14

Mastering Games as a Service
掌握遊戲即服務

For free-to-play, episodic, and subscription-based games, a wide-scale release has always marked the transition from creating a product to running a service. But nowadays, even for premium titles, a degree of post-launch support is mandatory, and the days of shipping a box and immediately moving on to a new venture are over.
對於免費遊玩、分集式和訂閱制遊戲來說，大規模發行一直標誌著從創建產品到運營服務的過渡。但如今，即使是高級遊戲，發行後的支持也是必須的，發行一個盒裝遊戲後立即轉向新項目的日子已經過去。

In this chapter, we will attempt to distill the knowledge required to turn your game into a successful service by establishing an update strategy, running events, addressing game balancing, working with analytics, customer support, and the tools required to operate your games sustainably. This chapter also acts as an important bridge to the next one, which is focused on the business side and monetization.
在本章中，我們將嘗試提煉出將您的遊戲轉變為成功服務所需的知識，通過建立更新策略、舉辦活動、解決遊戲平衡問題、使用分析工具、客戶支持以及運營遊戲所需的工具來實現可持續運營。本章還作為通往下一章的重要橋樑，下一章將專注於商業方面和貨幣化。

Now, to better understand the realities and challenges of live operations, we ought to first establish a common language!
現在，為了更好地理解即時運營的現實和挑戰，我們首先應該建立一個共同的語言！

We will cover the following topics in this chapter:
本章將涵蓋以下主題：

• Terms of engagement
• Live operations
• Tools and setup
• Events
• Community and customer support
  社群與客戶支援
• Introduction to season passes
  季票介紹

Terms of engagement

Before you begin thinking about designing, deploying, and running a live game, you ought to familiarize yourself with a large set of keywords and abbreviations used to describe various parts of the business. At first, these terms may seem a bit unwieldy, yet common language is essential when speaking about increasingly complex and fine-tuned products driven by dozens of people and hundreds of moving parts.
在開始思考設計、部署和運行一款即時遊戲之前，您應該先熟悉一大套用來描述業務各個部分的關鍵字和縮寫。起初，這些術語可能顯得有些繁瑣，但在談論由數十人驅動、數百個活動部件組成的日益複雜和精細的產品時，通用語言是必不可少的。

The majority of the list is dedicated to key performance indicators (KPIs). These are the metrics used to evaluate the performance of the game. KPIs often revolve around financial data, marketing performance, as well as the current size, health, and overall trends governing your player base.
列表的大部分內容都專注於關鍵績效指標（KPIs）。這些是用來評估遊戲表現的指標。KPIs 通常圍繞財務數據、行銷表現，以及當前玩家群體的規模、健康狀況和整體趨勢。

We’ll now unpack several key terms and use this as an opportunity to provide additional insight into the challenges of building and running live games.
我們現在將解釋幾個關鍵術語，並藉此機會深入探討構建和運營即時遊戲的挑戰。

Basic stats

We’ll start with some of the most critical KPIs that almost every member of the game team should understand and follow.
我們將從一些幾乎每個遊戲團隊成員都應該理解和關注的關鍵績效指標（KPI）開始。

Retention

This is one of the most critical KPIs and the basis for your entire business. If you are to have any hopes of making back the costs of developing and running a successful free-to-play game, as well as acquiring users via paid marketing, you need to keep the players coming back regularly. After all, the longer someone plays, the more opportunities they have to monetize.
這是最關鍵的 KPI 之一，也是整個業務的基礎。如果你希望能夠收回開發和運營成功的免費遊戲的成本，以及通過付費行銷獲得用戶，你需要確保玩家定期回來。畢竟，玩家玩得越久，他們就有越多的機會進行消費。

Retention stats are generally reported as the percentage of players who return in the days after the installation day. The most popular retention KPIs are D1 (one day after installation), D7, D14, D30 (a month after installation), and D365 (a year later) – the last being the ultimate testament to a game’s longevity.
留存率數據通常以安裝日後幾天內返回的玩家百分比來報告。最受歡迎的留存 KPI 包括 D1（安裝後一天）、D7、D14、D30（安裝後一個月）和 D365（一年後）——最後一個是遊戲持久性的終極證明。

Retention varies dramatically depending on the game’s genre and the type of audience you attract. That said, in the mobile games industry, a D1 retention of 40-45% for organic users (players not attracted by paid marketing) is often the target to hit, with outstanding games reaching above 60%.
留存率會因遊戲類型和吸引的受眾類型而有顯著差異。話雖如此，在行動遊戲產業中，對於自然用戶（非付費行銷吸引的玩家）來說，D1 留存率達到 40-45%通常是目標，而表現優異的遊戲則能超過 60%。

There are a few ways of calculating your retention, and some may be a bit misleading. Rolling retention, for example, considers users who launch the game just twice (on Day 0 and Day 17) as having retained for 2 weeks, putting them squarely in the D14 retention stat.
計算留存率的方法有幾種，有些可能會有些誤導。例如，滾動留存率將只在第 0 天和第 17 天啟動遊戲的用戶視為已留存 2 週，將他們直接計入 D14 留存統計中。

Another related KPI you may want to look at is the following-day retention – that is, the percentage of players who return the following day. For example, if we have a D3 retention of 25% and D4 of 22%, the D3 to D4 following-day retention is 88% (D3/D4). This metric is very useful in identifying areas where players are dropping off and losing interest.
另一個您可能想查看的相關 KPI 是次日留存率，即次日返回的玩家百分比。例如，如果我們的 D3 留存率是 25%，D4 是 22%，那麼 D3 到 D4 的次日留存率是 88%（D3/D4）。此指標在識別玩家流失和失去興趣的區域時非常有用。

Daily active users (DAU) and monthly active users (MAU)
每日活躍用戶（DAU）和每月活躍用戶（MAU）

Two critical KPIs are used to monitor the size of the active player base. DAU sums the total number of users who logged in to the game on a particular day. MAU, on the other hand, portrays the monthly total, regardless of the frequency of engagement.
有兩個關鍵的 KPI 用於監控活躍玩家基數的大小。DAU 是指在特定一天內登入遊戲的用戶總數。而 MAU 則是指每月的總數，不論參與的頻率。

Concurrent users (CCU)  同時在線用戶（CCU）

This is a measurement of how many players are logged in to the game right now. By tracking the CCU over time, you can find the most and least popular times across the week. This helps you determine the best days and hours to roll out new content, run server scripts, or start a new special event.
這是衡量當前有多少玩家登入遊戲的指標。通過隨時間追蹤 CCU，你可以找出一週中最受歡迎和最不受歡迎的時間。這有助於你確定推出新內容、運行伺服器腳本或開始新特別活動的最佳日期和時間。

CCU is a closely monitored KPI, and a sharp decline in the user count can be a telltale sign of infrastructure errors. Your technical staff will also use the CCU to work out the optimal server bandwidth. Nowadays, server instances can be added and removed remotely based on your current and future needs, as well as the historical CCU data.
CCU 是一個被密切監控的關鍵績效指標，使用者數量的急劇下降可能是基礎設施錯誤的明顯跡象。您的技術人員也會利用 CCU 來計算最佳的伺服器頻寬。如今，伺服器實例可以根據您當前和未來的需求以及歷史 CCU 數據遠端添加和移除。

This helps to keep the running costs low while ensuring there’s enough capacity to avoid connection problems and server errors.
這有助於保持運行成本低廉，同時確保有足夠的容量以避免連接問題和伺服器錯誤。

Conversion rate (CVR or CR)
轉換率 (CVR 或 CR)

The percentage of users who convert from non-payer to paying customers by spending money inside the game. The CVR varies dramatically depending on the genre, platform, territory, and average player’s age (players who are over 25 are much more likely to have disposable income, and therefore monetize). Mobile free-to-play games usually operate with a CVR of between 1% and 5%.
從非付費用戶轉換為付費用戶的比例，這些用戶會在遊戲內花錢。CVR（轉換率）會因遊戲類型、平台、地區和玩家的平均年齡而有顯著差異（年齡超過 25 歲的玩家更有可能擁有可支配收入，因此更容易實現貨幣化）。行動裝置的免費遊玩遊戲通常的 CVR 介於 1%到 5%之間。

Average revenue per user (ARPU) and average revenue per paying user (ARPPU)
每用戶平均收入（ARPU）和每付費用戶平均收入（ARPPU）

These long acronyms describe the monthly revenue generated by an average user (ARPU) or by an average paying customer (ARPPU). The calculations are simple:
這些冗長的縮寫描述了平均用戶（ARPU）或平均付費用戶（ARPPU）所產生的每月收入。計算方法很簡單：

• ARPU = Monthly Revenue / MAU
  ARPU = 每月收入 / 每月活躍用戶數
• ARPPU = Monthly Revenue / (MAU / Conversion Rate)
  ARPPU = 每月收入 / (MAU / 轉換率)

The timeframe in these KPIs may differ since some companies look at daily or 24-hour rolling data when calculating their ARPU and ARPPU stats.
在這些關鍵績效指標中，時間範圍可能會有所不同，因為有些公司在計算其每用戶平均收入（ARPU）和每付費用戶平均收入（ARPPU）時，會查看每日或 24 小時滾動數據。

Moreover, you may also encounter ARPDAU, and as you’ve probably guessed from the acronym, it comes down to daily revenue divided by daily active users.
此外，您可能還會遇到 ARPDAU，正如您從這個縮寫中可能猜到的，它是每日收入除以每日活躍用戶數。

Lifetime value (LTV)  終身價值 (LTV)

The combined spending by an average user throughout their entire time with the product is an ultimate testament to the effectiveness of your business model.
一個普通用戶在整個使用產品期間的總支出，是對您的商業模式有效性最終的證明。

Since we do not have data going into the future, the LTV will always be a forecast based on historical performance. By basing your LTV calculations on D1 retained users, you can reduce the noise generated by badly targeted marketing campaigns and lower-quality organic users.
由於我們無法獲取未來的數據，因此 LTV 始終是基於歷史表現的預測。通過將 LTV 計算基於 D1 留存用戶，您可以減少由不良目標的行銷活動和較低質量的自然用戶所產生的噪音。

Marketing and analytics  行銷與分析

Following our basic stats, we have a list of KPIs and terms mostly connected to the commercial performance of our game. We’ll look at those now.
在基本統計數據之後，我們有一份主要與遊戲商業表現相關的 KPI 和術語清單。接下來，我們將探討這些內容。

Installs

New installs or new users are one of the key marketing KPIs, observed on a daily basis. Many marketing campaigns can be tracked, allowing the team to directly attribute the user to a particular channel. Any unpaid installation is treated as organic.
新安裝或新用戶是每日觀察的關鍵行銷 KPI 之一。許多行銷活動可以被追蹤，讓團隊能夠直接將用戶歸因於特定的渠道。任何未付費的安裝都被視為自然流量。

K-factor and virality  K 因子與病毒性

In marketing, the k-factor represents the viral growth rate of existing users who introduce non-users into the service. It all comes down to a simple calculation of the number of referrals made per average user multiplied by the conversion rate of the referral:
在行銷中，k 因子代表現有用戶將非用戶引入服務的病毒式增長率。這歸結於一個簡單的計算，即每位平均用戶所做的推薦數乘以推薦的轉換率：

k = (invites / user) * conversion
k = (邀請數 / 用戶) * 轉換率

Organic uplift

The organic uplift represents the unattributed growth in organic (unpaid) installs. This can come as the result of store featuring, increased word of mouth, heightened brand awareness (social media posts, community work, and so on), untracked marketing such as newspaper and street adverts, or players simply seeing an advert online, not interacting with it, then searching for the product by themselves.
自然提升代表未歸因於有機（未付費）安裝的增長。這可能是由於商店推薦、口碑增加、品牌知名度提高（社交媒體帖子、社群活動等）、未追蹤的行銷如報紙和街頭廣告，或玩家僅僅在網上看到廣告而未與之互動，然後自行搜尋產品所致。

Click-through rate (CTR)
點擊率 (CTR)

CTR is the ratio of users who interact with an advert (or any other, trackable event) to the total number of views (impressions). In games advertising, CTR is used to assess and compare the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.
CTR 是指與廣告（或任何其他可追蹤事件）互動的用戶數量與總瀏覽次數（曝光次數）之間的比率。在遊戲廣告中，CTR 用於評估和比較廣告活動的效果。

Cost per install (CPI)
每次安裝成本（CPI）

Also known as the acquisition cost, this is a crucial KPI for any game that relies on paid marketing. CPIs can be highly volatile and easily inflated by the huge marketing budgets of a few big companies that are competing over the same user base.
也被稱為獲客成本，這是任何依賴付費行銷的遊戲的重要 KPI。CPI 可能會非常不穩定，並且容易被少數大公司的龐大行銷預算所推高，這些公司在爭奪相同的用戶群。

Nonetheless, in the crowded free-to-play market, the best (and often the only) way of growing your game profitably is to drive down the CPI (by adjusting the daily spend, marketing campaigns, and channels) and buy as many users as you can at a cost below their LTV.
然而，在競爭激烈的免費遊戲市場中，最有效（且通常是唯一）能夠盈利增長遊戲的方法，就是降低每次安裝成本（透過調整每日支出、行銷活動和渠道），並以低於用戶終身價值的成本購買盡可能多的用戶。

CPIs can make or break your game. A highly attractive and well-advertised game can get a $1 CPI, while another, less appealing one, may have to spend $20 for a single retained player. And if $20 per user sounds utterly crazy and unsustainable, that’s because it usually is, unless your LTV sits comfortably above $20.
CPI 可以決定你的遊戲成敗。一款極具吸引力且廣告宣傳得當的遊戲可能只需花費 1 美元的 CPI，而另一款吸引力較低的遊戲可能需要花費 20 美元才能留住一名玩家。如果每位用戶 20 美元的成本聽起來完全瘋狂且無法持續，那是因為通常情況下確實如此，除非你的 LTV 能夠穩定地超過 20 美元。

It’s important to get an insight into the approximate CPI for your game before it enters actual production. To validate your marketing potential, set up a small-scale test ($500-$1000) with a few different versions of marketing images/videos that accurately represent your game and theme.
在遊戲進入實際製作之前，了解其大致的每次安裝成本（CPI）是很重要的。為了驗證您的市場潛力，您可以設置一個小規模的測試（500 至 1000 美元），使用幾個不同版本的行銷圖片/影片，這些素材應準確地代表您的遊戲和主題。

Make sure to add competitive titles to the test to get some benchmark data. If you score way below the competition, consider testing a different theme or premise.
確保在測試中加入競爭對手的作品，以獲得一些基準數據。如果你的分數遠低於競爭對手，考慮測試不同的主題或前提。

Cost per thousand impressions (CPM)
每千次曝光成本 （CPM）

Even if all you care about is new users, impressions (converted or not) are what you actually pay for. CPM provides strong insight into the actual costs of online advertising and becomes especially useful when assessing the profitability of untracked campaigns such as print, television, and billboards.
即使你只關心新用戶，實際上你支付的是曝光次數（無論是否轉換）。CPM 提供了對線上廣告實際成本的深入見解，尤其在評估未追蹤的廣告活動（如印刷、電視和看板）之盈利能力時，特別有用。

Return on ad spend (ROAS)
廣告支出回報率 (ROAS)

This is a key metric in assessing the profitability and feasibility of your marketing campaigns. ROAS is the amount of money you make for each dollar spent on marketing; for example, if a marketing campaign costing $1,000 brought you $2,000 in revenue, your ROAS was 200%, or 2. ROAS is usually assessed within a timeframe.
這是一個評估您的行銷活動盈利能力和可行性的關鍵指標。ROAS 是指您在行銷上每花費一美元所賺取的金額；例如，如果一個花費 1,000 美元的行銷活動為您帶來了 2,000 美元的收入，那麼您的 ROAS 就是 200%，或 2。ROAS 通常是在一個時間範圍內進行評估的。

For example, a campaign with 75% D60 ROAS is one where you manage to get 75% of your marketing money back after 60 days. Understanding this metric will help your acquisition team adjust the budget; there’s no point in spending money on acquisition (even at a low CPI) if the return isn’t there, or if it takes a very long time (over a year) to recoup your investment.
例如，一個擁有 75% D60 ROAS 的活動，表示在 60 天後能夠收回 75%的行銷資金。理解這個指標將幫助你的獲客團隊調整預算；如果沒有回報，或者需要很長時間（超過一年）才能收回投資，那麼即使獲客成本（CPI）很低，也沒有必要在獲客上花錢。

Minnows, dolphins, and whales
小魚、海豚和鯨魚

This is a three-step classification (originating from the gambling industry) used to distinguish between different tiers of monetizing players. While the exact numbers behind each tier often vary across the industry, this classification is tremendously popular in free-to-play games.
這是一種三步驟的分類法（源自賭博行業），用來區分不同層級的付費玩家。雖然每個層級背後的具體數字在業界中常常有所不同，但這種分類法在免費遊戲中極為流行。

To start with, minnows are the minor spenders (below $5/month), dolphins sit in the middle ($5-24.99/month), and whales are the high spenders ($25+/month). Occasionally, an extra tier is added above whales and reserved for players who spend more than $50 or $100 per month.
首先，小額消費者是指每月花費低於 5 美元的玩家；中等消費者則是每月花費在 5 至 24.99 美元之間的玩家；而高額消費者則是每月花費超過 25 美元的玩家。有時，會在高額消費者之上再設置一個額外的層級，專門針對每月花費超過 50 或 100 美元的玩家。

