内容来源：https://www.engadget.com/2294854/a-new-subscription-service-promises-an-evolving-collection-of-bold-and-bizarre-indie-games/

内容总结：

独立游戏发行商Pantaloon近日推出了一项名为“Playbill”的订阅服务，主打“大胆且奇特”的独立游戏，被外界视为独立游戏领域的Xbox Game Pass。该服务首批收录了《Buckshot Roulette》《Silt》《Ex Sanguis》《Cabin Factory》等第三方作品，以及Pantaloon自家游戏《Sub-Verge》《Occlude》《It Takes a War》《Boxroom》《Rolla》和音乐创作模拟游戏《Offbeat》。与Game Pass类似，Pantaloon自家游戏一经发售即会加入该服务，此外还有限时独占作品《Virtue: Prologue》。Playbill还设有名为“Green Room”的区域，提供试玩版、测试版及“被放弃的原型”供玩家体验。Pantaloon创始人Jamin Smith表示，希望Playbill成为实验性与另类游戏的展示平台，降低玩家接触Steam算法难以推荐的游戏类型的门槛，并明确表示不会收录任何使用生成式AI的游戏。该服务采用激活码制，游戏密钥用完后会轮换下架并定期新增内容。订阅分为两档：Primo订阅每月5美元或每年60美元，可获取全部游戏阵容；月付订阅者每月保证获得一款游戏但无法自选，连续订阅六个月后可解锁全部游戏。Smith解释称，这一机制旨在防止用户一次性获取所有游戏后立即取消订阅。

中文翻译：

一项新的订阅服务承诺将不断更新“大胆且奇异”的独立游戏合集。
发行商Pantaloon表示，Playbill不会收录任何以任何方式使用生成式AI的游戏。
从策展人转型为发行商的Pantaloon推出了一项订阅服务，独立游戏爱好者或许会有兴趣深入了解。Playbill是对Xbox Game Pass的一种借鉴，只不过它专注于“大胆且奇异”的作品。
首批阵容包括第三方游戏，如《Buckshot Roulette》《Silt》《Ex Sanguis》和《Cabin Factory》。这些游戏与Pantaloon自家作品一同登场：《Sub-Verge》《Occlude》《It Takes a War》《Boxroom》《Rolla》以及令人愉悦的音乐创作模拟游戏《Offbeat》。
就像Game Pass在首发当日向订阅者提供Xbox第一方作品（新的《使命召唤》作品除外）一样，Playbill也会在Pantaloon自家游戏一经发布时便将其纳入。该服务甚至拥有自己的限时独占作品——《Virtue: Prologue》，这是《Virtue and a Sledgehammer》的视觉中篇小说 companion piece，将于下周推出（也是我非常期待的一款游戏）。
此外，Playbill还在名为“Green Room”的板块中提供试玩版、玩法测试和“废弃原型”供你体验。起初，有几款看起来很有趣的游戏提供玩法测试， namely《Isle Goblin》《Mr Magpie's Harmless Card Game》和《Lemonade Apocalypse》。
“我们希望Playbill能成为一个庆祝更具实验性和古怪游戏的地方，”Pantaloon创始人Jamin Smith表示。“这种模式的本质降低了玩家的入门门槛，让他们能够体验那些可能不会被Steam的市场塑造算法所呈现的类型和体验。同样值得说明的是，我们不会收录或以任何形式为使用生成式AI的游戏提供平台；Playbill是对游戏制作这门手艺的庆祝。”
Pantaloon在积累了超过5万名新闻邮件订阅者的受众之后进军发行业务，这些订阅者能够完成谜题来获得游戏密钥，或付费购买其精选游戏的激活码。这些谜题可在Playbill上免费体验，同时还可使用该服务的社区功能、《Virtue: Prologue》以及几个ARG项目。完整游戏阵容可通过Primo订阅获得，价格合理，为每月5美元或每年60美元。
值得注意的是，该服务基于密钥运作。当密钥用尽时，Pantaloon会将游戏从Playbill中轮换下架，并定期添加新作品。年度订阅者可以获取首批阵容中全部13款游戏，以及每一款新加入的作品。
月度订阅者的情况则有所不同。他们每月将获得一款保证的游戏，但无法自行选择是哪一款。“月度作品属于定制合作关系，因此游戏是确定的，”Smith告诉Engadget。“话虽如此，我们的一些谜题——比如本月的——允许解谜者在奖励上进行选择。”
如果你注册月度计划，在连续订阅六个月后，你将能够访问所有游戏。Smith补充说，这是一种“防止有人一次性获取全部14款作品后立即取消订阅的机制”。

英文来源：

A new subscription service promises an evolving collection of 'bold and bizarre' indie games
Publisher Pantaloon says the Playbill won't feature games that use generative AI in any way.
Curator-turned-publisher Pantaloon has unleashed a subscription service that fans of indie games might be interested in digging into. The Playbill is a take on Xbox Game Pass, albeit one that focuses on "bold and bizarre" titles.
The initial lineup features third-party games such as Buckshot Roulette, Silt, Ex Sanguis and Cabin Factory. Those sit alongside Pantaloon's own games: Sub-Verge, Occlude, It Takes a War, Boxroom, Rolla and the delightful music creation sim Offbeat.
Much like Game Pass offers first-party Xbox titles (save for new Call of Duty offerings) to subscribers on day one, the Playbill will gain all of Pantaloon's own games as soon as they're released. The service even has its own timed exclusive in the shape of Virtue: Prologue, a visual novella companion piece for Virtue and a Sledgehammer, which is out next week (and a game I'm very much looking forward to.
In addition, the Playbill offers demos, playtests and "abandoned prototypes" for you to check out in a section called the Green Room. At the outset, there are playtests for a few interesting-looking games, namely Isle Goblin, Mr Magpie's Harmless Card Game and Lemonade Apocalypse.
"We want the Playbill to be a celebration of more experimental and eccentric games," Pantaloon founder Jamin Smith said. "The nature of the model reduces that barrier to entry for players to check out genres and experiences that might not be surfaced by Steam's market-shaping algorithms. It's also worth stating that we won't feature or platform any games that use genAI in any form; the Playbill is a celebration of the craft of making games."
Pantaloon moved into publishing after building an audience of more than 50,000 newsletter subscribers, who were able to complete puzzles to receive game keys or pay for codes for its curated titles. The puzzles are free to access on the Playbill, along with the service's community features, Virtue: Prologue and a couple of ARGs. The full lineup of games is available through a Primo subscription, which costs a reasonable $5 per month or $60 per year.
It's worth noting that the service is key-based. Pantaloon will cycle games out of the Playbill when it runs out of keys and it will add new titles on a regular basis. Annual subscribers can snag all 13 games in the initial lineup, as well as each new title that's introduced.
Things are different for monthly subscribers. They'll get a guaranteed game each month, and they won't be able to pick which one. "The monthly titles are part of bespoke partnerships, so the games are defined," Smith told Engadget. "That said, some of our puzzles — like this month's — allow a choice of reward to those that can solve."
If you sign up for a monthly plan, you'll be able to access all of the games after you've been a subscriber for six consecutive months. This is "a mechanism just to prevent somebody getting all 14 titles straight away and then canceling," Smith added.