Post by Garry Francis in Only a Few Days Left

Adventuron Christmas Jam (Illustrated Text Adventure Jam) » Community

Viewing post in Only a Few Days Left

I would have thought that if the game has a de facto in game tutorial via in-game hints, that's essentially the same thing. For example, if you examine a letter and it says "Why don't you read it?", that is far more effective than popping up a seemingly random message that says, "Hey, bozo. Read the letter."

Natrium7293 years ago

Sure, but for me that’s not a beginners tutorial, that’s just good writing/game design.

The jam rules seem to specifically say that this rating is supposed to be for beginners tutorials, that teach people unfamiliar with text adventure how to play (e.g. the TALP initiative).

I’ll try to revise my ratings, but ultimately that’s not too important, since it’s the “Overall” rating that matters most.

Errol3 years ago

When I think tutorial, I think of something that would help a brand new person who has never done a parser-based game at all.

I've had a few beta-testers who had no idea what to do, so a tutorial to guide them on the basics of look, examine, movement, get, inventory, was helpful for them. :D

Garry Francis3 years ago

Personally, I hate in-game tutorials, as it's disruptive to the flow of the game but I'm not a beginner. What about the instructions? It's not 'in-game', but does that count? Anyone that's read my instructions won't need a tutorial, but there's also in-game help as a reminder.

Errol3 years ago

Oh, I hate in-game tutorials too. I skip a lot of them. In fact, I wasn't going to bother with a tutorial until Chris convinced me to do so. Ha!

And for a lot of my audience, it was super helpful for them that I did. :) So, it totally depends on your audience.

Adventuron3 years ago

I think it's an option you present. Most beginners would choose yes, most seasoned pros would choose no. Everyone is happy.

Instructions on a page not on screen currently are not as effective as a printed manual or an in-game tutorial. That said, your written instructions on your game page are exceptional Garry, I just think a lot of players might not bother to read them and assume the game will guide them (the modern gamer approach).

itch.io

Viewing post in Only a Few Days Left