Session stats (number and length)
會話統計（次數和時長）

Knowing the average amount of play sessions per day and their length can empower you to make better decisions when it comes to pacing and balancing your game – for example, by adjusting the length of individual rounds, or the number of resources generated by in-game actions.
了解玩家平均每天的遊戲次數及其時長，可以幫助你在遊戲節奏和平衡性上做出更好的決策——例如，通過調整單局遊戲的時長，或是遊戲內行動所產生的資源數量。

Economy and balancing  經濟與平衡

To wrap up, let’s delve into a set of terms and practices used in designing, analyzing, and balancing our in-game economies.
最後，我們來探討一組用於設計、分析和平衡遊戲內經濟的術語和實踐。

Freemium currency

Also known as soft currency, this is a relatively abundant in-game resource that can be accumulated by playing the game, without the need to spend money. It is usually spent on basic content and gameplay needs.
也被稱為軟貨幣，這是一種相對豐富的遊戲內資源，可以通過遊戲過程中累積，而不需要花費金錢。通常用於基本內容和遊戲需求。

Premium currency

Also known as hard currency, this is a scarce resource that is predominantly acquired by spending real money, although small amounts of premium currency may be awarded on a scheduled basis or from tightly limited objectives. Hard currency is used to access premium goods and services as well as to skip time and resource requirements.
也被稱為硬貨幣，這是一種稀缺資源，主要通過花費真實金錢獲得，儘管少量的高級貨幣可能會在特定時間表或嚴格限制的目標中獲得。硬貨幣用於獲取高級商品和服務，以及跳過時間和資源需求。

Taps and sinks

Within game economies, taps (or sources) generate resources while sinks are responsible for removing them. To avoid resource inflation and devaluation of your entire economy, you must maintain a tight grip on resource creation and provide players with deep, desirable sinks.
在遊戲經濟中，來源（或稱為水龍頭）會產生資源，而消耗則負責移除資源。為了避免資源通脹和整個經濟的貶值，你必須嚴格控制資源的創造，並為玩家提供深度且誘人的消耗選項。

Energy

Action points, energy, fuel, keys, stamina, lives—these are but a few analogs for a resource designed to limit the amount of time you can effectively spend in the game. Usually, energy resources replenish themselves over time, to a certain cap, which in some cases might be increased.
行動點數、能量、燃料、鑰匙、體力、生命——這些只是設計用來限制你在遊戲中有效花費時間的資源類比之一。通常，能量資源會隨著時間自行補充，直到達到某個上限，而在某些情況下，這個上限可能會增加。

Even though you can spend money to replenish energy, it is rarely intended as a significant monetization vector. The primary role of energy mechanics is to help control a player’s play sessions and their rate of progression. Without energy, some players would not only exhaust our content at an uncontrollable rate but also burn themselves out in the process.
即使你可以花錢來補充能量，但這通常並不是一個主要的盈利途徑。能量機制的主要作用是幫助控制玩家的遊戲時間和進度速度。沒有能量的話，一些玩家不僅會以無法控制的速度耗盡我們的內容，還會在這個過程中讓自己精疲力竭。

What’s fun for 10 minutes at a time might not be fun for 3 hours straight. Having a clear incentive to return (Energy full!) as well as an excuse to leave the game (Out of Energy!) can help maintain a healthy play cycle and establish a playing habit around the game.
對於一次玩十分鐘來說有趣的東西，可能不適合連續玩三小時。擁有一個明確的回來動機（能量滿了！）以及一個離開遊戲的理由（能量耗盡！）可以幫助維持健康的遊戲循環，並在遊戲周圍建立起一種遊玩習慣。

On a side note, it’s important to acknowledge a crucial difference between energy and lives. While energy is usually spent on any significant action (such as entering a battle), lives are only decreased upon failure. This means that a losing player will be forced out of the game (or incentivized to spend) sooner than a winning one. The long-term consequences of this difference are hard to predict and should be tested and assessed for each individual case.
值得一提的是，能量和生命之間有一個重要的區別。能量通常在任何重大行動（例如進入戰鬥）時消耗，而生命則僅在失敗時減少。這意味著失敗的玩家將比成功的玩家更快被迫退出遊戲（或被激勵消費）。這一差異的長期影響難以預測，應針對每個個案進行測試和評估。

Gacha box

This is also known as a mystery box, loot box, or loot crate. Gacha boxes distribute rewards (such as resources, items, characters, vanity items, and other goods) in a randomized manner. (More on designing gacha systems in Chapter 15, Understanding Monetization Techniques.)
這也被稱為神秘箱、戰利品箱或戰利品箱。扭蛋箱以隨機的方式分發獎勵（如資源、物品、角色、虛榮物品和其他商品）。(更多關於設計扭蛋系統的內容，請參見第 15 章，理解貨幣化技術。)

Drop rate

This is the percentage chance for a player to receive a particular reward in a randomized scenario such as enemy loot drops, gacha boxes, and so on.
這是玩家在隨機情境中獲得特定獎勵的機率，例如敵人掉落物品、扭蛋箱等等。

Pinch point

This is any part of the game’s core progression that relies on artificially inflated difficulty (a moment of increased friction) in order to encourage spending. Most mobile level-based puzzle games (such as Candy Crush Saga) periodically feature extraordinarily difficult levels that facilitate the need for extra moves and boosts.
這是遊戲核心進程中任何依賴於人為提高難度（增加摩擦的時刻）以鼓勵消費的部分。大多數基於關卡的手機益智遊戲（如《Candy Crush Saga》）會定期出現極其困難的關卡，促使玩家需要額外的步數和增強道具。

Pay gate

Any part of a game’s content that is designed to be assessed primarily via payment can be considered locked behind a pay gate.
遊戲內容中任何主要通過付費才能評估的部分都可以被視為被鎖在付費門檻後。

Grinding

This is the process of repeatedly completing an already mastered part of the game in order to complete a particular meta-objective – for example, amassing a large number of resources to buy an expensive item, or raising the experience level before tackling a particularly difficult challenge.
這是反覆完成已經掌握的遊戲部分以完成特定元目標的過程——例如，積累大量資源以購買昂貴物品，或在面對特別困難的挑戰前提升經驗等級。

Churn rate and drop-off points
流失率與流失點

Churn rate is the opposite of retention; it represents the number of players who stop playing the game (churn) after a defined period or at a specific point in time (after a new game update or server reset). High player churn prompts the search for drop-off points, which are areas of the game and features that prompt significant amounts of players to leave and never come back.
流失率是留存率的反義詞；它代表在特定時間段或特定時間點（如遊戲更新或伺服器重置後）停止遊戲的玩家數量（流失）。高玩家流失率促使尋找流失點，即遊戲中促使大量玩家離開且不再回來的區域和功能。

To find the drop-off points, you’ll need to collect game progression stats (last completed level or task, last unlocked item or game mechanic, total time played, and so on) and use them to identify (and hopefully address) the most pressing issues.
要找到流失點，您需要收集遊戲進度統計數據（最後完成的關卡或任務、最後解鎖的物品或遊戲機制、總遊戲時間等），並利用這些數據來識別（並希望能解決）最緊迫的問題。

Retention funnel

The funnel is a chronological representation of your data. When applied to retention analytics, it allows us to easily identify the biggest drop-off points.
漏斗是一種按時間順序排列的數據表示方式。當應用於留存分析時，它能讓我們輕鬆識別出最大的流失點。

For example, if we wanted to improve our D1 retention, the easiest way would be to look for drop-off points in the key points of our first time user experience (FTUE). The funnel would look like this:
例如，如果我們想要提高 D1 留存率，最簡單的方法就是尋找首次用戶體驗（FTUE）中的關鍵點的流失點。這個漏斗會像這樣：

• 10,000 launched the game for the first time
  10,000 人首次啟動了遊戲
• 9,500 created a player profile
  9,500 人創建了玩家檔案
• 9,300 entered the tutorial battle
  9,300 人進入了教程戰鬥
• 8,000 deployed units in battle
  8,000 人在戰鬥中部署了單位
• 7,900 finished the battle
  7,900 人完成了戰鬥
• 6,000 got to the end of the tutorial
  6,000 人完成了教程

A funnel like this immediately highlights a 14% high drop among players who entered the tutorial battle (9,300) and players who deployed their units (8,000). This highlights potential issues with this tutorial step and prompts further investigation and experimentation. Funnels like this can be applied on a wider scale, but the further your players get from the FTUE, the more uncertainty is introduced to your data.
這樣的漏斗立即顯示出在進入教學戰鬥的玩家（9,300）與部署他們的單位的玩家（8,000）之間有 14%的高流失率。這突顯了這個教學步驟可能存在的問題，並促使進一步的調查和實驗。這樣的漏斗可以在更大範圍內應用，但玩家越遠離首次使用體驗（FTUE），數據中的不確定性就越大。

Pay to win (P2W)

This term is used to describe games or systems where players can vastly increase their chances of winning by spending real money. The ability to convert money into in-game power does not automatically brand your game as such. The advantages of spending must be perceivable and seemingly out of reach to non-spending players.
這個術語用來描述那些玩家可以通過花費真錢大幅增加獲勝機會的遊戲或系統。將金錢轉化為遊戲內的力量並不會自動將你的遊戲標記為此類。花費所帶來的優勢必須是可感知的，並且對於不花錢的玩家來說似乎是遙不可及的。

Multiplayer scenarios with P2W dynamics are generally frowned upon in the western market. However, the same is not true for single-player experiences, and eastern markets such as China, Japan, and Korea, where the cultural differences (and general maturity of the free-to-play market) play a major role in shifting away from this perspective. In fact, for many Chinese players, being able to afford premium game content is a source of pride.
在西方市場中，具有 P2W（付費贏）動態的多人遊戲場景通常不被看好。然而，這一情況在單人遊戲體驗中並不相同，尤其是在中國、日本和韓國等東方市場，文化差異（以及免費遊戲市場的成熟度）在改變這一觀點上發揮了重要作用。事實上，對於許多中國玩家來說，能夠負擔得起高級遊戲內容是一種自豪的來源。

A/B testing (also known as split testing)
A/B 測試（亦稱為分割測試）

A/B tests are a form of controlled experiments where different versions or configurations of the game are run simultaneously on two (hence A and B) or more groups of players. A/B testing typically allows for efficient and bias-free validation of various theories, from default control layouts to progression mechanisms and game difficulty.
A/B 測試是一種控制實驗形式，其中不同版本或配置的遊戲同時在兩個（因此稱為 A 和 B）或更多玩家群組中運行。A/B 測試通常允許對各種理論進行高效且無偏見的驗證，從默認控制佈局到進程機制和遊戲難度。

Each test is run for a set amount of time, after which the KPIs of different groups are compared and a winning configuration can be picked. Most tests are best run for at least a few weeks. It’s highly possible that the same change that causes a bit of a percentage drop in tutorial completion can also result in a significant increase in long-term retention and conversion rates. In most cases, extensive A/B testing is confined to the beta and soft launch periods, but it’s possible to utilize A/B tests for non-critical features across a game’s entire lifespan.
每個測試都會運行一段設定的時間，之後比較不同群組的 KPI，並選擇一個獲勝的配置。大多數測試最好運行至少幾週。非常有可能的是，同樣的變更可能會導致教程完成率略微下降，但也可能顯著提高長期留存率和轉換率。在大多數情況下，廣泛的 A/B 測試僅限於測試版和軟啟動期間，但也可以在遊戲的整個生命週期中利用 A/B 測試來針對非關鍵功能。

Remember, players communicate with one another and it’s best if none of your players ever feel shortchanged by their test group assignment. Furthermore, it’s best to avoid any A/B tests that have clear, real-money implications, such as trying different price points for the same content. This kind of manipulation will almost certainly enrage the community and erode their trust.
記住，玩家之間會互相交流，最好不要讓任何玩家因為他們的測試組分配而感到吃虧。此外，最好避免任何具有明顯現金影響的 A/B 測試，例如對相同內容嘗試不同的價格點。這種操控幾乎肯定會激怒社群並削弱他們的信任。

Moving on, with critical terminology and context established, we are ready to dive into the wider subject of live operations. Let’s begin!
接下來，隨著關鍵術語和背景的確立，我們準備好深入探討現場運營的更廣泛主題。讓我們開始吧！

Live operations

The key objectives of any business are to build, retain, and monetize its customer base. This means that releasing a quality product is just the beginning!
任何企業的關鍵目標都是建立、維持並從其客戶群中獲利。這意味著推出優質產品僅僅是個開始！

You’ll need to maintain a level of support for your game as soon as it becomes permanently available to the public. This could be a public beta, Steam early access, or a so-called soft launch (low-key deployment in a few handpicked territories, for example, Australia, Netherlands, Canada, or the Philippines).
一旦你的遊戲永久向公眾開放，你就需要維持一定程度的支持。這可能是公開測試版、Steam 搶先體驗，或所謂的軟啟動（例如在澳洲、荷蘭、加拿大或菲律賓等少數精選地區低調部署）。

The success of any live title depends on the publisher’s ability to double down on their investment and maintain a dedicated team to execute the key aspects of live ops:
任何在線遊戲的成功都取決於發行商能否加倍投入並維持一支專注的團隊來執行在線運營的關鍵方面：

• Content and feature updates: Keeping the game feeling fresh, bug-free, and relevant
  內容和功能更新：保持遊戲的新鮮感、無錯誤和相關性
• Balancing improvements: Addressing both dominant and underplayed strategies based on analytics and player sentiment
  平衡改進：根據分析數據和玩家反饋，調整強勢和冷門策略
• Customer support: Creating and policing your in-game and online community, and sharing customer sentiments, suggestions, and feedback with the game team
  客戶支援：創建和管理您的遊戲內及線上社群，並與遊戲團隊分享客戶的情感、建議和反饋
• Paid marketing and social campaigns: Profitably growing, maintaining, and re-engaging your user base
  付費行銷和社交活動：以盈利的方式增長、維持和重新吸引您的用戶群
• Events, bundles, and sales: Increasing engagement and monetization in a sustainable way
  活動、套裝和促銷：以可持續的方式增加參與度和貨幣化

To deliver this level of support, the development team will need to plan and prepare for live operations weeks or months before launch. The list of tasks, among other things, includes the following:
為了提供這種級別的支援，開發團隊需要在發佈前幾週或幾個月計劃和準備現場運營。任務清單中包括以下內容：

• Planning several months of events, content, and feature rollouts
  規劃數月的活動、內容和功能推出
• Creating and deploying live ops tools to handle sales, events, and customer support
  創建和部署即時運營工具以處理銷售、活動和客戶支持
• Preparing the game code for frequent updates, handling live configurations, and asset streaming
  準備遊戲代碼以便頻繁更新，處理即時配置和資產串流
• Securing the servers and testing the ability to scale them with growing CCU
  確保伺服器安全並測試其隨著同時在線用戶數增長的擴展能力
• Implementing analytics, deep-linking, and marketing tracking tool
  實施分析、深度連結和行銷追蹤工具
• Creating a live marketing strategy and social media content
  創建即時行銷策略和社交媒體內容
• Assembling and training the customer support staff
  組建和培訓客戶支持團隊

The duration of live support will depend on the success of the game and your team’s capabilities. Even if you don’t have the resources to create new content and features for more than several months, you should still try and keep your servers going for as long as possible. A minimal level of support a few years into the product’s life will help create trust in your products and validate any investment in your virtual worlds.
即時支持的持續時間將取決於遊戲的成功與您的團隊能力。即使您沒有資源在幾個月內創建新內容和功能，您仍應盡量讓伺服器運行盡可能長的時間。產品生命週期的幾年後提供最低限度的支持，將有助於建立對您產品的信任，並驗證對您虛擬世界的任何投資。

The successful delivery of your live operations strategy will often come down to your team, and the staffing needs of a live project differ widely from a game that’s still in development. Let’s discuss the various roles that can make or break your live ops efforts.
成功執行您的即時運營策略通常取決於您的團隊，而即時項目的人員需求與仍在開發中的遊戲有很大不同。讓我們來討論那些能夠成就或摧毀您即時運營努力的各種角色。

Staffing

Even after the busiest production period is wrapped up and the game is ready for the full launch, the team size is unlikely to go down. You might be able to release some of the programming, art, and QA staff, but the core development team often has to stay and continue working on new content and updates. Meanwhile, a whole range of support roles enters the picture!
即使在最繁忙的製作期結束後，遊戲已準備好全面上線，團隊規模也不太可能縮減。你可能可以釋放一些程式設計、美術和品質保證人員，但核心開發團隊通常必須留下來，繼續開發新內容和更新。同時，各種支援角色也會進入這個畫面！

Let’s break down a few key roles involved in preparing live games for launch and maintaining them during the live operations period. Depending on your team’s composition and capabilities, you may need to distribute some of these responsibilities across any available team members.
讓我們來分解幾個在準備即時遊戲上線和維護即時運營期間涉及的關鍵角色。根據你團隊的組成和能力，你可能需要將這些責任分配給任何可用的團隊成員。

Live operations manager  即時運營經理

Responsible for planning, designing, and integrating special events, bundles, and in-game sales. Live operations managers are responsible for engaging users, maximizing the financial performance of their games, and simultaneously safeguarding their economies from inflation and excessive content devaluation.
負責策劃、設計和整合特別活動、套裝和遊戲內銷售。即時運營經理負責吸引用戶，最大化遊戲的財務表現，同時保護其經濟免受通貨膨脹和過度內容貶值的影響。

