This is a Talk About Tutorials, Press A to Skip

[@skipthetutorial]

I'll sit this one out.

[@SkipToPlay]

me too

[@MrLuigiBean1]

Didn't expect to see you here, Skip!

[@yolostudio5972]

00:50 Press A to skip 01:40 What to avoid: First stuff -> Pop ups 02:34 Avoid Controller Schemes 04:30 Avoid Walls of text 05:20 What to do -> TEACH GRADUALLY THROUGH EXPERIENCE 11:14 Testing your tutorials 14:07 No tutorial option 15:03 Make things easy to understand by using STANDARDS 16:30 Directing attention 17:25 Localization (not about translate) 17:54 Controllers 20:40 Conclusion + Q&A ======================================================= We are # yolostudiogame - a small indie game studio. We are seriously learning about the game industry. So we tweet a GDC video summary every Tuesday. Happy making game, everyone!

[@akirachisaka9997]

I'm just so glad someone mentioned the PlayStation's X-confirm vs O-confirm problem... There are Japanese games that are designed to use X as jump and O as pick up... And when they get ported to US... well...

[@mattj2389]

Problem? Games have been using different buttons forever and we adapt. It's not a problem.

[@gravityhypernova]

I always get messed up trying to use a console controller, since I have almost no experience using them. It's a bit strange that there is that standard of X for confirm and O for cancel. An X has a negative connotation in Western culture too; crossing something out. Getting an answer wrong on a test. The X is blue and the O is red too; that seems like it should be reversed, given the usual associations with each. So the Japanese way seems more logical... and well, they invented the scheme first, right?

[@milboxr9772]

@@gravityhypernova I never noticed that I guess I just got so used to it

[@columbus8myhw]

In Japan, they don't make check marks, they make circles. So on a test, for example, a circle next to a question means you got it right, and an x means you got it wrong. I had a Japanese language teacher who would draw a huge circle across the entire page if you got everything on that page right.

[@thomasbayer1843]

Grade A talk. Amazing. The point is focused and clear!

[@Joeofiowa]

That bit at the beginning was pure gold

[@JustDaZack]

Top Tier Presentation! Here in Germany the keys of "Y" and "Z" are switched on the keyboard. Often this leads to lots of frustration when playing a game that has e.g. a "Z/X/C"-scheme mixed with fast gameplay on top of not offering changing the input.

[@AndrewRKenny]

So many amazing insights in this video. It's been a while since I first watched it but I come back to it now and then just because observations like the timer taking focus away from the player and the like is amazing.

[@pierrestempin100]

4:15 Sooooooooooo much thanks for sharing this !

[@allooutrick8266]

The hero of the people

[@Dominik-K]

Wait a minute! I know ... Wow, the internet is a small place, and I really like this GDC talk

[@buttonasas]

...Except Starseed Pilgrim, the example game with "no tutorial" actually has a one minute tutorial to make sure you know the controls :D It helps a lot and breaks no mystery!

[@johnx140]

This was the best talk to far!

[@gassnake2004]

Some games just don't do well with the "immersive" approach to tutorials. Imagine how a game like ARMA or Dwarf Fortress would do without popups and wiki guides, respectively, just to tell you some of the options that are available. Also, some players actively avoid learning how to play a game, then get mad when they don't know how to play, which can be a bit rage inducing...

[@BrotherO4]

That is due to another issue. The game controls aren’t design not streamline well enough. So instead of fixing the issue they slap a bad tutorial. Which is what all bad tutorials mostly comes from. Some sort of bad design, bad levels design, or whatever then simple slap some tape to fix it

[@sirdiealot7805]

Great talk as always Xelu.

[@SenorFlamingo]

9:56 The picture on the right is actually a game called Command&Conquer Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge, not Warcraft 4. As a veteran player of the game I couldn't help myself but correct the mistake.

[@FusionDeveloper]

You know what I don't like in games? when you just stare at a destination and ignore everything created in a level, to reach the destination. Yes, I like to know where to go, but I think something like a compass would be better. Outer Worlds just came out and I think the main selling point is the visuals in the environment, but i find myself not seeing the environment, while just trying to hurry and get to the next map marker. I think it you just had 3 dots on the cross-hairs like < · > where you are told go left, straight or right, you could then relax and enjoy the scenery, while always knowing which way you are supposed to go, and not worry about getting lost or create tons of backtracking on accident, due to wanting to adventure and explore.

