1
00:00:00,089 --> 00:00:02,610
I have a confession to make.

2
00:00:02,610 --> 00:00:09,820
I’ve tried, many times, to play games like
Total War, Crusader Kings, and Endless Space.

3
00:00:09,820 --> 00:00:14,820
I've bought them, downloaded them, made time
in my calendar for them.

4
00:00:14,820 --> 00:00:17,250
And yet - the same thing always happens.

5
00:00:17,250 --> 00:00:22,070
I get about 20 minutes into the tutorial,
and I start to zone out.

6
00:00:22,070 --> 00:00:24,609
My eyes glaze over, and my mind drifts.

7
00:00:24,609 --> 00:00:28,630
I start to think about all the things I could
be doing that are more fun than this.

8
00:00:28,630 --> 00:00:31,810
Like filing my taxes or watching paint dry.

9
00:00:31,810 --> 00:00:36,710
And this is a shame - because for the most
part, video game tutorials are actually pretty

10
00:00:36,710 --> 00:00:37,790
good these days.

11
00:00:37,790 --> 00:00:40,180
They’re interwoven into the world and narrative.

12
00:00:40,180 --> 00:00:42,570
They’re well paced so as not to get boring.

13
00:00:42,570 --> 00:00:46,050
And they’re cleverly designed to be subtle
and unobtrusive.

14
00:00:46,050 --> 00:00:48,379
Even invisible at times.
*Impact*

15
00:00:48,379 --> 00:00:53,899
But for certain genres like RTS, grand strategy,
and city builders - let’s just call them

16
00:00:53,899 --> 00:00:55,920
“complex games” for this video.

17
00:00:55,920 --> 00:01:01,469
For these complex games, the learning experience
can be pretty miserable - and at their worst,

18
00:01:01,469 --> 00:01:06,630
these tutorials can stop people from ever
getting to the actual fun part of the game.

19
00:01:06,630 --> 00:01:10,899
So I wanted to find out if there were ways
to improve this experience.

20
00:01:10,899 --> 00:01:15,229
What techniques can we take from other genres
- in order to make complex games easier to

21
00:01:15,229 --> 00:01:17,509
teach and easier to learn?

22
00:01:17,509 --> 00:01:18,509
Well.

23
00:01:18,509 --> 00:01:25,099
I'm Mark Brown, and this is Game Maker's Toolkit.

24
00:01:25,099 --> 00:01:30,299
When we look at less complex games, I think
the biggest evolution has been a realisation

25
00:01:30,299 --> 00:01:35,310
that the tutorial doesn’t have to be something
you do all in one go, before you get to play

26
00:01:35,310 --> 00:01:36,430
the game properly.

27
00:01:36,430 --> 00:01:42,240
Instead, it can be split up and sprinkled
throughout the entire experience.

28
00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:45,369
And this approach has many advantages.

29
00:01:45,369 --> 00:01:51,100
The big one is that, according to Plants vs
Zombies designer George Fan - a player's willingness

30
00:01:51,100 --> 00:01:55,119
to learn grows along with their level of investment.

31
00:01:55,119 --> 00:01:59,979
So when games dump a load of tutorials on
you at the start - that often exceeds your

32
00:01:59,979 --> 00:02:01,439
willingness to learn.

33
00:02:01,439 --> 00:02:05,810
By delaying these lessons, the game can wait
until you're more invested.

34
00:02:05,810 --> 00:02:10,209
Another advantage is that you get to play
the “real game” almost immediately, instead

35
00:02:10,209 --> 00:02:13,880
of having to sit through something that can
feel boring and academic.

36
00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:18,400
And in fact, if each step of the tutorial
is small enough - you can sometimes teach

37
00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:21,280
players without having a tutorial at all.

38
00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:26,549
In Portal, for example, all of the early puzzle
chambers are actually inferring a small piece

39
00:02:26,549 --> 00:02:29,540
of information about how the game works.

40
00:02:29,540 --> 00:02:33,799
But as far as the player is concerned, they're
just playing the game.

41
00:02:33,799 --> 00:02:38,510
And the third benefit is that by delaying
these tutorials, they can deliver messages

42
00:02:38,510 --> 00:02:40,390
when it's actually relevant.

