TED2007
Will Wright: Spore, birth of a game
威尔•莱特：用玩具创造世界
Filmed:
Readability: 3.5
1,323,333 views
威尔•莱特快速、通俗易懂地展示了他的最新游戏——《孢子》。这款游戏必将与他以往的大手笔还要让玩家感到震撼。
Will Wright - Game designer
Will Wright invented a genre of computer game that involves neither winning nor shooting, yet has generated colossal hits. Among them: SimCity (which earned its publisher $230 million), The Sims, and Spore. Full bio
Will Wright invented a genre of computer game that involves neither winning nor shooting, yet has generated colossal hits. Among them: SimCity (which earned its publisher $230 million), The Sims, and Spore. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:25
I've always wanted to be a cyborg.
0
0
2000
我一直想成为一个半机械人。
00:27
One of my favorite shows as a kid was "The Six Million Dollar Man,"
1
2000
2000
我小时候最喜欢的电视剧之一是“无敌金刚”，它的造价是六百万美元。
00:29
and this is a little bit closer to the 240 dollar man or so, but --
2
4000
4000
而这玩意儿的价值挺相近的，大约是240万美元，但是——
00:33
(Laughter)
3
8000
2000
（笑声）
00:35
At at any rate. I would normally feel very self-conscious and geeky
4
10000
3000
不管怎样。而且我经常会感到拘谨，感觉有点儿怪异
00:38
wearing this around, but a few days ago I saw
5
13000
3000
穿着这个走来走去，嗯，但是呢，今天前我看见
00:41
one world-renowned statistician swallowing swords on stage here,
6
16000
4000
一位举世闻名的数据专家在这个舞台上吞剑，
00:45
so I figure it's OK amongst this group.
7
20000
3000
于是我就觉得在这群人里面我还算正常。
00:48
But that's not what I want to talk about today.
8
23000
2000
但是这不是我今天要谈论的话题。
00:50
I want to talk about toys, and the power that I see inherent in them.
9
25000
4000
我想要谈玩具，以及我从玩具中发现的天然的威力。
00:54
When I was a kid, I attended Montessori school
10
29000
2000
当我还是个小孩的时候，我在大名鼎鼎的蒙特梭利学校
00:56
up to sixth grade in Atlanta, Georgia.
11
31000
3000
读到了六年级。那是在佐治亚州亚特兰大。
00:59
And at the time I didn't think much about it,
12
34000
2000
那时，我并没有觉得有啥了不起。
01:01
but then later, I realized that that was the high point of my education.
13
36000
3000
但是后来，我发现那是我教育生涯中的制高点。
01:04
From that point on, everything else was pretty much downhill.
14
39000
4000
从那以后，一切都江河日下了。
01:08
And it wasn't until later, as I started making games, that --
15
43000
3000
等到后来，当我开始制作电脑游戏，那时我真的——
01:11
I really actually think of them more as toys.
16
46000
2000
我把它们当做是玩具。
01:13
People call me a game designer, but I really think of these things more as toys.
17
48000
3000
人们称我为游戏设计师，但是我却将（我设计的）那些东西当做玩具。
01:16
But I started getting very interested in Maria Montessori and her methods,
18
51000
3000
我开始对玛利亚•蒙特梭利和她的教育方法
01:19
and the way she went about things,
19
54000
2000
以及她的处事方式感兴趣。
01:21
and the way she thought it very valuable for kids to kind of discover things on their own
20
56000
3000
她很重视让孩子们自己去发现，
01:24
rather than being taught these things overtly.
21
59000
3000
而不是直接明白地向他们灌输这些知识。
01:27
And she would design these toys, where kids in playing with the toys
22
62000
3000
她会设计一些寓教于乐的玩具，
01:30
would actually come to understand these deep principles
23
65000
2000
使孩子们可以一边玩一边懂得一些
01:32
of life and nature through play.
24
67000
2000
有关人生和自然的深刻道理。
01:34
And since they discovered those things, it really stuck with them so much more,
25
69000
3000
因为这些道理是他们自己发现的，所以他们就会牢牢记住它们，
01:37
and also they would experience their own failures;
26
72000
2000
而且他们还会经历失败，
01:39
there was a failure-based aspect to learning there. It was very important.
27
74000
3000
这样他们就会经历挫折教育。这是很重要的。
01:42
And so, the games that I do, I think of really more as modern Montessori toys.
28
77000
5000
因此，我觉得我所创作的游戏就是蒙特梭利式的玩具的现代翻版。
01:47
And I really kind of want them to be presented in a way
29
82000
3000
并且我真心希望它们能够帮助小孩们
01:50
to where kids can kind of explore and discover their own principles.
30
85000
3000
通过自己去探索和发现这个世界的道理。
01:53
So a few years ago, I actually started getting very interested
31
88000
3000
于是，几年前，我开始对地外文明探索工程
01:56
in the SETI program. And that's the way I work.
32
91000
2000
产生了浓厚的兴趣。这是我的一种工作方式，
01:58
I get interested in different kinds of subjects, I dive in,
33
93000
2000
我对各种领域都有兴趣，我潜入其中，
02:00
I research them, and then I try to figure out how to craft a toy around that,
34
95000
3000
探索研究它，然后想办法做出一种与之相关的游戏，
02:03
so that other people can kind of experience the same sense of discovery as I did
35
98000
3000
这样其他人就能体验到和我在学习这个课题时
02:06
as I was learning that subject.
36
101000
2000
所体验过的发现的感觉。
02:08
And it kind of led me to astrobiology, which is the study of possible life in the universe.
