????瑪斯塔德說：“我們想把‘無盡之劍’系列做得不單單只有一種互動式體驗。大家可以先玩《無盡之劍I》，在游戲中體驗這個故事和它的世界。然后可以關(guān)掉游戲應(yīng)用，打開布蘭登?桑德森寫的電子書，在書中繼續(xù)了解那個世界和發(fā)生在那里的故事，但卻是通過一個完全不同的媒介。等你看完書后，可以接著玩《無盡之劍II》，故事又會繼續(xù)進行，然后你又可以閱讀第二本電子書。用這種方式，我們可以在同一款設(shè)備或是不同的屏幕上享受更加一致化的媒體體驗。它擴展了故事和故事里的世界，而且它仍然不離你的手掌。”

????《無盡之劍》系列采用了英佩游戲的虛幻引擎3技術(shù)，使它的體驗與傳統(tǒng)游戲機的差距越來越小。《無盡之劍II》甚至催生出了一種立式的大型游戲機，可以用手指滑動操作，大家可以在美國的Dave & Buster’s連鎖餐廳或者一些其它地方看到它。如果在高清電視上玩的話，這款游戲的震憾視覺效果甚至堪比時下某些優(yōu)秀的游戲機作品。

????玩家們也非常喜歡《無盡之劍》中的世界。到目前為止，《無盡之劍》第一、二部仍然是最暢銷的手游之一，全球有超過4000萬名玩家玩過這款游戲。

????游戲業(yè)調(diào)查公司Newzoo的創(chuàng)始人彼得?沃爾曼指出：“今年全球游戲玩家已經(jīng)為《無盡之劍II》貢獻了大約600萬美金。其中40%來自美國，日本是其第二大市場。雖然《無盡之劍》已經(jīng)告別各大排行榜的榜首很久了，但是如果你關(guān)注一下付費游戲市場，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)它仍然是有史以來表現(xiàn)最好的游戲之一?！?/p>

????《無盡之劍》的玩家花在這款游戲上的時間比玩家玩iTunes上其它游戲的時間平均長三倍。Chair Entertainment公司已經(jīng)在游戲里設(shè)置了一個商店，鼓勵玩家購買電子書和原版音樂。不久的將來，這家公司可能還會引入玩具或漫畫等新產(chǎn)品。

????桑德森說：“我當初之所以同意參加這個項目，原因之一是我為新媒體的這種發(fā)展前景感到非常興奮?！北驹?3號，桑德森還有一本傳統(tǒng)的精裝紙質(zhì)書《鋼鐵心》（Steelheart）即將上市。上周末，桑德森的另一部作品還獲得了雨果獎，這個獎項的獲獎作品都是由世界科幻小說協(xié)會（the World Science Fiction Society）會員評選出的最佳科幻作品。

????似乎一切都在朝著這個方向推進。大家的Xbox不再只是一臺游戲機，還能播放電影和電視劇，比如即將播出的《光環(huán)》（Halo ）系列。大家的iPad也不再只是一個用來看電子書、玩游戲、上網(wǎng)頁的設(shè)備。它還可以連到電視上，或者當家用電器的遙控器。隨著新一代技術(shù)的普及，很多東西都會融合為一體?！八刮覀冞@些講故事的人可以以一種史無前例的方式去講故事。”瑪斯塔德和桑德森相信，《無盡之劍》的世界里仍然有更多的故事可以講。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：樸成奎?????

????"We wanted to make the Infinity Blade franchise more than 'just' an interactive experience," said Mustard. "You can literally be playing Infinity Blade I and be experiencing the universe and the story, shut the game application, open the digital book that's written by Brandon Sanderson, start reading about the universe, and continue the story on the same device, but in a totally different medium. Then you finish the book, start playing Infinity Blade II, and the story continues. Then you can read the second book. It's a way that we can start to have these more unified media experiences on one central device or multiple screens, but that it expands the story and the universe all still in the palm of your hand."

????The Infinity Blade franchise, which is built on Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 technology, is also blurring the line between mobile and console gaming, as well. The second game even spawned a stand-up, swipe-based arcade machine that can be found at Dave & Buster's and other locations around the country. The game's vibrant visuals, when played on an HD TV, look on par with current generation console offerings.

????Gamers have loved this universe. To date, the Infinity Blade games remain among the two bestselling games in the mobile space. Over 40 million players around the globe have played the game.

????"This year mobile gamers have spent approximately $6 million dollars on Infinity Blade II across the globe," said Peter Warman, founder of video game research firm Newzoo. "Forty percent of that comes from the U.S. Japan is their second biggest market. It has been a long time since the original Infinity Blade topped any chart. But looking at the paid games market, it's still is one of the best performing games of all time."

????On average, Infinity Blade game-play sessions are three times longer than the average game-play session on iTunes. Chair has been able to utilize an in-game store to seamlessly drive fans from game to books to soundtrack. In the near future, Chair will add new products like toys and comics to the universe.

????"One of the reasons I agreed to doing this in the first place was because I'm excited by this prospect of new media," said Sanderson, who has a traditional hardcover book, Steelheart, shipping on September 23. This past weekend, Sanderson won two Hugo Awards for some of his other projects. The honors focus on the best works of science fiction as voted on by members of the World Science Fiction Society.

????"It seems like everything is pushing this direction. Your Xbox is no longer just a video game console, it plays movies and even original TV shows like the upcoming Halo series. Your iPad is no longer just this device that you read books, play games, and web browse on. It can hook to your TV and control your house. Everything is blending together with this new generation of technology. "It allows us as storytellers to tell stories in a brand new and unprecedented way." Mustard and Sanderson believe there are still more stories to tell in this universe.