In a recent interview, I had the privilege of engaging in a conversation with Sennet Deng, a seasoned Technical Artist at Criterion Games, a division of EA. Sennet’s expertise lies in designing and refining the visual aspects of in-game models through 3D rendering, contributing to major console games such as Avatar, Need for Speed, and Far Cry. Our discussion delved into the nuances of game development, the gaming industry’s focus on playability, and the potential impacts of mobile gaming on children and adolescents.
Before delving into the insights provided by Sennet, it is crucial to note that this interview was conducted with the explicit consent. A formal consent form was sent and signed by Sennet (邓森蕾 Senlei Deng), affirming his agreement to participate in the interview and acknowledging the transcription of our conversation for academic purposes.
Below is the full Chinese and English transcript of the conversation:
问：你好Sennet，十分感谢您抽出时间与我交谈！在我们开始讨论我的干预计划之前，您能简单介绍一下自己目前的职业吗？
Q: Hi Sennet, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with me! Before we start talking about my intervention concept, can you briefly talk about yourself and describe your current occupation?
答：你好Jun，谢谢你邀请我！我叫Sennet Deng, 目前在EA旗下的Criterion Games任职Technical Artist。我负责通过3D渲染来设计并调整游戏内模型的外观，简单来说就是游戏建模设计。迄今为止我参与制作过Avatar, Need for Speed 和Far Cry等的大型主机游戏。
A: Hi Jun, thanks for having me! My name is Sennet Deng, and I’m currently working as a Technical Artist at Criterion Games, a division of EA, where I’m responsible for designing and tweaking the look of in-game models through 3D rendering, or in short, game modeling. So far I’ve worked on major console games such as Avatar, Need for Speed and Far Cry.
问：很帅！我想请问，作为一个玩家和游戏开发者，你认为开发一款游戏最重要的方面是什么？
Q: Very cool! I’d like to ask, as a gamer and game developer, what do you think is the most important aspect of developing a game?
答：嗯。。在工作中我更注重图形和艺术方面的处理，但游戏的可玩性，平衡性和剧情也同样重要。我认为它们不一定分前后顺序，并且每一个元素也都紧密挂钩。但是如果一定要说的话，我认为最重要的还是一款游戏的可玩性，游戏业内最注重的也是这一点，任天堂就是一个很好的例子，他们的图形和剧情不一定是最好的，但是他们的游戏总是很有趣并且可以反复玩。
A: Hmmm. I focus more on the graphical and artistic aspects of my work, but the playability, balance and plot of the game are just as important. I don’t think they’re necessarily in any particular order, and each element is closely linked. But if I had to say, I think the most important thing is the playability of a game, and that’s what the gaming industry focuses on the most. Nintendo is a good example of that, they don’t necessarily have the best graphics and plots, but their games are always fun to play over and over again.
问：我同意，作为一个主机玩家，我也认为一个游戏好玩才能吸引到人。当然，你说的其他点对任何一款游戏来说也至关重要。 你刚才提到了任天堂，which是一个更偏向于掌机和手游的游戏公司，所以我很好奇你对移动游戏的态度和看法，你认为相比于传统的PC端游戏和主机游戏，手游有什么优缺点？
Q: I agree, as a console gamer, I also think a game needs to be fun in order to appeal to people. Of course, the other points you made are important as well. You mentioned Nintendo too, Which is a gaming company that focus on handheld console games or mobile games, so I’m curious about your attitude and opinions on mobile gaming, what do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of mobile games compared to traditional PC-based and console games?
答：我其实平时手游玩的并不多，但我也会关注一些自己喜欢类型的手游，一般都是多人竞技类，经营类，或者冒险类。我认为手游的优点在于它的便利性，大部分手游都相对的快节奏并且操作比较简单，也可以随时随地游玩；相应的，移动游戏的开发周期相对于主机游戏来说非常短，而且手游的盈利模式大部分来自于广告和in-app购买，相对于主机游戏的买断制，这种方式盈利明显更快也更有效，种种原因导致市场上移动游戏的质量参差不齐，这也是我不怎么玩手游的原因。
A: I actually don’t usually play mobile games that often, but I do pay attention to some mobile games under the genres of multiplayer competitive, management, or adventure games. I think the advantage of mobile games is its convenience, most of the mobile games are relatively fast-paced and easy to control, and can be played anytime and anywhere. On the other hand, the development cycle of mobile games is very short compared to the console or PC games, and most mobile game’s profit comes from ads and in-app purchases, as opposed to the console game’s buyout system, making them significantly more profitable. All these reasons lead to the uneven quality of mobile games on the market, which is why I don’t play many mobile games.
问：确实，我在设计我的干预方案时发现，手游行业现在似乎有一种乱象，无论是延长游玩时间的游戏匹配机制，游戏内的氪金道具，似乎都对这些游戏的主力用户，也就是儿童和青少年有着不小的负面影响，可以浅谈一下你对这个的看法吗？
Q: Indeed, when I was designing my intervention concept, I found that many popular mobile game are kind of problematic, like most multiplayer game’s’ unbalanced game matching mechanism that prolongs playing time, or highly priced in-game purchases. It seems to have a considerable negative impact on the main users of these games, that is, the children and adolescents, can you briefly share your opinions on this?
答：我觉得无论是手游还是端游其实都有类似的现象，不过现在小孩接触手机时间更久，手游的节奏一般也更快，操作更简单，所以可能会导致他们玩太久产生不良影响。
还有就是，有些游戏厂商为了增加用户粘性而刻意操纵游戏胜率，这也是很多厂商在开发游戏时的潜规则，目的就是为了让玩家玩的更久或者购买强力道具快速获胜。这对于那些自控能力较差的孩子们来说无疑是toxic的。总的来说，我认为减轻游戏对青少年带来的身心负面影响，最有效的方法就是仔细甄别游戏的品质，还有就是保持一个良好的游戏习惯和消费观。
A: I think both mobile and console games actually have a similar problems, but nowadays children are exposed to smartphones for a longer period of time, and like I said, mobile games are generally faster-paced and simpler to operate, so it may lead to adverse effects if they play for too long.
There is also the fact that some game studios will try to increase user stickiness and deliberately manipulate the game winning rate, the logic is to allow players to play for a longer time or buy powerful virtual items to win quickly. This is undoubtedly toxic for kids who have less self-control. Overall, I think the most effective way to mitigate the negative physical and mental impacts of gaming on young people is to carefully scrutinize the quality of the games, as well as to maintain a good gaming and purchasing habits .
问：游戏的品质和一个好的游戏习惯确实至关重要,我为了更好的设计我的干预方案，也对在上海一所初中的9-13岁儿童以及他们的父母展开过的问卷调查中以便更好的了解青少年玩家的游戏习惯和偏好。调研结果显示，多于半数的未成年玩家在移动游戏每周游玩超过8小时，或是曾经因为游戏与监护人发生争执，而导致不良作息和生活习惯。而市面上也没有任何相关的辅助工具来帮助未成年玩家树立健康游戏习惯。
所以我设计了一款手机app概念企划，本质上就是是一个移动端游戏应用平台，提供精心挑选的适龄游戏库和不同的游戏分类，app内同时还提供例如监控具体游戏时长，社交圈 ，GPS定位和实时周边活动提醒等功能。App上的游戏库将会提供具有娱乐性，能提高玩家解决问题的能力、创造力和团队合作的游戏。 APP同时会提供家长版和儿童版，家长版会支持一些专属的新功能，比如游戏时长提醒闹铃，游戏内内容支付提醒等，但不会强制关闭游戏。
通过这个app，我希望改进未成年用户的游戏体验和强化他们的社交体验，同时让他们的监护人也能更安心的让年轻用户们锻炼他们的社交能力和团队合作能力，最终帮助儿童和青少年以更健康合理的方式玩游戏。虽然目前还没有实际研发计划，只是处在一个应用程序的开发概念，但你能分享一下你对这个想法的看法或者建议吗？
Q: The quality of the game and a good gaming habit are indeed crucial, and I have conducted a questionnaire survey with 9-13 year old children and their parents in a junior high school in Shanghai, to better understand the gaming habits and preferences of adolescent gamers. The results of the survey showed that more than half of the underage gamers played mobile games for more than 8 hours a week, or had arguments with their guardians because of gaming, which led to poor work and life habits. There are no tools on the market to help underage gamers establish healthy gaming habits.
