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TIGSource ForumsDeveloperDesignTutorials in a procedurally generated world
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alvarop
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« on: November 05, 2016, 11:25:12 AM »

I'm currently wondering about how to teach the player what the game is all about, through implicit tutorials - aka learning through gameplay - in a procedurally generated world.

I see a couple of games make the player go through a tutorial phase (authored) so that they can get all the main mechanics and nuances. But what if you don't want to separate the tutorial from the actual gameplay? How do you approach teaching in a game that generates levels (or content) that you cannot predict exactly?

I'm thinking about forcing an "easy" section in the first 10-15 seconds of gameplay as the player starts a new game, but it can very easily get repetitive.

Has anyone here gone through the same design issue? What's your solution? I'd like to hear your opinion as I'm at a point where I would like to implement some sort of system to facilitate teaching the game in a seamless manner.
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« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2016, 01:14:37 PM »

What I'd do is have a handful of dedicated generators that create early-game tutorial challenges that test certain skills (i.e., by putting together an easy challenge that can only be passed by demonstrating skill X) and then NOT turn them on until the player has demonstrated a lack of understanding of X.

So say you have a type of brick that can be broken only with bombs.  You occasionally generate a little optional challenge (like a powerup behind that kind of brick) to test whether the player understands.  During the next playthrough, use the player's performance on them to decide whether to turn on the generator for "Obvious Brick Tutorial" (e.g., a solid brick wall with a bunch of bomb pickups conspicuously littered around it). 
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« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2016, 02:50:33 PM »

one easy way to do it would be to have a totoreal message pop up everytime the player encounters a new mechanic
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alvarop
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« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2016, 03:03:17 PM »

one easy way to do it would be to have a totoreal message pop up everytime the player encounters a new mechanic

lol yeah this is exactly what I want to avoid.

What I'm thinking now is cycling through tutorials until the player got through all of them, and save data accordingly. Might be the best option so far. And give them to the player in a specific order. Will come back with results Smiley
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JWK5
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« Reply #4 on: November 13, 2016, 08:51:38 AM »

Give detailed info about how something is used in the game via little mouse-over (or whatever) windows.

For example, let's say there is a random chance that there is a gating mechanic where you have to place these certain colored crystals on matching pedestals. Rather than communicating what the player is expected to do through some tutorial segment simply allow the player to hover the cursor over the crystal for a second to pop up a mouse-over window that explains that you need to place the crystal on its matching pedestal. If the player moves the mouse away the window disappears.

This way you are still giving the player a chance to discover and figure out things on their own but they can always get information on something in the game when they need it just by quickly checking out its data window. It's a fast an unobtrusive way to go about it.



one easy way to do it would be to have a totoreal message pop up everytime the player encounters a new mechanic
I personally loathe those, they are obnoxious and kind of break the flow of things especially when things are obvious enough that I can put things together myself. I like mouse-over windows (or otherwise manually popped up windows) because it is quick-accessed and for the most part stays out of the way unless you want it and gives you a chance to sort things out on your own.
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alvarop
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« Reply #5 on: November 13, 2016, 08:54:05 AM »

Give detailed info about how something is used in the game via little mouse-over (or whatever) windows.

For example, let's say there is a random chance that there is a gating mechanic where you have to place these certain colored crystals on matching pedestals. Rather than communicating what the player is expected to do through some tutorial segment simply allow the player to hover the cursor over the crystal for a second to pop up a mouse-over window that explains that you need to place the crystal on its matching pedestal.

This way you are still giving the player a chance to discover and figure out things on their own but they can always get information on something in the game when they need it just by quickly checking out its data window. It's a fast an unobtrusive way to go about it.

This is a good solution for games that give the time for players to check information with the mouse. In my case, it's an action based game (shmup) so there is no space for that.
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JWK5
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« Reply #6 on: November 13, 2016, 09:02:05 AM »

A few ideas then:

*Press SPACE (or whatever) to pause the action and allow for mouse-overs then.

*Put all the tutorials into a menu that is accessible any time (i.e. an index the player can look things up with, ideally always first popping up with the part of the index currently relevant to what the player is tasked with).

*Use the visuals to clue the player in without using tutorials at all. Especially in action games, it can be a lot of fun to discover mechanics through trial and error (if there are enough visual cues to clue you in on what is important and how it might be useful and how it might be used). I think the modern over-use of tutorials or making shit blatantly obvious with a glow effect or button symbol and whatnot really robs the player of the chance to discover things for themselves.

*You could give a quiet moment between generated action segments where you pop up the tutorial window (but rather than pausing the action still let the player move their character around). This could also be a great time to give the player a breather and let them (physically and mentally) regroup before pressing on.




It might be easier to help if you could describe the game a bit (or at least a scenario of it), then people might be able to recommend something more tailored towards what you are actually trying to do.
« Last Edit: November 13, 2016, 09:16:03 AM by JWK5 » Logged

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« Reply #7 on: December 07, 2016, 12:44:37 PM »

The best way would be probably figuring out the way to detect situations that may require tutorial (like No Man's Sky does it) and show keys/instructions as they're needed. This way, player can get the info just when he or she needs it. This is also done by some of non-procedural sandbox games as well.
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« Reply #8 on: December 25, 2016, 11:18:52 PM »

Create a separated area which includes all objects/mechanics you want/need to explain. You can choose positions for the objects that the player encounters them in order. You know where these positions are, so you can add signs or whatever you want next to them to explain this specific thing.
After the player completed this tutorial (or skipped it), he will be teleported to a real level. An easy one.
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