本文地址:http://sokoban.ws/blog/?p=2429
很长时间没有写关于推箱子类游戏的博文,没想到这个月一写就写了四篇(含本篇)。发现“新”游戏的过程都是类似,就是睡前在手机上用“推箱子”等关键词在各种社交网络或软件商城上搜索、随意看看,居然每次都有些新发现。
这次发现的是Steam上的一个游戏《Stephen’s Sausage Roll》,新出才两三天。游戏的自我介绍很简单:a simple 3D puzzle game。我也有比较长一段时间没在Steam上买游戏了,Steam之前增加了支付宝作为支付手段,我还没有来得及尝试,这一方式就暂停了,还是只能用信用卡,但是能用人民币支付。而之前我在Steam上都是用美元信用卡支付的。购买后只玩了两关,还没有接触到3D的元素。
游戏主角只占据一个格子大小,但是前面拿着个叉子,于是占了两格,叉子可以转向。每根香肠都是1×2大小,沿着长的方向只能移动,而横向则只能翻动。关卡中有些特定位置是火炭,人不能踩上火炭,但是每条香肠正反两面四个单位都要恰好被火炭烤一次,才能过关。
这规则和网上常见的一类叫《翻木块》(又叫Bloxorz)的游戏有点相似。但是翻木块向任何方向都是翻动,没有平移滑动,感觉比较单调,变化不多。所以我从来也没有为翻木块游戏写一篇博文的打算。而烤香肠增加了一些变化后,规则还是非常单一,但是变化和趣味性都大大提高。
游戏用上下左右来控制人的移动和叉子的旋转。由于视角不能自主改变,所以上下左右的方向是固定的。
和上一篇博文介绍的堆雪人推箱子一样,这个烤香肠推箱子也是把每一关的小地图拼接成一个大地图世界。通过在大地图中的走动来选关,这也许能让游戏看上去没那么生硬,更像一个game,而不是一个puzzle。推箱子类益智游戏本来就是处于电子游戏(video game)和难题谜题(puzzle)之间。
最后,引用Steam上一位玩家deuteranopia的评论结束本文。他的评论有四大点,我觉得都比较中肯,只引用第一点如下:
1. This is a game for puzzle-game lovers. If you’re not into puzzle games, it isn’t going to thrill you. If you love puzzle games, but aren’t super into Sokoban-style games (like me), you are going to end up surprised by how much you love this. It’s basically Sokoban-like, but it takes the concept to a whole new level. I will try to be specific:
a) The sausage fork is both a tool and a handicap. As a tool, it allows you to push sausages in directions other than straight ahead (and do other things I won’t spoil). As a handicap, it constrains how you can situate yourself to push sausages.
b) A sausage itself has two sides, and each push (with exceptions I won’t spoil) rolls it to the other side. This creates extra constraints when trying to grill each side only once. Sausages are also two tiles long, which creates extra constraints based on both orientation (vertical or horizontal) and grilling all four parts of the sausage.
These additions to the basic Sokoban-like mechanic result in a very large design space for difficult and epiphany-producing puzzles. Great puzzle games are about two things: constraints and topography. SSR hits a sweet-spot (or a spicy-spot if that’s your preferred sauage type) for a simple system of rules that produces a wealth of complexity.