網頁遊戲開發引擎之戰，Adobe與Unity孰優孰勝？ | GamerBoom.com 遊戲邦
Adobe"s Molehill假如分析師的判斷無誤，整個遊戲行業未來五年的市場規模將達870億美元，在線和移動遊戲的份額將佔據半壁江山，那麼問題就來了：拿什麼去搶佔這塊市場蛋糕？支持開發3D瀏覽器遊戲的先進技術，已經成為影響網路遊戲發展的重要因素，但開發者究竟更青睞哪家公司提供的解決方案呢？2011年的開發者將面臨兩個新選擇：採用Unity Technology於去年9月份發布的Unity 3，或是Flash 3D版本的Molehill，該工具目前仍處於測試時期，預計今年第二季度發布。這可不是個容易的選擇，遊戲開發者們可得掂量清楚了，究竟是採用無處不在的Flash技術，還是接過Unity向開發者們伸出的橄欖枝。不過也有例外的情況，台灣的樂升科技就選擇了第三個方案——為開發下一款遊戲《Maze Myth》，自己創建了基於Flash的3D引擎。樂升科技將《Maze Myth》稱為「全球首款基於Flash的3D實時戰略MMORPG網頁遊戲」，預計該遊戲將於2011年底發布。樂升科技的董事長Aaron Hsu表示，「我們之所以不用Unity，甚至是Unity 3，是因為它的下載和安裝至少需要30秒的時間……大部分瀏覽器都可以支持Flash功能，所以沒必要去下載這個程序，我們三年前就開始自主開發基於Flash的3D引擎，我們把它稱為Hive Engine。」Hsu還表示，Adobe在去年10月28日宣布其下一款軟體Molehill會支持3D時，整個團隊都在歡呼雀躍，他們覺得樂升科技自主開發Flash引擎真是一個正確的選擇。但是樂升科技為什麼不直接使用現成的Molehill，而還是要繼續推進Hive項目呢？Hsu對此解釋道，「儘管Adobe表示將在第二季度發布MoleHill，但也不排除推遲的可能，如果發布沒有延遲，我們就可以快速轉向Molehill，如果Hive完成在先，我們就先用Hive，這主要看他們的發布時間。」但Adobe似乎沒有要延遲發布的意思，它已經同魁北克開發商Frima Studio達成了一個項目合作，據Frima的CEO Steve Couture所稱，「Frima Studio將對其現有的技術平台進行優化，以支持即將到來的所有新性能和技術。」Frima作為預發布夥伴，已經收到預發布框架，並同Flash Runtime團隊一起進行了多次的討論會和電話會議。
Maze MythFrima已經製作出了一些運用Molehill技術開發的演示視頻，第一個演示的就是《殭屍大亨》（Zombie Tycoon）這款遊戲。Couture表示，對開發者來說，Molehill的優勢在於它支持早期硬體設備所通用的軟體渲染方式。「Adobe對TransGaming的SwiftShader 3D進行了授權，Molehill提供低等級的API硬體設備介面。這種模式對那些喜歡親力親為的開發者來說更有彈性，但其他人也可以靈活使用它的3D資料庫。」Couture相信Molehill將對基於瀏覽器的遊戲產生巨大影響；它將最大限度地開啟當代硬體設備的潛能。」舉例來說，他表示，玩家可以直接在自己的Facebook頁面體驗《使命召喚》或《GT賽車》等遊戲。這些功能強化的硬體可支持玩家在屏幕上移動2D或3D的東西，為硬核和休閒遊戲玩家帶來更多互動性、更深入的遊戲體驗。他感慨道，「13年前我就想讓Flash成為遊戲開發工具，Molehill實現了這一點。」不過Frima也並不挑食，他們同時也使用Unity引擎。
Unity-logoCouture表示，「Unity是一款很棒的產品，我們有些項目就是靠它完成的，Flash因為已經掌握了足夠的發行渠道，獲得了業內的信任，所以具有很大的優勢，這一點在開發免費模式的社交遊戲過程中尤其如此。軟體安裝過程是遊戲爭取大眾用戶的一個障礙。」在超越Flash之前，Unity當然深知它所面臨的挑戰。就連Unity Technology首席執行官David Helgason也不得不承認，「Flash有著龐大的用戶基礎，它的安裝率高達90%以上，這也意味著當你開發Flash遊戲的前提是，你知道98%的玩家都已經安裝了Flash……但是我們產品的安裝次數大約是4000萬，比起世界上如此之眾的計算機數量，這個比例實在是微乎其微。不過更重要的還是安裝成功率，自從9月份Unity 3發布以來，它的安裝成功率在60%至70%，這表示有60%到70%的人會同意安裝插件，還有30%到40%的人拒絕安裝。」Helgason將玩家不願安裝插件的原因歸結為幾個因素，「有些人對插件有所戒備，還有人是因為網速過慢沒耐心等（雖然插件大小只有3M）。還有一些人是在內網或者正在工作，他們不便安裝軟體。」據Helgason所稱，自從9月份Unity公布了其遊戲引擎新版本以來，安裝成功率已接近90%，這主要是因為之前冗長的安裝過程已經縮減為一次點擊即可完成。「我們仍然在搜集相關數據，但據開發者反應，他們看到了更高的成功率。」撇開插件問題不談，Unity引擎正是由於其長期對3D的支持才獲得了良好的發展；大約在2005年，Unity發布了的該引擎的最初版本以及豐富的遊戲工具組件。Helgason表示，「Unity引擎已經走過了五年歷程，這說明我們創建開發工具已經有些年頭了，對這一領域也有了比較深入的了解，這些工具的備案文件都非常齊全，這表示它已經掌握了龐大的信息共享群體……開發者很稱道Unity的開放性和它對遊戲開發的提供的服務。儘管插件問題可能讓我們失去一些用戶，但我們還是以快速開發的優勢贏得了其他用戶；通過Unity進行基於瀏覽器的遊戲開發體驗會比使用Flash更好，就是因為Unity能非常快捷地添加更為複雜的內容，而且在物理技術，線性處理，網路等方面都佔有優勢， 它的3D技術，更是Flash難以實現的功能。」Unity引擎在手機遊戲領域尤為成功，這也讓該公司在這一市場上遙遙領先於其他競爭對手。Helgason表示，「比如說，我們在iPhone上取得了極大的成功。App Store上有超過1000款基於Unity的iOS遊戲，但我想使用包括Flash在內的開發工具所創建的遊戲會超過100款。這是因為，在那些更小型的遊戲設備平台上，你總會想法節省開支，而Flash遊戲開發的成本卻很高。我並不是說使用Molehill就會出現這種問題，只是覺得至少我們的產品在這方面會很有優勢。」儘管Helgason尚不能提供使用Unity引擎的開發者數據，但他確信，Unity在遊戲開發領域的市場份額正在快速增長。「使用Flash開發其它類項目（比如說視頻和網頁菜單）的人要比使用Flash開發遊戲的用戶要多得多。我很想了解究竟有多少人在使用Flash開發遊戲，但可能沒有任何人清楚這個情況。」與Adobe和電腦製造商戴爾的合作案例相似，Unity也在尋找相關的程序綁定項目合作。Helgason表示，「戴爾電腦出售時就已經預先綁定Flash插件了，雖然我們目前還不具備這種市場能力，但是一直在快速追趕，我們很快就會開始尋找這種合作項目，也許未來兩年就會展開這類合作……我們很期待Chorme瀏覽器加入所謂的Native Client項目。這可以讓Unity的遊戲直接在Chorme瀏覽器中運行而無需另外安裝插件。可想而知，這個項目對我們來說有非常重要。」Adobe的發言人同樣也承認了Unity在3D遊戲上的成功，「但需要著重指出的是，Flash中的3D並不僅僅為了遊戲而存在。我們即將發布的Flash 3D平台將對包括電子商務，數碼營銷，豐富的網頁應用等領域在內的互聯網行業產生巨大影響。因為Flash Player的功能擴展，用戶不再把它視為插件。」不過Adobe發表這番言論的時候，他們所謂3D Flash平台還正處於內部測試時期。Adobe遊戲解決方案產品戰略高級總監Jennifer Taylor表示，「我們關注的是那些對3D工作流有嚴格要求的開發工具和引擎供應商，但現在也向開發商和發行商群體擴大了我們的測試範圍，明年春天還會推出對外的公開測試。」假如Molehill如期發布，那麼開發者們面臨的問題就是在Adobe與Unity之間的兩難抉擇。Taylor表示，「在向網頁添加三維效果這個層面上，我們仍處於初級階段，Unity在這一行的表現確實令人嘆服。但Adobe已經擁有300萬開發者用戶，所以我們仍可從不同角度切入，為3D領域創造新的發展機遇……」Adobe的發展目標又是什麼呢？成為像Unity一樣備受遊戲開發者擁護的工具。Taylor對此答道，「顯然，Unity的遊戲開發引擎和工具的確很贊， 我們在這一點上還沒有具體的規劃，但你知道Adole一直致力於為設計師和開發者提供更優質的服務，所以我們總會想法克服目前短板，支持他們像開發視頻等其它內容一樣，方便快捷地創建3D內容。我們正在研究幫助開發者降低成本，減少麻煩的解決方案，讓他們採納我們圍繞3D領域創建的新技術。」