Tutorial missions. Do you prefer separate or embedded in-game ?

[Osho]

EDIT - POLL ADDED

 

Tutorial modes ( separate ) or missions ( in-game ) both serve the purpose to familiarize with certain key aspects and new features of the game to the players.

 

Personaly, I prefer ( and miss ) separate tutorial modes than having to play through missions during the story. Back in the day, the tutorials were nicely done, through interesting funny interactions, and hidden easter eggs. The excitement and element of surprise when you first unlock or try a feature is something that I don't experience from modern games, esp., with all those on-screen instructions, which are just boring and more annoying to play through compared to excitement of figuring out yourself and keep trying till you pass the various levels or tests of the tutorial.

 

 

Some of my favorite Tutorial modes:

1. Mafia City of Lost Heaven

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2. No one lives forever - The Assignment[

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3. Hidden and Dangerous 2 - Training

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What do you prefer -- separate tutorial mission/mode or built in-game through various story missions???

Edited December 8, 2016 by Osho

[The Time Ranger]

I prefer a seperate mode to go through the basics of a game. I find the in-game tutorial can break the flow of a game, especially annoying if you're starting a game again.

[Mister Pink]

I was going to say I prefer them in-game. You know the style of say GTA where they ease you in to the game. That can work in a GTA/Open-World but other games not so much.

 

Funny tutorial..

 

 

[Th3MaN1]

I prefer separate.

 

This is just my opinion simply because I grew up with the retro games. I don't recall games such as the first Mario Brothers, Megaman or Contra ever telling you sh*t. And one may argue that it's just not the same, but in some ways, it is.

 

Just give me your game and I'll find out how it works, one way or the other. That's just part of the fun.

 

I don't mind having a helping hand at the start of the game, but not any more than 15-20 minutes at best.

 

As for the tutorial in Blood Dragon, yeah, I get it, it's funny and pokes fun at the common tutorial screens. But f*ck me if it didn't piss me off for a moment there. It makes fun of something then follows the exact same thing. They could have easily just went with the GTA-style of teaching. Just put it up in a corner, it's not like you'll miss it. It was good banter, but not when I just wanted to play the damn game.

 

You know the style of say GTA where they ease you in to the game. That can work in a GTA/Open-World but other games not so much.

I'm gonna have to disagree with that.

 

You can make a tutorial look and feel pretty much seamless for every game if you put some thought to it.

 

A recent example would be the Batman Arkham series. Those games showed you what to do and how to do it one time, and then it let you go whatever way you wanted, all while giving you simple pop-ups about things you may have missed/forgotten along the way. And it didn't interrupt my playtime one single moment.

[DedetOS1]

I prefer in-game tutorials.

[ClaudeSpeed1911]

Depends on the game.

 

Games like DooM or Quake are much better without. I can't forget the feeling of starting the game then blasting demons right after starting it.

[Furry_Monkey]

I think it depends on how much of a "baby steps" tutorial it is. Usually I don't mind them in the game, but I literally stopped playing Heavy Rain because they made me look after the main character's son and make his f*cking dinner, just so I could learn the control style of the game.

 

Sod. That.

 

That said, the tutorial for Beyond: Two Souls was for pretty much an identical control style, but that wasn't boring. Bring on Detroit!

[Creed Bratton]

In-game with ability to skip it (The Witcher 3 did that really well).

[Richard Power Colt]

I don't really care as long as the tutorial is actually interesting and enjoyable to play through rather than something that feels like a necessary chore. Generally I think this applies more to tutorials that are embedded into the game, because sometimes they actually tell a relevant part of the game's story. Always should have the option to skip it tho.

Edited December 5, 2016 by Richard Power Colt

[BUT THE BENZ]

I prefer to be tutorial'd by David Cage!

Every developer/director ought to make a vdeo of themselves explaining what's going on and what it is the player needs to do

[RogerWho]

I'd say embedded in-game, but it has to be a part of the narrative so it doesn't get tedious on further playthroughs. Besides, most games these days tend to introduce new mechanics almost constantly and therefore the introduction to each one needs to be made part of the gameplay itself.

