The transformative power of video games | Herman Narula

譯者: Ay Dih Beh 審譯者: Helen Chang

哈囉，

Hello.

My name is Herman,

我是赫曼，

and I've always been struck by how the most important, impactful,

我總是很訝異， 對於我們的文化和社會

tsunami-like changes to our culture and our society

最重要、最有影響力、 能引起海嘯般的改變的事物，

always come from those things

總是來自最不被我們認為

that we least think are going to have that impact.

會有那種影響力的事物。

I mean, as a computer scientist,

身為資訊科學家，

I remember when Facebook was just image-sharing in dorm rooms,

我記得臉書當初只是 在宿舍分享影像的工具，

and depending upon who you ask,

看你問的是誰，

it's now involved in toppling elections.

臉書現在甚至可以顛覆選舉了。

I remember when cryptocurrency or automated trading

我還記得加密貨幣或者自動交易

were sort of ideas by a few renegades

是金融機構叛徒想出來的點子，

in the financial institutions in the world for automated trading,

他們存在於金融體系， 存在於自動交易世界中，

or online, for cryptocurrency,

或是網絡上的加密貨幣。

and they're now coming to quickly shape the way that we operate.

如今它們快速形塑我們的運作方式。

我想各位都還記得

And I think each of you can recall that moment

這些點子曾經都像是 可忽視、可付之一笑的點子，

where one of these ideas felt like some ignorable, derisive thing,

and suddenly, oh, crap, the price of Bitcoin is what it is.

突然，喔，天哪， 比特幣現在是天價了。

Or, oh, crap, guess who's been elected.

或者，喔，天哪，猜猜誰當選了。

The reality is that, you know, from my perspective,

現實就是，從我的觀點來看，

I think that we're about to encounter that again.

我們很快又會再次遇到這種改變。

And I think one of the biggest,

我認為，未來其中一個最大、 最有影響力的改變，

most impactful changes in the way we live our lives,

能改變我們的生活方式，

to the ways we're educated,

改變我們的教育方式，

probably even to how we end up making an income,

甚至可能改變我們 賺取收入的方式，

is about to come not from AI,

這個改變不是來自人工智慧，

not from space travel or biotech --

不是來自太空旅行或生物科技。

these are all very important future inventions --

這些全是非常重要的未來發明。

but in the next five years,

但是在接下來的五年，

I think it's going to come from video games.

我認為改變會來自電玩。

So that's a bold claim, OK.

這樣說很大膽。

I see some skeptical faces in the audience.

我看到觀眾席中有些懷疑的表情。

But if we take a moment

但如果我們花點時間看看

to try to look at what video games are already becoming in our lives today,

哪些電玩遊戲現已深入我們的生活，

and what just a little bit of technological advancement

以及科技上的一點進步，

is about to create,

能創造出什麼，

it starts to become more of an inevitability.

就會發現這是無可避免的。

And I think the possibilities are quite electrifying.

我認為這些可能性很振奮人心。

讓我們花點時間看其規模。

So let's just take a moment to think about scale.

I mean, there's already 2.6 billion people who play games.

現在已有二十六億人 玩電玩遊戲。

And the reality is that's a billion more than five years ago.

比起五年前，多出了十億人。

A billion more people in that time.

比那時候多了十億人。

No religion, no media, nothing has spread like that.

沒有宗教或媒體散播得這麼快。

And there's likely to be a billion more

還有可能再多出十億人，

when Africa and India gain the infrastructure

只要非洲和印度能取得基礎設施後，

to sort of fully realize the possibilities of gaming.

就能實現玩電玩的可能性。

But what I find really special is -- and this often shocks a lot of people --

但，我發現了一個特點—— 通常會讓很多人吃驚——

is that the average age of a gamer, like, have a guess, think about it.

遊戲玩家的平均年齡， 你猜猜看是多少？

It's not six, it's not 18, it's not 12.

不是六歲，不是十八歲， 不是十二歲。

It's 34.

是三十四歲。

[Average age of an American gamer]

【美國電玩家平均 34 歲】

It's older than me.

比我還老。 【美國電玩家平均 34 歲】

And that tells us something,

那告訴我們一些訊息，

that this isn't entertainment for children anymore.