[@martinsalko1]

You're on for a treat when a video starts with "hellouu"

[@Will_Forge]

The iconic line "It's dangerous to go alone. Take this. *gives you a sword*" is memorable because none of us remember that it's actually the best tutorial we've ever seen. In one screen, they tempt you with a cave. In one line of dialogue, two short sentences they tell you "this game is dangerous, and entirely about combat and overcoming dangers." then "You will be on your own, and will have to solve the game's challenges (puzzles) by yourself, alone." and then follow that up by driving the point home with an order "take this" while granting you a weapon to defend yourself with a fanfare that would become the most iconic item acquisition audio medley in video game history. Getting that sword screams "this sword is cool. this is what you need to learn to use next". By reusing the same fanfare and pose throughout the game they continue to remind you of that lesson: "This is the item you need to learn to use and master next", or "this is important, watch how this item changes your health or the functionality of your candle." It's amazing, and inspiring, and I never even realized how much of a tutorial it was until just now.

[@TheMisterGuy]

That's not a tutorial. Please stop pretending everything Miyamoto does is genius. Also please stop pretending that giving the sword is "the tutorial" for Legend of Zelda. There's a whole manual, the title screen tells you the story and shows you all the items in the game, there's a map of the overworld in the manual...there is TONS of tutorial material that you're pretending doesn't exist, and you're acting like this game was easy to understand when it wasn't and there were tons of external "hint" systems.

[@LadieFromHell]

Out Standing, yes Developer's Should follow his Video!

[@VertegrezNox]

^_^ GDC has lots of great vids & I enjoy sharing them with my dev friends

[@emberytp]

A reminder to accomodate for non-qwerty keyboards so people don't have to start using AutoHotKey just to play a game that's hardcoded WASD. Personally my favourite button-mapping experience was Hat in Time PC, not counting the times my DS4 wasn't being recognized for some reason.

[@ashutoshbains5967]

BOTW has done a pretty good job with the tutorial part.

[@Will_Forge]

I was gonna say "Original Zelda". The iconic line "It's dangerous to go alone. Take this. *gives you a sword*" is memorable because none of us remember that it's actually the best tutorial we've ever seen. In one screen, they tempt you with a cave. In one line of dialogue, two short sentences they tell you "this game is dangerous, and entirely about combat and overcoming dangers." then "You will be on your own, and will have to solve the game's challenges (puzzles) by yourself, alone." and then follow that up by driving the point home with an order "take this" while granting you a weapon to defend yourself with a fanfare that would become the most iconic item acquisition audio medley in video game history. Getting that sword screams "this sword is cool. this is what you need to learn to use next". By reusing the same fanfare and pose throughout the game they continue to remind you of that lesson: "This is the item you need to learn to use and master next", or "this is important, watch how this item changes your health or the functionality of your candle." It's amazing, and inspiring.

[@RomainDelmaire]

I don't really agree with saying "don't take away mechanics after the prologue". That is what Metroid Prime does, and imo, it makes the game better. It gives you a goal, you start with those awesome powers and taking them away from you gives you a reason to go get them back.

[@judgeomega]

for games that start slow, giving players a glimpse of high level gameplay could keep ppl playing who might otherwise think the entire game is going to be slow.

[@KrymsonScale]

Some great games start out like that, you should definitely do what is suited for your game.

[@tigerhead85]

"Mechanics", not lvls, powers, skill, or attributes (or the like). What I understood it to mean is not taking out core game mechanics, say they gave you the ability to fly in a prologue, but after that you never fly ever for the rest of the game.

[@Gnidel]

@@judgeomega Isn't it better to just not start slow?

[@pawelmurias]

@@judgeomega starting with a fast glimpse, then slowing down and then speeding back up seems like a counterproductive approach

[@EduardoYukio]

This was absolutely amazing, It filled me with determination! Mainly the Dead Space/Half-Life 2 comparison, it made me very happy to realize those things.

[@sepnax]

am I the only one that finds satisfaction in figuring games out that have terrible tutorials and mysterious UI and control design. There's special excitement to it because if you miss something crucial then you're in big trouble.

[@eminimamoglu3072]

Great talk

[@FractalPrism.]

skullgirls has a fantastic tutorial system, it addresses noob and vet levels of skill.

[@Nein01]

4:09 "so here are all the controllers out there" No GameCube buttons, the best controller ever made

[@MortalVildhjart]

Great talk, Sad that there was so much Phasing on the Mic at some point.

[@howmuchbeforechamp]

who has taken the controller and just started pressing all the buttons to map what they do?

[@DctrBread]

tbh there are times where i would prefer to just have huge documents possibly paired with some useful debug tools as my tutorial. obviously this doesn't work for your average game or use case, but if im just trying to learn everything i possibly can as fast as i can, i hate not having that kinda thing available.

[@zenithquasar9623]

Also, maybe have one UXer on the team, they will sort your stuff out. ;)

[@NoahNCopeland]

"dont use reading/pop ups" "so here's my game where I used reading/pop ups"

[@dorobo81]

Yes INSIDE did it perfectly

[@columbus8myhw]

Something interesting about _The Witness:_ the only way you ever interact with the world is through drawing lines. There are no buttons or levers, just lines. So the controls are very easy to learn. (The puzzle types are harder…)

[@columbus8myhw]

The game is about solving puzzles in a 3D environment. The way you solve these puzzles is by drawing lines. Most of these puzzles are on little screens found throughout the world. The game never explicitly tells you the goal of any puzzle, nor where in the world to find them.

[@dannyl5771]

Good Talk, thx !

[@SteadyPaceVince]

You should have be given more time to this guy, his talk is pretty neat

[@AnderBoniolo]

THANK YOU FOR THE PROMPTS!

[@Mouzekiller83]

not realy a tuto,but what i realy dislike are gaming hints/tipps you get in some games at the loadingscreen. they can be helpful. but not when they show half a book to read as a loadingscreen tipp but it shows only for a second because the loading is done. had such many times already.

[@laeviga-sunstrider]

A game's campaign is supposed to be the campaign, gradually teaching the mechanics through relevant story beats. The multiplayer is where all the gloves come off.

[@matthiasl.6551]

10:09 "Warcraft 4" ? I don't get the joke, what is the actual game on the right ?

[@notrealvitorYT]

lol just noticed that. Judging by the UI I would guess its one of the Command&Conquers

[@sfisabbt]

Also, about key standards, not every keyboard is qwerty so please let us remap the keys, including the keys used in the construction menu, the level editor, not just the main play mode.

[@daxterquiny]

I'm sad they don't put the links in the description or anywhere, so: 4:20 - thoseawesomeguys.com/prompts

[@rhondahoward8025]

"Don't treat your players like morons" Sometimes it's possible to _overestimate_ how smart your players are too though. I remember the interrogation part of Detroit Become Human and the famous objective: make the android "reach optimal stress levels". Only a HANDFUL of Let's Plays I saw got it right. And I mean even the basic concept. So many people didn't get that they were supposed to _raise_ stress, not lower it, and they weren't supposed to pick the nice options like reassurance. They were supposed to pick the pressure ones like terrify. Even I did it wrong, because I got that I was supposed to stress him out, but I was going for 100% which was too much and of course he just self-destructs if you do that. In hindsight, it shouldn't have been too confusing (though Let's Players don't always have common sense. Just saying.). They use color, blue being recognized as stable and good and red as bad. They also give you a bracket of the optimal stress zone but I will admit it's rather small and hard to see on your first playthrough. You'd have to kinda squint to see it. There's even text telling you when the stress is too low, but again, some players were admittedly a bit dense.

[@DeepCDiva]

I thought that scene did an okay job for most people but it's a treacherous thing to put it in a bar and colorcode the reactions. Kinda gamifies the whole thing and opens up for confusing interpretations, when it would be more appropriate and thematic to allow it to flow as a dialogue instead of a silly puzzle.

[@rhondahoward8025]

@@DeepCDiva So how would you redo it? I always like hearing solutions instead of simply what the original problem probably was.

[@ozma2985]

Didn't play the game, but the wording 'optimal stress levels' can easily be interpreted as 'low stress', just the same as 'optimal sugar levels' or 'optimal fat levels'.

[@ZoidbergForPresident]

If they're supposed to raise stress, why give the player the option to "reassure"? Seems like a design issue to me.

[@u1849ka]

That's not really overestimating intelligence; it's just being vague. If I say I want "the right amount" of peanut butter on my sandwich, but nothing communicates how much that is, you're not stupid for getting the amount wrong.

[@DStecks]

It's worth stating that Overwatch has an in-depth tutorial because it knows it might be literally the first FPS you've ever played, and even if you're using a gamepad, changing your view and translating your position at the same time is not something that is immediately intuitive like "press right on the joystick to move right, and try buttons until one of them is jump", so it's really disingenuous to compare the two.

[@TonkarzOfSolSystem]

8:14 If you ever actually watch a new player play Half Life 2 you'll realize they completely miss all of these things.

[@kadirlofca]

Guys I pressed A it doesnt skip this video

[@lolindirlink]

I quickly want to drop that controller schemes are actually not bad at all! Yes they are overwhelming, and you don't look at everything the first time. But that's why it's often in the boring loadingscreen. I actually did find another ability here and there while staring at such a loading screen. I also often like these scheme's directly in the remap menu. So i think they're -sometimes- a nice addition. But shouldn't ofcourse be the only "tutorial" the game offers.

[@Morgwic]

++ For experienced gamers they are a great way to just check what the controls are at the start of the game so that you can safely skip the boring tutorials without fear of missing out on something.

[@hexzyle]

Putting them in the loading screen means you are still forcing them on players who may not need the info. Tuck that stuff into a menu.

[@diegobrando3409]

People who don't like tutorials are the same people who get stuck in certain situations and complain how unfair the game is. Or complain the game has shit controls.