Medium-scale mobile games are usually run with one to four live ops staff, depending on the complexity of the game and the effectiveness of the available tool set. In teams without a dedicated live ops person, it’s likely that the game designer will assume these responsibilities, sometimes at the cost of taking time and attention from creating and balancing new game content.
中型手機遊戲通常由一到四名現場運營人員管理，這取決於遊戲的複雜程度和可用工具集的有效性。在沒有專職現場運營人員的團隊中，遊戲設計師很可能會承擔這些責任，有時這會以犧牲創作和平衡新遊戲內容的時間和精力為代價。

Data analyst

Throughout a game’s production, data analysts and engineers design and integrate analytics solutions that track a wide variety of in-game events from retention, revenue, and session data to player progression, failure rates, item usage, player inventory size, and even the effectiveness of your marketing (by monitoring the retention of users coming into the game from links embedded into marketing campaigns).
在遊戲製作過程中，數據分析師和工程師設計並整合分析解決方案，追蹤各種遊戲內事件，從留存率、收入和會話數據，到玩家進度、失敗率、物品使用情況、玩家庫存大小，甚至是行銷效果（透過監控從行銷活動嵌入的連結進入遊戲的用戶留存率）。

But even the most comprehensive usage data is as valuable as your ability to parse it and turn it into actionable feedback. Data analysts compose dashboards, reports, and detailed investigations into trends and player behavior. Statistically relevant and impartial data is an invaluable tool, which helps inform balancing changes, improve decision-making, and shape the future of the product.
然而，即使是最全面的使用數據，其價值也取決於你解析數據並將其轉化為可行反饋的能力。數據分析師會編制儀表板、報告以及對趨勢和玩家行為的詳細調查。具有統計意義且公正的數據是一種無價的工具，有助於指導平衡調整、改善決策並塑造產品的未來。

Community and customer support (CCS) lead
社群與客戶支援（CCS）負責人

Your customer support team is an important bridge between the development team and the player base. Having the CCS lead embedded within the game team ensures that important issues are easily flagged and resolved before anything gets out of hand.
您的客戶支援團隊是開發團隊與玩家群體之間的重要橋樑。將 CCS 負責人嵌入遊戲團隊中，確保重要問題能夠輕鬆被標記並在事態失控之前得到解決。

Marketing manager

Live operations require your marketing staff to constantly analyze, coordinate, and scale paid marketing campaigns according to their performance. They also help manage external relationships with advertising agencies, brand owners, and platform holders such as Apple and Google.
現場運營需要您的行銷團隊不斷分析、協調並根據其表現調整付費行銷活動的規模。他們還協助管理與廣告代理商、品牌所有者以及像 Apple 和 Google 這樣的平台持有者的外部關係。

Even though the marketing team itself may consist of many people working on multiple titles at a time, it’s often helpful to designate a single owner and point of contact for a particular title.
即使行銷團隊本身可能由許多人同時負責多個作品，為特定作品指定一位負責人和聯絡窗口通常是有幫助的。

Social media manager  社群媒體經理

Growing and retaining a strong social media presence is difficult and time-consuming, but often well worth the effort. Social media managers help to plan, create, and promote engaging content including community votes, game news, photo and video content, and the ever-important live streams.
建立並維持強大的社群媒體存在是困難且耗時的，但通常非常值得付出努力。社群媒體經理協助規劃、創建和推廣引人入勝的內容，包括社群投票、遊戲新聞、照片和影片內容，以及極為重要的直播。

Efficient live ops

Unless you’ve made a runaway success, your management may be eager to reduce the team size and allow for most of the production staff to move on to other game projects and opportunities.
除非你已經取得了巨大的成功，否則管理層可能會急於縮減團隊規模，讓大多數製作人員轉向其他遊戲項目和機會。

This transition will often be done after the game matures (12-24 months after launch) and where there’s stable revenue but little prospect for outstanding growth (there are only a few games that can turn into a massive success more than a year after release).
這種轉變通常會在遊戲成熟後（發佈後 12 至 24 個月）進行，此時收入穩定，但幾乎沒有顯著增長的前景（只有少數遊戲能在發佈一年後取得巨大成功）。

With efficient content and event management tools (more on those later) and T-shaping (training the remaining staff to take up a wide range of tasks and responsibilities), you should be able to run a mature title of average complexity and size with just a few, highly empowered people.
透過高效的內容和事件管理工具（稍後會詳細介紹）以及 T 型技能（訓練剩餘的員工以承擔廣泛的任務和責任），您應該能夠僅憑少數幾位擁有高度授權的人員來運行一個成熟且具有中等複雜度和規模的作品。

Even without a single coder on board, the live ops team might be able to keep the game alive with events, game balancing, and even basic content updates (based on re-adapted or outsourced art). As for the customer support staff, their numbers will depend on the number of customers who require assistance on a regular basis.
即使沒有一位程式設計師在團隊中，現場運營團隊也可能透過活動、遊戲平衡，甚至是基本的內容更新（基於重新調整或外包的美術）來維持遊戲的生命力。至於客服人員的數量，則取決於需要定期協助的客戶數量。

Unfortunately, this is all easier said than done. Creating an efficient live ops machine requires a certain team mentality and preparation, including the following:
不幸的是，說來容易做來難。要打造一個高效的即時運營機制，需要具備特定的團隊心態和準備，包括以下幾點：

• Writing expandable game engines and designing your games to make them as content driven as possible.
  撰寫可擴展的遊戲引擎，並設計你的遊戲，使其盡可能以內容為驅動。
• Getting creative people into positions of power (to run their own games) and giving them the tools and autonomy they need to thrive. Let people experiment and push their systems to the limits in order to continually delight players with new content, varied mechanics, and twists on old formulas.
  讓有創意的人進入權力位置（運行他們自己的遊戲），並賦予他們所需的工具和自主權，以便蓬勃發展。讓人們實驗並將他們的系統推向極限，以不斷以新內容、多樣化的機制和舊公式的新變化來取悅玩家。
• Creating a desire and expectation for automation. You need to recognize the most repetitive tasks and do your best to streamline them. People who use the tools shouldn’t expect to have to waste their time.
  創造對自動化的渴望與期待。你需要識別出最重複的任務，並盡力簡化它們。使用這些工具的人不應該期望浪費他們的時間。

No matter the size of your live ops team, it’s essential to stay organized! Create forms and processes to follow, and always test your content. After several months of recurring events and sales, it will become very tempting to stop updating your planning sheets, skip checklists, and blindly copy/paste data.
無論您的即時運營團隊規模多大，保持組織有序是至關重要的！創建表單和流程以供遵循，並始終測試您的內容。經過幾個月的重複活動和銷售後，您可能會非常想停止更新計劃表、跳過檢查清單，並盲目地複製/粘貼數據。

This will inevitably lead to a gradual decline in the quality of your live operations and diminished consistency of your offering. It’s fine to improve and streamline your processes to match your evolving needs, but these things are there for a reason; do not leave them behind!
這將不可避免地導致即時運營質量的逐漸下降以及提供的一致性減弱。改進和簡化流程以符合不斷變化的需求是可以的，但這些東西存在是有原因的；不要將它們拋諸腦後！

Managing the content treadmill
管理內容跑步機

Live ops games often have to keep adding new content in order to keep their current audience engaged. We sometimes call such situations as being stuck on a content treadmill—if you stop putting out new content, then you run the risk of losing your players.
即時運營遊戲經常需要不斷添加新內容，以保持現有玩家的參與。我們有時稱這種情況為陷入內容跑步機——如果你停止推出新內容，就有可能失去玩家。

There are many ways of addressing such situations and it’s often up to the whole team to come up with solutions for streamlining the production process or lowering the reliance on new content. Still, this is a practical book, and we aim to provide some practical ideas, such as the following:
面對這類情況有許多種解決方法，通常需要整個團隊共同想出方案，以簡化生產流程或降低對新內容的依賴。不過，這是一本實用的書，我們旨在提供一些實用的建議，例如以下幾點：

• Remixing: Content does not need to be entirely new to still feel fresh. Mirrored tracks in racing games are a great example. Another one would be using old bosses as late-game enemies—players only fought them once, why not give them a second life? Recoloring and resizing your assets can also be a very powerful tool!
  混合創作：內容不必全新仍能讓人耳目一新。賽車遊戲中的鏡像賽道就是一個很好的例子。另一個例子是將舊的頭目作為遊戲後期的敵人——玩家只打過一次，為什麼不給它們第二次生命呢？重新著色和調整資產大小也可以是一個非常強大的工具！
• Replaying: Systems such as prestige levels (reset your progression in exchange for a token or badge of elite status that can be seen and highly admired by other players) and New Game+ (replay the game at a higher difficulty but keep your progress) are both great ways of giving your players an excuse to keep playing once they reach the end.
  重玩：系統如聲望等級（重置您的進度以換取一個可以被其他玩家看到並高度讚賞的精英狀態徽章或標記）和新遊戲+（在更高難度下重玩遊戲但保留您的進度）都是讓玩家在達到遊戲結尾後繼續遊玩的絕佳方式。
• Resurfacing: Why not encourage players to play with content they long grew out of? Special objectives and challenges or game modes/custom rule sets can do just that!
  重現：為什麼不鼓勵玩家重新體驗那些他們早已不再接觸的內容呢？特別的目標和挑戰或遊戲模式/自訂規則設定正可以達成這一點！
• Increasing depth or altering rules: Another way to answer the need for content is to provide more variation outside the content, giving it new life by limiting the repetitiveness of the main game loop. Think of The Arena mode in Hearthstone; it uses exactly the same cards as the main game but allows players to draw randomized cards and create custom decks that always feel fresh and unique. For many players, this mode has prolonged the lifespan of the game greatly!
  增加深度或改變規則：另一種滿足內容需求的方法是提供內容之外的更多變化，通過限制主要遊戲循環的重複性來賦予其新生命。想想《爐石戰記》中的競技場模式；它使用與主遊戲完全相同的卡牌，但允許玩家抽取隨機卡牌並創建自定義牌組，總是讓人感覺新鮮獨特。對於許多玩家來說，這個模式大大延長了遊戲的壽命！
• Improving your pipeline: Sometimes it’s okay to be stuck on a treadmill, as long as you can identify the bottleneck and invest in tools or outsourcing that will make the team’s life more pleasant.
  改善你的工作流程：有時候在跑步機上停滯不前是可以接受的，只要你能識別出瓶頸，並投資於能讓團隊生活更愉快的工具或外包。

Live-game balancing

As you may remember from previous chapters, the game balancing process is sure to continue after release. Live products provide you with invaluable data, but they also introduce heavy limitations, especially for free-to-play games.
如你所記得的，在前幾章中提到，遊戲平衡的過程在發佈後必定會繼續進行。即時產品為你提供了無價的數據，但同時也帶來了嚴重的限制，特別是對於免費遊玩的遊戲。

Making changes that may affect millions of players is a very delicate act. Players who put significant amounts of time and money into your game are right to expect their content to stay relevant and retain value. Upholding this promise while simultaneously fighting overly dominant strategies is not easy.
對於可能影響數百萬玩家的改變是一項非常微妙的行為。那些在你的遊戲中投入大量時間和金錢的玩家，有理由期望他們的內容能保持相關性並保有價值。在同時對抗過於強勢的策略的情況下，維持這一承諾並不容易。

Use soft launches and test environments to validate balance with real players
使用軟啟動和測試環境來驗證與真實玩家的平衡性

Beta tests and soft launches provide you with the time and opportunity for extensive content balancing, especially since it’s likely that you won’t allow for any spending and may even implement plans to reset the game progress. Moreover, most platform holders (such as Apple, Google, and Steam) can provide you with a clear beta or early-access badge, which helps to set an expectation that the game is likely to change and evolve.
Beta 測試和軟啟動為您提供了充足的時間和機會進行廣泛的內容平衡，特別是因為您可能不允許任何消費，甚至可能實施計劃來重置遊戲進度。此外，大多數平台持有者（如 Apple、Google 和 Steam）可以為您提供明確的 Beta 或搶先體驗標誌，這有助於設置遊戲可能會改變和演化的預期。

Once you hit global release, you’ll need to slow down. Stagnation may be bad for the long-term health of your game, but it’s far better than going back and forth between rash and uncalibrated changes that infuriate your customers.
一旦進入全球發行階段，你需要放慢腳步。停滯不前可能對遊戲的長期健康不利，但總比在魯莽且未經調整的變更之間來回折騰，惹怒顧客要好得多。

Vary your data sources
多樣化您的數據來源

Before you make any changes, you need to know what to address in the first place. Remember that game balance is subjective and does not rely on a single source of information. Mix the data provided by game analytics with internal feedback, player sentiment, and even questionnaires.
在進行任何更改之前，您需要先了解要解決的問題。請記住，遊戲平衡是主觀的，並不依賴於單一的信息來源。將遊戲分析提供的數據與內部反饋、玩家情緒，甚至問卷調查結合起來。

Batch your balancing work
批量處理您的平衡工作

Even the most minor tweaks need extensive validation and testing. Changing the spread of a shotgun from 12 to 11 is rarely a good reason to disrupt your live operations schedule. Daily content changes are time-consuming and hard to keep up with, so unless you’re trying to address freshly released content or find a game-breaking issue, you should wait until you assemble a set of prospective issues and deal with them once or twice a month.
即使是最小的調整也需要廣泛的驗證和測試。將霰彈槍的散佈從 12 改為 11，通常不是打亂您的現場運營計劃的好理由。每日內容更改既耗時又難以跟上，因此除非您試圖解決新發布的內容或發現遊戲破壞性問題，否則您應該等到收集了一組潛在問題後，每月處理一到兩次。

Batching your changes into bigger releases also gives you an opportunity to manage player sentiment by surrounding negative changes (informally referred to as nerfs) with positive ones (known as buffs).
將您的變更合併成較大的版本發布，這也讓您有機會通過將負面變更（非正式稱為削弱）與正面變更（稱為增強）結合來管理玩家的情緒。

Make gradual changes and avoid overshooting
進行漸進式的變更並避免過度調整

Once a hundred people tell you how badly something sucks, you’ll be instinctively driven to show the world that you listen by fixing things quickly and decisively. However, once the game is live, you must do your best to curb this reaction, as the risk of going overboard is huge.
當有一百個人告訴您某件事情有多糟糕時，您會本能地想要快速而果斷地修正來向世界證明您在傾聽。然而，一旦遊戲上線，您必須盡力抑制這種反應，因為過度反應的風險非常大。

It’s better to gradually buff the same strategy two or three times across two months than to make it too strong and have to follow up with a nerf. That said, there is a downside! Small changes can be overlooked and not appreciated by the community.
與其一次性將某個策略變得過於強大，然後再進行削弱，不如在兩個月內逐步增強兩到三次。然而，這樣做也有缺點！小幅度的變動可能會被忽視，且不被社群所重視。

Your players may not even give the newly buffed strategy/unit a chance as the perception of it being weak is too strong to overcome. Remember, balancing is as much about objective strength as it is about managing subjective perception!
玩家可能甚至不會給予新加強的策略/單位一個機會，因為對其弱小的印象過於根深蒂固而難以改變。記住，平衡不僅關乎客觀的強度，也涉及到主觀的感知管理！

Nerf by contrast

Although buffing weak content and strategies is often met with great enthusiasm, you must be very careful when making negative changes. Each nerf risks infuriating your players, even to the point of causing a volley of refund requests from dissatisfied customers. This is especially true if players have spent significant amounts of real money or time to acquire affected content. Do not invalidate their effort!
雖然增強弱勢內容和策略通常會受到熱烈歡迎，但在進行負面更動時必須非常謹慎。每次削弱都有可能激怒玩家，甚至可能導致不滿的顧客大量要求退款。這尤其適用於玩家已經花費大量金錢或時間來獲得受影響的內容時。不要讓他們的努力白費！

That said, just because you need to reduce the stats of an overpowered character or bring down a dominant strategy does not mean you have to do it explicitly. By introducing new counterstrategies or reinforcing existing ones, you can often restore balance without resorting to direct downgrades. Remember, context is everything; if you can’t bring something down, shift the focus or raise everything around it!
話雖如此，僅僅因為你需要削弱一個過於強大的角色或降低一種主導策略，並不意味著你必須明確地這樣做。透過引入新的反制策略或強化現有的策略，你通常可以在不直接降級的情況下恢復平衡。記住，情境就是一切；如果你無法降低某個東西，就轉移焦點或提升其周圍的一切！

Communicate your intentions as far ahead as you can
儘可能提前傳達你的意圖

An information vacuum breeds rumors and propagates negative sentiments. Try to maintain a two-way communication channel with the community and aim to address any big issues before they escalate. Explain the rationale and share the thinking process or even part of the analytics data to support your decisions.
資訊真空會滋生謠言並傳播負面情緒。嘗試與社群保持雙向溝通管道，並在問題擴大之前解決任何重大問題。解釋理由，分享思考過程，甚至部分分析數據來支持你的決策。

Utilize a range of tools to address as many players as possible, from in-game news feeds, patch notes, and official wikis, to social media (Twitter, Discord, Reddit, etc.) and live-streaming.
利用多種工具來接觸盡可能多的玩家，從遊戲內新聞推送、更新說明、官方維基，到社交媒體（Twitter、Discord、Reddit 等）和直播平台。