這已不再是兒童的娛樂，

它已經是一個媒介體， 就像文學或其他，

This is already a medium like literature or anything else

已成為我們基礎生活的一部分。

that's becoming a fundamental part of our lives.

我喜歡的一項數據是 大概在過去十五、二十年，

One stat I like is that people who generally picked up gaming

接觸電玩後喜歡上的人，

in the last sort of 15, 20 years

generally don't stop.

多半不會停止玩遊戲。

Something changed in the way that this medium is organized.

有些事物的轉變 讓這個媒介體更有條裡。

And more than that, it's not just play anymore, right?

不只這樣，它已不再只是玩樂而已。

You've heard some examples today,

你今天聽到了一些例子，

but people are earning an income playing games.

人們能通過玩電玩賺取收入，

And not in the obvious ways.

雖然並不是直接性的。

Yes, there's e-sports, there's prizes,

對，我們有電子競技，有獎金

there's the opportunity to make money in a competitive way.

用比賽的方式有機會賺錢。

但也有人通過修改、創建電玩內容

But there's also people earning incomes modding games, building content in them,

或電玩藝術，賺取收入。

doing art in them.

I mean, there's something at a scale akin to the Florentine Renaissance,

我是說它的規模類似文藝復興，

happening on your kid's iPhone in your living room.

就在你的客廳、 孩子的 iPhone 裡上演著。

And it's being ignored.

卻一直被忽視。

Now, what's even more exciting for me is what's about to happen.

讓我感到更振奮的是 將要發生的事。

And when you think about gaming,

當你想到玩電玩時，

you're probably already imagining

你可能已開始想像，

that it features these massive, infinite worlds,

它特寫了龐大無限的世界。

但事實上，

but the truth is,

電玩長久以來被深深限制著，

games have been deeply limited for a very long time

in a way that kind of we in the industry

換句話說，在我們這行裡，

已經盡可能地用巧計掩飾。

have tried very hard to cover up with as much trickery as possible.

我想用的這個比喻， 請容我賣弄一下，

The metaphor I like to use, if you'd let me geek out for a moment,

引用劇場的概念。

is the notion of a theater.

在過去的十年間，

For the last 10 years,

games have massively advanced the visual effects,

電玩大大推進

視覺效果、實體融入遊戲 和遊戲前端的進步。

the physical immersion, the front end of games.

But behind the scenes,

但是這一切的幕後，

the actual experiential reality of a game world

在遊戲世界，現實的實際經驗

has remained woefully limited.

一直非常有限。

I'll put that in perspective for a moment.

我先以一個角度來看，

I could leave this theater right now,

我現在可以離開這個劇場，

I could do some graffiti, get in a fight, fall in love.

我可以去塗鴉， 打一場架，談一場戀愛，

I might actually do all of those things after this,

我確實能在離開後做這些事，

但重點是它們都會帶來後果，

but the point is that all of that would have consequence.

會對現實引起連環效應——

It would ripple through reality --

all of you could interact with that at the same time.

人人都可以與此同時互動，

而且持久。

It would be persistent.

And those are very important qualities to what makes the real world real.

因為這些重要的特質 讓我們感覺世界的真實。

Now, behind the scenes in games,

這些遊戲的幕後

we've had a limit for a very long time.

一直有限制。

And the limit is, behind the visuals,

這些限制是看不到的。

the actual information being exchanged between players or entities

在遊戲的世界裡，

玩家能和實體交換的實際信息

in a single game world

has been deeply bounded

十分受限。

by the fact that games mostly take place on a single server

事實上，遊戲的運作 通常只在一個伺服器

or a single machine.

或者一台機器上。

Even The World of Warcraft is actually thousands of smaller worlds.

即使是「魔獸世界」 也是幾千個小世界組成的。

When you hear about concerts in Fortnite,

當你聽「堡壘之夜」的電玩演唱會時，

you're actually hearing about thousands of small concerts.

其實你聽到的是 上千個小型演唱會。

You know, individual, as was said earlier today,

像我們今天之前提到的個人、

campfires or couches.

營火會或沙發。

There isn't really this possibility to bring it all together.

真的不可能將所有內容整合在一起。

Let's take a moment to just really understand what that means.

讓我們稍微想想這代表什麼。

看著遊戲，你可能會看見美麗的影像。

When you look at a game, you might see this, beautiful visuals,

這些影像就在你面前產生。

all of these things happening in front of you.

