蝸牛北美子公司在紐約動漫展上展出了中國最受歡迎的F2P網絡遊戲，《九陰真經(新手、門派、輕功、奇遇)》。蝸牛已經在洛杉磯建立了美國子公司，並且計劃把《九陰真經》和其他網絡遊戲帶入北美市場。蝸牛創始人兼CEO石海在本次獨家採訪中，談到他與國際巨星李連傑的合作，以及美國玩家拓展計劃。
蝸牛創始人兼CEO石海
How did your background as an entrepreneur lead to the creation of Snail Games?
你是如何以一個創業者的身份建立遊戲蝸牛的?
I originally studied graphic design, and then started my career in advertising. I was sidetracked for a while: I did some house remodeling, and even opened a Karaoke bar. Then, in 1998, the Internet truly took off as a global phenomenon. Since I was already in the service industry, I thought it would be good to create a service for the internet. My background in art and my long interest in gaming naturally led to the creation of original content for online consumers. We founded our company as early as 2000, and our first product, an MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game), was called 「Voyage Century」 in China. This is how we started.
我以前是學美術設計的，之後投身廣告事業。不久，我又轉向設計裝飾，甚至還開了KTV。1998年， 因特網在全球普遍流行起來。我就考慮，既然我已經從事了服務行業， 不如就在網絡上建立服務。我出身藝術，熱愛遊戲，這讓我不由自主地有了給網上消費者創造新事物的想法。於是在2000年創立了公司，做出了第一款產品，MMORPG遊戲「航海世紀」，這就是我們的開始。
When it comes to Snail Games, where did the name come from? What does it mean?
提到遊戲蝸牛，這個名字的出處是哪裡?有什麼寓意嗎?
I believe many companies come up with their names not through a rigorous analysis, but in a moment of sheer inspiration. Snail just sounded right at the time. Once we have it, we are reminded of a saying that only two creatures can ever make their way to the top of a pyramid: an eagle, and a snail. I also remember a movie in which someone said that a snail can crawl along the edge of a serrated knife. A snail’s survival instinct is most extraordinary. It is our metaphor for starting out small, and yet aspiring to achieve the impossible.
我相信很多公司的名字都不是經過精心思考的，更多都只是一時的靈感啟發。蝸牛就是靠這種純粹的靈感而來。古語說世上只有兩種生物可以爬到金字塔頂：一種是老鷹，另一種就是蝸牛。我還想到某部電影中有人說過，蝸牛是可以沿著鋒利的剃刀爬行的。蝸牛的生存本能是最尋常的。蝸牛的寓意就是從小做起，胸懷大志完成常人無法完成的事情。
What games are you localizing for American gamers?
你們在為美國玩家進行那個(些)遊戲的本土化?
This year we are introducing Age of Wushu, which we believe is the first game of its kind to achieve an authentic presentation of Chinese martial arts. No other game has truly portrayed the historical setting as well as the actual fighting styles of real martial arts. We’ve created a game with its traditional features intact, and completely refitted it with a brand new skin.
今年我們向北美輸出了《九陰真經》，這是中國第一款真武俠遊戲。沒有任何一款其他遊戲可以像九陰一樣真正地體現歷史背景和原汁原味的武術打鬥風格。由此，我們打造了一款融合了傳統功能系統與全新界面感受為一體的遊戲。
Can people learn the martial arts in some capacity through playing this game?
玩家通過玩這款遊戲可以瞭解中國武術嗎?
With respect to the game as a whole, the player will gain a deep, profound understanding of Chinese martial arts. This is achieved in a great part by our exhaustive motion-capture of real martial artists. Of the eight different Schools, or disciplines, of martial arts we present in the game, such as the Shaolin or the Wudang, we’ve invited actual practitioners who carry on those traditions to demonstrate their skills. We’ve also localized a large volume of text we’ve written to bring an ancient culture to life. In all, through this game, we’ve essentially presented a systematic review of Chinese martial-arts lore in its entirety.
就整個遊戲而言，玩家可以對中國武術獲得一個深入、深刻的瞭解。這大部分要歸功於我們對武術家的真實動作捕捉。遊戲中八個不同的武學門派，如少林、武當等，我們都請來了精通該門武學的真實武術家，來演練動作並捕捉進遊戲。同時，九陰中也創作了大量的文本把古代中國的文化帶到遊戲中。總之，通過《九陰真經》這款遊戲，我們系統地展現出了中國武俠文化的精髓。
What are the challenges of bringing these games over to the U.S. audience?
把這些遊戲帶給美國玩家將要面臨的挑戰是什麼?
The original Chinese audience have read, and watched, many books and movies about the martial arts. All that provided a rich cultural context for them when they play the game, so that they understand all the things people do — things like acupuncture, the gathering of Chi or internal energy, and so on. All this context is not immediately available for the American audience. However, American gamers do play fantasy-based role-playing games, and they have also read many books, seen many movies related to this genre. They will surely appreciate how an entire exotic culture is channeled into this game.