Shifting meta can revitalize your economy
變動的元遊戲可以振興你的經濟

Your players are an active component of any multiplayer game and the decisions they make can have a great effect on other players, and by extension, on the overall balance of the game. Tactical adjustments and reactions to strategies exhibited by other players (as well as so-called mind games) are the building blocks of your meta.
在任何多人遊戲中，玩家都是一個活躍的組成部分，他們所做的決定會對其他玩家產生重大影響，進而影響整個遊戲的平衡。對其他玩家所展現的策略進行戰術調整和反應（以及所謂的心理戰）是構建你元遊戲的基石。

The significance and extensiveness of the meta layer vary across games and often come down to the knowledge of, and preference for, certain card decks, weapon load-outs, building layouts, character rosters, and tactics.
元層的意義和廣泛性在不同遊戲中各不相同，通常取決於對某些卡牌組合、武器配置、建築佈局、角色名單和戰術的知識和偏好。

The in-game community at large is constantly evolving the meta by re-evaluating the trends and strategies of other players. Some players expend considerable effort to optimize against the most prolific and successful ones, while others stick to what they like or know best. Game designers can affect and revitalize (shift) the meta by introducing and incentivizing new strategies and slowly sunsetting (countering) the dominant ones.
遊戲中的社群不斷透過重新評估其他玩家的趨勢和策略來演化元遊戲。一些玩家投入大量精力以對抗最具影響力和成功的玩家，而另一些則堅持使用他們最喜歡或最熟悉的策略。遊戲設計師可以透過引入和激勵新策略，並逐漸淘汰（反制）主導策略來影響和振興元遊戲。

On top of making the game more interesting, meta-shifting can be a great way of increasing the value of existing content, which wasn’t desirable in the old meta. By shifting the desire and attention to other elements of the economy, you can also stop a portion of your content from getting overly saturated.
除了讓遊戲更有趣之外，改變元遊戲還可以大幅提升現有內容的價值，這些內容在舊的元遊戲中並不受歡迎。通過將需求和注意力轉移到經濟的其他元素上，您還可以防止部分內容過度飽和。

Planning

To have any hopes of delivering on your live operations promise, you’ll need to plan well ahead. A few months before the game’s global release, you should be able to agree on the following:
要實現您對即時運營的承諾，您需要提前做好規劃。在遊戲全球發行的幾個月前，您應該能夠就以下事項達成共識：

• The content and live ops features (such as events) required for the game’s launch. This consists of your live ops minimum viable product (MVP) and should include the content reserved for the first several weeks of live operations.
  遊戲上線所需的內容和即時運營功能（如活動）。這包括您的即時運營最小可行產品（MVP），並應包含為即時運營的前幾週預留的內容。
• The live ops calendar spanning the first few months. More on the calendar in the following section!
  首幾個月的即時運營日曆。更多日曆內容請見下一節！
• The content production pipeline for the first few months of live operations.
  首幾個月即時運營的內容生產流程。
• The live ops features and improvements required in the first few months.
  首幾個月所需的即時運營功能和改進。

The first few months after global release are as exciting as they are stressful. It’s essential to figure out what content matters and what barely moves the needle. Avoid cutting corners in the hope of turning a quick buck. Do not act on inconclusive data and knee-jerk yourself into trouble. Live games take time to stabilize, and any decisions you make in a rush may end up undermining the game’s future.
全球發行後的首幾個月既令人興奮又充滿壓力。必須弄清楚哪些內容重要，哪些內容影響不大。避免為了快速賺錢而偷工減料。不要根據不確定的數據草率行事，讓自己陷入麻煩。即時遊戲需要時間來穩定，任何倉促做出的決定都可能損害遊戲的未來。

The first few months of live operations may be rough, but if all goes well, you’ll end up creating a well-oiled machine that is set up to succeed for the years to come. The better your processes and plans, the less likely you are to have to put out fires on a Sunday afternoon.
最初幾個月的營運可能會有些艱難，但如果一切順利，最終你將打造出一台運作良好的機器，為未來的成功奠定基礎。你的流程和計劃越完善，就越不可能在週日下午疲於應付突發狀況。

Extend the agile development process into live operations! If you’re using Jira or any similar agile tool, try creating a separate ticket dashboard for live ops and breaking down each content update into executable and testable tasks.
將敏捷開發流程延伸至現場運營！如果您正在使用 Jira 或任何類似的敏捷工具，試著為現場運營創建一個獨立的工單儀表板，並將每次內容更新分解為可執行和可測試的任務。

Live ops calendar

A live ops calendar tracks everything that’s happening in your game and provides essential insight into the past and future of your live operations. In Transformers: Earth Wars, it took the form of a long (but tidy) Google sheet, with each day taking a single row. The rows were populated with the following information:
即時運營日曆追蹤遊戲中發生的一切，並提供對過去和未來即時運營的關鍵見解。在《變形金剛：地球之戰》中，它以一個長而整潔的 Google 試算表形式呈現，每天佔據一行。這些行填入以下資訊：

• Versions of the game client (the actual application installed by the players) and game content (configuration) across different platforms and environments. It’s important to make sure that the game client containing new features or content will be ready for its corresponding event.
  遊戲客戶端（玩家安裝的實際應用程式）和遊戲內容（配置）在不同平台和環境中的版本。確保包含新功能或內容的遊戲客戶端為其相應的事件做好準備是很重要的。
• Major real-world events (such as holidays) and in-game affairs (new storylines, game feature releases, and so on).
  重大現實世界事件（如節日）和遊戲內事件（新故事情節、遊戲功能發布等）。
• Special event information including the name and type of the event, main reward, and start and end dates. More on events later on!
  特殊事件資訊，包括事件名稱和類型、主要獎勵以及開始和結束日期。稍後會有更多關於事件的內容！
• Sale dates for premium bundles and content. This allows us to easily find out the last time we sold a particular bundle or character.
  高級套裝和內容的銷售日期。這讓我們能夠輕鬆找出上次銷售特定套裝或角色的時間。
• Important notes on game economy updates such as new characters entering the gacha pool.
  有關遊戲經濟更新的重要注意事項，例如新角色進入扭蛋池。
• Newsfeed tracking – that is, which in-game news is live and for how long.
  新聞動態追蹤——即遊戲內新聞的上線時間及持續時間。

When it comes to releasing new content, it’s best to establish a steady, predictable pace. In the case of Transformers, a single character per month was much better than a set of three characters in a span of a few weeks followed by a two-month break.
在發布新內容時，最好建立一個穩定且可預測的節奏。以《變形金剛》為例，每月推出一個角色比在幾週內推出三個角色，然後休息兩個月要好得多。

Be very careful to not fire your shells all at once! Setting a release schedule that you cannot sustain will not only increase the pressure on the team but also inevitably end up creating an impression that the game is slowing down and becoming less eventful, thus lowering the trust in its future.
務必小心不要一次性發射所有炮彈！設定一個無法持續的發布計劃，不僅會增加團隊的壓力，還會不可避免地給人一種遊戲正在放緩並變得不那麼精彩的印象，從而降低對其未來的信任。

Creating news feeds, preparing events, and implementing new bundles and content takes a lot of time. Use any spare resources, outsourcing, and quiet moments to get ahead with your live ops. Being a few months ahead with game assets and a few weeks with game configuration gives you the necessary peace of mind, safeguards your operations, and allows members of staff to take a much-needed holiday break.
創建新聞推送、準備活動以及實施新套件和內容需要花費大量時間。利用任何閒置資源、外包和安靜的時刻來提前進行您的即時運營。提前幾個月準備遊戲資產和提前幾週配置遊戲，能夠讓您安心無憂，保障您的運營，並讓員工能夠享受一個急需的假期。

Release cadence

The release cycles for your game client (the application you install) and content (configuration delivered via an internet connection) vary between products and platforms. At Space Ape Games, we used to release major content updates on Wednesday or Thursday (ahead of weekend events) and optionally on Monday.
您的遊戲客戶端（您安裝的應用程式）和內容（透過網路連線傳送的配置）的發佈週期會因產品和平台而異。在 Space Ape Games，我們通常在週三或週四（週末活動之前）發佈主要內容更新，有時也會選擇在週一發佈。

Client updates themselves are released at least a few days earlier, with new content and features turned off. The staggered release pattern gives players a few days to update their game without being immediately blocked from playing. It also takes into account the time we need to secure App Store approval.
客戶端更新本身會提前幾天發佈，並將新內容和功能關閉。這種分階段的發佈模式讓玩家有幾天的時間更新遊戲，而不會立即被阻止遊玩。這也考慮到我們需要的時間來獲得 App Store 的審核批准。

No matter what release cadence you go for, it’s best to reserve a full day for finding and reacting to any live issues. Avoiding Friday releases gives you a good chance to preserve your weekend.
無論您選擇何種發佈節奏，最好預留整天來發現並應對任何線上問題。避免在星期五發佈，這樣可以讓您有更好的機會保住週末。

However, it’s still beneficial to create an on-call roster and designate people to periodically monitor the game’s dashboards and inform the team of any issues. After all, if we want to provide a great service to our players, we have to try and keep the game running smoothly and without major disruptions.
然而，建立一個隨時待命的名單並指派人員定期監控遊戲的儀表板，並在出現問題時通知團隊，仍然是有益的。畢竟，如果我們想為玩家提供優質的服務，就必須努力保持遊戲順利運行，避免重大中斷。

With your live operations team, a solid plan, and release cadence in place, there’s only one final piece missing, and that’s tooling. Let’s find out what kind of tools you’ll need to have in place to run your live operations effectively.
有了您的即時運營團隊、穩固的計劃和發佈節奏，現在只剩下最後一個環節，那就是工具。我們來看看您需要哪些工具來有效地運行即時運營。

Tools and setup

Even the best live ops teams will have a hard time running their game without the help of efficient tooling and bullet-proof infrastructure. Let’s run through the basics.
即使是最優秀的即時運營團隊，若沒有高效的工具和堅如磐石的基礎設施，也會難以運行他們的遊戲。讓我們來了解一下基本要素。

Content management system (CMS)
內容管理系統 (CMS)

The CMS encapsulates any tooling that empowers designers, live ops managers, and any other non-programmers to create, change, and deploy game content.
CMS 包含了任何能夠讓設計師、即時運營經理及其他非程式設計人員創建、修改和部署遊戲內容的工具。

From game and level editors to bespoke configuration tools, config files, and online spreadsheets, the fate of your CMS will depend on your game engine and data architecture. Live ops tooling cannot be an afterthought, so make sure to communicate your content management intentions early and request any tools you may need throughout production.
從遊戲和關卡編輯器到專屬配置工具、配置文件和線上試算表，您的 CMS 命運將取決於您的遊戲引擎和數據架構。即時運營工具不能事後才考慮，因此請務必及早溝通您的內容管理意圖，並在整個製作過程中請求您可能需要的任何工具。

With a well-integrated CMS, editing files is quick, error-free, and well-visualized. Moreover, deploying new balancing tweaks, levels, missions, events, localization files, items, and so on should be done in the CMS alone and require no new game code.
透過完善整合的內容管理系統，編輯檔案變得快速、無誤且可視化。此外，部署新的平衡調整、關卡、任務、事件、本地化檔案、物品等，應該只需在內容管理系統中完成，無需新增遊戲代碼。

New graphical assets may still need an updated game client (until you integrate an asset streaming solution), but balancing tweaks that modify the damage of a War Axe from 18 to 15 should never require a new game version. If this isn’t the case for your game, your iteration time, bug-fixing capability, and live ops flexibility will suffer greatly!
新的圖形資源可能仍然需要更新的遊戲客戶端（直到您整合資源串流解決方案），但調整戰斧傷害從 18 到 15 的平衡微調不應該需要新的遊戲版本。如果您的遊戲不是這樣，您的迭代時間、修復錯誤的能力和現場運營的靈活性將會大大受損！

Customer relationship management (CRM)
顧客關係管理 (CRM)

Logging and tracking support tickets means nothing if your customer support team has no way of addressing them. It’s essential to have a CRM portal that empowers your team and allows them to monitor and, if necessary, edit player profiles.
記錄和追蹤支援票務毫無意義，如果您的客戶支援團隊無法處理它們。擁有一個能夠賦予團隊權力的 CRM 入口網站是至關重要的，這樣他們才能監控並在必要時編輯玩家資料。

The most common use cases include handing out bans and warnings, recovering lost accounts, changing in-game names, sending compensating gifts, and resolving user-specific issues.
最常見的使用情境包括發放禁令和警告、恢復丟失的帳號、更改遊戲內名稱、發送補償禮物以及解決用戶特定問題。

At Space Ape Games, CRM tools were highly customized for each game, but many companies integrate their entire customer support operations under an umbrella of a single tool.
在 Space Ape Games，CRM 工具針對每款遊戲進行高度定制，但許多公司將其整個客戶支援運營整合在一個工具之下。

Dashboards

Your analytics are only as powerful as your ability to parse data and quickly react to issues and abnormalities. It’s a common practice to compose a live dashboard of the most important KPIs and put them on display in an accessible part of the office. After all, if the team is supposed to feel responsible for the game, they need easy access to information about its current performance. Following links to online dashboards every few hours requires active interest, and catching a glimpse every time you stand from your seat is a much more accessible affair.
您的分析能力取決於您解析數據和迅速應對問題及異常情況的能力。通常的做法是製作一個包含最重要 KPI 的即時儀表板，並將其展示在辦公室中一個易於接觸的地方。畢竟，如果團隊應該對遊戲負責，他們需要輕鬆獲取有關其當前表現的信息。每隔幾小時點擊連結查看線上儀表板需要主動的興趣，而每次從座位上站起來時瞥見一下則要方便得多。

As for anyone who’s not fully embedded within the game team (or responsible for keeping the service live), automatic daily and weekly reports should be sufficient.
至於那些並未完全融入遊戲團隊（或負責維持服務運行）的人，日報和週報的自動報告應該已經足夠。

Test environments

The best way of testing client, server, and configuration updates is to deploy them onto a game environment with actual players. However, the last thing you want is to expose paying customers to untested code and potentially game-breaking issues. To address this conundrum, your server developers and development operations staff will need to establish a range of test environments – from tiny servers for internal use only to public test realms (PTRs) populated by real players.
測試客戶端、伺服器和配置更新的最佳方式是將它們部署到有實際玩家的遊戲環境中。然而，您最不希望的就是讓付費玩家接觸到未經測試的代碼和可能破壞遊戲的問題。為了解決這個難題，您的伺服器開發人員和開發運營團隊需要建立一系列的測試環境——從僅供內部使用的小型伺服器到由真實玩家組成的公共測試領域（PTR）。

At Space Ape Games, we often deployed our game updates a few days early onto a single, ring-fenced territory (such as Thailand or the Philippines), where a different version of the game is released. The game in our test market is virtually the same but contains no in-app purchases (thus removing the risk of hurting paying customers), and its players are separated from the rest of the world.
在 Space Ape Games，我們經常會提前幾天將遊戲更新部署到一個單一且隔離的地區（例如泰國或菲律賓），在那裡發布不同版本的遊戲。我們在測試市場中的遊戲幾乎與原版相同，但不包含應用內購買（因此消除了對付費玩家造成影響的風險），而且其玩家與世界其他地區的玩家是分開的。

As a result, any issues we weren’t able to identify during our internal tests can come to light without damaging the entire game. On a side note, some players really enjoy trying out and giving feedback on new features before they’re live for everyone else.
因此，任何我們在內部測試中無法識別的問題都可以在不損害整個遊戲的情況下浮現。順帶一提，有些玩家非常喜歡在新功能正式上線前嘗試並提供反饋。

Live ops tools

It’s best if your live operations managers can spend most of their time designing engaging events and effective sales strategies, not inputting data by hand. Live ops tools often take the shape of bespoke online portals where you can easily set up and schedule events, bundles, newsfeeds, and notifications. In the best-case scenario, you should be able to easily create templates and base new entries on previously used ones.
最好是讓您的即時運營經理能夠將大部分時間花在設計引人入勝的活動和有效的銷售策略上，而不是手動輸入數據。即時運營工具通常以定制的線上門戶形式出現，您可以輕鬆設置和安排活動、套裝、新聞推送和通知。在最佳情況下，您應該能夠輕鬆創建模板，並以先前使用的條目為基礎創建新條目。

Asset streaming

When it comes to mobile platforms, the more content you can deliver without updating the game client and going through the submission process, the better. Moreover, Apple and Google both put a limit on the size of the apps and updates that can be delivered over mobile networks (which helps to preserve a user’s bandwidth).
在行動平台上，能夠在不更新遊戲客戶端和不經過提交流程的情況下提供更多內容，無疑是更好的。此外，Apple 和 Google 都對可以通過行動網路傳送的應用程式和更新大小設有限制（這有助於保護使用者的頻寬）。

By implementing an asset streaming solution, we can keep the initial download size of the game under wraps and deliver the game client without the need for Wi-Fi. And although long asset downloads during the very first loading seem far worse than having to download the entire game on Wi-Fi, based on a few experiments at Space Ape Games, it’s been proven that the D1 retention is higher if the game client is kept small.
透過實施資產串流解決方案，我們可以將遊戲的初始下載大小控制在合理範圍內，並在不需要 Wi-Fi 的情況下交付遊戲客戶端。儘管在首次加載時進行長時間的資產下載似乎比在 Wi-Fi 上下載整個遊戲更糟糕，但根據 Space Ape Games 的幾次實驗證明，如果遊戲客戶端保持小巧，D1 留存率會更高。