 

Separate tutorials work for games where the core gameplay doesn't evolve that much, or where it makes narrative sense. So Half-Life got away with a separate tutorial section because the core game is quite simple and you're supposed to figure out the details by yourself. Or with games like the ArmA series, or many other military-based games with a structure based on separate missions, well there it's an obvious choice to make a separate tutorial mission.

 

On a related note, what I really dislike are games that start in media res with all the abilities unlocked and buffed up, then after the first mission it's all taken away and THEN the tutorial starts. That's just annoying.

[trip]

Funny tutorial..

 

[blood Dragon tutorial vid]

My favorite.

 

I'm a fan of the in game tutorials with the chance to kinda skip.

[Skyline_Mad]

If done right the tutorial can work well (Like fallout 3, the game literally starts with you being born, then you see your character growing and leaning the basics etc..) but other than that i'd rather it stay separate.

 

The worst example i can think of is Assassins Creed 3, it felt like the first 3rd of the game is a long ass tutorial, it isn't until chapter/sequence 6 or so that you fully unlock the open world stages of the game. That may not have been a problem to most people who enjoyed getting to know the new character, but for me i had to do it twice and completely lost interest by the time sequence 6 came around again, never finished the game and never played another assassins creed because of it.

 

The reason i had to do it twice was because my ps3's hard drive died when i was about 70% or so through the game, didn't have a backup (or cloud storage because that wasn't an option at the time), i started again a few days later but put it on hold after a day or two as gta5 had just released, when i got back to it i had lost all interest, even when i got back up to sequence 6 i just couldn't bring myself to complete it.

[Tchuck]

In game in a way that doesn't feel like a tutorial. It eases you in very gently, and next thing you know you already understand the game.

 

Kind of like the Super Mario series.

[luisniko]

I grew up with games that never told me jack sh*t. Even until now, I'm still playing games that ask me to figure things out myself.

 

So I'm fine with any type of tutorials actually, as long as they're done properly depending on the game.

Just make it skippable too, however.

Edited December 6, 2016 by luisniko

[ClaudeSpeed1911]

The tutorial of Max Payne 3 was great, it was simple and easy to understand the first time and when you play the first level again it would skip the tutorial since you already did it.

[RogerWho]

Also, one word in favor of embedded tutorials: Portal.

 

Can you imagine that game having a separate or skippable tut?

[Fuzzknuckles]

It depends on the type of game you're playing. A strategy or building game, for example, I prefer a small separate tutorial that shows me what I need to do and how, then lets me start over with the knowledge.

 

If it's an open world or action type of game, I'd rather they show me what to do as they introduce me to the world, as I feel it gives me more world context. I can really do without the whole "left stick to move, right stick to look around" stuff though. These are standards that are very, very rarely not applied in games these days, so it's really superfluous to tell people this.

 

As I play more action/open world stuff, I guess by default I lean towards the embedded tutorial.

 

What I really miss, though, is in-box instructions and game manuals. A lost art form.

[HaythamKenway]

Generally embedded, so they can take advantage of the narrative and kick off the story right away. Separate tutorials where you're stuck in this artificial AU game-y instance, where you just learn most of the mechanics in the most dispassionate and formal way possible are, in my opinion, a bit archaic and heavyhanded way to do tutorials these days.

 

But it should be said that it really depends on the game in question. When the gameplay is too complex and a thorough understading of all its mechanics right away is imperative to the game, then I guess a separate tutorial that can do its job more efficiently.

 

What is annoying is something Skyline_Mad brought up - when tutorials drag on for way too long, restrict you too much and take great pains to explain absolutely everything, even if it's not really necessary. Tutorialize the basics, explain the crucial stuff and then just let us loose to experiment.

 

My favorite tutorials might be MGS2's and 3's. Short little episodes at the start of the game, that explain what you need to know about the core gameplay and then just let you freely play around in the level and acclimatize to the gameplay. And story-wise, the Tanker and the Virtuous Mission even elegantly serve as a prologue to the actual story.

[LincolnClay]

If it's done well, I see no reason why it shouldn't be added into the actual game as an unskippable thing.