37
103000
4000
于是我遇到了研究宇宙中可能存在的生命的天体生物学。
02:12
And then Drake's Equation, which is looking at the
38
107000
2000
然后是德瑞克方程式，大家知道，
02:14
probability of life arising on planets, how long it might last, how many planets are out there,
39
109000
3000
它关注的是行星上可能产生生命的概率，可以维持的时间，以及可能有多少行星，
02:17
stuff like that.
40
112000
2000
诸如此类
02:19
And I started looking at how interesting Drake's Equation was,
41
114000
3000
我开始关注这个极其有趣的方程，
02:22
because it spanned all these different subjects --
42
117000
3000
因为它涉及了各种不同的学科——
02:25
physics, chemistry, sociology, economics, astronomy.
43
120000
4000
物理、化学、社会学、经济学、天文学。
02:29
And another thing that really impressed me a long time ago
44
124000
3000
另一个很久以来让我印象深刻的是
02:32
was "Powers of Ten," Charles and Ray Eames' film.
45
127000
3000
查尔斯•伊默斯和蕾•伊默斯夫妇的影片《十的次方》
02:35
And I started putting those two together and wondering,
46
130000
2000
当我把这两者合起来看时，我想到
02:37
could I build a toy where kids would kind of trip across
47
132000
2000
我能不能建造一个玩具，使得小孩们可以
02:39
all these interesting principles of life,
48
134000
3000
在生命所有的这些有趣的、
02:42
as it exists and as it might go in the future.
49
137000
2000
经久不变的规则中穿梭？
02:44
Things where you might trip across things
50
139000
2000
你可能会遇到
02:46
like the Copernican Principle, the Fermi Paradox,
51
141000
2000
哥白尼定律、费米佯谬
02:48
the Anthropic Principle, the origin of life.
52
143000
3000
人择原理、生命起源。
02:51
And so I'm going to show you a toy today that I've been working on,
53
146000
2000
而我今天要向大家展示的是我正在创作中的一个玩具，
02:53
that I think of more than anything else as kind of a philosophy toy.
54
148000
4000
我觉得它绝对是一个哲学玩具。
02:57
In playing this toy, you kind of -- this will bring up philosophical questions in you.
55
152000
3000
当你玩着这个玩具的时候，你就会想到一些哲学的命题。
03:00
This game's called "Spore." I've been working on it for several years.
56
155000
3000
这个游戏的名字叫做“孢子”。我为这个游戏努力了好几年了。
03:03
It's getting pretty close to finished now.
57
158000
1000
创作已经接近尾声。
03:04
It occurs at all these different scales, first of all,
58
159000
2000
它有不同的场景规模。
03:06
from very, very small to very, very large.
59
161000
2000
从极其微小到非常宏大。
03:08
I'm just going to pop in at the start of the game.
60
163000
2000
我将要从最开端来进入这个游戏，
03:10
And you actually start this game in a drop of water,
61
165000
3000
其实是从一滴水里开始这个游戏的，
03:13
as a very, very small single-cell creature,
62
168000
3000
这时你还是一个很小很小的单细胞生物，
03:16
and right off the bat you basically just have to live, survive, reproduce.
63
171000
4000
然后马上你需要开始基本的生存、生活、繁衍。
03:20
So here we are, at a very microscopic scale,
64
175000
3000
你看，它小极了，
03:23
swimming around. And I actually realize that cells don't have eyes,
65
178000
3000
游来游去。我知道事实上细胞生物没有眼睛，
03:26
but it helps to make it cute.
66
181000
3000
但是眼睛使它看起来更可爱。
03:29
The players are going to play through every generation of this species,
67
184000
4000
玩家会逐步经历这个物种的每一代进化，
03:33
and as you play the game the creature is actually growing bit by bit.
68
188000
3000
当你玩这个游戏的时候，这个生物就一点一点地长大。
03:36
And as we start growing the camera will actually start zooming out,
69
191000
4000
当它开始生长的时候，镜头会变焦
03:40
and things that you see in the background there
70
195000
2000
使得你在背景中看到的景物
03:42
will actually start slowly pulling into the foreground,
71
197000
2000
会慢慢地往前移，
03:44
showing you a little bit of what you'll be interacting with as you grow.
72
199000
3000
让你知道当它成长的时候会遇到什么。
03:47
So as we eat, the camera starts pulling out, and then we start interacting with
73
202000
4000
瞧，当它进食的时候，镜头会拉远，然后我们开始
03:51
kind of larger and larger organisms.
74
206000
2000
和越来越大的生物体互动。
03:53
Now, we actually play through many generations here, at the cellular scale.
75
208000
3000
我们可以在细胞层面经历好多代。
03:56
I'm going to skip ahead here. At some point we get larger, and we actually get
76
211000
4000
我要跳过这一级了。当我们变大之后，就会
04:00
to a macro-evolution scale.
77
215000
3000
进入到进化的宏观层面。
04:03
Now at this point we're leaving the water,
78
218000
3000
在这个界面中，我们离开了水，
04:06
and one thing that's kind of important about this game is that, at every level,
79
221000
3000
这个游戏中很重要的一点是，在每一个级别中，
04:09
the player is designing their creature,
80
224000
3000
玩家可以自己设计生物的形态。
04:12
and that's a fundamental aspect of this.
81
227000
2000
这是很基本的。
04:14
Now, in the evolution game here, the creature scale, basically you have to eat,
82
229000
4000
那么，在这个进化游戏中，在生物的层面上，你要做的
04:18
survive, and then reproduce. You know, very Darwinian.