43
00:02:40,390 --> 00:02:45,610
The game can pop up the crafting tutorial
when you first find a crafting table - instead

44
00:02:45,610 --> 00:02:49,599
of telling you this at the start and hoping
you’ll have remembered by the time you finally

45
00:02:49,599 --> 00:02:51,140
get to make something.

46
00:02:51,140 --> 00:02:56,159
Now, complex games are typically still stuck
in the old format.

47
00:02:56,159 --> 00:03:00,329
And that means players have to learn before
they're invested, they don't get to actually

48
00:03:00,329 --> 00:03:04,590
play for hours, and they'll learn things that
might not be relevant for ages.

49
00:03:04,590 --> 00:03:07,689
And, look - I can understand why this happens.

50
00:03:07,689 --> 00:03:12,329
The reason it's possible to delay tutorials
in less complex games is that designers can

51
00:03:12,329 --> 00:03:16,360
slowly introduce game mechanics throughout
the course of the adventure.

52
00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:20,260
They can start you with a simple character
with very few abilities - and then slowly

53
00:03:20,260 --> 00:03:25,680
increase complexity as you find new upgrades,
unlock new skills, recruit new party members,

54
00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:26,870
and so on.

55
00:03:26,870 --> 00:03:30,889
But complex games typically need to begin
with everything turned on.

56
00:03:30,889 --> 00:03:35,749
As every system talks to each other - everything
needs to be online from the very beginning.

57
00:03:35,749 --> 00:03:36,969
Right?

58
00:03:36,969 --> 00:03:41,360
Bruce Shelley, who worked with Sid Meier on
the earliest Civilization games, coined the

59
00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,780
phrase “inverted pyramid of decision making”.

60
00:03:44,780 --> 00:03:49,170
The idea is that when you start Civilization,
you basically have one decision to make on

61
00:03:49,170 --> 00:03:52,250
your first turn: where should you settle your
city?

62
00:03:52,250 --> 00:03:55,700
And one decision on your next turn: what should
you build there?

63
00:03:55,700 --> 00:03:58,090
But now you have two decisions to make.

64
00:03:58,090 --> 00:04:01,489
What should you do with your new unit, and
what should your city build now?

65
00:04:01,489 --> 00:04:05,810
Soon after, those decisions start to balloon
- and by the end of the game you're making

66
00:04:05,810 --> 00:04:11,140
dozens of decisions per turn as you juggle
hundreds of units, cities, enemies, allies,

67
00:04:11,140 --> 00:04:12,349
and resources.

68
00:04:12,349 --> 00:04:16,989
The point being: over the course of a game
of Civilization, the complexity has organically

69
00:04:16,989 --> 00:04:22,550
grown from a single settler in a foggy map
- to a massive empire of competing nations.

70
00:04:22,550 --> 00:04:28,520
And so by virtue of its slow increase in complexity,
Civ is well placed to teach you its systems,

71
00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:30,460
bit by bit, as you discover them.

72
00:04:30,460 --> 00:04:35,030
An example of this in practice is the outstanding
city builder Frostpunk.

73
00:04:35,030 --> 00:04:39,150
In this game you begin with one job: gathering
resources by hand.

74
00:04:39,150 --> 00:04:42,169
And so the game gives you a quick tutorial
about that.

75
00:04:42,169 --> 00:04:46,270
Then you turn on the generator… and the
game gives you a tutorial about that.

76
00:04:46,270 --> 00:04:51,770
This carries on for the entire campaign, with
small tutorials for every major mechanic - but

77
00:04:51,770 --> 00:04:55,830
all the way you're actually playing the game
for yourself.

78
00:04:55,830 --> 00:04:58,740
Another avenue for this is the user interface.

79
00:04:58,740 --> 00:05:04,030
From my own experience, at least, a complex
UI can be one of the most overwhelming things

80
00:05:04,030 --> 00:05:05,030
to a new player.

81
00:05:05,030 --> 00:05:11,139
But how many of these buttons, bars, windows,
and panels need to be there on the first turn?

82
00:05:11,139 --> 00:05:12,830
So take a look at Mini Metro.

83
00:05:12,830 --> 00:05:17,620
At the beginning, there's almost no interface
at all, meaning all you need to worry about

84
00:05:17,620 --> 00:05:19,650
is connecting up train stations.

