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well you know the saying: something is perfect as soon as you can't take anything away from it, not when you can not add an additional thing. just try to be.. really "honest" and ask yourself "would it be still the same idea/game/mechanic if i took x away?" repeat over and over ^^
all the best!
#4976195 How can I train myself to come up with simpler ideas?
Posted by
on 03 September 2012 - 03:30 PM
#4975406 Tutorials - How to Learn a Game's Mechanics
Posted by
on 01 September 2012 - 06:09 AM
thank you so much for all your replies guys, really appreciate it!
i also think that a really good tutorial doesn't let the player know he or she is actually playing "just" the tutorial, here are some pretty ingenious observations
regarding this implicit approach to how to teach the games mechanics:
http://www.significant-bits.com/super-mario-bros-3-level-design-lessons
(unfortunately these two are pretty much the only ones i could find on this particular subject.)
yet today many games seem to jam its mechanics right into the players face - which i think correlates with the circumstance that players spend less an less time on truly exploring a game, thusly "giving it a chance".
(which in my opinion is because we buy/download/play many more and cheaper games [indie-bundles, steam sales, etc.] then some of us used to in the time of super mario bros. personally speaking in those days buying a game was a pretty huge investment, and therefore i was ready to spent much more time on "getting it".)
so what i think is that often this "getting-it" part seems so important to designers (or possibly doesn't seem to be important at all, as this article might suggest: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134531/tutorials_learning_to_play.php?page=1) that we end up in clumsy, verbose tutorials - neglecting that actually the tutorial (in many cases) is the players first impression and might decide whether he or she keeps playing or not.
i also think that a really good tutorial doesn't let the player know he or she is actually playing "just" the tutorial, here are some pretty ingenious observations
regarding this implicit approach to how to teach the games mechanics:
http://www.significant-bits.com/super-mario-bros-3-level-design-lessons
(unfortunately these two are pretty much the only ones i could find on this particular subject.)
yet today many games seem to jam its mechanics right into the players face - which i think correlates with the circumstance that players spend less an less time on truly exploring a game, thusly "giving it a chance".
(which in my opinion is because we buy/download/play many more and cheaper games [indie-bundles, steam sales, etc.] then some of us used to in the time of super mario bros. personally speaking in those days buying a game was a pretty huge investment, and therefore i was ready to spent much more time on "getting it".)
so what i think is that often this "getting-it" part seems so important to designers (or possibly doesn't seem to be important at all, as this article might suggest: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134531/tutorials_learning_to_play.php?page=1) that we end up in clumsy, verbose tutorials - neglecting that actually the tutorial (in many cases) is the players first impression and might decide whether he or she keeps playing or not.
#4975289 Tutorials - How to Learn a Game's Mechanics
Posted by
on 31 August 2012 - 07:43 PM
hi guys,
i'm currently writing a paper on game tutorials or to be more specific: on how game mechanics are taught in computer games, for example with text-hints, cutscenes, implicitly through level design, etc.
the point i'm trying to make here is that learning and understanding is an extremely gratifying experience, yet (good) tutorials in games seem to be undervalued in the design process - and game design literature also doesn't provide too much help on this. (as far as my current readings go)
so, i'd be very thankful if anybody knew any sources which might be helpful for my research and/or could name me games with especially good or bad tutorials/how it's mechanics are taught.
thanks in advance, have a good one!
i'm currently writing a paper on game tutorials or to be more specific: on how game mechanics are taught in computer games, for example with text-hints, cutscenes, implicitly through level design, etc.
the point i'm trying to make here is that learning and understanding is an extremely gratifying experience, yet (good) tutorials in games seem to be undervalued in the design process - and game design literature also doesn't provide too much help on this. (as far as my current readings go)
so, i'd be very thankful if anybody knew any sources which might be helpful for my research and/or could name me games with especially good or bad tutorials/how it's mechanics are taught.
thanks in advance, have a good one!