83
233000
3000
基本上就是进食、生存、繁殖。这很符合达尔文的理论。
04:21
One thing we noticed with "The Sims," which is a game I did earlier,
84
236000
3000
大家在我以前创作的“模拟”系列游戏中已经注意到，
04:24
is that players love making stuff.
85
239000
2000
玩家喜欢做东西。
04:26
When they were able to make stuff in the game they had a tremendous amount
86
241000
2000
当他们自己可以制作东西时，他们就会对它
04:28
of empathy in connection to it. Even if it wasn't as
87
243000
3000
产生极大的共情感，哪怕做出来的东西
04:31
pretty as what other people would make it -- as a professional artist would make
88
246000
3000
并不是人们想象的那么美丽——就像专业的艺术家
04:34
for games -- it really stuck with them
89
249000
2000
为游戏设计的那样——但玩家对它们不离不弃，
04:36
and they really cared about what would happen to it.
90
251000
2000
对它遇到的一切非常关心。
04:38
So at this point, we've left the water, and now with this little creature --
91
253000
3000
所以现在，我们离开了水。我们可以让这个小家伙——
04:41
we could bring up the volume a little bit -- and now we might try to eat.
92
256000
6000
我们可以把音量调大一点——让它吃东西，
04:47
We might sneak up on this little guy over here maybe, and try and eat him.
93
262000
5000
我们可以悄悄接近这个小东西，然后吃掉它。
04:52
OK, well, we fight.
94
267000
2000
好，我们干一架。
04:57
OK, we got him. Now we get a meal.
95
272000
5000
嗯，我们打败了它。现在我们开吃。
05:02
So really, at this part of the game, what we're doing
96
277000
3000
所以在游戏的这个部分，我们就是在
05:05
is we're running around and surviving, and also getting to the next generation,
97
280000
3000
游荡和生存，并且制造下一代，
05:08
because we're going to play through every generation of this creature.
98
283000
3000
因为我们要经历这个生物的每一代。
05:11
We can mate, so I'm going to see if
99
286000
2000
我们可以交配，所以我要看看
05:13
one of these creatures wants to mate with me. Yeah.
100
288000
4000
这个同类是不是愿意和我交配。嗯。
05:23
We didn't want to replay actual evolution
101
298000
3000
我们并不想重复人类实际的进化过程，
05:26
with humans and all that, because it's almost more interesting
102
301000
3000
因为看看别的可能
05:29
to look at alternate possibilities in evolution.
103
304000
2000
也许更加有趣。
05:31
Evolution is usually presented as this one path that we took through,
104
306000
3000
我们经历的进化过程有时候显得像是唯一的方式
05:34
but really it represents this huge set of possibilities.
105
309000
3000
但是进化其实有很多的可能方式
05:37
Now once we mate, we click on the egg.
106
312000
2000
我们一旦交配之后，就可以点这个蛋。
05:39
And this is where the game starts getting interesting,
107
314000
2000
这样游戏就变得很有趣了，
05:41
because one of the things we really focused on here was giving the players very
108
316000
3000
因为我们的重点工作致意就是让玩家
05:44
high-leverage tools, so that for a very small amount of effort the player can
109
319000
4000
利用事半功倍的工具，简单而巧妙地
05:48
make something very cool. And it involves a lot of intelligence on the tool side.
110
323000
4000
做出很酷的事情。工具栏中包含了很多的智慧。
05:52
But basically, this is the editor where we're going to design
111
327000
2000
基本上，这就是编辑工具，我们可以用它设计
05:54
the next generation of our creature. So it has a little spine.
112
329000
3000
我们的生物的下一代。它有一个小脊柱，
05:57
I can move around here. I can extend.
113
332000
3000
它可以移动，可以延伸。
06:00
I can also inflate or deflate it with the mouse wheel, so you sculpt it
114
335000
3000
我也可以用这个鼠标操纵的转盘来使它膨胀或者紧缩，这样你就可以塑造它的形状，
06:03
like clay. We have parts here that I can put on or pull off.
115
338000
3000
就像捏橡皮泥一样。这儿我们有零件，你可以添加或者拆减。
06:06
The idea is that the player can basically design
116
341000
2000
我们的理念是，玩家可以用这个编辑工具设计
06:08
anything they can think of in this editor, and we'll basically bring it to life.
117
343000
4000
任何他们想设计的东西，然后让它有了生命。
06:12
So, for instance, I might put some limbs on the character here.
118
347000
2000
比如，我可以在这个家伙身上装一些肢体。
06:14
I'll inflate them kind of large.
119
349000
2000
我要把它们胀大。
06:16
And in this case I might decide I'm going to put --
120
351000
5000
这儿我打算——
06:21
I'll put mouths on the limbs.
121
356000
5000
我打算在它的肢体上加几个嘴巴。
06:26
So pretty much players are encouraged to be very creative in the game.
122
361000
4000
所以这个游戏鼓励玩家尽可能地发挥他们的创意。
06:30
Here, I'll give it one eye in the middle, maybe scale it up a bit. Point it down.
123
365000
4000
这里，我要在中间安一只眼睛，放大，视线向下一点。
06:34
And I'll also give it a few legs.
124
369000
5000
我还要给它装几条腿。
06:39
So in some sense we want this to feel like
125
374000
2000
所以我们想要这个游戏
06:41
an amplifier for the player's imagination,
126
376000
3000
能够放飞玩家的想象，
06:44
so that with a very small number of clicks a player can create something
127
379000
3000
这样玩家只要轻点鼠标，就能创造
06:47
that they didn't really think was possible before.