（本文為IIEEG 提供初稿，遊戲邦二次修訂編譯 ）Adobe Vs. Unity: The Future Of 3D Web Games[As Adobe marches towards a Q2 launch for its Molehill, the 3D version of Flash, developers must decide whether to aim for that, Unity 3D, or an in-house solution -- Gamasutra investigates.]If analysts are correct — if online and mobile games generate half the projected $87-billion total game market』s annual revenue in five years, as investment advisor Digi-Capital predicts — the question arises: What will it take to capture market share?Leading-edge tech that supports immersive play, such as in 3D browser-based games, will surely have a major impact across the web, but which technology companies will developers favor?This year, developers have two new choices: adopt Unity 3, the third version of Unity Technologies』 increasingly popular Unity 3D development platform, recently launched in September, or utilize Molehill, the new 3D version of Flash, now in beta and scheduled for a Q2 release.It』s not a simple choice, to be sure, say game makers who must weigh the overwhelming popularity of the near-ubiquitous Flash against the support they receive from the developer-friendly Unity.Instead, Taiwan-based XPEC Entertainment has chosen a third alternative — building a proprietary Flash-based 3D engine for its next game, Maze Myth, scheduled for a year-end 2011 release. The game, which XPEC calls 「the world』s first 3D, Flash-based, real-time battle browser MMORPG,」 was discussed in detail at GDC China in December.「We decided against Unity because, even with its new Unity 3 version, it still takes at least 30 seconds to download and plug in the program,」 says Aaron Hsu, XPEC』s chairman. 「Most browsers already have Flash installed so there』s no need to download it. Which is why we decided to go with Flash when, three years ago, we started working on our Flash-based 3D engine, which we call the Hive Engine.」Hsu recalls that his team was thrilled when, on October 28, Adobe announced that its next release, codenamed Molehill, would support 3D, confirming that XPEC was heading in the right direction with its own Flash engine. But why would XPEC continue the Hive project when it could just as easily adopt Molehill?「Because even though Adobe says Molehill will be available in Q2, there could be delays,」 explains Hsu. 「If there are no delays, we will quickly transition to Molehill. If we complete Hive first, we will use Hive. It all depends on who is quickest.」But Adobe has no intention of missing its deadline. In fact, it is already partnering with Quebec City-based developer Frima Studio which is 「adapting and improving its existent technology platform to support all the new features and possibilities included」 in the upcoming API, according to Steve Couture, Frima CEO.「As a pre-release partner, we receive pre-release builds and participate in both forum and voice discussions with the Flash Runtime team,」 he elaborates. 「We were able to expose concrete challenges that game developers face.」Frima has produced several demo videos utilizing the new Molehill technology, the first of which uses the developer』s Zombie Tycoon game.One of the developer-friendly aspects of Molehill, says Couture, is that it supports a fallback to a software renderer for older hardware. 「Adobe licensed TransGaming』s SwiftShader 3D. Molehill offers a low-level API to access the hardware. This provides enough flexibility for those who want to get their hands dirty, but allows others to use available 3D libraries to use it as well.」Couture believes Molehill 「will have a large impact on browser-based games and their quality; it will unlock the full potential of today』s hardware.」For example, he says, one could play a game comparable to Call of Duty or Gran Turismo directly on their Facebook wall. The acceleration hardware allows one to have moving items on screen — 2D or 3D — giving more interactivity and immersion possibilities for gamers, hardcore or casual, he explains.