10个关于电子游戏的惊人事实：英语精读讲义

If it's supposed to be the Final Fantasy,

如果它理应是《最终幻想》，

then how come there are so many games in the series? 語法

那为什么这个系列里有那么多款游戏呢？

We've all probably heard it before.

我们大概都听过这句话，

and it does indeed bring up a valid point. 短語動詞

而且这确实是个有道理的问题。

But there's a perfectly good explanation.

但这有个非常合理的解释。

The year is 1987

那是在1987年，

and the creator of the Final Fantasy series

《最终幻想》系列的创造者

is about to quit the video game industry altogether. 語法

正打算完全退出电子游戏行业。

Why?

为什么？

Because the company he works for,

因为他效力的公司，

Square,

Square，

is about to go bankrupt. 短語搭配

即将破产。

So in a final attempt to create a successful game, 短語搭配

所以在打造一款成功游戏的最后尝试中，

he creates Final Fantasy.

他创造了《最终幻想》。

Grand Theft Auto, GTA,

《侠盗猎车手》（GTA），

only exists because of a glitch in another game.

的存在纯粹是因为另一款游戏的漏洞。

In 1995,

1995年，

Rockstar was working on a game titled Race'n'Chase.

Rockstar正在制作一款名为《Race'n'Chase》的游戏。

The game was very similar to what would later become GTA. 語法

这款游戏非常类似于后来成为的GTA。

However,

然而，

the game focused only on car chases

游戏只专注于汽车追逐，

as well as playing as the police trying to catch criminals. 用詞

以及扮演警察试图抓捕罪犯。

But a bug in the game caused AI police cars

但游戏中的一个bug导致AI警车

to try and run you off the road 講解

试图把你撞出马路，

rather than actually catch and bust you. 短語搭配

而不是真正抓住并逮捕你。

This was popular enough with testers 語法

这在测试人员中非常受欢迎，

that the model of the game was reworked to better suit this dynamic.

以至于重做了游戏模式以更好地适应这种动态。

And so,

于是，

GTA was born. 習語

GTA诞生了。

While working on Deus Ex, 語法

在制作《杀出重围》时，

and adding a New York skyline into the game,

并将纽约天际线加入游戏中，

designers had to cut out several parts of the backdrop, 短語動詞

设计师们不得不剪掉背景中的几个部分，

including the Twin Towers,

包括双子塔，

because of memory limitations. 用詞

这是由于内存限制。

Gamers noticed this,

玩家们注意到了这一点，

and when they complained,

当他们抱怨时，

the developers of Deus Ex explained

《杀出重围》的开发者解释说，

that the towers had been destroyed by terrorist attacks in the game. 語法

在游戏设定中双子塔已被恐怖袭击摧毁。

The game was released over a year

这款游戏发布的时间，

before the actual 9/11 terrorist attacks.

距离真正的9/11恐怖袭击还有一年多。

The Xbox was originally named Direct Xbox,

Xbox最初被命名为Direct Xbox，

as it was initially designed to show

因为它最初的设计是为了展示

how Microsoft's DirectX graphics technology

微软的DirectX图形技术

could benefit the console market.

能如何使主机市场受益。

The Bioshock series is well known for its enemies 短語搭配

《生化奇兵》系列以其敌人而闻名，

such as the Big Daddies and Little Sisters.

比如大老爹和小妹妹。

However,

然而，

before coming up with the idea for Little Sisters, 講解

在想出“小妹妹”的点子之前，

the creators had a few other ideas in mind.

创作者们脑海中还有几个其他的想法。

At first,

起初，

the Little Sisters,

小妹妹，

or Gatherers as they were called at the time,

或者当时被称为的“采集者”，

was designed based on a sea slug

是基于一种海蛞蝓设计的，

and looked like this.

看起来像这样。

But nobody seemed to empathize 短語搭配

但是似乎没有人

with the character that much.

会对这个角色产生多少共鸣。

Big surprise. 語氣意圖

毫不意外。

So the artists were given the task 短語搭配

所以艺术家们接到了任务，

of creating a character that players could more easily feel pity for. 短語搭配

创造一个玩家更容易感到同情的角色。

One artist sketched up this design of a dog in a wheelchair,

一位艺术家画了一只坐在轮椅上的狗的设计草图，

and another was that of a toad

另一个则是一只蟾蜍，

with a funnel attached to its anus.

肛门上连着一个漏斗。

Yeah,

是啊，

try to empathize with that.

试着去对那玩意儿产生共鸣吧。

In New Zealand, 文化背景

在新西兰，

it's considered a criminal offense

拥有被视为一项刑事犯罪——

to own the game Manhunt.

即持有《侠盗猎魔》这款游戏。

The game was described by a court

这款游戏被法院描述为，

that it portrays killing humans as fun, 短語搭配

把杀人描绘成一种乐趣，

and the more violent, 語法

且越是暴力，

the more fun the killing is.

杀人的乐趣就越大。

Even though 12-year-old screaming little boys

尽管大声尖叫的12岁小男孩

seem to be the minority of gamers,

似乎是玩家群体中的少数，

it's surprisingly far from the truth. 習語

这却出人意料地偏离事实。

About 32% are below 18 years old.

约32%的玩家在18岁以下。

That means that 68% of all gamers

这意味着所有玩家中有68%

are 18 years or older,

年龄在18岁或以上，

and the average age of a gamer

而玩家的平均年龄

is actually 30 years old.

实际上是30岁。

But the most staggering fact about all this

但关于这一切最惊人的事实是，

is that roughly 45% of all gamers are female.

大约45%的玩家是女性。

So you're telling me there's a chance? 語氣意圖

你的意思是我还有机会？

The best-selling video game console of all time 短語搭配

史上最畅销的电子游戏主机

is the PlayStation 2,

是PlayStation 2，

with over 155 million units sold worldwide. 語法

在全球售出了超过1.55亿台。

The best-selling handheld device

最畅销的掌上设备

is the Nintendo DS,

是Nintendo DS，

with over 153 million units sold worldwide.

在全球售出了超过1.53亿台。

The worst-selling console of all time

史上销量最差的主机

is the Apple Pippin,

是Apple Pippin，

which sold about 43,000 units

它卖出了大约43,000台

during its 2-year period on the market.

在其两年的上市期间。

Not too surprisingly,

这并不太令人惊讶，

considering it was made by Apple.

考虑到它是苹果制造的。

No,

不，

I'm just kidding. 語氣意圖

我只是开玩笑。

Not really,

也不全是，

but the failure had to do with its price. 習語

但它的失败确实与价格有关。

It had a price tag of $599,

它的定价为599美元，

and the competing consoles were much cheaper

而竞争对手的主机要便宜得多，

as well as better in performance and features.

并且在性能和功能上也更好。

Mega Man was originally called Rockman,

洛克人最初被称为Rockman，

but for its release in America,

但在它于美国发行时，

they changed it to Mega Man

他们将其改为了Mega Man，

because Nintendo of America thought

因为美国任天堂认为

people might mistake his name for Cocaine Man. 短語搭配

人们可能会把他的名字误认为是Cocaine Man。

At roughly $270 million,

预算大约为2.7亿美元，

Grand Theft Auto V currently has the largest budget 語法

《侠盗猎车手5》目前拥有着最大的预算

of any game in history.

在历史上所有游戏当中。

It was actually so expensive to make 語法

它实际上制作成本如此之高

that only one movie so far has had a bigger budget,

以至于目前为止只有一部电影的预算比它更高，

Pirates of the Caribbean 3,

《加勒比海盗3》，

at 300 million.

预算为3亿美元。

It's okay if you don't want to sing along. 講解

如果你不想跟着唱也没关系。

But if you do,

但如果你愿意，

I promise you you will feel like you belong. 語法

我保证你会找到归属感。

Don't get me wrong, 語氣意圖

别误会我的意思，

we're not saying

我们并不是在说