128
382000
2000
他们以前想也不敢想的东西。
06:49
You know, this is almost like designing something like Maya
129
384000
3000
你瞧，这就像是一款
06:52
that an eight-year-old can use.
130
387000
2000
八岁的小孩都能使用的玛雅设计软件。
06:54
But really the goal here was, within about a minute, I wanted somebody to replicate
131
389000
3000
我们真实的意图是，让玩家可以在一分钟之内，
06:57
what typically takes a pictorial artist several weeks to create.
132
392000
4000
制作出一个平面设计师一般需要几周来创作的东西。
07:01
OK, now I'll put some hands on it.
133
396000
2000
好，现在我要为它加上几只手。
07:03
OK, so here I've basically thrown together a little creature.
134
398000
2000
嗯，这样我就拼装好了一个小生物。
07:05
Let me give it a little weapon on the tail here, so it can fight.
135
400000
5000
我接着在它的尾巴上添一个小武器，这样它就能战斗了。
07:10
OK, so that's the complete model. Now we can actually go to the painting phase.
136
405000
3000
好啦，大功告成。然后我们就可以为它涂色了。
07:13
Now, at this phase, the program actually has some understanding of
137
408000
3000
在这个阶段，程序实际上对这个生物的拓扑有自己的理解。
07:16
the topology of this creature. It kind of knows where the backbone is,
138
411000
2000
它知道哪里是后背，
07:18
where the spine, the limbs are.
139
413000
2000
哪里是脊柱，哪里是肢体。
07:20
It kind of knows how stripes should run, how it should be shaded.
140
415000
2000
它知道条纹应该如何分布，如何造型，
07:22
And so we're procedurally generating the texture map,
141
417000
2000
于是我们就顺理成章地得到了这个纹理图。
07:24
and this is something a texture artist would take many, many days to work on.
142
419000
3000
这样的作品交给一个纹理艺术家来做可能需要很多天。
07:27
And then we can test it out, once we've done that, and see how it would move around.
143
422000
4000
我们完成这一项之后，就可以测试一下，让它四处走动一下。
07:31
And so at this point the computer is procedurally animating this creature.
144
426000
3000
这时，电脑就会自动地控制这个生物的移动。
07:34
It's looking at whatever I've designed. It will actually bring it to life.
145
429000
3000
电脑听命于我的设计，然后让它动起来。
07:37
And I can see how it might dance.
146
432000
2000
瞧瞧，我让它跳舞。
07:39
(Laughter)
147
434000
3000
（笑声）
07:42
how it might show emotions, how it might fight.
148
437000
3000
让它表达情感，让它打斗。
07:45
So it's acting with its two mouths there.
149
440000
3000
让让它的两个嘴巴动起来。
07:48
I can even have it pose for a photo. Snap a little photo of it.
150
443000
3000
我甚至能让它摆姿势拍照——拍个照。
07:51
(Laughter)
151
446000
2000
笑声
07:53
So at any rate, then I bring this back into the game. It's born,
152
448000
2000
我把它放回游戏中来，它出生了。
07:55
and I play the next generation of my creature through evolution.
153
450000
3000
然后我开始玩我的生物进化后的下一代。
07:58
Now again, the empathy that the players have when they create the content
154
453000
4000
同样的，玩家们创作生物时的强烈的共情感又来了。
08:02
is tremendous. Now, when players create content in this game,
155
457000
3000
当一个玩家在游戏中创作一个内容时，
08:05
it's automatically sent up to a server
156
460000
2000
它自动被传送到服务器，
08:07
and then redistributed to all the other players transparently.
157
462000
2000
然后重新分配到所有其他玩家的系统中。
08:09
So in fact, as I'm interacting in this world with other creatures,
158
464000
4000
因此，其实在这个世界里同我互动的其他生物，
08:13
these creatures are transparently coming from other players as they play.
159
468000
4000
是直接由其他的玩家创造的。
08:17
So the process of playing the game is a process of building up this huge database
160
472000
3000
所以玩游戏的过程就是在建立一个巨大的内容数据库。
08:20
of content. And pretty much everything you're going to see in this game,
161
475000
4000
几乎所有你在游戏中看到的一切，
08:24
there's an editor for in the game that the player can create,
162
479000
3000
都有相应的编辑工具，
08:27
all the way up through civilization. This is my baby.
163
482000
2000
是的，贯穿整个文明。这是我的宝贝儿。
08:29
When I eat, I'll actually start growing. This is the next generation.
164
484000
3000
当我吃东西的时候，我就在长大。这是它的下一代。
08:32
But I'm going to skip way ahead here. Now, normally what would happen
165
487000
3000
我要跳过这步了。接着，一般来说，这些生物就会
08:35
is these creatures would work their way up, eventually become intelligent.
166
490000
3000
日臻完美，最后变得拥有智慧。
08:38
I'd start dealing with tribes, cities and civilizations of them over time.
167
493000
4000
随着时间流逝，我开始处理部落、城市和不同的文明的问题。
08:42
I'm going to skip way ahead here to the space phase.
168
497000
2000
我要跳过这些步骤，直接跳到太空阶段。
08:44
Eventually they would go out into space, and start colonizing and exploring the universe.