On a side note, a small app size also means that potential players can instantly act upon any digital advert for our game. Advertising to people who simply cannot download the game because they are not on Wi-Fi can be a huge waste of money. It’s possible to restrict our campaigns to only target Wi-Fi users, but such a strategy would decrease your reach and increase your costs.
順帶一提，較小的應用程式大小也意味著潛在玩家可以立即響應我們遊戲的任何數位廣告。若廣告對象因未連接 Wi-Fi 而無法下載遊戲，這將是極大的資金浪費。我們可以限制廣告活動僅針對 Wi-Fi 用戶，但這樣的策略會減少觸及範圍並增加成本。

With essential technical infrastructure covered, let us refocus on game design and explore the dominant element of most live operation plans – events.
在涵蓋了必要的技術基礎設施後，讓我們重新聚焦於遊戲設計，並探討大多數即時運營計劃中的主導元素——活動。

Events

Events are special time-limited activities designed to provide variety, increase player engagement, and potentially encourage spending. Events come in all shapes and sizes, from leaderboard competitions and tournaments to double XP weekends, Black Friday deals, special maps, and game modes.
活動是特別的限時活動，旨在提供多樣性、增加玩家參與度，並可能鼓勵消費。活動形式多樣，從排行榜競賽和錦標賽到雙倍經驗值週末、黑色星期五優惠、特殊地圖和遊戲模式。

The scope of your events will depend on your ambitions, capabilities, and the importance of the period in question. Some events require extensive planning and new content (it’s common to theme a large portion of a game’s assets around the Olympics, Christmas, or Halloween), while others can be done on a whim and rely on an established event pattern, a few banners, and a selection of available content.
活動的範圍將取決於您的野心、能力以及所涉及時期的重要性。有些活動需要精心策劃和新內容（通常會將遊戲的大部分資源主題化，例如奧運會、聖誕節或萬聖節），而其他活動則可以隨興而為，依賴於既定的活動模式、幾個橫幅和可用內容的選擇。

Before you design and implement any event system, you’ll have to think of a few potential use cases. For each example you can think of, answer the following questions:
在設計和實施任何事件系統之前，您需要考慮一些潛在的使用案例。對於您能想到的每個例子，請回答以下問題：

• What’s the primary objective of the event? Engagement, the reactivation of lapsed users, revenue generation, and so on?
  活動的主要目的是什麼？是提升互動、重新激活流失用戶、創造收入，還是其他？
• Who will interact with the system? Is it targeted at individuals or groups? Casual or competitive players? What’s your desired engagement rate?
  誰會與系統互動？是針對個人還是團體？是休閒玩家還是競技玩家？您期望的互動率是多少？
• How will the event be delivered, presented, and promoted?
  活動將如何傳遞、呈現和推廣？
• Can players opt into event gameplay when they like, or are they racing against the clock and one another?
  玩家可以隨時選擇參加活動遊戲，還是需要與時間和其他玩家競賽？
• What are the rewards for participation?
  參與的獎勵是什麼？

Well-designed event systems are made up of a variety of components (such as time limits, leaderboards, and score targets) that can be reused and combined in different permutations.
精心設計的事件系統由多種組件組成（例如時間限制、排行榜和分數目標），這些組件可以重複使用並以不同的排列方式組合。

Event classification  事件分類

The size and reach of your events have a strong effect on player behavior. A 24-hour-long individual tournament feels completely different from a month-long faction undertaking. Let’s look at a few examples and what they entail:
活動的規模和影響力對玩家行為有著強烈的影響。24 小時的個人錦標賽與為期一個月的陣營活動感覺截然不同。讓我們來看看幾個例子及其所包含的內容：

• Individual events: It’s just me against (or parallel to) the world! Special missions, individual tournaments, temporary season passes, and leaderboards can be very appealing and encourage players to return and engage at set times and in specific ways. If the event has a competitive element, try to ensure that weaker and less experienced players do not need to engage with the ultra-competitive elite.
  個人活動：這是我與世界的對抗（或並行）！特殊任務、個人錦標賽、臨時季票和排行榜都非常吸引人，並鼓勵玩家在特定時間和特定方式下回來參與。如果活動具有競爭性元素，請確保較弱和經驗較少的玩家不需要與超級競爭的精英對抗。
• Group versus group: Few things are as effective in building bonds between players as guild wars, alliance leaderboards, boss raids, and group tournaments. As always, stay vigilant and monitor the effect of various events on your community. Interactions between passionate groups and peer pressure within them can easily turn from fun and engaging to discouraging and toxic.
  群體對抗群體：很少有事情能像公會戰、聯盟排行榜、首領突襲和團體錦標賽一樣有效地建立玩家之間的聯繫。正如往常一樣，保持警惕並監控各種事件對社群的影響。熱情群體之間的互動及其內部的同儕壓力很容易從有趣和吸引人轉變為令人沮喪和有害。
• Server-wide events: Massive undertakings to unlock a game feature or reward on a server-wide scale can be very appealing and encourage lapsed players to return. However, since no one feels particularly responsible or compelled to work extra-hard for a server-wide outcome, you’ll need to make sure to recognize individual or guild-based contributions. In essence, server-wide events are a great addition but replace individual progress tracking and rewarding.
  伺服器全域事件：在伺服器全域範圍內解鎖遊戲功能或獎勵的大型活動，對玩家來說非常具有吸引力，並能鼓勵流失的玩家回歸。然而，由於沒有人會特別感到負責或被驅使為伺服器全域的結果而額外努力，因此您需要確保認可個人或公會的貢獻。總而言之，伺服器全域事件是很好的補充，但取代了個人進度的追蹤和獎勵。
• Faction events: If your player population is divided into factions, a faction-wide event can unify strangers against a common adversary.
  陣營事件：如果你的玩家群體被劃分為不同的陣營，一個針對整個陣營的事件可以團結陌生人對抗共同的敵人。
• League events: Dividing players and groups into leagues with bespoke leaderboards and rewards is a good way to appeal to engaged and competitive players.
  聯賽活動：將玩家和群組分成不同的聯賽，並設置專屬的排行榜和獎勵，是吸引投入且具有競爭心玩家的好方法。

Event components

With the base classification set in place, we need to compose a set of event participation rules. In the following subsections, we’ll cover some of the widely adopted components that you can deploy in your event design.
在基礎分類設置完成後，我們需要制定一套事件參與規則。在接下來的小節中，我們將介紹一些廣泛採用的組件，您可以在您的事件設計中運用。

Totalizers

In totalizer events, players amass event points (or another special, event-specific resource) by playing the game in a set way – for example, by racing their cars across a special track, scoring headshots with a designated sniper rifle, or killing monsters in a specific arena.
在累計活動中，玩家透過以特定方式進行遊戲來累積活動點數（或其他特定於活動的特殊資源）——例如，駕駛他們的車輛穿越特定賽道、使用指定的狙擊步槍取得爆頭得分，或在特定競技場中擊殺怪物。

Each individual point contribution is added onto the point counter (a totalizer), which usually takes the shape of a long progress bar, with various rewards distributed along the way and the ultimate reward sitting at the end.
每個人的點數貢獻都會累積到點數計數器（總計器）上，這通常呈現為一個長長的進度條，沿途會分配各種獎勵，而最終獎勵則位於終點。

Once the top reward is reached, the totalizer is complete, and further event participation loses much of its purpose (unless a separate leaderboard or high score component is present). A totalizer event in Transformers: Earth Wars is shown in Figure 14.1. Players earn points by going into battle and earn various prizes as they climb toward the top reward:
一旦達到最高獎勵，累計器就完成了，進一步參加活動便失去了大部分意義（除非有單獨的排行榜或高分組件存在）。在《Transformers: Earth Wars》中，累計器活動如圖 14.1 所示。玩家通過進入戰鬥來獲得積分，並在攀登至最高獎勵的過程中贏得各種獎品：

Figure 14.1 – A totalizer event in Transformers: Earth Wars
圖 14.1 – 變形金剛：地球戰爭中的累計事件

Prestiging totalizers  聲望累加器

Prestiging itself is a concept popularized by Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007), where players could reset their in-game progress after reaching the maximum experience level, and receive a cosmetic token in exchange. In the context of special events and totalizers, prestiging allows players to complete the same totalizer multiple times, with full rewards gained for each play-through.
威望系統這個概念由《決勝時刻 4：現代戰爭》（2007）普及化，玩家在達到最高經驗等級後可以重置遊戲進度，並獲得一個外觀代幣作為交換。在特殊活動和累計器的背景下，威望系統允許玩家多次完成同一個累計器，每次通關都能獲得完整的獎勵。

Prestiging shifts the focus from simply finishing the totalizer (which may be hard to do if the score requirement is high) to completing a shorter totalizer the maximum number of times. Prestiging can be used to democratize the rewards and make the events more accessible for the weaker players and groups.
威望系統將重點從單純完成累計器（如果分數要求很高可能很難做到）轉移到盡可能多次完成較短的累計器。威望系統可以用來使獎勵更具普及性，讓活動對於較弱的玩家和團體更具可及性。

In Transformers: Earth Wars, we often employed very short totalizers that could be completed up to 60 times, though doing so required a group of experienced and dedicated players. In our case, the top reward on the totalizer was often a gacha crystal, with a small chance of getting a new character.
在《變形金剛：地球戰爭》中，我們經常使用非常短的累計器，最多可以完成 60 次，儘管這需要一群有經驗且投入的玩家。在我們的情況下，累計器的最高獎勵通常是一個扭蛋水晶，並有小機會獲得新角色。

The more times your alliance prestiged the event, the more crystals you amassed and the higher the chances of securing the character. This kind of prestiging rewards hard work, while simultaneously encouraging weak alliances to keep playing, as each completed totalizer gives them a small chance of getting a new character.
你的聯盟在活動中重複達到聲望的次數越多，你累積的水晶就越多，獲得角色的機會也就越高。這種聲望機制獎勵了辛勤的努力，同時也鼓勵較弱的聯盟繼續參與，因為每完成一次累計器，他們就有一點機會獲得新角色。

There is a caveat for combining prestiging and gacha rewards: the individuals and groups at the very top are often upset about losing the certainty of getting the best rewards. As for everyone else, they enjoy the lower concentration of rewards at the top, and welcome the chance to receive the top reward themselves.
將聲望機制與扭蛋獎勵結合有一個警告：位於頂端的個人和團體常常對失去獲得最佳獎勵的確定性感到不滿。至於其他人，他們則享受於頂端獎勵的低集中度，並歡迎自己有機會獲得頂級獎勵。

Scored leaderboards

Leaderboards are a video game staple, and to this day, they remain a highly effective component that invigorates competition and gives recognition to the outstanding performance of the very best players in each game:
排行榜是電子遊戲中的常見元素，至今仍然是激發競爭並表彰每款遊戲中最佳玩家傑出表現的高效組成部分：

Figure 14.2 – Event leaderboard in Transformers: Earth Wars
圖 14.2 – Transformers: Earth Wars 中的活動排行榜

In the context of live operations, temporary leaderboards can be used to track event performance on a group or individual level. At the very end of the event, various rewards can then be distributed to each participant based on their final standings. The number of different reward tiers can vary greatly and is an effect of a very delicate balancing act.
在即時運營的背景下，臨時排行榜可以用來追蹤群體或個人層級的活動表現。在活動結束時，可以根據每位參與者的最終排名分發各種獎勵。不同獎勵層級的數量可能會有很大差異，這是一個非常微妙的平衡行為的結果。

To start with, you need to make players care about the top tiers on the leaderboard. Following that, place a few tightly packed and meaningful tiers in the middle of the leaderboard. This can help increase the number of players engulfed in the exciting battles at the verges of each reward tier.
首先，你需要讓玩家關注排行榜上的頂級層級。接下來，在排行榜中間放置一些緊密且有意義的層級。這可以幫助增加被每個獎勵層級邊緣的激烈戰鬥所吸引的玩家數量。

To put it bluntly, falling dead-center of a reward tier is not nearly as much fun as fighting fiercely to climb (or hold your position) until the very last minute. Let’s look at an example pictured next.
坦白說，落在獎勵層級的正中央遠不如在最後一刻激烈爭奪（或保持位置）來得有趣。讓我們看看接下來的例子。

Figure 14.3 – Different reward tiers in Transformers: Earth Wars
圖 14.3 – 《變形金剛：地球之戰》中的不同獎勵等級

In a competition with several hundred participants, the reward tiers can look as follows: 1-5 (top reward), 6-25 (great reward), 26-80 (good reward), 81-150, 151-250 (mediocre reward), 251-400, and 400+ (a token of appreciation). For events with a more modest scale, such as localized leagues or mini competitions with 100 or so players, you can opt for a smaller number of tiers: 1-3, 4-10, 11-25, 26-50, and 51+.
在一場有數百名參賽者的比賽中，獎勵等級可以如下劃分：1-5 名（最高獎勵）、6-25 名（優秀獎勵）、26-80 名（良好獎勵）、81-150 名、151-250 名（中等獎勵）、251-400 名，以及 400 名以上（感謝獎）。對於規模較小的活動，如地方聯賽或約 100 名玩家的小型比賽，可以選擇較少的等級：1-3 名、4-10 名、11-25 名、26-50 名，以及 51 名以上。

Knockout

In knockout (or elimination) events, players start with a limited number of lives or attempts. They then try to set a high score or complete the event before being eliminated.
在淘汰賽（或稱為淘汰制）中，玩家一開始擁有有限的生命或嘗試次數。然後，他們嘗試在被淘汰之前創下高分或完成該項目。

To better balance such systems, try using the current winning streak or score when matching players against one another. Natural escalation of difficulty will make things easier at the beginning and far more exciting after several wins. Challenges in Clash Royale are a good example of an elimination event that works on an opt-in basis:
為了更好地平衡這類系統，嘗試在匹配玩家時使用當前的連勝紀錄或得分。難度的自然提升會讓一開始的遊戲較為簡單，而在連勝數場後則會變得更加刺激。《Clash Royale》中的挑戰賽是一個很好的例子，這是一種基於自願參加的淘汰賽事。

Figure 14.4 – A knockout event in Clash Royale
圖 14.4 – 《Clash Royale》中的淘汰賽事件

By their very nature, elimination events tend to have a short lifespan, which can be further secured by placing a cap on wins and prizes. The removal of grinding is often welcome by players but reduces the amount of consumables you can sell. To better monetize these types of events, try using premium event entry tickets that can be sold repeatedly to players who dropped out of the event prematurely.
淘汰賽事本質上壽命較短，若設置勝利和獎品的上限，則更能確保其短暫性。玩家通常歡迎去除重複性勞動，但這也減少了可銷售的消耗品數量。為了更好地將這類活動貨幣化，可以嘗試使用高級活動入場券，這些入場券可以反覆出售給過早退出活動的玩家。

It’s important to note that totalizers, elimination formats, and leaderboards are not mutually exclusive. You can mix multiple event components in the very same event. Experiment with various permutations, rewards, and participation requirements to find the most successful formats for your game.
需要注意的是，累計器、淘汰賽格式和排行榜並不是互斥的。您可以在同一個活動中混合多種活動組件。嘗試各種排列組合、獎勵和參與要求，以找出最適合您遊戲的格式。

Event rewards

Medals, trophies, items, perks, characters, costumes, and vanity content—event prizes depend entirely on what you have at your disposal. With rewards, as with events themselves, there is no silver bullet or a one-size-fits-all solution. There are, however, a few tips you can follow!
獎牌、獎盃、物品、特權、角色、服裝和虛榮內容——活動獎品完全取決於您手頭擁有的資源。與活動本身一樣，獎勵並沒有萬能的解決方案或一刀切的方法。不過，您可以遵循一些提示！

Set the bar

Always start cheap and increase the quality of the rewards as necessary. Beginning with great rewards in the hope of increasing event participation is a terrible mistake that locks you into a dangerous, ever-inflating pattern.
一開始應該從低成本的獎勵開始，然後根據需要逐步提高獎勵的品質。以優厚的獎勵作為起點來期望增加活動參與度是一個嚴重的錯誤，這會讓你陷入一個危險且不斷膨脹的模式。

With rewards, the only way players are happy to accept is up. Bringing the quality of rewards down is a very long and painful process. Doing so incorrectly will cause massive amounts of dissatisfaction and long-term deterioration of player relations. Players never forget.
獎勵方面，玩家唯一樂於接受的方式就是提升。降低獎勵的品質是一個漫長而痛苦的過程。不當地這樣做會導致大量的不滿，並且長期損害玩家關係。玩家永遠不會忘記。

Pick a theme

Split the categories of rewards to make events feel different or encourage more/less participation. Do not overload the event with 10 different types of content; focus on one vector and make it the top objective. A few good examples of strong themes would be a four-star crystal event, where players focus their efforts to get precious crystal rewards at the top of the totalizer, or a triple XP event, where the main driver of engagement is the additional experience points, and the event rewards themselves are purposefully insignificant. Use your rewards to ensure that consecutive events stand out from one another.
將獎勵類別分開，以使活動感覺不同或鼓勵更多/更少的參與。不要在活動中塞入 10 種不同類型的內容；專注於一個方向並將其作為首要目標。一些強烈主題的好例子包括四星水晶活動，玩家集中精力在總計器的頂端獲得珍貴的水晶獎勵，或是三倍經驗值活動，主要的參與動力是額外的經驗值，而活動獎勵本身則故意不那麼重要。利用你的獎勵來確保連續的活動彼此之間能夠脫穎而出。

