There once was a blog I read, and now I can't find the link. The blogger was complaining about how tutorial levels in games are annoying, and how tutorial levels in sequels of games are even worse.
I thought to myself, I agree completely, but I want to express my own ideas and force them upon the internet worlds, if only I had a blog with which to do such a thing.
Wait a minute.
BAM.
Since I don't remember the link or where it was, I'll just go ahead and claim this topic for my own.
Recently I've been playing Mafia 2 (and you should be too, what's wrong with you? you lazy or somethin?? Read the review then try to tell me that your life is more important, it's not).
The tutorial level is that clever crap they've been slinging to us gamers for a few years now. Integrate it into the opening of the game. I have mixed emotions on this. I like it, and I usually like how they incorporate it and Mafia 2 didn't push it.
Gordon and I both agree that that's one of the severe downfalls to Fable 2. Agree with us, won't you?
The opening of Fable 2. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was at the midnight launch for the game, I rushed home, dimmed the lights, put on a robe and lit a few candles, and prepared to have what Peter Molyneux considers sex. Fable games.
Alright, time to pick my gender. I picked a boy since this is America. Hey, who's that narrator? Dame Judi Dench? No? Cool! Alright now I'm a little boy, and I have an older sister. Oh hey, that's how I swing.... ah, same as Fable 1. Hey that's how I interact? Ah, same as Fable 1. Ah good, a cutscene.
Oh, another cutscene. Alright..... mmhmm... more cutscenes. A few errands to run. Learn how to look at things, learn how to use items.... hmm. I'm.... I'm just going to go now. This is completely unsexual to me.
Just like that. Ok, let me explain. Ever play a game where they teach you a move, like a counterpunch or a dodge button. They have you do that 3 times, and then you learn it? (Mafia 2, you pushed this a bit too much). I understand the necessity, but.... I don't know if that's the way you should go about it. Fable 2 basically taught you how to play the entire game while forcing you to watch a good 20 minutes of cutscenes. Well if you hate em, skip em. Wait, you can't since it's a tutorial.
Well... shit. So what do I want? I dunno. I wouldn't say remove the tutorials completely. Some might say "well what are you doing playing the 2nd or 3rd game without playing the first?". This ain't twilight, no one gives a shit if you didn't have anything to do with the first game. Often this is a bit trickier than you think anyway.
Go play the first Elder Scrolls, or the first Call of Duty. Have fun. Tutorials are necessary as the new game usually has a few tricks up it's sleeve and you'll need to know them.
So here's how you can approach the tutorial problem.
1. Flat-out tutorial at the beginning of the game (not skippable).
2. Flat-out tutorial (skippable).
3. Integrate it into the first hour or so of the game.
4. Explain how to do each thing as you get to it.
5. Give a big ole finger to the gamer and have them figure it out.
Ok, 1-4 require a great deal of cutscenes. 5 doesn't really have them, but 5 is rare anyway. (Shooters of the ye olde days used to do that do us)
Skippable tutorials are nice, but usually if the designers are bold enough to choose this, you are already extremely familiar with the controls. (Bully pulls this trick, but it's GTA3, who isn't used to those controls?? Russians?? Denmarks? big shout outs?)
Mafia 2 does 3, Lego Harry Potter does 4, Red Dead does a bit of 1 and 3. Dead Rising does some 4 and 5ish (5 for the melee attacks). Limbo does 3 but in a nice way, Borderlands does 2. And those are all of the games I can see around my xbox. Well... Limbo isnt...shut up.
#3 is alright, but only if they don't make it super obvious that's the reason for portions of the game. (Here, collect this coin on the other side of the wall, oh you need to jump the wall? How do you do that? I'm glad you asked!.......*sigh*.....
Is there a good combo? A nice way to present this issue? Yes! For my money it depends on the game, but usually I'll take a #2 for the basics, #4 for anything interesting. Will the possibility of Fable 3 having a big #1 at the beginning keep me from playing it? No... but... I mean. I know how to play the game. If you changed systems, or completely re-vamped controls then sure, otherwise just let me jump in!
Hell, half of this blog could turn into the opening moments of a game. Let's for now leave it at "games take too long to get going. I understand the need to get the gamer acquainted to the environment, but usually it's just an obvious ploy. I want to play now. Think of the last new game you got where you didn't have to dedicate at least 30 minutes to it before your first save? Here's the kicker: a good portion of games 20 years ago we all grew up on? Those didn't even have saves, you had to just play though. The tutorials were a booklet inside of the game. (Booklet? wtf? what am I playin? a pc game?)
There's something to be said about the first few hours of a game, and something to be said about how people play games. What do you say internet? That a good topic for our podcast?? (whaaaa????)
We've gone from instruction booklets, to 30 minute instruction walkthroughs, but the booklets are still there. For me? I just want to play the game, and figure it out on my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment