安卓电视将颠覆游戏王国

    今天，是什么使大屏游戏体验和手机游戏体验有所不同？

    输入系统和耗电问题。手机游戏基本上都是基于触摸屏的，要靠电池驱动。但一旦来到客厅，开发者就会看到手柄和遥控器，系统也将用上交流电，这样芯片运行速度就更快也更持久。对有些开发者来说，这将是他们首次必须考虑没有触控的游戏型态。而对另一些人来说，这种场景又犹如时光倒流。在即将到来的L轮发布前，安卓还没有确定键盘布局和手柄生效方面的标准。这就使开发者很难针对控制器做开发，于是他们要么为某个品牌做一次性开发，要么干脆不考虑控制器。而安卓电视将让他们有理由使控制器生效，而这会直接导致手机和平板设备出现控制器游戏。这就是跨形态单一平台的力量。

    您认为像安卓电视这样的小型游戏机会如何改变这种情况？

    安卓电视绝不只是供小型游戏机使用的系统，它的使命是将安卓系统带到客厅的大屏幕上——植入电视、有线机顶盒、流媒体播放器或是小型游戏机。自2008年以来，手机的标准平台对手机业产生了深远影响，现在为所有这些设备提供一个标准平台也会对客厅产生同样重大的影响。这将为开发者和消费者带来巨大的双赢局面，同时也将提高所有参与者的期望值。

    你们与英伟达公司在安卓电视项目的合作是如何进行的？

    我们一直与英伟达密切合作（他们是ADT-1的核心）。英伟达的人确实很“懂”游戏和玩家——这就是他们的DNA。他们一直帮我们与游戏开发者开展合作，还帮着优化我们在谷歌开发者大会（Google IO）发布的开发者样机的图像性能。我们还和图像芯片业内的多家供应商合作，包括高通公司（Qualcomm）、ARM公司、英特尔公司（Intel）等。

    英伟达“图睿”（Tegra）K1技术为游戏机玩家带来哪些体验？

    它使手机和小型游戏机也能享有第三代游戏机和PC级游戏的性能。我们与英伟达开发了一台样机。在谷歌开发者大会上，Epic Games公司的人用“虚幻引擎4”（Unreal Engine 4）在这台样机上展示了玩家将享有的体验。

    当需要在触屏和实体手柄之间做出选择时，游戏开发者就会开发手机和安卓电视都适合的游戏，您怎么看这种现象？

    理想情况下，一款游戏应该在这两个平台上都能玩。由于安卓电视游戏机的实体手柄也适用于手机和平板，因此开发者投资打造的游戏也适用于所有设备。在Preview Play Store，适用于安卓电视的绝大多数游戏和你安装在手机和平板上的游戏是一模一样的。明年我就会看到很多孩子带着平板和两个手柄去学校了。

    What differentiates the big-screen gaming experience from the mobile experience today?

    Input system and power. Mobile experiences are almost always touchscreen-based and battery operated. Once you hit the living room, developers are going to see gamepads and remote controls, and the systems will be plugged into a wall so the chipset can run faster for longer. For some developers, it will be the first time they have had to think about non-touch gaming. For others, it will be like going back in time. Prior to the upcoming L release, Android hadn’t set down a standard for button mappings and how Gamepads should work. This made it really hard for developers to target controllers, so they either did one-off development for a single brand or just ignored controllers altogether. Android TV will give them a reason to get controllers working, and this will translate directly to controller gaming on phones and tablets. That’s the power of a single platform across all form factors.

    How do you see micro-consoles like Android TV changing that?

    Android TV is much more than just a system for micro-consoles, it’s all about bringing Android to the big screen in your living room — either built into your TV, cable STB, media streamer or micro-console. Having a standard platform for all of these devices is going to have the same impact in the living room that having a standard platform for mobile devices has had on the mobile industry since 2008. It’s going to be a big win for developers and consumers and raise the overall expectations of everyone involved.

    How have you worked with Nvidia on Android TV?

    We have worked very closely with Nvidia (they are at the heart of the ADT-1). The folks at Nvidia really “get” gaming and gamers — it’s in their DNA. They have helped us work with game developers, as well as optimize graphics performance on the developer devices we gave away at Google IO. We also work with GPU vendors across the industry, including Qualcomm ARM, Intel, etc.

    What does Tegra K1 technology open up for video game experiences?

    It brings third-generation console and PC-class gaming to mobile and small living room devices. We did a demo with Nvidia and the folks at Epic Games with Unreal Engine 4 at Google IO to show off what’s going to be possible.

    How do you see game developers creating titles across mobile devices and Android TV when it comes to the touchscreen versus physical controller?

    In an ideal world a game should operate both ways equally. Since the physical controllers for Android TV devices will also work with phones and tablets, the investment for developers will be across all devices. Most of the games on the Preview Play Store for Android TV are the same ones you install on your phone or tablet. I can see a lot of kids carrying a tablet and two gamepads to school next year.