In-Game Tutorial

[LokiHades]

A tutorial before the start of the game... And you have the option to select whether or not to go through it (puts you to the end of the tutorial, or the start of the game).

[Wintersong]

Integrated in the beginning of the game but optional. Don't click on the checkbox for tutorial? You start in the big event and the normal game. You click it? You get a prelude, influenced by the character's background or some mumbo jumbo, were you get to learn stuff. Some little story stuff in it but nothing with any impact in the rest of the game.

[JediMB]

While all relevant information should exist in the manual, I agree with the Extra Credits assessment that the best tutorials are the ones you don't even notice when you play. The game itself teaching you new mechanics as they are introduced, and spread out throughout the game.

 

That said, it's questionable how well that would work in a game such as a cRPG, so maybe the best thing would be having help messages popping up when relevant, and the option to disable them entirely if you're already familiar with the game.

[Sarog]

Baldur's Gate 2 style tutorial that is a separate module. Mandatory tutorial levels at the start of a game are irritating in the extreme.

[molarBear]

Molarbear, I'm a big fan of RTFM (note the 'F') but I'm in danger of being run out of town for being too old-skool as it is

 

i hope we will have a comprehensive "FM"

maybe not that huge and pompous one like in arcanum.

[Knott]

Stop being polluted by all the bad tutorials you have experienced before,

 

Watch this: http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/tutorials-101

 

And then demand that the tutorial shall be High Quality!

 

Also the rest of the Extra Credits team's videos are a great view to any aspiring developer.

[Labadal]

There could be a mandatory tutorial that could be skipped once you have beaten it in any playthrough. The tutorial could be the events that leads to the whole situation that starts the game for real. (The big event that the hero stumbles upon.)

[TCJ]

Separate tutorial available from the menu. That's my preference, but it's not something I'm too concerned about. The tutorial in NWN2 (like a prologue) worked well enough, as did BG's method of sticking in a few tutorial characters (though some said it broke immersion) in Candlekeep. However, with the latter, there was the option of not talking at all to the tutorial characters, so they didn't get in the way at all. Tooltips upon hitting a certain button (Tab in BG2:TOB) wouldn't hurt, either.

[timobkg]

I like tooltips. The tell you the basics so you can jump into the game without having to read the manual. You can dismiss them if you've already read the manual, or are replaying the game. And you can always go to the manual for specifics. It seems like they are the best compromise for covering all the preferences, and without requiring a separate tutorial.

[Merin]

no love for RTDM (read the damn manual), huh?

 

If games even included manuals worth reading anymore...

 

I still think an optional, separate item on the start menu tutorial is good even with having read the manual... it's a sandbox to get used to controls, hot keys, etc, before diving in... and letting you focus on gameplay and story, not controls and game mechanics.

[Tigranes]

I don't mind whatever as long as I can skip it, or tell the little helper on the corner of my screen to shut up and never, ever come back.

[Knott]

Stop being polluted by all the bad tutorials you have experienced before,

 

Watch this: http://penny-arcade....e/tutorials-101

 

As is concluded in the end of that video:

The best tutorial is the one you didn't even notice was there.

[Zed]

No tutorial. There's a digital game manual included. Waste of development time.

The game should be too advanced to deliver any sort of non-intrusive tutorial anyway.

Edited September 24, 2012 by Zed

[RiceMunk]

I liked the way BG2 did it.

Failing that, do it the way KOTOR2 did it.

[Raithe]

RTDM works a hellava lot better when you have a physical copy you can also look at and reference again when you're actually playing the game. PDF only manuals can be a pain if you have to keep flipping out of a game to chase up how you do something potentially fiddly, or just because you forget one specific thing... If I'm playing a "serious" game, I am not going to run it in windowed mode just so I can keep poking at other stuff..

 

I don't know, if you can fit in a tutorial like aspect like the beginning of Kotor 2. It had a story sense for what was happening, and for guiding the player around and giving you the basics without npcs looking like they're just there to tell you how to do stuff. But you have the option of skipping it and proceeding to the real start point of the story and it still made sense.

[SanguineAngel]

As long as I don't have to suffer another tedious prologue/tutorial combo

[Jozape]

RTDM works a hellava lot better when you have a physical copy you can also look at and reference again when you're actually playing the game. PDF only manuals can be a pain if you have to keep flipping out of a game to chase up how you do something potentially fiddly, or just because you forget one specific thing... If I'm playing a "serious" game, I am not going to run it in windowed mode just so I can keep poking at other stuff.

 

Assuming that you need to read the manual to understand how the game works(which shouldn't be too big of a deal if you've played the Infinity Engine games and the mechanics are well documented in the in-game descriptions), you could print the PDF out or even write the relevant information down yourself. Though the latter might take a while, depending on how complex the ruleset is and how well documented it is.

[eimatshya]

In general I would prefer the "Refer to the Manual" approach, but given that many people will be getting this game in digital only form, I don't think that it will be the optimal approach for P:E. Personally, I kind of like having tool-tips, as long as you can turn them off, because they refresh your memory as you go along through the game.

 

Overall, however, I don't care that much what kind of tutorial they use as long as you can skip it without feeling like you're missing out on part of the story (or on XP). For example, the tutorial in VtM:B can be skipped, but it introduces you to Smiling Jack, the Sabbat, and the Sheriff (or at least shows you what a bad mofo he is). Most importantly, it gives you XP. As such, I always feel like I need to play through it, even though it is tedious, so that my character knows about this stuff and doesn't miss out on XP. The tutorial shouldn't introduce anything other than mechanics and shouldn't give XP. Either that, or it should be so subtly worked into the game that you don't know it's there.

[Flying Magician]

Mandatory tutorials are an offense for gamer's intelect.

[Malcador]

I don't mind whatever as long as I can skip it, or tell the little helper on the corner of my screen to shut up and never, ever come back.

 

I should have become a game developer, I could put a clippy helper in, with a shrill voice saying "PRESS E TO..."

 

They should just have the manual, not a problem if it's digital either - if you need to check it that much, maybe take notes or print out the relevant sheets.

Edited September 25, 2012 by Malcador

[alphyna]

It's a classic RPG. What is there to tutor?

[jtav]

I'd like to see a skippable tutorial integrated into the narrative, similar to KOTOR2 and NWN2.

 

But I'd appreciate some kind of tutorial. Reading the manual is not how I learn best, and the mechanics aren't going to be exactly like IE.

[Wintersong]

It's a classic RPG. What is there to tutor?

For some people, it will be their first game. Yeah, gamers don't pop up out of thin air with lots of experience in older titles.

[Loki Ador]

I am all in favour of a tutorial that is integrated to the story but skippable. Like, as some other mentionned above, KOTOR 2, or VTM

[GhostofAnakin]

The tutorial should be optional. Nothing as annoying as having to play through a 30 minute "tutorial" level each and every time you start a new game.