Acknowledge the effort  承認努力

For significant events such as monthly or quarterly leaderboard showdowns, it’s advisable to give additional recognition to the winners. If possible, avoid creating an additional reward tier; keeping the best rewards for the top three or five participants is absolutely fine.
對於每月或每季度的排行榜對決等重大事件，建議給予獲勝者額外的認可。如果可能，避免創建額外的獎勵層級；將最佳獎勵保留給前三或前五名參加者是完全可以的。

Instead, give the winners an exclusive cosmetic item, or a permanent place in a virtual hall of fame. The truth is players at the very top rarely need more resources or better content; they want a reward that no one else can get.
相反地，給予獲勝者一個獨特的外觀物品，或是在虛擬名人堂中永久佔有一席之地。事實上，位居頂端的玩家很少需要更多的資源或更好的內容；他們想要的是一個其他人無法獲得的獎勵。

The in-game Hall of Fame in Transformers: Earth Wars was very efficient (a simple newsfeed) but highly effective.
《變形金剛：地球之戰》中的遊戲名人堂雖然只是簡單的新聞推送，但卻非常有效。

Figure 14.5 – Transformers: Earth Wars Hall of Fame
圖 14.5 – 變形金剛：地球戰爭名人堂

Event participation and engagement
活動參與和投入

The success of your events can be measured by three factors:
活動的成功可以由三個因素來衡量：

• Event participation: The percentage of eligible players who participated in the event by completing at least one measurable action. By forecasting and assessing the participation, you can decide whether the effort you spent on preparing the event brings sufficient results. To provide a quantifiable example, for a mid-core mobile game with an engaged audience, a participation rate of around 75%-80% in a weekend event would be considered very healthy, and anything below 50% is likely to cast serious doubt on the appeal of the event.
  活動參與：參加活動的合格玩家比例，這些玩家至少完成了一個可衡量的行動。通過預測和評估參與情況，您可以決定為準備活動所投入的努力是否帶來了足夠的成果。舉一個可量化的例子，對於一款擁有活躍受眾的中核手機遊戲來說，週末活動的參與率約在 75%-80%被視為非常健康，而低於 50%則可能對活動的吸引力產生嚴重懷疑。
• Engagement: How much time and effort were spent on the event by an average player. For example, if players need to battle their enemies for event points, engagement measures the number of completed battles. Engagement stats directly influence the intensity of the event – a factor that we’ll describe at length shortly.
  投入：平均玩家在活動中花費的時間和精力。例如，如果玩家需要與敵人戰鬥以獲得活動點數，投入則衡量完成的戰鬥次數。投入統計數據直接影響活動的強度——這是一個我們將在稍後詳細描述的因素。
• Sales: Events are a critical opportunity for monetizing your audience. The financial performance of each event can be broken down into two distinct avenues: direct event sales (players spending to play more or to improve their event performance) and indirect sales (players being exposed to desirable content that does not influence the event).
  銷售：活動是將受眾貨幣化的重要機會。每個活動的財務表現可以分為兩個不同的途徑：直接活動銷售（玩家花費以獲得更多遊玩機會或提升活動表現）和間接銷售（玩家接觸到不影響活動的理想內容）。

Event intensity and player burnout
事件強度與玩家倦怠

Grind-fueled totalizers and tight leaderboard showdowns might be your most effective event formats, but they come at a price.
以磨練為動力的累計器和激烈的排行榜對決可能是你最有效的活動形式，但它們也有其代價。

Our communities operate with finite reserves of time, money, and stamina. Running the game at high intensity for too long can exhaust even the most dedicated players, making them feel like they cannot keep up and are better off leaving the competition (or the game) altogether. We have to do our best to be respectful of the time and effort our players put into our games.
我們的社群運作依賴有限的時間、金錢和精力儲備。長時間以高強度運行遊戲，即使是最忠誠的玩家也可能感到疲憊不堪，覺得無法跟上，甚至認為退出競爭（或遊戲）才是更好的選擇。我們必須盡力尊重玩家投入在我們遊戲中的時間和努力。

At Space Ape Games, we used to rank event intensity on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 is assigned to casual and relaxed individual events (in which participation is often seen as optional), and 5 represents group-based efforts with high levels of competition and peer pressure (such as alliance leaderboard events).
在 Space Ape Games，我們曾經用 1 到 5 的等級來評估活動的強度，其中 1 代表輕鬆休閒的個人活動（通常被視為可選參加），而 5 則代表需要高競爭和同儕壓力的團體活動（例如聯盟排行榜活動）。

Since high intensity correlates to higher engagement and, by extension, longer exposure to our premium offerings, we tend to pair intense events with highly desirable content. That said, in many cases, medium-intensity events with high participation and engagement rates (but low levels of competitive play) can be an even better place for some of your most desirable sales.
由於高強度與更高的參與度相關，進而延長了對我們高級產品的接觸時間，我們傾向於將高強度事件與極具吸引力的內容搭配。然而，在許多情況下，中等強度的事件雖然競爭性較低，但參與和互動率高，反而可能成為您最理想銷售的更佳場所。

After all, players who decide to spend will have plenty of time to try out and enjoy their new weapon/ability/character or any other piece of playable content without having to sacrifice their standing in an important competitive event.
畢竟，決定花費的玩家將有充足的時間來嘗試並享受他們的新武器、能力、角色或任何其他可玩內容，而不必在重要的競技活動中犧牲他們的地位。

The intensity scale may not be very scientific and, at first, you’ll often misjudge the levels of event participation and engagement. Nevertheless, preparing events with a certain intensity in mind helps to keep things varied, manage player burnout, and set the financial expectations for each particular week.
強度等級可能不太科學，起初你常常會誤判事件參與和投入的程度。然而，心中有一定強度準備事件有助於保持多樣性，管理玩家的倦怠，並為每週的財務期望設定基準。

Populating the live ops calendar far ahead and setting the intensity as early as possible is the easiest way to inform the event design and enforce a healthy event cadence. Take a look at a simple intensity curve spanning 10 weekly events: 1, 2, 4, 3, 2, 5, 1, 3, 4, 2.
提前很久填滿即時運營日曆並儘早設定強度，是告知事件設計和維持健康事件節奏的最簡單方法。看看一個簡單的強度曲線，涵蓋了 10 個每週事件：1, 2, 4, 3, 2, 5, 1, 3, 4, 2。

Now, we may not know the details of each event just yet, but we already know where the strongest (4 and 5) and weakest (1 and 2) events are placed, and we can plan our content sales around them. We’ve also ensured that the curve maintains a period of low intensity (1) after the most intense event (5) and have created a space for various event formats all around.
現在，我們可能還不知道每個事件的細節，但我們已經知道最強（4 和 5）和最弱（1 和 2）的事件位置，並可以圍繞它們計劃內容銷售。我們還確保在最強烈的事件（5）之後保持一段低強度（1）的時期，並為各種事件格式創造了空間。

Recurring events and automated live ops
重複事件和自動化即時運營

Not all games require a constant slew of bespoke and tailored events full of unique rewards. A more systemic approach to running your live ops can be hugely beneficial and can run parallel to your other endeavors. Automated events can save time, be less error-prone, and keep the game feeling fresh and alive in between updates.
並非所有遊戲都需要不斷推出量身定制的活動，並提供獨特的獎勵。採用更系統化的方法來運行您的即時運營可以帶來巨大的好處，並且可以與其他工作並行進行。自動化的活動可以節省時間，減少錯誤，並在更新之間保持遊戲的新鮮感和活力。

This kind of activity can include special game modes that are limited to certain days of the week, automated map/shop/content rotations, promoted and temporarily buffed pieces of content, recurring weekly or monthly competitive leaderboards/leagues, and a lot more!
這類活動可以包括僅限於特定星期幾的特殊遊戲模式、自動化的地圖/商店/內容輪換、推廣和暫時增強的內容、每週或每月的競技排行榜/聯賽，還有更多！

When preparing your live operations strategy, think carefully about elements that benefit from a unique design and ones that can be automated and reliably run forever without any human input. The time savings can be tremendous!
在準備您的即時運營策略時，仔細考慮哪些元素可以從獨特的設計中受益，以及哪些可以自動化並在無需人工干預的情況下可靠地永久運行。這樣可以節省大量時間！

Now, even the best-planned and executed events can go wrong, and the purpose of live ops is not only to introduce new content and re-engage and monetize your userbase. Your community is your most valuable asset, and looking after it is a big part of live operations. We’ll talk about how to do that next!
即使是計劃周密且執行完美的活動也可能出錯，而即時運營的目的不僅僅是引入新內容並重新吸引和盈利化您的用戶群。您的社群是您最寶貴的資產，照顧好它是即時運營的重要部分。我們接下來將討論如何做到這一點！

Community and customer support
社群與客戶支援

The video game community at large is not the easiest one to interact with. Players are rarely aware of the realities that you have to deal with and the obstacles you encounter when making and operating games. It takes months and years to gain the trust of players, and a single mistake or a bad (or badly communicated) decision is enough to lose it.
整體而言，電子遊戲社群並不是一個容易互動的群體。玩家很少意識到你在製作和運營遊戲時必須面對的現實和障礙。贏得玩家的信任需要數月甚至數年的時間，而一個錯誤或一個糟糕（或溝通不佳）的決策就足以讓你失去這份信任。

This is where the CCS team comes in. They foster, maintain, and police your communities, as well as provide your team with deep insight into the most pressing issues and general player sentiment.
這就是 CCS 團隊的作用所在。他們培育、維護並管理你的社群，同時為你的團隊提供對最緊迫問題和玩家整體情緒的深入見解。

CCS is an invaluable part of your operations, so try to utilize it to the best of your possibility. Implement daily CCS reports, include CCS in parts of your decision-making, and have agents reach out with community suggestions and player feedback on a regular basis.
CCS 是您運營中不可或缺的一部分，因此請盡可能充分利用它。實施每日的 CCS 報告，將 CCS 納入您的決策過程中，並讓代理定期與社群建議和玩家反饋進行聯繫。

Supporting players

Helping our players with various game-, community-, and account-related issues is the primary role of each CCS agent. It’s hard work that requires a great deal of compassion, assertiveness, and a thick skin. Sometimes, things go terribly wrong, and players need to be compensated or refunded; other times, players will try to hack the game, commit fraud, or take advantage of your support team.
幫助玩家解決各種遊戲、社群和帳戶相關問題是每位 CCS 代理的主要職責。這是一項需要極大同理心、果斷力和厚臉皮的艱苦工作。有時，事情會出現嚴重問題，玩家需要得到補償或退款；其他時候，玩家可能會嘗試破解遊戲、進行欺詐或利用您的支援團隊。

Establishing a clear set of rules and guidelines is essential to help the CCS lead draw the line for compensation and decide on what can be given out to players, in what circumstances, and in what quantities. The vast majority of players will play fairly, but you’ll also encounter a great deal of manipulation.
建立一套明確的規則和指導方針對於幫助 CCS 領導劃定補償界限並決定在何種情況下、以何種數量向玩家提供補償至關重要。絕大多數玩家會公平遊玩，但您也會遇到大量的操控行為。

Bending the established rules toward a single player can end up being exposed in the form of screenshots and used against you later down the line.
偏袒某位玩家而扭曲既定規則，最終可能會以截圖的形式被揭露，並在日後成為對付你的工具。

Official Discord servers, Reddit communities, and social media accounts
官方 Discord 伺服器、Reddit 社群和社交媒體帳號

Setting up and moderating official community hubs is a great way of interacting with the community outside the confines of the game or official support tickets. During the initial playtests for Boom Beach: Frontlines, we were able to gather over 50,000 players on our Discord server. This player base allowed us to run repeated closed alpha tests and the feedback we were able to gather was invaluable.
設立和管理官方社群中心是與社群互動的絕佳方式，這樣可以超越遊戲或官方支援票的限制。在《Boom Beach: Frontlines》的初步測試中，我們在 Discord 伺服器上聚集了超過 50,000 名玩家。這個玩家基礎讓我們能夠多次進行封閉 Alpha 測試，而我們所收集到的反饋是無價的。

Gathering feedback

There are several channels that can be used to gather player feedback:
有幾個渠道可以用來收集玩家反饋：

• Support tickets created from within the game (if your game supports such a channel)
  從遊戲內創建的支援票（如果您的遊戲支持此類渠道）
• Emails to your customer support address
  發送至您的客戶支援信箱的電子郵件
• Official Discord server or similar communication platform (hosted and moderated by your CCS team)
  官方 Discord 伺服器或類似的通訊平台（由您的 CCS 團隊主持和管理）
• Twitter (conversations between fans and your team members, influential players/superfans, and any replies to your official channel)
  Twitter（粉絲與您的團隊成員、具影響力的玩家/超級粉絲之間的對話，以及對您官方頻道的任何回覆）
• Fan-made and official Reddit communities
  粉絲製作和官方的 Reddit 社群
• Unofficial social media pages, Discord servers, and so on
  非官方的社交媒體頁面、Discord 伺服器等
• Prominent Send feedback buttons that can be placed in test versions of the game (pressing the button begins an email message to your support address)
  顯著的反饋按鈕可以放置在遊戲的測試版本中（按下按鈕會開始撰寫一封電子郵件給您的支援地址）
• Questionnaires and surveys (embedded into the game itself, or externally distributed via in-game newsfeeds, email newsletters, Discord, and social media)
  問卷和調查（嵌入到遊戲本身，或通過遊戲內新聞推送、電子郵件通訊、Discord 和社交媒體外部分發）

Newsletters

Monthly and weekly newsletters are a great way of reaching out to the masses to share news, highlight upcoming events, send out gifts, and re-engage lapsed or lapsing players.
每月和每週的電子報是接觸大眾的絕佳方式，可以分享新聞、強調即將舉行的活動、發送禮物，並重新吸引已流失或即將流失的玩家。

Localized customer support
在地化的客戶支援

As we’ve already highlighted in Chapter 13, Making Your Games Accessible, localization efforts do not stop with translations of in-game text. A game with a large foreign player base should ideally be supported by CCS agents who can speak their language.
如同我們在第十三章《讓你的遊戲更具可及性》中所強調的，當地化的工作不僅僅止於遊戲內文本的翻譯。擁有大量外國玩家基礎的遊戲，理想上應該由能夠說他們語言的客服代理支持。

At Space Ape Games, we’ve managed to assemble a network of international agents composed of in-house staff and external contractors. These agents can provide us with language-specific customer support in Japanese, Chinese, Russian, German, Spanish, and more! We can also use their skills to help us translate our games with quick turnarounds and affordable costs.
在 Space Ape Games，我們成功組建了一個由內部員工和外部承包商組成的國際代理網絡。這些代理可以為我們提供日語、中文、俄語、德語、西班牙語等語言的客戶支持！我們也可以利用他們的技能，幫助我們快速且經濟地翻譯遊戲。

Each agent (be they in-house or remote) can easily highlight and escalate any issues with the CCS game lead embedded directly within the live operations team.
每位代理（無論是內部或遠端）都能輕鬆地將任何問題突出並上報給直接嵌入在現場運營團隊中的 CCS 遊戲負責人。

Live streaming

Running official streams on platforms such as Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook is a great way of bridging the gap between the community and the development team. Live streams are easier to produce than prerecorded videos and trailers (there’s no editing involved) and give you a unique opportunity to interact with your fan base in a more casual and spontaneous manner.
在 Twitch、YouTube 和 Facebook 等平台上運行官方直播，是縮短社群與開發團隊之間距離的絕佳方式。直播比預錄影片和預告片更容易製作（不需要剪輯），並讓您有機會以更輕鬆和自發的方式與粉絲互動。

To build up a following, you should try to establish a regular cadence (an hour per week works well), promote the streams in-game and on social media, and try to fill them with valuable (but easy to produce) content such as Q&As, team interviews, sneak peeks of new features and upcoming content, and even game-knowledge quizzes.
為了建立追隨者，您應該嘗試建立一個固定的頻率（每週一小時效果不錯），在遊戲內和社交媒體上宣傳直播，並嘗試填充有價值（但易於製作）的內容，如問答、團隊訪談、新功能和即將推出內容的搶先看，甚至是遊戲知識測驗。

Moving on from CCS, let us go back into feature design and explore an important part of many live ops games – a season pass.
從 CCS 轉移話題，讓我們回到功能設計，探索許多現場運營遊戲中一個重要的部分——季票。

Introduction to season passes
季票介紹

A season pass (also known as a battle pass) is a feature introduced by Valve’s Dota 2 back in 2013. Since then, it has become a mainstay in a majority of free-to-play games and even premium multiplayer titles that rely on live operations to sustain player interest. The feature, in its many incarnations, can be found in any genre imaginable, from match-3 puzzle games to competitive online shooters.
季票（也稱為戰鬥通行證）是由 Valve 的《Dota 2》在 2013 年引入的一項功能。自那時起，它已成為大多數免費遊戲以及依賴即時運營來維持玩家興趣的高級多人遊戲的常駐功能。這項功能在其多種形式中，可以在任何可以想像的遊戲類型中找到，從三消益智遊戲到競技在線射擊遊戲。