85
00:05:19,650 --> 00:05:23,919
It's only when you start playing that more
information slowly appears - like the train

86
00:05:23,919 --> 00:05:27,250
line menu, the clock, and the passenger counter.

87
00:05:27,250 --> 00:05:30,599
Another example can be found in Animal Crossing:
New Horizons.

88
00:05:30,599 --> 00:05:35,889
The tool wheel is a helpful, time-saving pinch
of UI design - but it could be difficult to

89
00:05:35,889 --> 00:05:40,660
introduce players to two different types of
inventory, at the start of the game.

90
00:05:40,660 --> 00:05:46,050
So, instead, you have to save up and buy the
tool wheel from the shop - meaning the player

91
00:05:46,050 --> 00:05:50,190
gets to set the pace in terms of how complex
the game's UI is.

92
00:05:50,190 --> 00:05:55,819
This does happen in some complex games - the
UI in Total War: Troy expands as you play,

93
00:05:55,819 --> 00:06:01,389
for example - but I'd love to see designers
get even more aggressive with this technique.

94
00:06:01,389 --> 00:06:06,500
So this is all about how a single campaign
can become more involved over time, allowing

95
00:06:06,500 --> 00:06:10,350
the developers to withhold teaching until
it’s actually relevant.

96
00:06:10,350 --> 00:06:13,520
But perhaps there's another way of thinking
about this.

97
00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:18,639
If you want to get started with fighting games
- definitely a complex genre, but that's outside

98
00:06:18,639 --> 00:06:19,700
the scope of this video.

99
00:06:19,700 --> 00:06:23,669
Uh, if you want to try your hand at fighting
games, you don’t need to know about trip

100
00:06:23,669 --> 00:06:29,380
guards, frame data, happy birthdays, turtling,
bivouacing, or pretzel motion in your first

101
00:06:29,380 --> 00:06:30,380
fight.

102
00:06:30,380 --> 00:06:31,759
And I only made up one of those.

103
00:06:31,759 --> 00:06:35,789
All you need to know to get cracking is how
to do more than button mash.

104
00:06:35,789 --> 00:06:40,800
So the designers of Mortal Kombat 11 considered
this when making the game's tutorial.

105
00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:46,000
They broke the player base down into segments
- like couch players, dabblers, connoisseurs,

106
00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:47,729
and online PvPers.

107
00:06:47,729 --> 00:06:52,030
Then they figured out what people actually
need to know, depending on what level of player

108
00:06:52,030 --> 00:06:58,439
they are - and put those lessons into three
tutorial brackets: basics, advanced, and strategy.

109
00:06:58,439 --> 00:07:03,720
The important part is that these three brackets
aren't designed to be played all in one go.

110
00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:08,740
Instead, the tutorial is specifically designed
to kick you out of the tutorial menu at the

111
00:07:08,740 --> 00:07:12,850
end of each segment - with the intention that
you will now go and play the game, use what

112
00:07:12,850 --> 00:07:15,120
you learned, and enjoy yourself.

113
00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:19,190
You can always come back and learn more when
you feel ready to go to the next level - and

114
00:07:19,190 --> 00:07:21,800
take your game from button mashing to bivouacing.

115
00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:23,411
Oh wait that's the one I made up.

116
00:07:23,411 --> 00:07:25,000
Anyway. 
Here's my point.

117
00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:30,538
Most complex games aren't meant to be played
though just once, like a story-driven adventure game.

118
00:07:30,538 --> 00:07:34,860
They're designed to be played over and over
again - like a fighting game.

119
00:07:34,860 --> 00:07:39,460
And so perhaps we can take this format, but
instead of thinking about peppering tutorials

120
00:07:39,460 --> 00:07:45,110
across a single campaign - we can zoom out
and put tutorials in between entire playthroughs

121
00:07:45,110 --> 00:07:46,110
of the campaign.

122
00:07:46,110 --> 00:07:49,250
And I've got a story that could show how this
might work.

123
00:07:49,250 --> 00:07:54,879
My first game in the Civilization series was
Civilization V - which was well received,

124
00:07:54,879 --> 00:08:00,449
but some hardcore fans criticised it for simplifying
or outright removing features that had been

125
00:08:00,449 --> 00:08:02,509
seen in earlier entries.

126
00:08:02,509 --> 00:08:05,050
Stuff like espionage and religion.

127
00:08:05,050 --> 00:08:10,219
But it was great for me because it was so
much easier to learn a game with fewer systems.

128
00:08:10,219 --> 00:08:15,039
I was able to get into the fun relatively
quickly, and actually play through a few campaigns.

129
00:08:15,039 --> 00:08:20,060
Later down the line, Firaxis would eventually
reintroduce those forgotten features - and

130
00:08:20,060 --> 00:08:24,080
more - in expansion packs like Gods & Kings
and Brave New World.

131
00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:28,419
And I found those pretty easy to learn as
well because I already knew the basics from

132
00:08:28,419 --> 00:08:31,700
Civ V: I just needed to figure out the new
stuff.

133
00:08:31,700 --> 00:08:36,470
And so these expansion packs essentially created
that gradual increase of complexity I've been

134
00:08:36,470 --> 00:08:40,810
talking about - just with entire campaigns
in between the tutorials.

135
00:08:40,810 --> 00:08:46,730
And so the same could be done for other games
- just, not necessarily through selling expansion packs.

136
00:08:46,730 --> 00:08:51,530
What I mean is: instead of an easy mode just
being the same game but with dumb AI - it

137
00:08:51,530 --> 00:08:55,400
could be a stripped back version of the game
with fewer systems to know about.

138
00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:59,350
Then the player can play again, with more
systems turned on.

139
00:08:59,350 --> 00:09:03,070
And keep going until they get to the full
fat version of the game.

140
00:09:03,070 --> 00:09:07,220
I'm not saying it would be easy to do - and
the game would have to be designed this way

141
00:09:07,220 --> 00:09:08,560
from the very beginning.

142
00:09:08,560 --> 00:09:16,060
But, if done well, it could be very effective
at teaching players as their investment rises.

143
00:09:16,060 --> 00:09:17,190
But okay.

144
00:09:17,190 --> 00:09:21,790
Maybe it doesn't make sense for a certain
game to sprinkle the tutorial out across multiple

145
00:09:21,790 --> 00:09:24,200
turns or multiple campaigns.

146
00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:27,890
Perhaps the design just doesn't accommodate
that and it actually does need to frontload

147
00:09:27,890 --> 00:09:30,500
the experience with a big load of learning.

148
00:09:30,500 --> 00:09:31,710
Fair enough.

149
00:09:31,710 --> 00:09:36,420
So - is there some way that we can make this
more interesting, more fun, and more effective

150
00:09:36,420 --> 00:09:41,080
at teaching people the basics?

151
00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:44,920
Something we see in almost every action game
tutorial is a bit where the game asks you

152
00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:47,040
to perform the action you're being taught.

153
00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:50,290
Like, you can't move on until you punch six
people.

154
00:09:50,290 --> 00:09:55,320
It's a simple but effective way of teaching
because you're asking the player to get hands-on

155
00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:56,890
and try for themselves.

156
00:09:56,890 --> 00:10:01,200
We call this kinaesthetic learning - which
is where deep learning occurs via the process

157
00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:03,400
of physically doing a task.

158
00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:06,960
Now - complex games do try and do this.

159
00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:10,730
You've probably played games where it walks
you through a sample campaign by pointing

160
00:10:10,730 --> 00:10:17,290
arrows at bits of the UI and asking you to
click here, click there, select this, drag that.

161
00:10:17,290 --> 00:10:19,860
And, well… you're involved! 
You're doing stuff!

162
00:10:19,860 --> 00:10:20,990
Aren't you clever?

163
00:10:20,990 --> 00:10:23,560
But are they actually that effective?

164
00:10:23,560 --> 00:10:24,690
I'm not so sure.

165
00:10:24,690 --> 00:10:29,460
Asher Vollmer, who made the elegant mobile
puzzler Threes, says of these arrows - "As

166
00:10:29,460 --> 00:10:32,370
far as the game is concerned; I have advanced.

167
00:10:32,370 --> 00:10:35,930
But as far as my brain is concerned; I've
learned nothing".

168
00:10:35,930 --> 00:10:40,090
Part of the problem is that blindly following
instructions just isn’t a very effective

169
00:10:40,090 --> 00:10:41,190
way to learn.

170
00:10:41,190 --> 00:10:46,930
So, in Asher’s game, he instead turns the
tutorial into a series of very small and simple

171
00:10:46,930 --> 00:10:49,040
puzzles for the player to figure out.

172
00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:53,490
Take, for example, this bit, which is about
telling you how to use the outside walls to

173
00:10:53,490 --> 00:10:55,210
rearrange tiles.

174
00:10:55,210 --> 00:10:58,040
He could ask players to “swipe to the left
twice”.

175
00:10:58,040 --> 00:10:59,710
And now "swipe up twice".

176
00:10:59,710 --> 00:11:06,090
But he doesn't: he says "Rearrange numbers
by pushing 'em into walls" and then "use the walls

177
00:11:06,090 --> 00:11:08,120
to add 1 & 2 together".

178
00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:13,000
It's a very simple task, but it's enough for
players to actually engage their brain and

179
00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:16,720
start to do the sort of thinking that will
be used in the proper game.

180
00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:20,720
Luckily, some complex games do a really good
job of this.

181
00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:26,280
If we look at the first tutorial in Frontier's
Planet Zoo, the game starts by walking you

182
00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:29,410
through the process of improving an animal’s
welfare.

183
00:11:29,410 --> 00:11:31,210
NANCY: "Aww, poor dabs!

184
00:11:31,210 --> 00:11:35,780
I'm sure it can't have escaped your attention
that the tigers look a bit miffed.

185
00:11:35,780 --> 00:11:39,580
That's because they aren't too keen on the
type of terrain in their habitat".

186
00:11:39,580 --> 00:11:43,070
It’s pretty hand hold-y and straightforward.

187
00:11:43,070 --> 00:11:47,960
But then it asks you to improve the overall
welfare of all the animals in the park.

188
00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:51,840
NANCY: "All of that should give you a pretty
good understanding of how to make animals

189
00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:56,440
happy, so I'd like you to go check on all
the other animals in the zoo and fix up any

190
00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:58,170
issues with their habitats."

191
00:11:58,170 --> 00:12:00,280
And it just lets you get on with it.

192
00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:05,000
At this point you're given hardly any guidance,
so you have to put into practice what you

193
00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:09,460
just learned - and do some critical thinking
to fill in the gaps in your knowledge.

194
00:12:09,460 --> 00:12:10,520
NANCY: "Right!

195
00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:14,810
I'm off for a cuppa while you make sure all
the animals are well looked after!"

196
00:12:14,810 --> 00:12:18,550
I found this really effective, and it happens
throughout the tutorial.

197
00:12:18,550 --> 00:12:23,020
You're put into zoos with specific problems,
shown how to fix one of them, and then you're

198
00:12:23,020 --> 00:12:25,630
asked to solve the rest on your own.

199
00:12:25,630 --> 00:12:30,690
Offworld Trading Company is another good example
- in each step of the tutorial you are given

200
00:12:30,690 --> 00:12:34,170
a list of objectives and have to solve them
for yourself.

201
00:12:34,170 --> 00:12:38,460
Simply by removing the “click here” arrow
and making the player find the right option

202
00:12:38,460 --> 00:12:41,610
themselves is enough to make them feel engaged.

203
00:12:41,610 --> 00:12:45,470
And it feels like you're actually playing
a game, right from the word go.

204
00:12:45,470 --> 00:12:49,350
But I won't pretend that this is a perfect
solution.

205
00:12:49,350 --> 00:12:51,750
And that's because of feedback.

206
00:12:51,750 --> 00:12:56,810
When we learn kinaesthetically, we use feedback
to see if we did it right or wrong.

207
00:12:56,810 --> 00:13:00,610
Now, if you make a mistake in an action game
you’ll see that immediately.

208
00:13:00,610 --> 00:13:05,580
But, in a strategy game, if you don’t balance
your economy correctly you might not realise

209
00:13:05,580 --> 00:13:07,470
for many hours.

210
00:13:07,470 --> 00:13:12,680
Complex games typically have a very slow feedback
cycle, which does make it hard to learn from

211
00:13:12,680 --> 00:13:14,450
hands-on experience.

212
00:13:14,450 --> 00:13:19,290
You may need to play an entire campaign to
understand how decisions and strategies will

213
00:13:19,290 --> 00:13:21,240
unfold over the whole game.

214
00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:25,880
Which is why the easiest games to learn are
those with short campaigns that you can repeat

215
00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:29,110
often - compared to those that last hours
and hours.

216
00:13:29,110 --> 00:13:31,580
But there are some potential solutions to
this.

217
00:13:31,580 --> 00:13:36,170
Perhaps the quick game in Civilization, which
dramatically speeds up the campaign, could

218
00:13:36,170 --> 00:13:38,710
be rebranded as a training tool?

219
00:13:38,710 --> 00:13:43,220
Another answer is for these tutorials to use
advisor characters who can warn you if you're

220
00:13:43,220 --> 00:13:46,802
doing something dumb that might have a negative
effect down the line.

221
00:13:46,802 --> 00:13:51,307
In Offworld I got told off for selling
aluminium for less than $10 a pop,

222
00:13:51,307 --> 00:13:54,700
and got a lesson in how the stock
market works.

223
00:13:54,700 --> 00:13:59,450
The nice thing is: these two solutions also
help with another problem that strategy game

224
00:13:59,450 --> 00:14:00,910
tutorials face.

225
00:14:00,910 --> 00:14:05,360
Which is this: it's pretty teach to people
how to do things - but it's much harder to

226
00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:08,290
explain why to do them.

227
00:14:08,290 --> 00:14:12,320
I can tell you which buttons to press to build
something in Civilization, but there's no

228
00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:16,770
simple way to explain what you should build,
or when you should build it, or where you

229
00:14:16,770 --> 00:14:18,600
should place it after it's built.

230
00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:23,470
So - like before, speeding up the feedback
cycle allows players to see the consequences

231
00:14:23,470 --> 00:14:26,000
of those choices for themselves.

232
00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:29,210
And advisor characters can offer recommendations
and warnings.

233
00:14:29,210 --> 00:14:32,810
ECONOMIC ADVISOR: "I think we have enough
workers for the moment.

234
00:14:32,810 --> 00:14:37,960
You may want to construct something else in your
city".

235
00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:41,250
There's one more thing that games do, that
make them easier to learn.

236
00:14:41,250 --> 00:14:45,230
And that's leveraging things that people are
already familiar with.

237
00:14:45,230 --> 00:14:48,070
You know: spikes hurt, ice is slippery.

238
00:14:48,070 --> 00:14:50,758
Coins let you buy things, keys open locks.

239
00:14:50,758 --> 00:14:53,500
Skulls mean danger, and so on.

240
00:14:53,500 --> 00:14:57,890
Plants vs Zombies doesn't need to tell you
that a zombie with a metal bucket on its head

241
00:14:57,890 --> 00:15:00,520
is more resilient than one with a plastic
cone.

242
00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:03,260
We know how these materials work in real life.

243
00:15:03,260 --> 00:15:08,750
By leaning on stuff that players already know,
games can feel intuitive to play - and it

244
00:15:08,750 --> 00:15:12,400
often means they don't require a tutorial
at all.

245
00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:18,220
Now over in the world of complex games - one
way to do this is to use a theme that is grounded

246
00:15:18,220 --> 00:15:19,500
or historical.

247
00:15:19,500 --> 00:15:23,630
Civilisation is definitely a franchise that
uses this to its advantage.

248
00:15:23,630 --> 00:15:28,413
People can bring their own knowledge of history
to make assumptions about how things will work.

249
00:15:28,413 --> 00:15:30,280
Most of the time.

250
00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:35,150
But perhaps the best place for complex games
to look for real world inspiration is in the

251
00:15:35,150 --> 00:15:38,090
user interfaces we encounter every day.

252
00:15:38,090 --> 00:15:44,230
Just like how Reigns copies the swipe left,
swipe right interaction from dating apps like Tinder.

253
00:15:44,230 --> 00:15:48,680
And how Disco Elysium's dialogue boxes are
inspired by a Twitter feed.

254
00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:53,030
So let's see all this in action and go back
to that bit in Planet Zoo where I was left

255
00:15:53,030 --> 00:15:55,790
to improve the animals' welfare on my own.

256
00:15:55,790 --> 00:15:57,220
How did I know what to do?

257
00:15:57,220 --> 00:16:02,550
Well, I know that I can sort this list by
welfare by clicking up here... because thats

258
00:16:02,550 --> 00:16:05,150
how a list works on most websites.

259
00:16:05,150 --> 00:16:10,790
And I know I can click this to find the animal
because the same icon is used on Google Maps.

260
00:16:10,790 --> 00:16:16,790
I can easily see where the problem lies, because
red indicates bad and green indicates good.

261
00:16:16,790 --> 00:16:21,850
I know how to filter the items because the
funnel icon is used on apps like Google Sheets

262
00:16:21,850 --> 00:16:27,340
- though I could probably make some assumptions
for what an animal wants just by my knowledge

263
00:16:27,340 --> 00:16:29,880
of real-world critters.

264
00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:33,690
On the flip side, here's an example of this
going very wrong.

265
00:16:33,690 --> 00:16:39,880
In playtests for Total War: Troy, some players
really struggled to find the end turn button.

266
00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:44,240
One player spent 40 minutes on the first turn,
unsure how to move on.

267
00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:45,240
The culprit?

268
00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:50,090
This button, which uses an hourglass to indicate
"end turn".

269
00:16:50,090 --> 00:16:53,970
Now, people who have been playing strategy
games for years might associate an hourglass

270
00:16:53,970 --> 00:16:58,260
with ending a turn - but I think most people
have a stronger association with something

271
00:16:58,260 --> 00:17:02,370
loading, including the cursor in old versions
of Windows.

272
00:17:02,370 --> 00:17:06,699
By the way, these loading animations are called
"Throbbers" and I'm really sorry to be the

273
00:17:06,699 --> 00:17:08,360
one to have to tell you this.

274
00:17:08,360 --> 00:17:11,539
Anyway - the devs swapped it for an arrow
before launch.

275
00:17:11,539 --> 00:17:14,009
And I think we can take two lessons from this.

276
00:17:14,009 --> 00:17:17,929
One: don't assume your audience has played
other games.

277
00:17:17,929 --> 00:17:21,089
And two: play test your tutorials.

278
00:17:21,089 --> 00:17:23,990
Like, a lot.

279
00:17:23,990 --> 00:17:28,919
So there are a few more techniques I want
to touch on before I wrap up.

280
00:17:28,919 --> 00:17:34,269
We all know the idiom "show, don't tell" - and
it applies to tutorial design too.

281
00:17:34,269 --> 00:17:38,590
Massive walls of text can be hard to get through
- and an image or video can sometimes tell

282
00:17:38,590 --> 00:17:41,420
you the same information in half the time.

283
00:17:41,420 --> 00:17:45,240
Take these preview windows for weapons in
Into the Breach.

284
00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:49,539
Designer Justin Ma said “You could type
out a hundred times, ‘Damages a tile and

285
00:17:49,539 --> 00:17:54,309
pushes adjacent tiles,’ but showing that
little animation of them moving is a thousand

286
00:17:54,309 --> 00:17:55,580
times more effective".

287
00:17:55,580 --> 00:18:00,679
Now, sure - text is almost always necessary
in the tutorial for a complex game.

288
00:18:00,679 --> 00:18:06,070
But designers should try to cut down words,
be consistent with language, avoid jargon,

289
00:18:06,070 --> 00:18:10,260
and… maybe this is just a personal preference…
but I don’t really like this thing where

290
00:18:10,260 --> 00:18:15,409
some pointless flavour text is spoken by a
voice actor but the actual important stuff

291
00:18:15,409 --> 00:18:16,460
is left unsaid.

292
00:18:16,460 --> 00:18:20,580
HOMER: "March north-west, towards the land
of Corinth.

293
00:18:20,580 --> 00:18:25,120
For even now, the Corinthians plot your demise".

294
00:18:25,120 --> 00:18:28,899
Another good technique is to provide ways
for players to find information when they

295
00:18:28,899 --> 00:18:29,940
get stuck.

296
00:18:29,940 --> 00:18:33,559
Things like tool tips - and tool tips within
tool tips.

