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TUTORIAL DESIGN
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DFalcon
2141
DFalcon
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CloseWhat makes a good tutorial?
I'm mostly thinking of RPG battle-related tutorials, as those tend to be far and away the most complex things you have to explain in RPGs (HP and MP and CT and items and skills and elements and statuses, oh my!), but the discussion needn't be limited to that.
Do you like to:
- Have something hold your hand to the point of telling you exact actions, possibly not even letting you do anything else? (e.g. Fire Emblem US)
- Start with an easy fight or two and trust that the player will figure everything out eventually? (e.g. FF Tactics)
- Have a bunch of people standing in a room somewhere to describe what the seven statuses are? (e.g. several FFs)
- Toss them in the deep end and hope they find the readme file?
- ??
Tales of a happy medium would also be welcome.
I'm mostly thinking of RPG battle-related tutorials, as those tend to be far and away the most complex things you have to explain in RPGs (HP and MP and CT and items and skills and elements and statuses, oh my!), but the discussion needn't be limited to that.
Do you like to:
- Have something hold your hand to the point of telling you exact actions, possibly not even letting you do anything else? (e.g. Fire Emblem US)
- Start with an easy fight or two and trust that the player will figure everything out eventually? (e.g. FF Tactics)
- Have a bunch of people standing in a room somewhere to describe what the seven statuses are? (e.g. several FFs)
- Toss them in the deep end and hope they find the readme file?
- ??
Tales of a happy medium would also be welcome.
The Mario & Luigi games have good tutorials. When there's a tutorial it's either about basic gameplay early in the game or to talk about a new game mechanic so it's always relevant. It isn't dropping text on you, it's guiding you through the motions so you can see it in action. Sure it's a bit heavy handed covering some pretty basic actions and iirc you can't skip them but the actual tutorial itself is great.
- Start with an easy fight or two and trust that the player will figure everything out eventually? (e.g. FF Tactics)
- Have a bunch of people standing in a room somewhere to describe what the seven statuses are? (e.g. several FFs)
Combine these, with the second one being COMPLETELY OPTIONAL and skippable if desired. This is, to my mind, the optimal solution.
author=DFalcon
Do you like to:
- Start with an easy fight or two and trust that the player will figure everything out eventually?
- Toss them in the deep end and hope they find the readme file?
these are the best options. don't underestimate your players
BTW this topic is a pretty good and important one and definitely has more bearing on game design than some of the other ones floating around 'theory right now.
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
If your game doesn't have an instruction manual, you must have tutorials. This isn't optional: people need to be able to play the game without having played either it or other identical games before. If you do have an instruction manual, I still appreciate tutorials, because I'd rather play the instruction manual than read it.
If you think people should be able to figure your game out without knowing anything about it, then that probably means your gameplay is completely unoriginal and uninteresting and your RPG plays like the dumbed-down US version of FF4.
HOWEVER. If your tutorials take more than 10 seconds and are not skippable, I will personally drive to your house and rip out your genitals and submerge them in acid and feed them to you.
If you think people should be able to figure your game out without knowing anything about it, then that probably means your gameplay is completely unoriginal and uninteresting and your RPG plays like the dumbed-down US version of FF4.
HOWEVER. If your tutorials take more than 10 seconds and are not skippable, I will personally drive to your house and rip out your genitals and submerge them in acid and feed them to you.
yuhikaru
302
Well, it's not exactly an answer, but there is a Extra credits tutorial episode, on The Escapist. There's some interesting stuff, for people who don't know these videos.
Extra Credits: Tutorials 101
Extra Credits: Tutorials 101
Darken
3952
Every time someone links to extra credits instead of generating their own thoughts, I try to shoot myself.
I guess it depends on how wide you think your audience is going to be. If you want to include people who barely know how to operate a computer then I suppose "arrow keys to move z to confirm etc." tutorials are necessary. At the same time, given that RPG Maker games are pretty much a niche within a niche... it's better to introduce things that aren't normally in an RPG. Just hope that your player has played final fantasy before (or knows how to open a txt file) to know the rest.
I guess it depends on how wide you think your audience is going to be. If you want to include people who barely know how to operate a computer then I suppose "arrow keys to move z to confirm etc." tutorials are necessary. At the same time, given that RPG Maker games are pretty much a niche within a niche... it's better to introduce things that aren't normally in an RPG. Just hope that your player has played final fantasy before (or knows how to open a txt file) to know the rest.
Crystalgate
694
I see no reason to tell the player things that are present in practically all RPGs. Why would people who aren't even interested in RPGs play an RPG maker game? You should however inform the player of features normally not present in other RPG maker games. Even so, I'd assume the player can put two and two together. For example, if you use the skill learning system inbuilt in Yanfly Melody, all you need to tell the player is that the option to buy new skills exist in the skill menu, the player can then figure out the rest on her/his own. Heck, just the presence of JP usually tells all there is to know.