但是線上遊戲的幕後

But behind the scenes in an online game,

長這個樣子。

this is what it looks like.

對於資訊科學家，

To a computer scientist,

你看見的只是這一點點資訊

all you see is just a little bit of information

being exchanged by a tiny handful of meaningful entities or objects.

在少數有意義的實體或物體間交換，

You might be thinking, "I've played in an infinite world."

你可能在想， 「我在無限的世界裡玩。」

Well it's more that you've played on a treadmill.

那個世界確實 比你跑步機上的還大。

As you've been walking through that world,

當你走進那個世界，

we've been cleverly causing the parts of it that you're not in to vanish,

我們巧妙地讓你不存在的部份消失，

你存在時那部份又會出現。

and the parts of it in front of you to appear.

很好的手法， 但這不是革新的基礎，

A good trick, but not the basis for the revolution

that I promised you in the beginning of this talk.

就像我一開場就提到的。

但事實上，你們這些熱衷的玩家，

But the reality is, for those of you that are passionate gamers

會對此感到興奮，

and might be excited about this,

不管你感到擔心或不擔心，

and for those of you that are afraid and may not be,

這一切將會有改變。

all of that is about to change.

會改變是因為科技終於趕上，

Because finally, the technology is in place

to go well beyond the limits that we've previously seen.

超越了我們先前有的限制。

I've dedicated my career to this,

我為此奉獻了我的事業，

there are many others working on the problem --

還有許多人在解決這個問題，

I'd hardly take credit for it myself,

我從來不炫耀我的功勞，

但我們終於到了，

but we're at the point now where we can finally

do this impossible hard thing

完成這不可能的任務的地步。

of weaving together thousands of disparate machines

我們把上千個截然不同的機器

編織在同一個模擬器裡。

into single simulations

它非常方便，不是一次性的，

that are convenient enough to not be one-offs,

but to be buildable by anybody.

而是任何人都能創建。

And to be at the point

為了達到這點，

where we can start to experience those things that we can't yet fathom.

我們能體驗之前無法探測到的事物。

Let's just take a moment to visualize that.

我們來想像一下，

I'm talking about not individual little simulations

我説的不是小型的個人模擬，

but a massive possibility of huge networks of interaction.

而極有可能是大規模網絡互動。

Massive global events that can happen inside that.

大型的全球性節目能在網絡上演。

Things that even in the real world

包括在現實世界中，

become challenging to produce at that kind of scale.

因規模太大難以實踐的。

And I know some of you are gamers,

我知道在座有些玩家，

so I'm going to show you some footage of some things

我給大家看看一些影像，

that I'm pretty sure I'm allowed to do, from some of our partners.

我非常確定我的夥伴允許我這麼做，

TED 也再三和我確認過，

TED and me had a back-and-forth on this.

These are a few things that not many people have seen before,

這是很多人沒見過的，

用這項技術產生的全新體驗。

some new experiences powered by this type of technology.

我花一些時間讓你看看，

I'll just [take] a moment to show you some of this stuff.

這是一個遊戲世界，

This is a single game world

with thousands of simultaneous people participating in a conflict.

上千的玩家同時在決戰，

It also has its own ecosystem,

這世界有自己的生態系統，

its own sense of predator and prey.

有捕食者和獵物。

Every single object you see here is simulated in some way.

你在這裡看到的每一樣物體， 基本上都是虛擬的。

This is a game being built by one of the biggest companies in the world,

這個遊戲是由世界 大型公司之一所創建的，

「網易」，一家大型的中國公司。

NetEase, a huge Chinese company.

他們已造出創意模擬助手，

And they've made an assistant creative simulation

一組玩家能夠一起創設遊戲，

where groups of players can cocreate together,

across multiple devices,

用的還是不同的器材，

in a world that doesn't vanish when you're done.

一個你退出了也不會消失的世界。

它是一個說故事、冒險的地方，

It's a place to tell stories and have adventures.

就連天氣都是虛擬的。

Even the weather is simulated.

And that's kind of awesome.

那真是太棒了。

And this is my personal favorite.

這是我個人最喜愛的，

This is a group of people, pioneers in Berlin,

是一組在柏林的開發者，

a group called Klang Games,

名叫「Klang Games」，

and they're completely insane, and they'll love me for saying that.

