How to Create Tutorials

     Game Design isn't easy. Coming up with fun mechanics for players to enjoy can be a difficult process. But teaching your players how to use these mechanics can be difficult as well. There are multiple ways for designers to teach players, but some ways are more effective than others. 

    First of all, let's address why game tutorials are needed. Tutorials are needed in order for players to learn how a game works. Generally the more complex the game, the more a tutorial will seem necessary. "If two players whip out a chess set, there can be no play unless both players know how the pieces move and what the winning conditions are... the game's designer (the kid who comes up with the rules) has to explain those rules to players (the other kids). If the first kid (the game designer) can't explain the rules, there will be no game. The first kid must train the others," (Stout, 2015). If a game designer doesn't take the time to teach the mechanics to the player, the player will end up struggling and may end up not enjoying the game's experience.

This is an example of an unnecessary tutorial (Kubota, 2013)

    However, if you ask me, the most effective tutorials are the ones that teach the player how the game works through the gameplay, itself. A research article titled, The impact of tutorials on games of varying complexity found that simple games did not require a standard tutorial but could teach a player by having them experiment. "Our results suggest that investment in tutorials may not be justified for games with mechanics that can be discovered through experimentation,"(Andersen, 2012). If a game can teach a player the gameplay by actually having them play the game, then spelled out instructions aren't necessary.

  

    As I explained in the video, the best kind of tutorial is one that isn't clearly a tutorial, something that the very first level of Super Mario Bros. accomplishes exceptionally well. "World 1-1 isn't impressive because it teaches players how to play the game, it's impressive because it lets them figure it out for themselves purely based on the level design," (Corliss, 2020). Discovering the world for yourself is so much more satisfying than having the world be explained to you.

Now that I've shown you my prototypes, try them out for yourself!

Roll game prototype can be found here.

Terrain game prototype can be found here.

    Guiding players is another way of teaching players how to play without spelling it out for them. By providing players with a visible goal to move toward, players know where to go and won't get lost along the way.

    If you have a Nintendo Switch and a copy of Super Mario Maker 2, why not try my levels for yourself? (Though I should warn you that some of them can be fun but also fairly challenging)

Super Mario Maker 2 ID: K19-3RS-CDG

"Kamek's Underground Boo Factory" course ID: NMC-YQG-5BG

"Shell Boat Ride" course ID: XWC-2KX-4SG

    In conclusion, video game designers can enhance the way that they teach players by following the examples and instructions outlined here. Designing the levels of your game in such a way that players can figure out the basic mechanics just by playing the game, itself, is the best way to teach a player. Similar to most other topics, people learn best through experience. Designers can also guide players through their games in a similar way. There's usually no need to outright tell the player where to go when you can show them with onscreen visual clues and let them piece together what their goal is. While the player is exploring and being guided further into the game, players can also be taught new mechanics throughout their time playing the game as they become applicable to the new situations the players may find themselves in. 

    It is my hope that this has been helpful in giving new and even experienced game designers insight into how to make your games a more fun and memorable experience for players!

___________________________________________________________________________________

References:

Andersen, E., O'Rourke, E., Liu, Y., Snider, R., Lowdermilk, J., Truong, D., . . . Popovic, Z. (2012). The impact of tutorials on games of varying complexity. Proceedings of the 2012 ACM Annual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI '12, 59-68. doi:10.1145/2207676.2207687

Calender, S. (2017, March 03). 10 tips for designing a game tutorial. Retrieved March 07, 2021, from https://www.filamentgames.com/blog/10-tips-designing-game-tutorial/

Corliss, C. (2020, January 23). How super Mario BROS. Perfected video game tutorials. Retrieved March 07, 2021, from https://gamerant.com/super-mario-bros-perfect-tutorial/

Fan, G. (Writer). (2012). How i got my mom to play through plants vs. zombies [Video file]. Retrieved March 05, 2021, from https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1015541/How-I-Got-My-Mom

Floyd, D. (Director), & Portnow, J. (Writer). (2012, April 19). Tutorials 101 - how to design a good game tutorial - extra credits [Video file]. Retrieved March 05, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCPcn-Q5nKE

Jamieson, D. (2015, August 31). 4 ways to teach your players how to play your game. Retrieved March 07, 2021, from https://gamedevelopment.tutsplus.com/tutorials/4-ways-to-teach-your-players-how-to-play-your-game--cms-22719

Kubota, K. (2013, July 12). Mario & Luigi: Dream Team [Software]. Kyoto, Japan: Nintendo Co. Ltd.

         Miyamoto, S. (1985, September 13). Super Mario Bros [Software]. Kyoto, Japan: Nintendo Co. Ltd.

         Miyamoto, S. (1986, February 21). The Legend of Zelda [Software]. Kyoto, Japan: Nintendo Co. Ltd.

         Oshina, Y. (2019, June 28). Super Mario Maker 2 [Software]. Kyoto, Japan: Nintendo Co. Ltd.

Schardon, L. (2021, March 22). How to guide players through games – game design tips. Retrieved March 28, 2021, from https://gamedevacademy.org/guide-players-game-design-tutorial/

Stout, M. (2015, September 8). How to train players right , so they don't hate learning to play. Retrieved March 05, 2021, from https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/253028/How_to_train_players_right_so_they_dont_hate_learning_to_play.php