we’re making an effort. This time we had many new localisation staff.
这让发售时间离日本发售更近了一些。这次欧洲的发售是3月4日，比美国发售早两天。所以我们在努力。这次我们有许多新的本地化人员。
增田顺一
The gap between the Japanese launch and the European launch is because we always try to make the best videogame experience for not only Japanese users, but the people in other countries who enjoy localised videogames.
日本发售与欧洲发售之间的间隔，是因为我们一直努力为日本用户，也为其他国家的本地化游戏玩家，打造最好的游戏体验。
增田顺一
For example, we take care with the Pokemon names. We can all adapt Japanese names to Europe, but then sometimes it wouldn’t mean anything to the European kids and players. So we always take all the processes seriously when we localise.
例如，我们在宝可梦的名字上很用心。我们完全可以把日文名字改造成适合欧洲的，但那样有时对欧洲的孩子和玩家来说毫无意义。所以我们在本地化时总是认真对待每一个环节。
Eurogamer
The Nintendo 3DS has a number of interesting connectivity features. Have you begun to think about how the 3DS can change the Pokemon series?
任天堂3DS有许多有趣的连接功能。你们是否已经开始思考3DS能如何改变宝可梦系列？
增田顺一
There are many new and good elements. The 3DS has advanced technologies. If we consider producing and developing new games for the 3DS, we would like to take advantage of all those new technologies and elements.
有很多新的好要素。3DS拥有先进的技术。如果考虑为3DS制作和开发新游戏，我们希望利用所有这些新技术和新要素。
Eurogamer
Have you had any ideas?
你们有想法了吗？
增田顺一
Yes, but nothing fixed.
有，但还没有定下来。
Eurogamer
There have been hundreds of Pokemon down the years. Which is your favourite?
这些年来已经有几百只宝可梦了。你最喜欢哪一只？
增田顺一
I like Victini the best. Victini is something Miss Ibe designed. One of the reasons I like it is the idea of this Pokemon is it’s a Victory Pokemon. It will lead to victory for players. Also, when I requested Miss Ibe design this new Pokemon, I said it should be a Pokemon that is more appealing to women than men. I liked that concept.
我最喜欢比克提尼。比克提尼是伊部小姐设计的。我喜欢它的原因之一是这只宝可梦的设定是胜利宝可梦。它会为玩家带来胜利。另外，当我请伊部小姐设计这只新宝可梦时，我说它应该是一只对女性比男性更有吸引力的宝可梦。我喜欢这个理念。
Index 本篇提到
- 宝可梦 1
- 比克提尼
- 为这篇提供背景社长问《宝可梦 黑·白》第1章：在NDS平台第二次制作完全新作（放弃全部旧怪兽做156只新宠的豪赌）同为黑白通关前封印旧宝可梦、156只新宠的决断
- 为这篇提供背景宝可梦 黑·白 改变与不变同提结局前只出现新宝可梦的目标