Hard Light Productions Forums
Hosted Projects - Standalone => Diaspora => Topic started by: General Battuta on March 25, 2015, 01:08:03 pm
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We were just talking about this (again) and someone suggested it actually get made into a thread!
Diaspora's tutorial was safe, smart, and technically excellent. It wasn't what players expect in a modern game. Sandboxed tutorials are out, and part-by-part tutorials built into the action, teaching players what they need as they go, are in. This is actually pretty clever! From a psychological perspective, it breaks up the learning structure into smaller cycles of learning->performance->fun, and it connects skills to bits of narrative.
I think Diaspora could easily do an awesome tutorial like this. In the R1 context we were talking about 'reboot a Viper that's suffered a systems crash/CNI attack'. You can start drifting around the battle Lee-style, get your movement online, complete a movement goal, get your guns, so on. This would get players right into the spectacle that sells the game and smooth out the intimidating learning cliff.
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Ace Combat Assault Horizon is probably the worst title in the franchise but they succesfully implemented the most engaging tutorial in all the Ace Combat games by doing exactly what you suggest: flight and weapons checks in the middle of a gigantic air battle above Miami. It definitely works but a bit more involved to implement. I would probably argue the biggest reason we went with a "Now do this" tutorial was because forcing a player's throttle to zero or locking their controls is easier to do and easier to bug test. :P
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The idea behind the second tutorial was to make it so that the score you got at the end was a reason to possibly replay the mission. Unfortunately not many people liked the mission enough to want to replay it. Can't say I blame them to be honest, the mission didn't quite pull it off.
One of the big problems with FS2_Open is the sheer number of controls in the game. Although you can play the game with basic controls I do feel like we're cheating the player somewhat if we don't explain what more than half the controls do. Explaining the advanced controls in a skippable tutorial might be an idea though.
I did have an idea for a new tutorial that would avoid the problem we had with the Shattered Armistice ones but the problem is figuring out how to turn a cool idea into an engaging mission. I also like the idea of a slowly rebooting fighter but that won't fit in with the current R2 plotline. It could work pretty well for R3 possibly.
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I also like the idea of a slowly rebooting fighter but that won't fit in with the current R2 plotline. It could work pretty well for R3 possibly.
Well, the tutorial doesn't have to take place in chronological order; you could have it take place during R1, or be a teaser for R3, or even be an isolated incident not part of any of the campaigns where the player dies at the end.
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... where the player dies at the end.
Heh, Frontlines 2335 I'm looking at *you*
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Well, the tutorial doesn't have to take place in chronological order; you could have it take place during R1, or be a teaser for R3, or even be an isolated incident not part of any of the campaigns where the player dies at the end.
True, but you have no idea how many complaints we'd get from people who couldn't follow the plot if we did that. :p
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Also, a game like Dark Souls or Bloodborn can probably get away with killing the player as part of the tutorial, but generally speaking you want the player to have some measure of accomplishment.