If there’s one place where you may feel the seething tension between players and developers, it’s tutorials. And the problem is understandable: as a player, I want to start a game as fast as possible and enjoy the $99 I spent on a Deluxe Edition that includes a costume I’ll never wear. As a developer, you want me to understand how to play so I don’t lose my mind two hours in and complain online because I have no idea how to throw a grenade or climb ladders. It’s hard for both of us, because you know I won’t know what I’m doing and I know that I won’t care… until I do and then it’ll be the biggest problem ever.
The thing is, 90 percent of tutorials are absolutely necessary. While I wished I didn’t have to play the tutorial toSolium Infernum, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to do diplomacy in Hell without it. Other tutorials, like the one inHelldivers 2, make it part of the experience so you feel less like you’re being prevented from starting the fun and more like you’re ramping up to it. And some games, likeCrusader Kings, require so much player training that it’s in your best interest to search out additional tutorials. I’ve got nothing against teaching players how to enjoy their games when it’s needed.
But folks, there’s gotta be a limit. For the love of God, not every game needs a 20 minute tutorial. Yes, learning how to go on an epic quest is useful. Fine. However, I recently picked upPinball M on Steam. It’s made by Zen Studios, who design great virtual pinball tables while switching their business model every two years to become increasingly more confusing. This particular pinball platform (Pinball M) was meant to be horror-themed, and overall it does a great job. The table for The Thing is a beautiful… thing. TheSystem Shocktable reminded me of why I love that game. Zen puts a lot of thought into their products and it shows.
So, please, I’m begging you, just let me play them. Pinball tables are complex, deep games. Pinball as a concept is not. Do you know how frustrating it is to boot up a pinball video game and - as I’m playing - HALT the action every few seconds to explain to me how pinball works? It’s infuriating. It’s pinball. Let me play pinball. Here’s a fact if any developers are reading: it suuuuucks when you stop me right in the middle of doing something to show me a pop-up box explaining the thing I’m already doing. Especially when it’s a game like pinball that most humans have known about for a while. Pinball is literally a game about momentum and they’re murdering it. Which, on the other hand, makes sense for a horror theme.
Of course, not everyone knows how to play pinball. Perhaps a horror fan wanted to give it a shot and felt nervous. It’s unfair to assume that, because I can play something, others easily can too. I respect and accept this. But there’s actually a pretty simple solution: asking! Just ask me if I want to learn how to play pinball. This isn’t Sins of the Solar Empire orGloomhaven; I don’t need you to force me to learn the complicated mechanics of “hit button and ball bounce up”.Civilization 6’s tutorials are long as hell, but at least they ask you if you want them and - even better - how much you need to know.
And, again, I understand that as a developer, you want players to have as full an experience as possible. And in its defense, Pinball M has a bunch of extra modes and variations on each table. That’s all worth learning, sure. The good news is the menus alone explain them well. But playing the tutorial deeply reminded me of the meme in which Mario has to stop every two feet in the originalSuper Mario Bros.to learn how to jump and hit a box with his head. It’s not complicated; let us play the game. You’re not proving you did good work by freezing action to give me dozens of directions that I won’t understand or remember.
There’s the added layer that tutorials are often told by characters that the developers want to have a personality. Sometimes this is an in-game NPC. Sometimes it’s a sassy narrator. This adds even more weight to the tutorial because we have to establish their personality through dialogue and why they’re talking.
Of course, there will be a self-referential line, like, “Press O to jump! I’m not sure what that means!” And there will be at least three times when the tutorial says, “That’s it! You’re ready to play! Start right now! Have fun! No more tips!” and then immediately pops up a box that goes full Steve Jobs “But one more thing!”. It gives me the exact same emotion as a boss saying, “Have a good weekend!” and then turning around and going, “But I’ll need you here on Saturday.”
The big problem is that tutorials are often our first experience with the game outside of a long cutscene that establishes why we’re spying on a space station or something. Our very first decisions in a game often trigger pop-ups telling us what’s happening and what to do. This is all great when it’s optional and wanted and necessary. It’s even better when it’s optional to go back to later when you forget what you’re doing or realize you do need the tutorial. But when I’m trying to play pinball orTetrisor any game that’s existed for over 30 years, I want to just play that game. I don’t need you to stop me every few seconds. I don’t need you to freeze my screen the moment I think I’m good to go. Make it optional. Make it short. Let me play your game.
