28
votes
Development pattern for interactive in-game tutorials
The best way I know how to do this is to have a notion of an "action queue".
When you want to cause an effect that might need to be pre-empted by something else, instead of executing the ...
- 141k
28
votes
Accepted
How to address players struggling with simple controls?
Are your test player having trouble discovering the controls or using them?
If they have trouble discovering them, you can add a prompt that explains them. To make it unobtrusive for players that don'...
- 28.2k
23
votes
How to address players struggling with simple controls?
There are some games which pulled off the "silent tutorial" thing pretty well. The basic rules are:
Introduce game elements one at a time
Introduce them with as little distraction as possible
...
- 123k
13
votes
Force new players to play tutorial?
A good tutorial is one where the player doesn't realize it's one.
Work on your new user experience to introduce the complexity of the game gradually. After giving the player access to a new game ...
- 123k
11
votes
Development pattern for interactive in-game tutorials
If you want to completely decouple the tutorial logic from the regular game logic, then you might need to redesign your software architecture to an event-based architecture. You already seem to know ...
- 123k
7
votes
How to address players struggling with simple controls?
Although I like the other answers, I think nobody mentioned the most important: It all depends on your target audience.
Do you target people who are gamers? They play games regularly and your game ...
- 4,785
3
votes
Teaching my players to be sensitive with their mouse input
Has anyone got experience in designing a game where this issue or similar has to be conveyed to the user in a clear way, otherwise some players may not be able to progress?
I can’t say I’m a ...
- 5,671
3
votes
How to make attention grabbing notifications?
The notifications fade into the screen (…)
Don't do that. Making them appear suddenly would catch more attention.
With that said, motion is probably a good idea. You can make the notification slide ...
- 28.2k
2
votes
Accepted
How to make attention grabbing notifications?
When you want the player to complete a tutorial before they progress, then it usually helps a lot to give the player a good reason to complete that tutorial.
The direct way to do that is to simply ...
- 123k
2
votes
Force new players to play tutorial?
Although I think @Philipp's answer is the way to go, a "quick fix" for your situation could be to still give your player the option to skip the tutorial, or keep on following the tutorial for a reward....
- 16.4k
2
votes
Accepted
Force new players to play tutorial?
I feel like you should force players to take the tutorial, especially if it isn't a long one. It's better to make people stay longer with the game (by making them understand how to play it) than ...
- 136
1
vote
Teaching my players to be sensitive with their mouse input
User interface conventions exist for a reason. People expect that certain inputs work the way they work in every other game they played. So going for an unusual control scheme should be a decision one ...
- 123k
1
vote
What are the implications on play experience when giving the player hints in a game that asks players to figure out concepts and abilities?
Probably the most satisfying learning moments for the player are those where they think they figured out something all on their own. But quite often, you can actually engineer such moments throughout ...
- 123k
1
vote
How to address players struggling with simple controls?
this can be a very general question and depends on game design. most of players hate hints and tutorials but most of the time its needed to add the pace of learning in the game. you have to find the ...
- 2,680
1
vote
How can I ensure the player learns all skills in a single open level?
Achievements. After learning one skill from set, display progress information like "Skill learned: 1 / 4" (eg. "Lighting fire: 1/4 skills learned"). This way player will know there are 3 other skills ...
- 371
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible