Tutorials
Because the audience for video games has broadened, development teams seem to suspect that people who didn't grow up playing video games will not have a clue on what to do after they've turned on the console (I'm aware there are people like this, I just refuse to believe they're the majority or target audience). There's a point when the hand-holding becomes too much, and you're no longer explaining how to play the game, you're explaining how to play EVERY video game.
I strongly believe that good level design can teach a player most of the necessary things, if not all, to complete the game. However, I further believe that what ideas cannot be conveyed through game play design for any reason can be further explained in manuals. In either case, the use of in-game tutorials that obstruct players from actually playing the game are not needed.
I was inspired to rant on this issue while playing a demo of Gravity Rush for the Playstation Vita. The game opens up with a tutorial explaining the L-stick being the movement control for the character and the R-stick being the camera movement controller. I tried to picture the person dumb enough to actually require these instructions. I wasn't so much being informed about the game as I was being insulted by the game designers.
I envision two different scenarios which this could've played out differently without the need for such an idiotic gaming moment:
Let's say you have never picked up a gaming controller in your life and were suddenly handed a Vita, and at that moment you were utterly intoxicated. I imagine that you would still have the mental capacity to instinctively try pressing all the buttons on the handheld to see what they individually do. Which then would eventually lead you to discover that: the L-stick controls player movement and the R-stick controls camera movement.
Now let's say that you're not inebriated and have never picked up a game controller in your life and someone just handed a Vita. I suspect you would put together the basic design philosophy behind the modern, analog-stick-based controller to some degree. Keeping in mind that your goal is to move around a character in a two or possibly three dimensional space, one would need a controller input to allow for these movements, far exceeding the functionality of a normal button. Upon this realization, you then look down at the controller and 1) notice the directional pad and 2) notice the analog sticks. 'Gee, in order to control a character, how about I try these things that look like directions or hey, how about that thing that moves back and forth', you say because you're an intelligent human being who can grasp stuff like this.
In either scenario, I outlined when no method of tutorial is used and the process of trial and error takes over. I remember this was the case when I was a kid (not the intoxicated part), we didn't have in-game text tutorials telling you what to do (not in the games I played). The game had to be designed around the fact that stuff wasn't obvious and part of playing the game was to teach you how to play the game. But even in the worst case scenarios, when first playing a game, there was always press all the buttons and see what they do. I managed to figure that out as a kid, I fathom that even the most casual gamer can figure that out today.
As long as the developers don't act like high-functioning marsupials, all your needs should just be a single button press away, more if you're a fighting game enthusiast and have to string together ridiculous combos. Unless something was mapped to the function of hold select and press R (I swear there was a game that did that), this shouldn't be rocket science.
Now some examples:
A great example of using level design to teach the player is the opening level to Mega Man X. It is essentially a giant tutorial level, but the game never flat out tells you what to do. You're left with level design that will not let you progress until you learn what you need to. Anyone remember the first mini-boss which landed you at the bottom of the highway? How did you get out? You used the level design to teach yourself how to wall jump.
A game that gracefully introduced the third dimension to us as well as all the concepts and ideas that could be employed throughout the game was Tomb Raider, surprisingly enough. There was a training ground area outside of Lara's mansion that the player was free to test all the buttons and maneuvers in a controlled environment free of consequences. It's a shame the actual game play sucked, but at least they had the decency to let you discover how badly it sucked on your own.
A good example of a strategy game using in-game tutorials well is Final Fantasy Tactics. That game kept the tutorials in the options menu away from the main game. It was always there if you needed it, but it also knew to stay out of your way when you didn't. Now, the first battle was an introduction level, which I frown upon, but it didn't obstruct the game as much as it could have.
A not so great example: Final Fantasy VII was probably the first game to use in-game tutorials that I played. Since role-playing games have more complex ideas than the standard platformer or fighting game, there had to be more complex and clever ways to convey those ideas through game play. Or you could just do what SquareSoft did and just flat out tell the player what to do with paragraphs of text. After the first mission in Final Fantasy VII, we're treated to a tutorial on the materia system which is the basis for augmenting your characters for combat. The problem with this method is, it completely breaks the flow of the game and takes you out of the immersion. The status screen was supposed to be an abstract idea that exists outside the setting of the game. So when the game references it, it creates an awkward moment where the game is basically reminding you you're playing a game.
The worst game, by far, to go completely overboard with tutorials was the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. I've ranted on the various different ways the game insults the player's intelligence, but for those who need a quick recap: video tutorials (4 of them) on how to work the Wiimote, in-game tutorials on how to climb and run, Fi (I really hate her, I really do), and having an option to leave a map of the controller on screen at all times (to get rid of this feature is called advanced mode... I bet in expert Fi just disappears from the game entirely). I promise you Nintendo, no one is that dumb, not even kids.
These tutorials may have the means of educating a broader audience, but they're only alienating the core audience. And just because someone has never played a video game, doesn't mean they don't have the mental capacity to recognize basic game play patterns like moving around and jumping. If they figured out how to turn on the console / handheld, they're probably going to be just fine.