[@KrymsonScale]

I think tutorials are great screeners for people like that. The game isn't for them or they are rushing past a tutorial.

[@ElectroVenik90]

Old Galaxian had a great tutorial.

[@felenov]

I would probably say Portal has the best tutorial. The game is the tutorial

[@ZoidbergForPresident]

16:00 wasd is entirely unplayable. I know the guy meant that the standard is to use the keys over there on the left but please, stop HARDCODING the controls! wasd to move on an azerty keyboard renders your game unplayable.

[@GameDevMadeEasy]

Who uses an azerty keyboard? And for what context? But yes, controls should be easily mappable by the player. I agree with that point. But as a developer, I always test using WSAD + mouse (if needed) in the engine while working.

[@ZoidbergForPresident]

@@GameDevMadeEasy Well anyone in France and french-speaking Belgium for starters. Including me. And of course when you dev, you use your own layouts. Although with the world dev teams now they could easily use different layouts so I'd say that's something that should be implemented asap, even in dev. Unless you want to alienate players, if yes then enjoy it. :P

[@VertegrezNox]

When he was talking about control scheme mapping, my thought was.. Just allow the player to customize it, and we're mostly good. Also "new controllers" (such as MOBA mouse) are more prevalent now, compared to 10-20 years ago. I don't expect Devs to know my button mapping, but it should be reassignable.

[@ZoidbergForPresident]

@@VertegrezNox Actually I think he was talking about the fact that such things SUBMERGE the player with info, like reading the 100 pages of a new boardgame manual to people you want to play with. :P

[@VertegrezNox]

2:33 oh it's definitely more than one reason not to do this ^_^ I remember N64Goldeneye007 had several schemes to use but nothing inbetween "Kissy" & "Honey" controls (changes more than just shoot button, but look & movement are different too) many newer games stopped doing this, but still occasionally I run across a modern game with these 1990s limited control/button layout options.

[@thedarkdragon1437]

A lot of games have missed the memo. Attention span wise tho....yhea no, not always, but i guess most of the time.

[@vishnuprasanth4725]

I clicked on this video to verify if pressing `A` does anything. It doesn't.

[@lue64]

oh hey mental checkpoint again

[@barkspawn]

One of the worst tutorials I've seen was in Battlefleet Gothic Armada 2, just constant popups and information overload, unskippable and doesn't let you play around with other mechanics while it's trying to shoehorn you into each mechanic

[@asboll]

It is so perplexing why circle and X have not switched position on PS. Xbox has it right with A and B. Closest is continue and right button is no

[@pierrestempin100]

Yep but when you have the habit to use Nintendo controllers (with A/B and X/Y switched), there's a time of adaptation to play with XBox controllers.

[@alyastastic]

Nintendo and PS did it first, Xbox is the one that did things different later. The buttons themselves borrow from a cultural standard: in Japan, instead of a tick and a cross they use a circle and a cross. To them that's like if B was accept and A was back.

[@u1849ka]

I still hate that WASD took over the keyboard standard. :/

[@TonkarzOfSolSystem]

Portal absolutely feels like a tutorial.

[@brannonharris4642]

Didn't realize GMTK channel stole this dude's talk for his video. Lmao

[@febinthomas1133]

Isn't it the other way around?

[@maikiby]

A

[@alexfrank5331]

"Popup text is horrible!" Then he makes a game with pop-up text that also moves AND has a time limit to read. /facepalm Would've been better if each round starts with a test/warm up, it only ends when each player does the mechanic once. The player who figure it out first will just tell his friends, and it's interactive and you know each player knows what to do when a round beings.

[@squib308]

There is nothing more annoying to a PC Keyboard/mouse player than stupid 'press X', 'use RB' for a game. If that happens when I start playing I _know_ it's gonna be some crummy port or someone didn't give a crap about keyboard mouse users, and is going to be miserable. just quit and never go back to it.

[@jnx7884]

a

[@gustavosantos106]

Everybody keeps saying Dark Souls is such a good game, I didn't played it just because of 3:21

[@mdvhimself]

im wondering why is there an ow thumbnail, if ow has the worst tutorial ever created.

[@leandrog2785]

Answered your own question?

[@mdvhimself]

@@leandrog2785 no

[@ZoidbergForPresident]

Correction: worst recent GAME ever. XP

[@leandrog2785]

@@mdvhimself If you didn't realize, i was suggesting that the reason it's featured in the thumbnail is that it has a bad tutorial.

[@mdvhimself]

@@leandrog2785 no, it was featured cause it was meant to be clickbait

[@pauldaulby260]

please stop putting crouch on ctrl, it hurts my hands

[@KrymsonScale]

It's good to a point, but it just feels like whining, after a few minutes with the game you get used to the games inputs and input scheme, so all this just seems is complaining that tutorial aren't perfect.