Overwatch 2 features a classic, challenge-driven battle pass with a row of linear reward tiers:
《Overwatch 2》具有經典的、挑戰驅動的戰鬥通行證，包含一系列線性獎勵階級：

Figure 14.6 – Overwatch 2 battle pass
圖 14.6 – Overwatch 2 戰鬥通行證

I am sure you have encountered it before, but essentially, a season pass could be classified as a large-scale, in-game event that is built into the core gameplay loop, where players are usually presented with one to three (but typically two) reward tracks that function similarly to a totalizer discussed previously. Players have a set amount of time (this could be weeks or months) to make progress across the reward tiers and claim the prizes as they go.
我相信你以前一定遇過，基本上，季票可以被歸類為一種大型的遊戲內活動，這活動被嵌入到核心遊戲循環中，玩家通常會看到一到三條（但通常是兩條）獎勵軌道，這些軌道的運作方式類似於之前討論過的累計器。玩家有一定的時間（可能是幾週或幾個月）來在獎勵等級中取得進展，並隨著進度獲得獎品。

Progress is usually linear (although there are passes that experiment with a variety of interconnected nodes, as pictured next) and can generally be made through regular play. Many passes feature various daily and weekly missions/quests that players must complete to make significant progress.
進度通常是線性的（儘管有些通行證會嘗試使用多個相互連接的節點，如下圖所示），通常可以通過常規遊戲進行。許多通行證包含各種每日和每週任務/任務，玩家必須完成這些任務才能取得顯著進展。

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 feature an innovative node-based system where players can carve their own paths and spend their progress tokens in a non-linear fashion:
《Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II》和《Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0》引入了一種創新的節點系統，玩家可以在其中開闢自己的路徑，並以非線性的方式使用他們的進度代幣：

Figure 14.7 – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Warzone 2 battle pass
圖 14.7 – 《Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II》和《Call of Duty: Warzone 2》戰鬥通行證

The primary goal of a season pass, from a live operations perspective, is to engage the audience (keep players coming back). Monetizing the players should be treated as a secondary objective. We are giving them access to valuable rewards, but since rewards have to be earned, they are often offered at a very large discount.
從即時運營的角度來看，季票的主要目標是吸引觀眾（讓玩家不斷回來）。將玩家貨幣化應被視為次要目標。我們為他們提供了獲得有價值獎勵的機會，但由於獎勵必須通過努力獲得，因此通常以非常大的折扣提供。

This may reduce the need to spend on other in-game items and thus negatively affect the premium economy, although increased playtime and retention may cancel out that effect. (Much more on the monetization of season passes in Chapter 15, Understanding Monetization Techniques.)
這可能會減少玩家在其他遊戲內物品上的花費需求，從而對高級經濟造成負面影響，儘管增加的遊玩時間和玩家留存率可能會抵消這種影響。（有關季票貨幣化的更多內容，請參見第 15 章，理解貨幣化技術。）

Designing a season pass
設計季票

As you approach designing a season pass for your game, start by establishing the basics.
當你開始為你的遊戲設計季票時，首先要確立基本要素。

What is your key objective?
你的主要目標是什麼？

Are you adding a season pass to an existing game in order to raise its KPIs, or are you making a new game with season passes built right into the core game loop? Balancing a season pass is more difficult if you’re adding it on top of the existing in-game economy and progression. The first step of the design process is the establishment of the problem space and the objectives of the feature. These objectives could include the following:
您是要在現有遊戲中加入季票以提升其關鍵績效指標，還是要製作一款新遊戲，並將季票直接融入核心遊戲循環中？如果您是在現有的遊戲經濟和進程上添加季票，平衡季票會更加困難。設計過程的第一步是確立問題空間和功能的目標。這些目標可能包括以下內容：

• Making the pass work as a day-to-day retention/engagement mechanic: Players are expected to return daily in order to make progress and gain valuable rewards.
  使季票成為日常留存/參與機制：玩家預期每天回來以取得進展並獲得有價值的獎勵。
• Reinvigorating repetitive game loops: New missions and side objectives encourage the exploration of additional play styles and strategies, helping players to break the play patterns they may have locked themselves in.
  重新激活重複的遊戲循環：新的任務和次要目標鼓勵探索額外的遊玩風格和策略，幫助玩家打破他們可能已經鎖定的遊玩模式。
• Incentivizing wider utilization of playable content: Similarly to the previous point, missions (and rewards associated with them) can be used to encourage engagement with underutilized content such as weapons, gadgets, characters, and so on.
  激勵更廣泛地利用可玩內容：與前一點類似，任務（及其相關獎勵）可以用來鼓勵玩家參與未充分利用的內容，如武器、裝置、角色等。
• Monetization: Primarily via sales of the pass itself and tier skips, and additionally via increased engagement. Players who retain due to the pass may double down on their investment and spend elsewhere on bundles, resource packs, and so on. That said, an inexpensive pass full of valuable goods may heavily cannibalize your other offers by reducing players’ need to monetize.
  貨幣化：主要透過銷售通行證本身和階級跳過來實現，此外還透過增加的參與度。由於通行證而留存的玩家可能會加倍投入，並在其他地方如套裝、資源包等進行消費。話雖如此，一個充滿有價值商品的廉價通行證可能會大幅削弱其他優惠，因為它降低了玩家的貨幣化需求。

We’re not saying you can’t achieve multiple goals, but a hierarchy of key priorities will help you focus and narrow down your design.
我們並不是說你無法實現多重目標，但關鍵優先事項的層級將幫助你專注並縮小設計範圍。

Cadence (duration and frequency)
節奏（持續時間和頻率）

Depending on your approach, the season pass can last anything from 2 weeks to 3-4 months. Most popular passes last 1-3 months and are recurring, but there are highly successful examples that break that pattern (passes in Dota 2 happen once or twice a year and usually last for over 3 months, with long periods of downtime in between).
根據您的策略，季票的持續時間可以從 2 週到 3-4 個月不等。大多數受歡迎的季票持續 1-3 個月並且是循環的，但也有非常成功的例子打破了這一模式（例如《Dota 2》的季票每年發生一到兩次，通常持續超過 3 個月，期間有較長的空檔期）。

If the season pass is tightly integrated into the game loop (that is, if your pass is the critical vector of progression and rewards from the pass are how players “level up” and gain power or access to new features), you’ll need a pass that recurs with no downtime and a 3-6 week cadence to help sustain interest for late joiners.
如果季票緊密結合在遊戲循環中（也就是說，如果你的季票是進度的關鍵向量，並且從季票中獲得的獎勵是玩家如何“升級”並獲得力量或訪問新功能的方式），那麼你需要一個沒有停機時間且每 3-6 週重複一次的季票，以幫助維持後期加入者的興趣。

Another strategy to accommodate new players is to have a special “introductory pass” just for them. That means the first season pass is not really a live event with a timer, but a shorter pass with a set number of tiers and pre-defined rewards that all players will achieve before they join the rest of the community.
另一種迎合新玩家的策略是為他們提供一個特別的「入門通行證」。這意味著第一個賽季通行證並不是真正的限時活動，而是一個較短的通行證，具有固定的階級數和預先設定的獎勵，所有玩家在加入其他社群之前都能達成。

Progression mechanics  進度機制

It’s critical to ensure that your season pass progression fits the game. A system that aligns with the players can reinforce your core gameplay loop, and an ill-fitting one can wreak havoc and undermine player motivation (for example, players feeling like they’re going through a list of chores or severely undermining their chances to succeed by chasing obscure objectives to make season pass progress).
確保你的賽季通行證進度適合遊戲是至關重要的。一個與玩家契合的系統可以強化你的核心遊戲循環，而不合適的系統則可能造成混亂，削弱玩家的動力（例如，玩家感覺像是在完成一系列瑣事，或因追求晦澀的目標來推進賽季通行證進度而嚴重影響他們成功的機會）。

The effect of your choice is multiplied by the overall importance of season pass rewards; the more relevant and desirable they are, the higher the impact of season pass progress on player behavior.
您選擇的效果會因季票獎勵的整體重要性而倍增；它們越相關且令人渴望，季票進度對玩家行為的影響就越大。

To start with, let’s break down the most common approaches, along with their pros and cons.
首先，讓我們分析最常見的方法，以及它們的優缺點。

Passive and engagement-based progression
被動和互動式進程

Passive and engagement-based progression systems reward players for simply playing the game and completing basic interactions that do not inherently require any extra rewards or incentives. There are no specific tasks or missions, nor ways to optimize play and interaction with content toward more rewarding strategies.
被動和互動式進程系統獎勵玩家僅僅因為遊玩遊戲和完成基本互動，而這些互動本身並不需要額外的獎勵或激勵。沒有特定的任務或使命，也沒有方法可以優化遊玩和與內容的互動，以獲得更有價值的策略。

A passive system can be a great fit in the following cases:
被動系統在以下情況下可能非常適合：

• Your game already has a set of important objectives and progression systems, and adding additional goals or competing progression mechanics could end up being distracting and detrimental.
  你的遊戲已經有一套重要的目標和進程系統，若再添加額外的目標或競爭性的進程機制，可能會分散注意力並產生不利影響。
• Speed is a factor, and you want to quickly deploy a season pass but you cannot afford to make and maintain a list of additional goals.
  速度是一個因素，你希望快速推出季票，但無法負擔製作和維護一份額外目標的清單。
• You need a way to reward a core gameplay loop and want to use a recurring season pass as a main vector of progression. In that case, having no objectives (beyond engagement) can help you create a more reliable and predictable player journey.
  你需要一種方式來獎勵核心遊戲循環，並希望使用重複的季票作為主要的進程向量。在這種情況下，除了參與度之外沒有目標，可以幫助你創造一個更可靠和可預測的玩家旅程。
• Your game is a competitive team-based multiplayer title, and you can’t risk players prioritizing season pass progression over the success of the team.
  你的遊戲是一款競技型團隊多人遊戲，你不能冒險讓玩家優先考慮季票進程而忽視團隊的成功。

Objective based progression
目標導向的進程

An objective-based system relies on players completing various missions, objectives, tasks, or quests (all terms used interchangeably) to make battle pass progress. The impact of such a system on player behavior will depend on the nature of the objectives as well as the delivery method; small changes in any of these areas can often have a dramatic effect.
目標導向的系統依賴玩家完成各種任務、目標、工作或探險（這些術語可以互換使用）來推進戰鬥通行證的進度。這種系統對玩家行為的影響將取決於目標的性質以及傳遞方式；在這些方面的微小變化往往會產生顯著的效果。

There are three main categories of objectives to consider. Most games mix and match them all for added variety:
有三大類目標需要考慮。大多數遊戲會將它們混合搭配，以增加多樣性：

• Engagement-based: Missions that reward players for logging in and playing the game as they normally would. For example, play 4 matches, finish a race in the top 3, and gain 1,000 experience points. These missions practically emulate a passive progression system as they do not really affect player behavior and their relationship with content.
  以參與度為基礎：這類任務獎勵玩家登入並以正常方式遊玩遊戲。例如，進行 4 場比賽、在比賽中獲得前三名，並獲得 1,000 點經驗值。這些任務實際上模擬了一種被動的進程系統，因為它們並不真正影響玩家行為及其與內容的關係。
• Content-based: Objectives that encourage players to engage with a specific piece or set of content (this can include weapons, tools, characters, maps, and game modes). For example, finish a dungeon run as a warrior, deal 500 damage with any shotgun, win a game of Team Deathmatch, and play 3 games with the Greek faction. Such missions can help you reinvigorate the game by incentivizing players to try new things and engage with a wider selection of content including underutilized and overlooked items.
  以內容為基礎：目標是鼓勵玩家參與特定的內容或一組內容（這可以包括武器、工具、角色、地圖和遊戲模式）。例如，以戰士身份完成地牢探險、使用任何霰彈槍造成 500 點傷害、贏得一場團隊死鬥比賽，並以希臘陣營進行 3 場遊戲。這類任務可以通過激勵玩家嘗試新事物並參與更廣泛的內容選擇，包括未充分利用和被忽視的項目，來幫助重新激發遊戲活力。
• Action-based: Tasks that require specific and often non-standard in-game actions to be completed, sometimes in conjunction with a content requirement. For example, perform a boogie-boogie dance on top of the Laboratory building on Crescent Moon, use 12 healing potions in 1 game, and land a headshot from over 150 meters.
  以行動為基礎：這類任務要求完成特定且通常是非標準的遊戲內行動，有時需要結合內容要求。例如，在新月實驗室大樓頂上進行波吉波吉舞、在一場遊戲中使用 12 瓶治療藥水，以及從 150 米以上的距離進行爆頭射擊。

Complex and challenging objectives can be fun to pursue and accomplish, especially in a sandbox or open-ended experience. They can, however, cause genuine issues when players are faced with opposing priorities and risk undermining their chances at winning to pursue highly convoluted and arbitrary objectives.
複雜且具挑戰性的目標在沙盒或開放式體驗中追求和完成時，往往能帶來樂趣。然而，當玩家面臨相互矛盾的優先事項時，這些目標可能會引發真正的問題，甚至因追求過於複雜和任意的目標而削弱他們獲勝的機會。

This may not be a huge issue when the player is on their own, but in a team-based competitive match, it can cause real problems. We have witnessed many arguments caused by teammates who prioritized completing their quests over the success of their group, and pitting teammates against one another is never advisable.
這在玩家單獨遊玩時可能不是一個大問題，但在以團隊為基礎的競技比賽中，卻可能引發真正的問題。我們見過許多因隊友優先完成他們的任務而非團隊成功而引發的爭執，讓隊友彼此對立絕非明智之舉。

That said, this behavior can be mitigated! One way of reducing the threat of quests getting in the way is portrayed in Dota 2 where a lot of battle pass quests only count their progress if the match is won; this effectively encourages prioritization of winning over making quest progress.
話雖如此，這種行為是可以減輕的！減少任務妨礙的方法之一在《Dota 2》中得到了體現，許多戰鬥通行證任務只有在比賽獲勝時才計算進度；這有效地鼓勵了優先考慮勝利而非任務進度。

Finally, let us remember that any additional and non-essential goals increase the overall cognitive load. A laundry list of competing objectives can be a serious mental burden and risks adding unnecessary complexity and confusion. It may fit well in a sandbox game, which benefits from additional guidance and goal setting, but could easily backfire inside a fast-paced competitive game with clear victory conditions.
最後，我們要記住，任何額外且非必要的目標都會增加整體的認知負荷。一長串相互競爭的目標可能會成為嚴重的心理負擔，並有增加不必要的複雜性和混亂的風險。這可能在沙盒遊戲中很合適，因為沙盒遊戲受益於額外的指導和目標設定，但在節奏快速且勝利條件明確的競技遊戲中，卻可能適得其反。

To sum up, season pass quests can be a powerful tool that may encourage players to interact with a wider variety of content and strategies. They can be used to explain and reinforce the main objectives and gameplay mechanics, give players a more rewarding and engaging experience, and even add gameplay variety with some unique challenges.
總而言之，季票任務可以成為一個強大的工具，鼓勵玩家與更多樣化的內容和策略互動。它們可以用來解釋和強化主要目標和遊戲機制，為玩家提供更有獎勵性和吸引力的體驗，甚至通過一些獨特的挑戰增加遊戲的多樣性。

However, like all tools, missions need to be used responsibly, especially if they end up incentivizing actions that may go against the core gameplay goals, the team, and the spirit of the game.
然而，像所有工具一樣，任務需要負責任地使用，特別是當它們最終激勵的行為可能違背核心遊戲目標、團隊和遊戲精神時。

Quest cadence and methods of delivery
任務節奏與交付方式

To better balance the season pass progression, quests are usually divided into daily and weekly categories. The main purpose of daily quests is to increase engagement and day-to-day retention. Daily quests are often randomized and can be completed in a single session. Weekly quests usually require more effort but are often disproportionally more rewarding, and for good reason. Play patterns differ widely between players and some users (especially on console and PC) can only find time during the weekends, in which case, overreliance on daily quests could reduce their chances of completing the pass.
為了更好地平衡季票的進度，任務通常分為每日和每週類別。每日任務的主要目的是增加參與度和日常留存率。每日任務通常是隨機的，可以在單次遊戲中完成。每週任務通常需要更多的努力，但往往會有不成比例的豐厚獎勵，這是有原因的。玩家之間的遊戲模式差異很大，有些用戶（尤其是在主機和 PC 上）只能在週末找到時間，這種情況下，過度依賴每日任務可能會降低他們完成季票的機會。

Making your weekly quests stack and remain available beyond their week is a highly effective way to help equalize progression through the season pass. Highly engaged users will not run off too far (as they max out their quest), and players who are not as engaged (or join mid-season) can still try and catch up.
讓您的每週任務堆疊並在其週期結束後仍然可用，是幫助平衡季票進度的高效方法。高度投入的用戶不會跑得太遠（因為他們已經完成了任務），而不太投入的玩家（或在季中加入的玩家）仍然可以嘗試追趕。

Marvel Snap’s stacking season pass weekly quests easily allow late-joiners to catch up and prevent engaged players from finishing too early. They also give a big bounty for completing all objectives in a particular week.
《Marvel Snap》的堆疊季票每週任務輕鬆允許後來加入的玩家追趕進度，並防止投入的玩家過早完成。它們還為完成特定週的所有目標提供了豐厚的獎勵。