169
499000
7000
最终它们会进入太空，开始在宇宙中殖民和探索。
08:51
Now really, in some sense, I want the players to be building this world
170
506000
4000
我希望玩家能够用他们的想象创造世界。
08:55
in their imagination, and then extracting it from them
171
510000
2000
然后用最简单的方式
08:57
with the least amount of pain.
172
512000
2000
从中取其精华。
08:59
So that's kind of what these tools are about, are: how do we make the game play
173
514000
3000
这就是这些工具的意义，这就是我们如何用这个游戏，
09:02
the player's imagination-amplifier?
174
517000
4000
放飞玩家的想象，
09:06
And how do we make these tools, these editors, something that
175
521000
4000
我们如何让这些工具，这些编辑工具变得
09:10
are just as fun as the game itself?
176
525000
2000
和游戏本身一样好玩。
09:12
So this is the planet that we've been playing on up to this point in the game.
177
527000
4000
这就是我们在玩游戏时所在的星球。
09:16
So far the entire game has been played on the surface of this little world here.
178
531000
3000
目前这整个游戏就是在这个小世界的表面玩的。
09:19
Now, at this point we're actually dealing with a very little toy planet.
179
534000
4000
现在我们是在玩一个小小的星球玩具，
09:23
Almost, again, like the Montessori toy idea.
180
538000
2000
同样几乎就像是蒙特梭利玩具那样。
09:25
You know, what happens if you give somebody a toy planet,
181
540000
2000
你知道，当你给人一个星球玩具，
09:27
and let them play with a lot of dynamics on it,
182
542000
2000
让他们可以随意摆弄时，
09:29
what could they discover? What might they learn on this?
183
544000
2000
他们会发现什么？他们会从中学到什么？
09:31
This world was actually extracted from the player's imagination.
184
546000
3000
这个世界事实上是来源于玩家的想象，
09:34
So, this is the planet that the player evolved on.
185
549000
3000
是玩家的生息之地，
09:37
Things like the buildings, and the vehicles, the architecture, civilizations
186
552000
4000
所以所有的房屋建筑、交通工具、所有文明
09:41
were all designed by the player up to this point.
187
556000
2000
目前为止都是由玩家来设计的。
09:43
So here's a little city with some of our guys kind of walking around in it.
188
558000
3000
所以这里是一个小城市，有几个咱们的人行走其中。
09:46
And most games kind of put the player in the role of Luke Skywalker,
189
561000
3000
在大多数的游戏中，玩家都是像卢克•天行者这样的
09:49
this protagonist playing through this story.
190
564000
2000
故事主角。
09:51
Really, this is more about putting the player
191
566000
2000
然而这个游戏却是让玩家来扮演
09:53
in the role of George Lucas, you know?
192
568000
2000
导演乔治•卢卡斯的角色。
09:55
I want them, after they've played this game,
193
570000
1000
我希望他们玩了这个游戏之后，
09:56
to have extracted an entire world that they're now interacting with.
194
571000
3000
能够创作出一个完整的世界，与之互动。
09:59
Now, as we pull down here, we still have a whole set of creatures
195
574000
4000
现在当我摧毁这里的时候，在这个星球上其实还居住着
10:03
living on the surface of the planet. There are all these different dynamics going on here.
196
578000
3000
一系列的生物，所以发生着一系列动态的变化。
10:06
In fact, I can look over here, and this is kind of a little simplified food web
197
581000
3000
我可以从这里俯视。这里的生物有一个简化了的
10:09
that's going on with the creatures.
198
584000
2000
小食物链。
10:11
I can open this up and then scan what exists on the surface,
199
586000
3000
我可以打开这个，浏览哪些生物存在于这个表面，
10:14
and get some sense of the diversity of creatures that were brought in.
200
589000
3000
了解其中生物的多样性。
10:17
Some of these were created by the player,
201
592000
2000
其中有些时由玩家自己创作的，
10:19
others by other players and automatically sent over here.
202
594000
2000
有的是由其他玩家创造的，自动分配到这里来的。
10:21
But there's a very simple little kind of calculation of what's required,
203
596000
3000
但是这里面也要求一些简单的计算，
10:24
how much plants are required for the herbivores to live,
204
599000
3000
比如为了草食动物的存活，需要多少植物，
10:27
how many herbivores for the carnivores to eat, etc.,
205
602000
2000
为了我肉食动物的存活，需要多少草食动物，
10:29
that you actually have to balance actively.
206
604000
2000
你需要实现一个动态的平衡。
10:31
Now also with this phase, we're getting more and more God-like powers for the player,
207
606000
4000
同样，在这个阶段，我们给了玩家更多的造物的权利，
10:35
and you can kind of experiment with this planet again as a toy.
208
610000
3000
你可以用这个玩具星球来实现。
10:38
So I can come in and I can do things, and just treat this planet as a lump of clay.
209
613000
3000
我可以进入其中，可以摆弄它，可以把这个星球当做一块橡皮泥。
10:41
We have very simple little weather systems you see here,
210
616000
2000
这里我们有一个简单的天气系统，
10:43
very simple geology. For instance, I could open one of my tools here and then
211
618000
4000
很简单的地理状况。比如，我可以在这里使用一个工具，
10:47
carve out rivers.
212
622000
3000
比如，开凿河流。
10:50
So this whole thing is kind of like a big lump of clay, a sculpture.
213
625000
3000
这整个星球就像是一块巨大的橡皮泥，一个雕塑。
10:53
I can also play with the dynamics of this world over time.
214
628000
2000
我还可以不断控制这个世界的动态变化。
10:55
So one of the things I can do is start pumping more CO2 gases
215
630000
4000
因此，我可以往大气中倾倒更多二氧化碳，
10:59
into the atmosphere, and so that's what I'm doing here.