So I designed a mobile app concept, which is essentially a mobile gaming platform that provides a library of carefully selected age-appropriate games and different game categories, as well as features such as monitoring of game duration, social circles, GPS location and real-time activity alerts, etc. The app’s library of games will be entertaining, and will enhance players’ problem-solving, creativity, and teamwork skills, The game library on the App will provide entertaining games that enhance problem solving, creativity and teamwork. The app will be available in both a parent and child version, and the parent version will support some exclusive new features, such as alarms for game duration reminders and payment reminders for in-game content, but will not force the game to be closed.
Through this app, I hope to improve the gaming experience of underage users and strengthen their social experience, while giving their guardians more peace of mind by allowing younger users to work on their social and teamwork skills, and ultimately helping children and teens play games in a healthier and more reasonable way. While there are no actual development plans yet, and it’s just in an app development concept, can you share your thoughts or suggestions on the idea?
答：我听下来觉得这是一个很棒的想法！其实我们工作室也非常关注年轻用户的体验，在过去的开发过程中，根据不同评级，我们需要考虑适合全年龄段的设计元素。不过可惜的是，我并不了解或听说过市面上有任何工具或游戏库能同时提升他们的游戏体验和生活方式，更不用说让家长和小孩和谐的讨论怎么玩游戏了。
所以我觉得你的APP里附带的功能也挺实用的，尤其是提供一个适合青少年的游戏库，让小孩和家长都可以放心玩好游戏。我还很欣赏你提的家长监管非强制，而是以闹铃这种相对‘软’的方式去提醒儿童，这对亲子关系以及未成年人的心理健康也很有益处。
A: It sounds like a great idea to me! We actually pay a lot of attention to the experience of younger users in our studio, and in the past, during development, we’ve needed to consider design elements that are appropriate for all ages, depending on the rating. Unfortunately though, I don’t know or have heard of any tools or game libraries on the market that would enhance both their gaming experience and lifestyle, let alone allow parents and kids to discuss how to play games in harmony. That’s why I think the features that come with your app are quite useful, especially in providing a library of games for teens so that both kids and parents can feel comfortable playing good games. I also appreciate your mention of parental supervision being non-compulsory, but rather a relatively ‘soft’ way of reminding children in the form of alarms, which is also beneficial to the parent-child relationship as well as the mental health of minors.
问：非常感谢你的赞誉和建议！像我刚才说的，这现在只是一个企划，但或许在未来会真的开始开发。作为游戏业内人员，你认为我的概念和设计还有什么需要改进的点吗？
Q: Thank you very much for your kind words and advice! Like I said earlier, this is just a concept right now, but maybe in the future development will actually begin. As someone in the gaming industry, do you think there are any points of improvement in my concept and design?
答：App的概念方面现在作为初案已经相对完整，你的出发点，功能的设计逻辑，和想要达成的目标都很清晰。我的建议是你可以细化用户体验的设计，考虑到你的用户将会是儿童和他们的监护人，app首先要确保的就是简化的洁面和清晰的操作指南。你刚才也提到了建立一个适合青少年有玩的游戏库，那么你就要考虑库内的游戏有怎么分类，比如是按年龄分类，还是游戏类别分类？比如家长可一起游玩的家庭游戏，适合孩子自己游玩的单人单机游戏，与在线玩家一起游玩的社交游戏等等。
A: The conceptual aspect of the app is now relatively complete. Your design logic of the features, and the goals you want to achieve are all pretty clear as well. My suggestion is that you could refine the design of the user experience. Considering that your users will be children and their guardians, the first thing the app should ensure is a simple to use interface and clear user instructions. You also mentioned building a library of games for teens to play, so you’ll want to think about how you categorize the games in the library, such as by age, or by game category? For example, family games that parents can play together, single-player games for kids to play on their own, social games to play with online players, and so on.
问：这些确实是我该好好考虑的点！我暂时没有其他问题了，不过我后期会继续完善这个干预计划并跟你分享，再次感谢你Sennet, 谢谢你今天抽出时间接受我的采访！
Q: These are really good points I should think about! I don’t have any more questions for now, but I’ll continue to refine this intervention program and share it with you later. Thank you again Sennet, for taking the time to do this interview with me today!
答：不客气，Jun！祝你的项目取得成功！如果还有什么需要帮忙的，可以随时微信找我说！
A: You’re welcome, Jun! I wish you success with your project! If there’s anything else you need help with, feel free to WeChat me about it too!