If you're taking part of a multi million dollar project, then you need to consider new players though. In that case I think Max McGee nailed it.
If you're taking part of a multi million dollar project, then you need to consider new players though. In that case I think Max McGee nailed it.
ElectricalKat
254
As my battle system somewhat resembles a RTS game in its controls, I was thinking about taking some pointers from Blizzard's games (Starcraft and Warcraft III, to be more specific). I won't have a voice directing my players, but I considered simply having a message box floating in a noticeable spot on the screen, telling my players what to do. Somewhat like this mini-tutorial from Legend of Legaia, where Tetsu explains to the player what each battle command's function does. I engineered my very first battle to basically require a set routine to complete, so these ideas should serve well enough for my battle system's tutorial.
I'll probably scatter option #3 around the early areas (or keep them in a single area...hopefully in some way that does not break "suspension of disbelief" Dx). I agree with geodude, though: don't underestimate your players! As long as your "tutorial level", however it is laid out (in my case, it's integrated into my game as its prologue) is clear enough for your players to follow, then you should be OK.
I'll probably scatter option #3 around the early areas (or keep them in a single area...hopefully in some way that does not break "suspension of disbelief" Dx). I agree with geodude, though: don't underestimate your players! As long as your "tutorial level", however it is laid out (in my case, it's integrated into my game as its prologue) is clear enough for your players to follow, then you should be OK.
DFalcon
2141
I definitely agree as far as not underestimating players. It's annoying to be forced into a tutorial that runs too slow, for example. Even if it is optional, some people are going to be looking for one needle in the haystack, some people aren't going to know any better than to try it their first time playing, etc.
If I break down my reactions:
- Have something hold your hand to the point of telling you exact actions, possibly not even letting you do anything else? (e.g. Fire Emblem US)
Annoying, especially when the player already knows some of it, as mentioned above.
- Have a bunch of people standing in a room somewhere to describe what the seven statuses are? (e.g. several FFs)
I may have unintentionally given a slightly bad example. For immediately applicable things they tell you, this might not be a bad way to go. It's not good for handling big lists (e.g., seven statuses) or things you won't encounter for awhile - those are really better done with later updates or something else.
- Toss them in the deep end and hope they find the readme file?
I've done more or less this before and I'm not sure it's the way to go. At least, I didn't come away convinced that a lot of people pay much attention to readmes. Context help like Civ IV's Civilopedia can make this a million times more effective.
- Start with an easy fight or two and trust that the player will figure everything out eventually? (e.g. FF Tactics)
Well, not starting at soul-crushingly hard is generally better. I may have been missing the main thrust: FFT is pretty good at showing you the consequences of your actions, so you can learn by looking at your options without having to commit.
If I break down my reactions:
- Have something hold your hand to the point of telling you exact actions, possibly not even letting you do anything else? (e.g. Fire Emblem US)
Annoying, especially when the player already knows some of it, as mentioned above.
- Have a bunch of people standing in a room somewhere to describe what the seven statuses are? (e.g. several FFs)
I may have unintentionally given a slightly bad example. For immediately applicable things they tell you, this might not be a bad way to go. It's not good for handling big lists (e.g., seven statuses) or things you won't encounter for awhile - those are really better done with later updates or something else.
- Toss them in the deep end and hope they find the readme file?
I've done more or less this before and I'm not sure it's the way to go. At least, I didn't come away convinced that a lot of people pay much attention to readmes. Context help like Civ IV's Civilopedia can make this a million times more effective.
- Start with an easy fight or two and trust that the player will figure everything out eventually? (e.g. FF Tactics)
Well, not starting at soul-crushingly hard is generally better. I may have been missing the main thrust: FFT is pretty good at showing you the consequences of your actions, so you can learn by looking at your options without having to commit.
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
FF Tactics actually has an incredibly detailed tutorial mode that you can bring up at any time. It's so mind-numbingly slow and so badly translated, though, that it's basically useless. (The NPC that narrates the tutorials is named Daravon. Later in the game, you can learn a skill called Mimic Daravon that inflicts sleep status on an enemy...)
I disagree that RPG Maker games are only for people who already play RPGs. Everyone has to play an RPG for the first time at some point - why would their first RPG be more likely to be a commercial game than an amateur game? I have tried many amateur games of genres I've never played before, or never been good at. Because they're free, so I feel somehow more open to trying them.
I disagree that RPG Maker games are only for people who already play RPGs. Everyone has to play an RPG for the first time at some point - why would their first RPG be more likely to be a commercial game than an amateur game? I have tried many amateur games of genres I've never played before, or never been good at. Because they're free, so I feel somehow more open to trying them.
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