216
634000
3000
就像这样。
11:02
There's actually a little read out down there
217
637000
2000
这下面有一些关于我们这个星球的大气环境的指数，
11:04
of our planetary atmosphere, pressure and temperature.
218
639000
4000
包括气压，温度。
11:08
So as I start pumping in more atmosphere,
219
643000
2000
所以当我开始增加气体时，
11:10
we're going to start pushing up the greenhouse gases here
220
645000
2000
我们就会提高温室气体的含量，
11:12
and if you'll start noticing, we start seeing the ocean levels rise over time.
221
647000
5000
如果你注意看的话，就会发现海平面上升了。
11:17
And our cities are going to be at risk too, because a lot of these are coastal cities.
222
652000
3000
而我们的城市就会有危险，因为许多城市就在海岸边。
11:20
You can see the ocean levels are rising now and as they encroach upon the cities,
223
655000
3000
你可以看见海平面正在上升，海水在侵蚀城市，
11:23
I'll start losing cities here.
224
658000
3000
这里我失掉了不少城市。
11:26
So basically, I want the players to be able to experiment and explore
225
661000
3000
所以我希望玩家能够试验和探索，
11:29
a huge amount of failure space. So there goes one city.
226
664000
4000
了解各种太空中的失败——你看，一个城市毁灭了。
11:33
Now over time, this is actually going to heat up the planet.
227
668000
2000
渐渐地，星球的温度提高了。
11:35
So at first what we're going to see is a global ocean rise
228
670000
2000
在这个小小玩具星球上，我们首先会遇到的
11:37
here on this little toy planet,
229
672000
2000
就是全球海平面上升。
11:39
but then over time -- I can speed it up just a little bit --
230
674000
2000
逐渐地——我可以加快点速度——
11:41
we'll actually see the heat impact of that as well.
231
676000
3000
我们也可以看见升温带来的影响。
11:44
So not only will it get hotter,
232
679000
2000
它不仅仅会变得更热，
11:46
but at some point it's going to get so hot the oceans will entirely evaporate.
233
681000
3000
甚至在某种情况下，热到连海洋都蒸发了。
11:49
So at first they'll go up, and then they'll evaporate, and that'll be my planet.
234
684000
3000
所以海洋先上升，然后蒸发，这就是我的星球。
11:52
So basically, what we're getting here is
235
687000
2000
我们正在经历的可能是
11:54
the sequel to "An Inconvenient Truth," in about two minutes,
236
689000
3000
《难以忽视的真相》的两分钟的续集，
11:57
and that actually brings up an interesting point about games.
237
692000
4000
这让游戏变得很有趣。
12:01
Now here, our entire oceans are evaporating off the surface,
238
696000
3000
现在我们所有的海洋正在从表面开始蒸发。
12:04
and as it keeps getting hotter at some point the entire planet's going to melt down.
239
699000
4000
随着温度越来越高，整个星球可能会在某一刻融化掉。
12:08
Here it goes.
240
703000
2000
你看。
12:10
So we're not only simulating biological dynamics -- food webs and all that --
241
705000
3000
所以我们不仅仅是在模拟生物的变化——像食物链等——
12:13
but also geologic, you know, on a very simple core scale.
242
708000
3000
还有简单的核心层面的地理变化。
12:16
And what's interesting to me about games, in some sense,
243
711000
2000
对我来说，游戏的有趣之处有时
12:18
is that I think we can take a lot of long-term dynamics
244
713000
3000
在于我们可以将一些长期的变化
12:21
and compress them into very short-term kind of experiences.
245
716000
3000
压缩成短期的经历。
12:24
Because it's so hard for people to think 50 or 100 years out,
246
719000
3000
把五十甚至一百年内发生的事情想清楚实在太难了，
12:27
but when you can give them a toy, and they can experience these long-term dynamics
247
722000
2000
但是如果你能给他们一个玩具，让他们在几分钟之内
12:29
in just a few minutes,
248
724000
2000
去经历这些长期的变化，
12:31
I think it's an entirely different kind of point of view, where we're actually mapping,
249
726000
3000
我认为就是一种全然不同的观点了，我们可以呈现，
12:34
using the game to re-map our intuition.
250
729000
3000
用游戏去再现我们的直觉。
12:37
It's almost in the same way that a telescope or microscope
251
732000
2000
就像是望远镜或者显微镜
12:39
recalibrates your eyesight; I think computer simulations can recalibrate your instinct
252
734000
4000
重新校准了你的视力，我觉得电脑模拟可以
12:43
across vast scales of both space and time.
253
738000
3000
大规模地跨越空间和时间校准你的直觉。
12:46
So here's our little solar system, as we pull away from our melted planet here.
254
741000
3000
我们把视线从融化了的行星里拉远，来到我们的小小太阳系。
12:49
We actually have a couple of other planets in this solar system.
255
744000
3000
原来在这个太阳系里，我们其实还有好多其他的行星。
12:52
Let's fly to another one.
256
747000
2000
让我们跳到另外一个上来。
12:54
So in fact, we're going to have this unlimited number of worlds
257
749000
2000
其实，我们将会有无限多的世界
12:56
you can kind of explore here. Now, as we move into the future,
258
751000
3000
供你去探险。现在我们进入未来，
12:59
and we start going out in this space and doing stuff,
259
754000
2000
我们可以开始进入这个空间做点事情，
13:01
we're drawing a lot from things like science fiction.