Edited December 6, 2016 by TheGamingPr025

[Fuzzknuckles]

This is exactly the sort of topic that needs a poll.

[bloatedsack]

In game, GTA style. I like having a new ability introduced with a mission that has me use it and shows me how you can work things together.

[Osho]

Sometimes in-game tutorials really end up as one-time scripted ones, despite the instructions on how the feature works. If it does not work during the normal gameplay then I find it like cheating with the players by teasing a certain feature available to use for only one mission of the game.

Stun punch in GTA IV comes to mind, compared to the features that I unlocked in games like Mafia: COLH, NOLF or Deus Ex: The Conspiracy, where every thing that you will learn at UNATCO Training Facilities works during the normal gameplay, as well.

I think that's the major difference apart from other interesting benefits I stated in the OP over the in-game tutorials, which really are limited scripted events more than tutorials for use during normal ganeplay. The developers often get away with this, but they can't if they introduce them in a single tutorial.

 

EDIT - POLL ADDED

Edited December 8, 2016 by Osho

[Algonquin Assassin]

Incorporated into the missions.

[Tech-Noir]

In-game but optional to skip, like in Gears of War 2 where you had to choose whether you wanted to train Benjamine Carmine or not, the training being a tutorial.

[Gremlin Sombra]

I like small embedded tutorials in missions at best for most games.

While in the first mission tell me the basic controls, screen/menu layout and whatnot and I should be fine.

[Sir Michael]

In game, GTA style. I like having a new ability introduced with a mission that has me use it and shows me how you can work things together.

 

I like this style also. Certain mechanics in games are very situational and rather advanced to practice on your own, having a dedicated mission where that situation comes to play is perfect training ground.

[Daz]

I am kind of on the fence to be honest.

 

On one hand I loved the old games like Conflict Desert Storm, giving you a boot camp to learn basic controls and movement and f*ck around before a mission. Making sure you are fully prepared for what you will be dealing with. (As training suggests by it's very nature). This also limits the chances of you being thrown slap bang in the middle of the sh*t like it does in many games these days without you knowing what the f*ck is going on. I get why they do it, but I don't want the VERY FIRST control I get to be me being overrun by 2000 Somalis in the streets of Mogadishu. You do need that quiet period for you to just gear up and test out guns and controls in a safe space before feeling happy to move on.

 

On the other hand, almost nobody wants to load up a separate training level before starting the main story, so most people will miss it and it is also extra development time. So it does make sense to merge it into the gameplay. The problem is what you get is less intense story because sections have turned into glorified tutorials. Whole missions or levels just to demonstrate a game mechanic which could be awesome if it was just left up to you to get on with it as soon as possible. What this also does is restrict abilities until the game has told you that you can now use them, which is bullsh*t. Starting some fighting game over again and realizing you cant do that super bad ass move straight away because the game hasn't told you to do it yet. That pisses me off.

 

The main issue I have is like in RDR where you are already half way through the game yet it has the need to tell you how to climb a f*cking ladder. So much ruined immersion by having prompts pop up every two seconds telling you sh*t that would be so much better set to the side for you to read on your own. And you miss out on that sheer amazement by finding out a game mechanic because nobody told you until you found it on your own. Like a god damn easter egg.

 

But it needs to be balanced. The worst is when there are game mechanics and rules in a game that make completely NO SENSE and you would never figure out unless someone told you. Like in the crew how it doesn't tell you that you need to use perks in order to get to the level cap. Which it doesn't explain f*cking anywhere. Or just about the entire menu and ranking systems.

 

In short: Don't ruin perfectly good gameplay segments by making it a tutorial, but also don't waste them at the start of the game when you don't know sh*t. Let us just figure it out on our own in a simple area.

[El Dildo]

SEPARATE

 

I would literally skip that sh/t every time, in every game, if I had the option.

don't give me your instruction manual just give me my hammer and nails.

[dudclub55]

I like it when it's built in to the game, that way it's much easier to disregard on a second playthrough, if there is a separate tutorial/introduction mission then I want it to be skippable, there are so many games that I refuse to replay simply because I just don't want to f*ck around with its long mandatory boring tutorial/intro mission.