基因制造
Geneforge

Spiderweb Software, 2001
Windows 和 Mac

Spiderweb Software, 2001
Windows and Mac

我觉得《基因制造(Geneforge)》正是 RPG 游戏应该有的模样:不起眼的小卒踏上旅途,主宰自己的命运;磨练技能,结识盟友,树立仇敌;你既可以成为忠诚的盟友,又可以扮演背后捅刀的无情叛徒,抑或是满脑子只剩下砍砍砍的莽夫。最终,玩家将会收获由所有选择汇聚而成的独特游戏体验。

这个游戏没有从一开始就吸引到我的注意:游戏诞生于一个小型工作室,只有有限的预算和相当简单的战斗系统。但游戏中精心制作的背景故事实在是太棒了。

游戏背景设定在一个由塑造者(Shapers)所统治的世界,他们利用魔法(基因技术?)创造了各种仆从并暴虐地维持着统治。作为一个统治集团,造物者完全地支配了被他们创造的知性生物。随着剧情的不断推进,玩家要面对各种各样的道德困境,而更为揪心的是这些问题无法以非黑即白的思路去解决。

Geneforge, to me, is what an RPG game should be about. A nameless protagonist walks into the world, and chooses their destiny. Skills are built, alliances formed, enemies made. You can be the loyal ally, the backstabbing traitor, or simply slaughter everyone before you have a chance to decide. At the end, what you have is a personal experience, something built by the choices you have made.

The first few steps in Geneforge did not grab my attention. Being from a small studio, the game is built with budget graphics, and the combat model is relatively simplistic. What first started to pique my interest was a well-crafted backstory.

The main premise of the game is a world in which a ruling clan, the Shapers, uses magical (genetic?) techniques to build servants, and retain tight control over those powers with the premise that abuse would be deadly. This creates, in essence, a ruling class, with complete dominance over their sentient creations. The moral questions raised by this situation continue throughout the series, and to my dissatisfaction, is never resolved in black-and-white fashion.

战斗模式基于回合制,而且有点简单了,但敌人的 AI 常常会惊艳到你。

Combat is turn-based and somewhat simplistic, but the enemy AI can often surprise you.

游戏的战斗设置虽然简单,但是能基于不同职业属性和技能变化多样。你可以专精于战斗技能,法术技能或者塑造(Shaping)技能。我最喜欢的是塑造技能,毕竟最终还要靠着一群造物陪你一起打怪变强。

你会放弃从头陪了你一路的小家伙换取新发现的怪兽吗?你真的在乎吗?尽管战斗模式一成不变,但对 RPG 游戏而言,角色在游戏过程中逐渐获得成长是必要的。随着游戏流程逐渐推进,玩家对角色属性和技能的分配会极大影响后期的战斗。

塑造元素将《基因制造》与传统的奇幻游戏区别开来。玩家能够随心所欲地创造和玩弄生命,而且随着游戏展开,故事里还会有一套更具技术性的生物创造方法。塑造的“艺术”模糊了科幻和奇幻的边界。“塑造”很容易被认为是“召唤”的同义词,但《基因制造》的独特之处在于玩家对被“塑造”的造物的控制更加自由。

塑造造物需要耗费角色能量,而一个身经百战的造物肯定是玩家的好帮手。平衡好维护旧造物、创造新造物和维持施法储备所用的法术可能比实际战斗更需要策略。

上述种种都为本作出彩的开放式结局做好了铺垫。玩家角色在抵达一个被抛弃的孤岛后遇到了不同的人类和造物群体,而这些群体对造物者的看法也大相径庭。虽然有时会被游戏事件和必要道具卡住,但是只要你技术够高,盟友够多,就可以随心所欲地探索整个世界。

The combat, while simple, can play out very differently based on character build and skill choices. You can focus on combat skills, magic skills, or shaping skills. Shaping skills tend to be my favourite, as eventually your character ends up with a group of creatures that gain strength as they survive combat.

Do you sacrifice the little guy, who has travelled with you from the beginning, in order to create the newest monster you discovered? Do you even care? While battles can get repetitive, there's a nice feeling of the progression which I feel an RPG needs. As the games progresses, the battles will play out differently depending on your character build.

Shaping is what differentiates Geneforge from a typical fantasy setting; you are creating and toying with life, and, as the series progresses, the story reveals a more technological approach to creating creatures. The “art” of shaping often blurs the line between scifi and fantasy. Shaping could be easily dismissed as another word for summoning, but regardless of the terminology, Geneforge allows for more control of “shaped” creatures than other games do.

Shaped creatures consume a certain amount of energy from your character, and an experienced creature can be a valuable companion. The balance between the energy used for maintaining old creatures, creating new ones, and maintaining a reserve for spellcasting can be more strategic than the actual battles.

This all sets the stage for a beautifully open-ended style of game. Your character, arriving on an abandoned island, meets different populations of humans and Shaper creations that have radically different views on the world of the Shapers. The world is yours to explore, at times limited by game events or necessary items, but mostly defined by the prowess of your character and the allies you have made.

GameDB 相关游戏: 基因制造 基因制造 1 - 诱变剂

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