260
756000
2000
我们描绘出许多科幻小说里的东西。
13:03
And all my favorite science fiction movies
261
758000
2000
都是我喜欢的科幻电影里的。
13:05
I want to basically play out here as different dynamics.
262
760000
2000
我想在这里制造一些不同的变化。
13:07
So this planet actually has some life on it.
263
762000
3000
这个星球上其实有一些生物。
13:10
Here it is, some indigenous life down here.
264
765000
2000
看，有些土生土长的生物。
13:12
Now one of the tools I can eventually earn for my UFO is a monolith
265
767000
3000
现在我终于可以从我的飞行器上扔下一个
13:15
that I can drop down.
266
770000
2000
巨大的石碑。
13:17
(Laughter)
267
772000
2000
（笑声）
13:19
Now as you can see, these guys are actually starting to go up
268
774000
3000
现在你可以看见，这些生物开始走过来
13:22
and bow to it, and over time, once they touch it, they will become intelligent.
269
777000
5000
向它鞠躬，渐渐地，一旦它们碰到它，它们就会变得有智慧。
13:27
So I can actually pick a species on a planet and then make them sentient.
270
782000
4000
所以我可以挑一种生物，使它们变得有知觉。
13:31
You see, now they've actually gone to tribal dynamics.
271
786000
2000
瞧，现在它们开始组成部落。
13:33
And now, because I'm actually the one here, I can, if I want to, get out of the UFO
272
788000
2000
所以现在，因为我是唯一的操纵者，只要我愿意，我就可以从飞行器里出来，
13:35
and walk up, and they should be worshipping me at this point as a god.
273
790000
4000
走近它们，然后它们现在应该会把我当做上帝来崇拜。
13:39
(Laughter)
274
794000
1000
（笑声）
13:40
At first they're a little freaked out.
275
795000
2000
一开始，它们有点吓坏了。
13:46
OK, well maybe they're not worshipping me.
276
801000
2000
好吧，它们可能没有崇拜我。
13:48
(Laughter)
277
803000
1000
（笑声）
13:49
I think I'll leave before they get hostile.
278
804000
3000
我想我应该在它们对我产生敌意前离开。
13:52
But we basically want a diversity of activities the players can play through this.
279
807000
3000
我们希望玩家可以经历不同的活动。
13:55
Basically, I want to be able to play,
280
810000
2000
我希望这个游戏能变成
13:57
"The Day the Earth Stood Still," "2001: A Space Odyssey,"
281
812000
3000
《地球停转之日》、《2001太空漫游》
14:00
"Star Trek," "War Of the Worlds."
282
815000
2000
《星际迷航》、《世界之战》。
14:02
Now as we pull away from this world -- we're going to keep pulling away from the star now.
283
817000
4000
现在，我们将视线从这个世界里移出来——我们从这个星球移出来了——
14:06
One of the things that always frustrated me a little bit about astronomy
284
821000
3000
天文学中有一点曾让儿时的我时常感到困扰：
14:09
when I was a kid is how it was always presented so two-dimensionally
285
824000
3000
为什么它总是二维的、静态的呢？
14:12
and so static. As we pull away from the star here, we're actually going
286
827000
3000
当我们从行星中移开视线，我们就进入了
14:15
now out into interstellar space,
287
830000
2000
星际空间。
14:17
and we're getting a sense of the space around our home star.
288
832000
3000
我们对家园行星周边的空间有了直观感觉。
14:20
Now what I really wanted to do is to present this,
289
835000
3000
现在我真正想做的就是让大家看看这个，
14:23
basically as wonderfully 3D as it is actually is.
290
838000
3000
这和它的实际存在一样的立体。
14:26
And not only that, but also show the dynamics,
291
841000
2000
不仅如此，还有一些变化，
14:28
and a lot of the interesting objects that you might find, maybe like in the Hubble,
292
843000
2000
你还会发现许多有趣的物体，比如哈勃望远镜。
14:30
at pretty much realistic frequencies and scales.
293
845000
4000
这和实际的频率和规模几乎是一样的。
14:34
So most people have no idea of the difference between like,
294
849000
3000
大多数人都分不清
14:37
an emission nebula and a planetary nebula.
295
852000
2000
发射星云和环状星云之间的区别。
14:39
But these are the things that we can kind of put in this little galaxy here.
296
854000
2000
但是我们可以把这些放进这个小星系里。
14:41
So we're flying over here to what looks like a black hole.
297
856000
3000
我们可以飞到这里看看黑洞。
14:44
I want to basically have the entire zoo of Hubble objects
298
859000
2000
我想要将哈勃望远镜能看到的一切展示给人们，
14:46
that people can kind of interact with and play with, again, as toys.
299
861000
4000
让他们可以与之互动，当做玩具来玩。
14:50
So here's a little black hole that we probably don't want to get too close to.
300
865000
2000
这是一个黑洞，我们可不想离它太近。
14:55
But we also have stars and things as well.
301
870000
2000
我们还有星星和其他的东西。
14:57
If we pull all the way back, we start seeing the entire galaxy here,
302
872000
3000
如果我们继续将视线移远，我们可以看见这一整个星系，
15:00
kind of slowly in motion. And this is another thing where, typically
303
875000
4000
缓缓移动。普遍来说，当人们展现星系的时候，
15:04
when people present galaxies, it's always been these very beautiful photos,
304
879000
3000
总是用美丽却静态的照片。
15:07
but they're always static. And when you actually bring it forward in time
305
882000
2000
当你让它随着时间动起来，
15:09
and start animating it, it's actually kind of amazing,
306
884000
3000
加快它的运转速度，
15:12
what a galaxy would look like, fast forwarded.