他們簡直是瘋子， 他們會喜歡我這麼說。

他們基本上已經找到方法， 製作整個星球的模型。

And they found a way to model, basically, an entire planet.

他們會進行一場模擬，

They're going to have a simulation with millions of non-player characters

讓上百萬個非玩家角色和玩家參與。

and players engaging.

They actually grabbed Lawrence Lessig

他們甚至吸引了 勞倫斯·萊西格的注意

to help understand the political ramifications

在他們創建的世界裡，

一起了解政治上的影響。

of the world they're creating.

這是一項驚人的經驗，

This is the sort of astounding set of experiences,

遠超乎我們的想像，

well beyond what we might have imagined,

把不可能變成可能。

that are now going to be possible.

這只是這項科技的第一步，

And that's just the first step in this technology.

So if we step beyond that, what happens?

如果我們再往前走，會怎樣？

Well, computer science tends to be all exponential,

電腦科技通常呈指數增長，

once we crack the really hard problems.

只要我們克服了最艱難的問題，

And I'm pretty sure that very soon,

我很確定在不久的將來，

這項電腦科技帶來的影響力，

we're going to be in a place where we can make

this type of computational power look like nothing.

看起來也沒什麼了不起。

到了那時候，所帶來的機遇...

And when that happens, the opportunities ...

It's worth taking a moment to try to imagine what I'm talking about here.

值得我們花點時間想想， 我在這裡提到的一切。

我說的是，千千萬萬的人

Hundreds of thousands or millions of people

being able to coinhabit the same space.

能夠在一個空間共生，

The last time any of us as a species

距離上次我們族類

had the opportunity to build or do something together

能有機會一起建設或做某些事情，

with that may people was in antiquity.

大概是人類在遠古的時候。

And the circumstances were less than optimal, shall we say.

我們可以說當時的條件並不樂觀。

Mostly conflicts or building pyramids.

大部份是紛爭或建造金字塔，

Not necessarily the best thing for us to be spending our time doing.

未必是我們一起花時間 做的最好的事情。

但如果你能把大家聚集在一起，

But if you bring together that many people,

the kind of shared experience that can create ...

大家能創建共同的經驗...

I think it exercises a social muscle in us

我想這能觸動我們交際的本能，

that we've lost and forgotten.

我們已經把它丟失和遺忘的。

Going even beyond that,

除此了這些之外，我想花點時間

I want to take a moment to think about what it means

想想它在感情、身份上的意義是什麼，

for relationships, for identity.

如果能讓大家大規模地 體驗彼此的世界，

If we can give each other worlds, experiences at scale

能一起有意義地度過時光，

where we can spend a meaningful amount of our time,

我們就能改變「個人」的意義。

we can change what it means to be an individual.

We can go beyond a single identity

我們能超越單一的身份，

使個人的身份更多元。

to a diverse set of personal identities.

The gender, the race, the personality traits you were born with

可能你想嘗試改變

might be something you want to experiment differently with.

性別、種族，或與生俱來的個性。

You might be someone that wants to be more than one person.

除了自己之外，你還想成為別人。

We all are, inside, multiple people.

我們都一樣，內心裡存在著幾個人。

We rarely get the opportunity to flex that.

我們很難有機會放縱它。

It's also about empathy.

這有關於同理心。

I have a grandmother

我有個奶奶，

who I have literally nothing in common with.

我幾乎和她沒什麼共通性。

I love her to bits,

我愛她的一切，

but every story she has begins in 1940 and ends sometime in 1950.

但她的故事都從四零年代開始， 五零年代結束。

And every story I have is like 50 years later.

我的每個故事都是 五十年後才開始。

But if we could coinhabit,

但如果我們能共生，

co-experience things together,

共同體驗不同的事物，

that undiminished by physical frailty or by lack of context,

這體驗不會因為 身體虛弱或缺少內容而減少，

create opportunities together,

能共同創造機會，

that changes things, that bonds people in different ways.

它能改變事物， 用不同的方式緊緊繫住人們。

I'm struck by how social media has amplified our many differences,

我很訝異社交媒體 如何放大了人們的差異性，

and really made us more who we are in the presence of other people.

讓我們在他人面前 更能成為我們自己。

I think games could really start to create

我覺得遊戲能開始創造

an opportunity for us to empathize again.

一個讓我們更有同理心的機會。

To have shared adversity, shared opportunity.