中國的玩家都讀過武俠小說，看過武俠電影。所以在他們玩遊戲時，對武俠文化已經有了較為深刻的認識，他們熟知遊戲中的一切元素---比如穴位，聚氣或內功，等等。但是這些概念對於美國玩家而言就稍顯晦澀了。好在不少美國玩家也玩過許多玄幻類RPG遊戲，有一些甚至也讀過不少類似的小說、看過許多類似風格的電影。所以他們當然會非常樂意去體驗這款富有中國的武俠文化色彩的遊戲。
Moreover, there is another aspect of this game that can be very meaningful for the North American clients. They can, at last, decipher the mystery they perceive to be the martial-arts culture in China. Though their understanding may start at a relatively low cost, the means by which they gain such an initial understanding is decidedly more interesting. It’s not so plain as to open a book, or so ephemeral as to watch a movie. By playing this game, they will experience the culture via repeated encounters. This will provide tremendous value for our clients.
此外，遊戲中還有一點對北美玩家也是非常有意義的：那就是通過這款遊戲，他們可以最終領悟中國武俠文化的奧秘。雖然他們理解的起點比中國的玩家低，但他們體驗在遊戲中慢慢地建立初步瞭解和學習這種俠文化的過程將會更加具有趣味性。這個過程不會像是簡簡單單翻一本小說，或者短暫地看一部電影那麼枯燥乏味。通過玩這款遊戲，他們可以反覆咀嚼中國的文化。這給我們的用戶提供了巨大文化價值。
In addition, this is what we can predict for our American clients, who may not be as many as our player base in China. Indeed, they will find it a very different culture. That said, because this is an online game, it is but inevitable they will meet new friends even here in America — say, martial-art enthusiasts from Taiwan or the mainland who come here to study. This will foster greater communication and mutual understanding between our two great civilizations.
最後一點，這也是我們可以預見到的，美國的玩家基礎沒有中國這麼大，他們會有比較大的文化差異感。但畢竟這是一款網絡遊戲，所以他們總會在其中結識一些比較新鮮的朋友---比如說，某位來自台灣的武俠迷，或者某位來自中國大陸的留學生。這種交互行為無疑將會促進中美文化之間的相互交流和相互理解。
What are the challenges of bringing these games over to the U.S. audience?
把這些遊戲帶給美國玩家將要面臨的挑戰是什麼?
The original Chinese audience have read, and watched, many books and movies about the martial arts. All that provided a rich cultural context for them when they play the game, so that they understand all the things people do — things like acupuncture, the gathering of Chi or internal energy, and so on. All this context is not immediately available for the American audience. However, American gamers do play fantasy-based role-playing games, and they have also read many books, seen many movies related to this genre. They will surely appreciate how an entire exotic culture is channeled into this game.
中國的玩家都讀過武俠小說，看過武俠電影。所以在他們玩遊戲時，對武俠文化已經有了較為深刻的認識，他們熟知遊戲中的一切元素---比如穴位，聚氣或內功，等等。但是這些概念對於美國玩家而言就稍顯晦澀了。好在不少美國玩家也玩過許多玄幻類RPG遊戲，有一些甚至也讀過不少類似的小說、看過許多類似風格的電影。所以他們當然會非常樂意去體驗這款富有中國的武俠文化色彩的遊戲。
Moreover, there is another aspect of this game that can be very meaningful for the North American clients. They can, at last, decipher the mystery they perceive to be the martial-arts culture in China. Though their understanding may start at a relatively low cost, the means by which they gain such an initial understanding is decidedly more interesting. It’s not so plain as to open a book, or so ephemeral as to watch a movie. By playing this game, they will experience the culture via repeated encounters. This will provide tremendous value for our clients.
此外，遊戲中還有一點對北美玩家也是非常有意義的：那就是通過這款遊戲，他們可以最終領悟中國武俠文化的奧秘。雖然他們理解的起點比中國的玩家低，但他們體驗在遊戲中慢慢地建立初步瞭解和學習這種俠文化的過程將會更加具有趣味性。這個過程不會像是簡簡單單翻一本小說，或者短暫地看一部電影那麼枯燥乏味。通過玩這款遊戲，他們可以反覆咀嚼中國的文化。這給我們的用戶提供了巨大文化價值。
In addition, this is what we can predict for our American clients, who may not be as many as our player base in China. Indeed, they will find it a very different culture. That said, because this is an online game, it is but inevitable they will meet new friends even here in America — say, martial-art enthusiasts from Taiwan or the mainland who come here to study. This will foster greater communication and mutual understanding between our two great civilizations.
最後一點，這也是我們可以預見到的，美國的玩家基礎沒有中國這麼大，他們會有比較大的文化差異感。但畢竟這是一款網絡遊戲，所以他們總會在其中結識一些比較新鮮的朋友---比如說，某位來自台灣的武俠迷，或者某位來自中國大陸的留學生。這種交互行為無疑將會促進中美文化之間的相互交流和相互理解。
超贊
期待
支持
很瞎
翻桌
懷疑