307
887000
2000
它看起来就会十分惊艳。
15:14
This would be about one million years a second,
308
889000
1000
这大约是每秒一百万年，
15:15
because you have about roughly one supernova every century or so.
309
890000
4000
因为大概每个世纪会出现一颗超新星。
15:19
And so you'd have this wonderful sparkling thing, with the disk slowly rotating,
310
894000
3000
这样你就会看见如此美丽而闪耀的物体缓慢旋转，
15:22
and this is roughly what it would look like. And so really,
311
897000
2000
这就是它大概的样子。
15:24
part of this is about bringing the beauty of this, of the natural world,
312
899000
3000
这个游戏的目的之一就是用一种充满想象的方式，
15:27
to somebody in a very imaginative way, so that they can start calibrating their instinct
313
902000
3000
让人们看见自然世界的美，让他们开始大规模地跨越空间和时间，
15:30
across these vast scales of space and time.
314
905000
3000
重构自己的直觉。
15:33
Chris was wondering what kind of gods that the players would become.
315
908000
5000
一个天主教徒有一天问我游戏的玩家会变成怎样的上帝。
15:38
Because if you think about it, you're going to have 15-year-olds,
316
913000
3000
你想想，十五岁、二十岁的年轻人
15:41
20-year-olds, whatever, flying around this universe.
317
916000
2000
将会飞入这个宇宙。
15:43
And they might be a nurturing god. They might be boot-strapping life
318
918000
2000
他们会成为一个一个无微不至的上帝。也许会成为星球上自力更生的生命，
15:45
on planets, trying to terra-form and spread civilization.
319
920000
4000
努力地占领地盘，散布文明。
15:49
You might be a vengeful god and going out and conquesting,
320
924000
2000
你可能会成为一个复仇心切的上帝，四处侵略征服，
15:51
because you actually can do that, you can go in and attack other intelligent races.
321
926000
3000
你真的可以，你能闯进别的智慧的种族攻击他们。
15:54
You might be a networking god, building alliances,
322
929000
2000
你可能会成为一个左右逢源的上帝，建立盟友，
15:56
which you can also do in the game, or just curious,
323
931000
3000
你也可以这么做。或者你只是出于好奇，
15:59
going around and wanting to explore as much as you possibly can.
324
934000
4000
尽你所能，四处游历。
16:03
But basically, the reason why I make toys like this is because
325
938000
4000
我想要创作这个玩具的原因，
16:07
I think if there's one difference I could possibly make in the world,
326
942000
4000
是我觉得我可能可以、也想要，为这个世界带来的变化
16:11
that I would choose to make, it's that I would like to somehow give people
327
946000
4000
就是，我想要让人们能更好地
16:15
just a little bit better calibration on long-term thinking.
328
950000
3000
从长远看问题。
16:18
Because I think most of the problems that our world is facing right now
329
953000
2000
因为我觉得我们的世界现在所面临的诸多问题
16:20
is the result of short-term thinking,
330
955000
3000
大多归咎于人们目光短浅。
16:23
and the fact that it is so hard for us to think 50, 100, or 1,000 years out.
331
958000
4000
让我们去畅想五十年、一百年甚至一千年以后的变化实在太难。
16:27
And I think by giving kids toys like this
332
962000
2000
而我认为给孩子们一个这样的玩具，
16:29
and letting them replay dynamics,
333
964000
2000
让他们重现动态变化，
16:31
very long-term dynamics over the short term,
334
966000
2000
用很短的时间看长期的变化，
16:33
and getting some sense of what we're doing now, what it's going to be like in 100 years,
335
968000
4000
让他们了解我们现在在做的事情，了解一百年后会发生的事情，
16:37
I think probably is the most effective thing I can be doing
336
972000
2000
就是我现在能为帮助这个世界所做的
16:39
to help the world.
337
974000
2000
最有效率的事。
16:41
And so that's why I think, personally, that toys can change the world.
338
976000
3000
这就是为什么，我自认为，玩具可以改变世界。
16:44
Thank you.
339
979000
1000
谢谢。
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Will Wright - Game designerWill Wright invented a genre of computer game that involves neither winning nor shooting, yet has generated colossal hits. Among them: SimCity (which earned its publisher $230 million), The Sims, and Spore.
Why you should listen
A technical virtuoso with boundless imagination, Will Wright has created a style of computer gaming unlike any that came before, emphasizing learning more than losing, invention more than sport. With his hit game SimCity, he spurred players to make predictions, take risks, and sometimes fail miserably, as they built their own virtual urban worlds. With his follow-up hit, The Sims, he encouraged the same creativity toward building a household, all the while preserving the addictive fun of ordinary video games. His next game, Spore, which he previewed at TED2007, evolves an entire universe from a single-celled creature.
Wright's genius is for presenting vital abstract principles -- like evolution, differences of scale, and environmental dynamics -- through a highly personalized, humorous kind of play. Users invest themselves passionately in characters they create (with Wright's mind-boggling CG tools), and then watch them encounter fundamentals of life and nature. If it all sounds suspiciously educational, well, it just might be. Wright has created not just an irresistible form of entertainment, but an ingenious, original pedagogy.
In 2009, he left publisher Electronic Arts to form his own think tank for the future of games, toys and entertainment, the Stupid Fun Club.
Will Wright | Speaker | TED.com