有共同的逆境、機會。

I mean, statistically, at this moment in time,

在數據上，就在這個時候，

there are people who are on the opposite sides of a conflict,

有些由於紛爭而敵對的人，

who have been matchmade together into a game

在遊戲裡被配在一起，

and don't even know it.

而他們全不知情。

That's an incredible opportunity to change the way we look at things.

這是很棒的機會， 改變了我們看待事物的方法。

最後，對於這些 抱著懷疑態度的你們，

Finally, for those of you who perhaps are more cynical about all of this,

或許也覺得虛擬世界 不是你喜愛的，

who maybe don't think that virtual worlds and games are your cup of tea.

你必須接受一個事實，

There's a reality you have to accept,

就像我提到的， 它能對經濟帶來影響，

and that is that the economic impact of what I'm talking about

還是很大的影響。

will be profound.

Right now, thousands of people have full-time jobs in gaming.

現今有數以千計的人 在電玩業全職工作，

Soon, it will be millions of people.

再過不久，就會以百萬計。

Wherever there's a mobile phone, there will be a job.

哪裡有手機，哪裡就有工作。

An opportunity for something that is creative and rich

一個能讓某個人創新、致富的機會，

and gives you an income, no matter what country you're in,

不管你在哪個國家， 都能給你帶來收入。

no matter what skills or opportunities you might think you have.

不管你本來以為 你有什麼技能或機會。

Probably the first dollar most kids born today make

有可能現今出生的小孩， 能賺到的第一塊錢，

might be in a game.

就是從遊戲賺到。

That will be the new paper route,

就像出現了新的送報路線，

that will be the new opportunity for an income

另一個賺錢的機會，

at the earliest time in your life.

出現在你最初的人生。

So I kind of want to end with almost a plea,

我想用幾乎是懇求的語氣來完結，

really, more than thoughts.

確實，它不只是一個想法，

A sense of, I think, how we need to face this new opportunity

我認為某程度上我們需要 想想如何面對這新的機遇，

a little differently to some we have in the past.

與我們之前經歷的有點不一樣。

It's so hypocritical for yet another technologist

有點虛假，又是一位科技人

to stand up on stage and say,

站在台上説，

"The future will be great, technology will fix it."

「未來是偉大的， 科技會解決未來。」

And the reality is, this is going to have downsides.

現實是這也會有缺點，

But those downsides will only be amplified

但這些缺點只會在

if we approach, once again, with cynicism and derision,

我們對於眼前的機遇

抱著譏諷、悲觀的態度時被放大。

the opportunities that this presents.

The worst thing that we could possibly do

我們可能做的最糟糕的事

is let the same four or five companies

是讓相同的四或五家公司

end up dominating yet another adjacent space.

又壟斷另一個相鄰的空間。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Because they're not just going to define how and who makes money from this.

因為他們不只決定如何 或什麼人從中賺錢，

The reality is, we're now talking about defining how we think,

現實是，我們現在說的是， 重新定義我們怎麼想，

what the rules are around identity and collaboration,

關於身份和合作的準則是什麼，

the rules of the world we live in.

我們生活的世界的準則。

這將會是我們所有人擁有的，

This has got to be something we all own,

we all cocreate.

我們所有人共創建的。

So, my final plea is really to those engineers,

所以，我最後的懇求 是針對今天在現場當中那些

those scientists, those artists in the audience today.

工程師、科學家和藝術家。

或許你們當中有人夢想 要從事太空旅遊行業。

Maybe some of you dreamed of working on space travel.

The reality is, there are worlds you can build right here, right now,

現實是，這裡現在就有 你能建設的世界，

that can transform people's lives.

它還能轉變人們的生活。

There are still huge technological frontiers

在前線，我們面對很大的科技困難，

that need to be overcome here,

需要去克服，

akin to those we faced when building the early internet.

情況類似於當初我們 建設網絡時的困難。

All the technology behind virtual worlds is different.

虛擬世界幕後所用的科技不同。

So, my plea to you is this.

所以，我懇求大家這件事。

Let's engage, let's all engage,

讓我們一起參與！一起參與！

let's actually try to make this something that we shape in a positive way,

與其採取被動的態度， 不如讓我們用正面的態度，

rather than once again have be done to us.

來塑造這樣一件事。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）