「Thirteen years ago, I wanted Flash to become a tool for game developers,」 he says. 「With Molehill, this is it. It』s finally a gaming platform.」And yet, Frima is using Unity』s technology as well as Adobe』s.「Unity is a great product that we use for some of our projects,」 explains Couture. 「The Flash player, however, has a huge advantage because of its existing distribution and trust. This is particularly true for free-to-play and social games. Installing software is a big obstacle in this market, especially when the key to success is to have the widest entry door into the game.」Unity is, of course, well aware of that hurdle it needs to overcome before it can do a better job of competing with Flash.「Yes, Flash has this massive install base which is up in the high 90 percentile,」 acknowledges David Helgason, CEO of San Francisco-based Unity Technologies. 「Which means that when you offer somebody a Flash game, you know that, say, 98 percent of the gamers will already have Flash installed.「We, on the other hand, have approximately 40 million plug-ins out there which translates to just a few percent of however you estimate the world population of computers.「More important is the installation success rate. Up until September when we launched Unity 3, our success rate was 60-70 percent, meaning that when you offered a Unity program to somebody, 60-70 percent of them would agree to install the plug-in but 30-40 percent would not.」Helgason attributes that reluctance to several factors: 「Some people have just been told to beware plug-ins, while others have slow connections and can』t be bothered to wait for it — even though the plug-in is only 3MB. And some people are on closed networks or are working on PCs where they can』t install stuff.」But, since September when Unity unveiled the new version of its game engine, the installation success rate has leaped to around 90 percent, Helgason claims, mainly because the former multi-step process has evolved into a one-click installation. 「We』re still gathering data on that,」 he says, 「but developers have told us that they are seeing much better success rates.」Disregarding the plug-in issue, the Unity engine has fared particularly well due to its longevity, especially in its support of 3D; it』s been around since 2005 when the original version was unveiled with 3D capabilities as well as its rich game tool set.「The Unity engine has been around for five years, which means that we』ve been building our tools for quite a few years and there is a depth to them, an exactness and a polish that』s really hard to achieve. And the tools are extremely well-documented,」 says Helgason. 「That means books as well as a lot of sharing and knowledge going on in a very big community.「Developers have appreciated that openness combined with a deep game focus. So while may lose some potential customers because of the plug-in issue, we gain others because of our very fast development times; developers get a significantly better experience in the browser with Unity than with Flash simply because it』s very easy to put in really complex content and do really good game-specific stuff like physics, streaming, networking, and so on — in addition to 3D — that is somewhere between hard and impossible to do with Flash.」The Unity engine has had particular success in the mobile device space where, Helgason reports, his company is far ahead of the competition.「We』re wildly successful on the iPhone, for instance,」 he says. 