I was never really a fan of in-game tutorials, at least not during actual gameplay. It is distracting and I would say that it takes away from the gaming experience. I''m sure you''ve all seen them: things like "Press Alt to jump here to get up on the platform" popping up as you''re playing a game. Sure, it''s helpful to beginners but it''s distracting and even annoying to experienced players. I think it should be a rule that games can not interrupt gameplay in such a fashion. Instead, either have all of the contorls clearly laid out in a booklet that comes with a game (hard for a game that''s downloaded ) or have a seperate tutorial level that teaches you all of the basics and the rest can be found by using a help option through the in-game menu. Granted the convenience of in-game tutorials is tempting. When you pick up a new weapon who knows how you should use it? Well, if the game interface is set up correctly then it should become almost obvious. But again, I''d suggest pressing F1 for a quick-help menu and now your new weapon is part of the help screen with details and keyboard/mouse/joystick instructions, if necessary. My interest in this topic comes from games like Zelda (which are also designed for younger children) where game characters were saying things like "Thank you for shopping at my store. I just sold you the slingshot. To use it go to the Inventory menu, select it using the controller, press the Blue B button. During game play, once armed, use it with any one of the yellow buttons on your controller." What? How would a game character/town shopkeep know about that? Yeah, it''s the easy way to tell players what''s going on but wouldn''t a help screen be better? Can anyone who reads (even young gamers) figure out that a help screen gives you all of the answers? Which would you rather include in a game and why?

i kinda like in-game tutorials, for when i want to unwrap the game and play for a bit before i actually read the manual... but it would be nice to at least have an option to turn it off. that way, if you have played before, you don''t have to click through help screens that pop up to tell you how to jump again.
i DO hate it when this happens more than once in a game though, i.e. when it tells you how to jump each time you get near a place to jump.
just my 2ó

What are you kidding??In game tutorials rock.If I have to read and remember your whole blasted manual to play your game then it''s going to gather dust let me tell you.I think that tutorials should not always be on however.Maybe like how they did in ff4 (I think it was 4) where they had one specific place in which to learn the basics.I''m serious I have never ever read any manual of any game I ever stol... I mean bought not even fighting games.So do yourself a favor and put a in game tutorial and spare yourself the many nights of "How do I get such and such to do ..." emails.

sometimes in game tutorials (if well done) can actually add to the atmosphere. personally i hate games which treat you stupid, but some games poke fun at it (ie metal gear solid). in game tutorials should ALWAYS be skipable. they should not treat the player as if they were a moron. they should try to only show more advanced stuff (ie techniques, not single button obvious stuff in the instructions on one page that can be figured out with a few random button presses). as long as they are skiable or optional, they are fine.

many games choose the tutorial mode over in game tutorials, so players can skip them completely. sometimes this is bad because the gamer could forget the technique they learned when they need it. young gamers are not stupid, they can handle most semi complex games with "smart" (ie they integrate it in a novel way)and skippable in game tutorials.

i hate help srceens. they force the anxious gamer to stop and read pages of information (which maybe quite large depeneding on the complexity of the game). it also has the problem of players needing to stop the action to check things early on if controls are slightly confusing. in game tutorials help show the player the limitations of the game world, the techniques, and ways certain problems can be solved as a warm up to the game.

ff4 did a great job by having schools that you could go to and the ppl there would tell you different tips and tricks.

it all depends on the game.

believe it or not, i never seen such messages in zelda. maybe its in the newer ones, butthe ones i played had no wierd help messages that were out of plac nor akward. also many times games that use this type of system, only show the message the first time a new thing is learned/availible. also many times these hints can be turned off via the options menu.

i hate games that show me the things i can do in the help/manual, yet cant do them until a certain art of the game

Half-Life did this quite well. The ''Hazard Course'' was seperate from the game itself - accessed via the game menu - and rather that being a straightforward tutorial level, it made itself out to be ''a course that all Black Mesa personel must be certified in.''
In the game intro, there''s even a reference to it.

Superpig
- saving pigs from untimely fates
- sleeps in a ham-mock at www.thebinaryrefinery.cjb.net

Well, in my opinion Freespace did this right in that there were tutorials alternatly between the first few missions; there was also the crucial option to skip each tutorial mission.

However, the actual content of the things sucked. The instructions were confusing, and I really don't want to be taught advanced targetting and communication keys when I haven't even found the fire button yet.

I agree with the original posters point on Zelda; it is really bad when instructions along the lines of 'press button B to achieve X' are spoken by in-game characters. Pop up a message, sure, but don't tell me that the shopkeeper is telling me this or I will want to ask him WTF he is talking about (because I can roleplay).

[edited by - g on July 13, 2002 8:44:14 PM]

Briefly.

In game tutorials are needed, because, in case nobody noticed, manuals for games are getting smaller and smaller (and in the case of NWN, largely incorrect.) That''s because nobody READS the manuals anymore. Regardless.

The typical gamer nowadays will open the box, look at the manual to see how big it is. Start the game. If he or she does not understand the game in 20 minutes, the game will never get played enough. It might even get returned.

That''s life. That''s why the more complex games almost demand intuitive interfaces or in game tutorials.

sorry if this has been mentiond but why not have in-game tutorials as an option? i like games that have this as an option. and having help screen menus as well wouldn''t be too bad.

I think in game tutorials really spoil the suspension of disbelief. No in-game character should be aware that the game is just a game, or your world is simply not believable.

Just an idea. I do not play many games myself, so I don't know if it's already in every game or not. Couldn't one have optional "help" window, perhaps discrete with translucent background, which easily can be turned on/off, like the back mirror or camera in a racer. In this window would the most recent and relevant excerpts of the manual be displayed, and perhaps hide itself when nothing new has come for a while. Experienced players could turn this off when they think they know everything, while others could stop reading if and when they have the time. Cleverly structure, such a manual and "help window" could work really well. Like, when the character picks up an item, it could display first in the window something like:

Smiley. Only way to beat big-bad-mama-boss.
Usage: Hit space while running holding CTRL-key down.

Just a suggestion.

[edited by - CWizard on July 14, 2002 6:42:12 AM]