297
00:18:33,559 --> 00:18:39,610
An encyclopaedia of terms and the ability
to rewind or replay specific bits of the tutorial.

298
00:18:39,610 --> 00:18:44,250
Ultimately, if someone gets stuck you don't
want their only solution to be Google.

299
00:18:44,250 --> 00:18:49,410
Plus, this should give you more confidence
to let players figure stuff out on their own,

300
00:18:49,410 --> 00:18:51,980
as the information will be there if they need
it.

301
00:18:51,980 --> 00:18:55,910
And finally, it's good to remember that people
learn in different ways.

302
00:18:55,910 --> 00:19:01,470
I won't deny that some of the ideas in this
video are biased by the fact that I am personally

303
00:19:01,470 --> 00:19:03,990
a very kinaesthetic and visual learner.

304
00:19:03,990 --> 00:19:06,909
And I have the attention span of a six year
old child.

305
00:19:06,909 --> 00:19:09,750
So providing multiple avenues can be good.

306
00:19:09,750 --> 00:19:14,429
Offworld, for example, has two ways to learn
- scripted tutorials that walk you through

307
00:19:14,429 --> 00:19:18,269
each step, and practice challenges where you
can learn through trial-and-error.

308
00:19:18,269 --> 00:19:24,480
Meanwhile, Total War is always good at providing
different tutorials for complete newbies and

309
00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:29,299
returning players who just want to figure
out the new stuff.

310
00:19:29,299 --> 00:19:35,259
Just like with the user interface in the last
episode of GMTK, the tutorial can be one of

311
00:19:35,259 --> 00:19:39,450
those things that's undervalued, and left
until the last moment.

312
00:19:39,450 --> 00:19:46,549
But, again: it shouldn't ignored because a
tutorial can be so important to a game's success.

313
00:19:46,549 --> 00:19:51,809
For this video I spoke to developers at places
like Paradox and Creative Assembly and everyone

314
00:19:51,809 --> 00:19:56,950
told me the same thing: teaching new people
how to play is the only way for a franchise

315
00:19:56,950 --> 00:20:01,169
to grow its fanbase - and avoid withering
into irrelevance.

316
00:20:01,169 --> 00:20:06,490
In this video, I've identified some techniques
that I think could make tutorials better:

317
00:20:06,490 --> 00:20:13,240
Finding ways to break the tutorial up - either
across a campaign, or across multiple campaigns.

318
00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:17,999
Finding ways to have the player get their
hands on the system and learn by doing, rather

319
00:20:17,999 --> 00:20:19,240
than reading.

320
00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:23,800
And finding ways to be intuitive, familiar,
and welcoming.

321
00:20:23,800 --> 00:20:29,220
Thankfully, strides are being made in this
area, with more thoughtful tutorials and more

322
00:20:29,220 --> 00:20:30,940
intuitive interfaces.

323
00:20:30,940 --> 00:20:33,580
But there's still a lot of work to be done.

324
00:20:33,580 --> 00:20:38,320
Until I can get through the Crusader Kings
tutorial without falling asleep, we're not

325
00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:39,320
quite there.

326
00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:40,590
Thanks for watching.

327
00:20:40,590 --> 00:20:44,220
If you like what you just saw and want to
show your appreciation, please check out this

328
00:20:44,220 --> 00:20:46,029
quick YouTube ad break.

329
00:20:46,029 --> 00:20:47,769
Stick around afterwards for an indie game
recommendation.

330
00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:58,320
My recommendation this time is Narita Boy
- a trippy, retro-tinged brawler with a killer

331
00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:00,340
pixel art aesthetic.

332
00:21:00,340 --> 00:21:06,470
It's a minor Metroidvania with a bigger focus
on fight scenes: which reminds me of Guacamelee.

333
00:21:06,470 --> 00:21:11,759
And the strange, esoteric plot makes me think
of Sword & Sworcery.

334
00:21:11,759 --> 00:21:16,029
The game's not without its problems - including
a floaty jump and simplistic level design

335
00:21:16,029 --> 00:21:20,870
- but I just found the whole thing enchanting
and utterly engrossing.

336
00:21:20,870 --> 00:21:25,840
Nartia Boy's on everything - including Xbox
Game Pass.