Figure 14.8 – Marvel Snap season pass
圖 14.8 – Marvel Snap 季票

Combined progression system
結合進度系統

These systems are not mutually exclusive. Many games opt for a combined system with both a passive and objective-driven approach, with a 25-75% split of season pass experience between engagement and missions. This can reassure and reward players for simply showing up and playing the game in a quick, casual manner. It allows them to keep forward momentum even if they did not pay attention to the missions, and to let them maximize progress by pursuing some more specific and highly rewarding tasks later.
這些系統並非互相排斥。許多遊戲選擇結合被動和目標驅動的方法，將季票經驗值以 25-75%的比例分配在參與和任務之間。這可以讓玩家僅僅透過登入和輕鬆遊玩就能獲得安慰和獎勵。即使他們沒有注意到任務，也能保持前進的動力，並且在之後追求一些更具體且高回報的任務時，最大化進度。

Please note! Adhering to common best practices is a great way to reduce risk, but season pass design gives you plenty of room to maneuver and innovate. You’re free to combine multiple systems together and invent your own progression mechanics. However, ensure they fit your game and don’t cause confusion by breaking existing expectations and mental models – do not “shake things up” for the sake of appearances and force innovation where none is needed.
請注意！遵循常見的最佳實踐是一種降低風險的好方法，但季票設計給予你充足的空間來靈活運用和創新。你可以自由地將多個系統結合在一起，並發明自己的進程機制。然而，確保它們適合你的遊戲，並且不會因打破現有的期望和心理模型而引起混淆——不要為了表面上的改變而改變，也不要在不需要的地方強行創新。

Accessing previous passes
存取先前的通行證

Creating unique rewards and challenges for each season pass is an expensive and laborious process, so having them only accessible for a month or so seems like a waste of effort. This is why some games, such as Halo Infinite, have opted for battle passes that never expire. That’s right, players may only be able to make progress against one battle pass at a time, but legacy passes from months or even years before are always available for purchase and can be activated at will.
為每個季票創造獨特的獎勵和挑戰是一個昂貴且費力的過程，因此僅讓它們在一個月左右的時間內可用似乎是浪費努力。這就是為什麼一些遊戲，如《Halo Infinite》，選擇了永不過期的戰鬥通行證。沒錯，玩家可能一次只能對一個戰鬥通行證取得進展，但幾個月甚至幾年前的舊通行證始終可以購買並隨時啟用。

This seems like a win-win situation, where players never miss out on unique content, and developers can continue to make revenue from a legacy pass months and years after its introduction. There are, however, three key issues relating to player psychology that prevent us from marking this feature as a must-have:
這似乎是一個雙贏的局面，玩家永遠不會錯過獨特的內容，開發者也可以在舊通行證推出數月甚至數年後繼續獲得收入。然而，與玩家心理相關的三個關鍵問題阻止我們將此功能標記為必備：

• Removal of fear of missing out (FOMO): For players, not having the pressure to purchase a pass before a cool cosmetic item becomes unavailable seems purely beneficial but it also means their legacy gear can no longer impress others and act as a sign of their veteran status.
  消除錯失恐懼症（FOMO）：對於玩家來說，沒有壓力去在酷炫的外觀物品變得不可用之前購買通行證似乎純粹是有利的，但這也意味著他們的舊裝備不再能夠讓他人印象深刻，並作為他們老玩家身份的象徵。

In this system, items cannot gain in perceived value through their limited availability (as nothing is limited), and a decision to buy the pass can always be put off until later, leading to the potentially worse financial performance of a premium season pass.
在這個系統中，物品無法因其有限的供應而增加其感知價值（因為沒有任何東西是有限的），購買通行證的決定總是可以推遲到以後，這可能導致高級季票的財務表現更差。

• Value proposition: With more than one pass available, you need to ensure that value is tightly maintained between each release. Players can easily refer to old passes for comparison, and even make progress against them. Your ability to adjust the balance between seasons without angering players is also diminished.
  價值主張：當有多個通行證可供選擇時，您需要確保在每次發行之間緊密維持價值。玩家可以輕鬆地參考舊的通行證進行比較，甚至可以在其中取得進展。您在不激怒玩家的情況下調整季節之間平衡的能力也會減弱。
• Choice paralysis: Imagine you’re a new player who joined the game several months or years in. Choosing between two season passes is fairly manageable, but what about four? Seven? Nine? At that stage, any pragmatic individual may feel like they’re better off just waiting and not spending any money at the risk of making a suboptimal choice and purchasing a pass that’s worse value than others.
  選擇癱瘓：想像一下，您是一位在遊戲推出幾個月或幾年後才加入的新玩家。選擇兩個季票還算容易，但如果是四個呢？七個？九個？在那個階段，任何務實的人可能會覺得最好還是等待，不花錢，以免做出次優選擇，購買到價值不如其他的通行證。

Premium rewards and perks
高級獎勵和特權

The success of your pass will depend on the benefits given to monetizing players. Please note, just because most passes operate on a classic reward track system does not mean that a more innovative, node-based, or even trackless season pass is not an option to consider. At the end of the day, a season pass is not about reward tiers but about delivering great benefits to passionate players and rewarding their engagement.
您的通行證的成功將取決於給予付費玩家的好處。請注意，僅僅因為大多數通行證採用經典的獎勵軌道系統，並不意味著不可以考慮更具創新性的節點式或甚至無軌道的季票。最終，季票的重點不在於獎勵等級，而在於為熱情的玩家提供極佳的好處並獎勵他們的參與。

In any case, you’ll need to create an incentive of some kind. Here are some of the most popular premium rewards and perks for you to consider:
無論如何，你都需要創造某種激勵。以下是一些最受歡迎的高級獎勵和福利，供你參考：

• Premium reward track(s): As players level up their pass and claim their free rewards, they can’t help but notice all of the premium rewards that they’ve seemingly earned yet cannot claim (unless they buy the pass). This in itself can be very motivating, but unless there are other perks and benefits of buying a pass early in the season, many players will opt to wait and see how much progress they’re able to make and delay the purchase of the pass until the very last moment.
  高級獎勵路徑：當玩家升級通行證並領取免費獎勵時，他們不禁注意到那些看似已經獲得但無法領取的高級獎勵（除非他們購買通行證）。這本身就具有很大的激勵作用，但如果在賽季初期購買通行證沒有其他的好處和優惠，許多玩家會選擇觀望，看看自己能取得多少進展，並將購買通行證的時間推遲到最後一刻。

In these situations, the player’s motivation to spend can often falter after they realize they didn’t have the time to make enough progress. They can also simply forget to buy the pass before the expiry, so be sure to remind them about it a few days before the end!
在這些情況下，玩家的消費動機常常會在意識到自己沒有足夠時間取得足夠進展後動搖。他們也可能會忘記在通行證到期前購買，因此務必在結束前幾天提醒他們！

• Access to the pass itself: In DOTA 2, there is only one reward track, and it is premium. By default, players do not have access to the battle pass at all. There are no free rewards and no progress can be made without purchasing access, which leads to a stronger value proposition and creates an incentive to buy the pass on the day of its release. But be careful, if the pass does not seem desirable, this move could backfire and not only remove the engagement incentive but even put your players off from playing altogether.
  通行證的獲取：在 DOTA 2 中，只有一條獎勵路徑，而且是高級的。預設情況下，玩家完全無法獲得戰鬥通行證。沒有免費獎勵，若不購買通行證便無法取得進展，這樣的設計強化了價值主張，並激勵玩家在發行當日購買通行證。但要小心，如果通行證看起來不具吸引力，這一舉措可能會適得其反，不僅無法激發參與動機，甚至可能讓玩家完全失去遊玩的興趣。
• Unique cosmetics: Fancy skins, new weapon and character models, player emblems, emotes, voice lines, special VFX, animations, shiny name tags – there are dozens of cosmetics that you could put in a season pass. Cosmetic rewards are a staple of most multiplayer games for a good reason: they allow you to avoid stepping into the pay-to-win territory and let your fans express themselves and show off their hard-earned rewards to others.
  獨特的化妝品：華麗的外觀、新的武器和角色模型、玩家徽章、表情、語音台詞、特殊的視覺效果、動畫、閃亮的名字標籤——在季票中可以加入數十種化妝品。化妝品獎勵是大多數多人遊戲的基本要素，這是有充分理由的：它們讓你避免進入付費贏得的領域，並讓你的粉絲能夠表達自我，向他人展示他們辛苦獲得的獎勵。
• Early access to playable content: Providing players with instant access to a brand new piece of playable content such as a new card, character, vehicle, weapon, and so on can be a very powerful incentive and encourage curious players to buy in early.
  提前獲得可玩內容：為玩家提供立即獲得全新可玩內容的機會，例如新卡牌、角色、載具、武器等，這可以成為非常強大的誘因，並鼓勵好奇的玩家提前購買。

The potential backlash from non-paying players can be reduced by ensuring the content is not deemed vastly overpowered and by clearly communicating that the exclusivity period is temporary. You could also opt to make things more friendly by putting your new content near the middle or end of the free track, and at the very start of the premium one.
來自非付費玩家的潛在反彈可以通過確保內容不被認為過於強大來減少，並清楚地傳達獨占期是暫時的。你也可以選擇更友好的方式，將新內容放在免費路線的中間或結尾，而在高級路線的最開始。

• Exclusive access to special game modes, events, and minigames: Why stop at giving players early access to a new character if you could give them a whole new and exclusive game mode? This is a big endeavor, and one that may divide your player base, but the potential upside can be equally huge!
  獨享特殊遊戲模式、活動和迷你遊戲：為什麼只讓玩家搶先體驗新角色，而不給他們一個全新且獨家的遊戲模式呢？這是一項龐大的計畫，可能會分化你的玩家群，但其潛在的好處同樣巨大！

A step down from exclusivity would involve handing out tickets to play the special event or game mode to all players but providing more (or unrestricted) access to season pass holders.
從獨佔性降低一個層級，意味著將特別活動或遊戲模式的門票發放給所有玩家，但對於季票持有者提供更多（或不受限制）的訪問權限。

• Repeatable rewards at the end of the reward track: If your pass is likely to give highly engaged players some breathing room at the end of the season, then allowing premium pass holders to keep amassing smaller, repeating rewards at the very end of the reward track can be a valuable addition. It will help to keep your most dedicated players happy by acknowledging their efforts and giving them rewards for continuous engagement.
  在獎勵路徑的末端設置可重複獲得的獎勵：如果您的通行證可能會讓高度投入的玩家在賽季結束時有一些喘息空間，那麼允許高級通行證持有者在獎勵路徑的最末端繼續累積較小的、重複的獎勵，將是一個有價值的補充。這將有助於通過承認他們的努力並給予持續參與的獎勵來讓您最忠實的玩家感到滿意。
• Passive perks and quality of life improvements: Increased lives in a puzzle game, faster progression (passive XP and reward bonuses), automatization of chores (such as opening boxes or crafting), extra mission slots, and so on. There are many valuable perks you could offer to season pass holders, and since they are limited to the duration of the pass, they are most desirable when acquired early in the season with a lot of time left.
  被動福利和生活品質提升：在益智遊戲中增加生命數、加快進度（被動經驗值和獎勵加成）、自動化日常任務（如開箱或製作）、額外任務欄位等等。您可以為季票持有者提供許多有價值的福利，並且由於這些福利僅限於季票的有效期間，因此在季初獲得時最為理想，因為還有充裕的時間可以享受。

It’s important to consider the value and perceived fairness of the premium rewards offered to season pass holders, as well as the impact it may have on the overall balance and progression of the game, especially in a premium game where players already had to pay for initial access.
考慮季票持有者所獲得的高級獎勵的價值和被認為的公平性是很重要的，這也可能影響遊戲的整體平衡和進程，特別是在玩家已經支付初始費用的高級遊戲中。

It’s also important to ensure that non-payers still have a satisfying gameplay experience and that the season pass does not create an unfair advantage or form a divide in the player base.
同樣重要的是要確保非付費玩家仍然能夠享受滿意的遊戲體驗，並且季票不會造成不公平的優勢或在玩家群體中形成分裂。

Season pass tips

Now that we’ve covered the essentials, before we close this chapter, we ought to leave you with a range of top tips and insights for designing season passes:
現在我們已經涵蓋了基本要點，在結束本章之前，我們應該為您提供一系列設計季票的頂尖建議和見解：

• Think about the cadence! Recurring season passes create a new content treadmill; evaluate your production capacity before you commit to a high frequency, or you face the risk of having to delay a season or releasing a pass without sufficient and desirable content.
  考慮節奏！重複的季票創造了一個新的內容跑步機；在承諾高頻率之前，評估您的生產能力，否則您可能面臨延遲季節或發布沒有足夠且理想內容的季票的風險。

Both scenarios are highly damaging and really easy to fall for, especially if you do not take individual and seasonal holidays, production delays, feature deliveries, and various other factors into account.
這兩種情況都極具破壞性，而且很容易中招，特別是如果你沒有考慮到個人和季節性假期、生產延遲、功能交付和其他各種因素。

• Integrating the pass into the core player progression will affect balance. Ensure you have a good grip on how much faster the progression is with a premium pass and note that players who purchase the pass will be (on average) more engaged than those without it.
  將通行證整合到核心玩家進程中會影響平衡。確保你對於使用高級通行證後進程加快的程度有清晰的了解，並注意購買通行證的玩家（平均而言）會比沒有購買的玩家更投入。
• Put limits on how much progress can be made in a season pass within any given day or week. This will help ensure that super-fans do not get too far ahead and burn through the pass in the first few weeks, leaving them with nothing to look forward to until the next season. Aim for engaged players to get to the final rewards with 1 week to spare for each month of the season pass (e.g., 1 week in a monthly season pass, or 3 weeks in a pass that lasts 3 months).
  限制在任何一天或一週內可以在季票中取得的進展。這將有助於確保超級粉絲不會在前幾週就過度進展並耗盡通行證，讓他們在下一季到來前無所期待。目標是讓投入的玩家在每個月的季票中有一週的時間來獲得最終獎勵（例如，月度季票中有一週，或持續三個月的季票中有三週）。
• On the opposite end, allow for catchup mechanics (such as weekly quest stacking) for those who join late or aren’t playing as often (but are making a regular effort). The gap between those who play 5 and 50 hours a week should not be tenfold.
  另一方面，為那些加入較晚或不常玩（但有定期努力）的玩家提供追趕機制（如每週任務堆疊）。每週玩 5 小時和 50 小時的玩家之間的差距不應該是十倍。
• Season passes with progression-based rewards (such as valuable in-game resources) can and will cannibalize spending by reducing the necessity and desirability of other in-game offers.
  以進度為基礎的季票獎勵（如有價值的遊戲內資源）可能會削弱其他遊戲內優惠的吸引力和必要性，從而影響玩家的消費。
• A strong theme that builds upon your game’s lore can help you with marketing and communication around the pass. It will also turn your season into more than a systemic attempt at raising engagement and revenues.
  一個強而有力的主題，建立在遊戲的背景故事之上，可以幫助您在推廣和宣傳季票時更具吸引力。這也會使您的季票不僅僅是提高參與度和收入的系統性嘗試。
• Putting your best rewards at the very end can be discouraging. Put a decent and unique prize at the start (as an instant reward for buying) and place your very best rewards between the halfway and the three-quarters point on the reward track.
  將最好的獎勵放在最後可能會讓人洩氣。可以在開始時放置一個不錯且獨特的獎品（作為購買的即時獎勵），並將最好的獎勵放在獎勵路徑的中間到四分之三處。

Completing the pass should be the goal for engaged players, but not an unachievable dream for those who wish to spend but cannot put the time in.
完成通關應該是投入玩家的目標，但對於那些願意花費卻無法投入時間的人來說，這不應該是一個遙不可及的夢想。

• If you are putting cosmetic rewards in your pass, let players preview them in their full glory and not as a tiny icon on a lengthy list of rewards.
  如果您在通行證中放入外觀獎勵，讓玩家能夠完整預覽它們的風采，而不是只看到獎勵清單上的小圖示。
• Do not let players lose their hard-earned prizes! Some users purposefully delay or simply forget to claim their rewards. To safeguard against it, build a system that auto-claims any uncollected goods at the end of the season, and ensure that players are informed about their rewards when they return.
  不要讓玩家失去他們辛苦獲得的獎品！有些用戶故意延遲或只是忘記領取他們的獎勵。為了防止這種情況，建立一個系統，在賽季結束時自動領取任何未收集的物品，並確保玩家回來時能夠知道他們的獎勵。

Summary

From decoding your KPIs and running live events to fostering healthy communities and designing season passes, numerous mysteries have been uncovered in this chapter, and they highlight the unique challenges that game makers have to tackle when running games as a service.
從解讀你的關鍵績效指標（KPIs）和舉辦現場活動，到培養健康的社群和設計季票，本章揭示了許多謎團，並強調了遊戲製作者在運營遊戲即服務時必須面對的獨特挑戰。

In the next chapter, we’ll expand on this knowledge and dive deeper into the business end, paying extra attention to the now-prevalent free-to-play business model, and the opportunities and difficulties it poses.
在下一章中，我們將擴展這些知識，深入探討商業層面，特別關注現在普遍的免費遊玩商業模式，以及它所帶來的機遇和挑戰。