「There are over 1000 Unity-based iOS games in the App Store for iPhone and iPad while I don』t think any other game tool set — including Flash — has more than perhaps 100 or so games. That』s because, with those small devices, you really want to be close to the metal and not have a lot of overhead. And Flash has a lot of overhead. There』s no telling what share Molehill will get, but we feel we have a pretty big leg up for a while at least.」Helgason was unable to supply data regarding how many developers build with the Unity engine versus Flash, but he says that, when it comes to games, Unity』s market share is growing rapidly.「A very significant number of people use Flash for stuff other than games — for things like video and website menus and so on. I』d love to know how many people are actually building games with Flash; I don』t think anyone has those numbers.」In the meantime, Unity is working on bundling deals similar to the ones Adobe has with computer makers like Dell.「When a Dell computer comes out, the Flash plug-in is already pre-bundled with it,」 says Helgason. 「We don』t have that sort of market power yet. But we』re catching up incredibly fast and I think we』ll start to see those kinds of bundlings soon, perhaps in the next two years.「In the meantime, we』re looking forward to the Chrome browser adding what the Google techs call Native Client. What that will do is give Unity games the ability to run natively in the browser without a separate plug-in. You can imagine how important that will be to us.」While an Adobe spokesperson acknowledged Unity』s success in 3D games, 「it needs to be emphasized that 3D in Flash won』t just be for gaming. Our soon-to-be-released Flash platform with 3D will have a major impact across the entire Web — e-commerce, digital marketing, rich Web apps, etc., because of the proliferation of Flash Player which is not considered a plug-in anymore in terms of the end users. To them, it』s just there.」At the moment, the 3D Flash platform is in what Adobe is calling a very limited, private beta.「Our focus has been on the tools and engine providers who are critical on the 3D work flows,」 says Jennifer Taylor, senior director of product and strategy for gaming solutions at Adobe. 「But we』re extending our beta now to more of the developer and publisher community, and then we』ll be opening up a more public beta in the spring.」Then, when Molehill is released — in Q2 if on schedule — the question is what sort of competition will developers see between the Adobe and Unity engines.「At this point, we』re still in the early days when it comes to adding a third dimension to the Web,」 says Taylor. 「Unity has been incredible in terms of delivering these capabilities to the industry. But, with Adobe』s base of over three million developers, it』s obvious that we bring a different lens to the opportunities around 3D. We will be bringing 3D to the broader Web community, effectively empowering the masses.」And Adobe』s goal? To become as game developer-friendly as Unity is perceived to be.「Obviously, one of the things Unity has done very well is deliver great capabilities in their engine and their tools,」 observes Taylor. 「We haven』t announced any specific plans at this point,but you can imagine that Adobe is focused on designers and developers. We』re going to be looking to find ways to solve their challenges and to make working with 3D as easy as we』ve made working with video, with vectors, with all these different content types.「We are thinking very strategically about ways in which we can reduce the cost and the pain and the challenges for developers so that they can embrace the new capabilities we are adding to the runtime around 3D.」（source:gamasutra）
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