{"id":1192,"date":"2026-06-13T15:03:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T13:03:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shokoladny.io\/?p=1192"},"modified":"2026-06-13T17:26:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T15:26:20","slug":"game-design-basics-les-tutoriels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shokoladny.io\/en\/2026\/06\/13\/game-design-basics-les-tutoriels\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Design Basics: Tutorials"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tutorials have become an indispensable part of the Game Designer's toolkit, because while game mechanics may be perfectly clear to developers during production, handing them over to players can represent too steep a step for those players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That step carries a major risk: if the player gets lost, or doesn't grasp the fundamentals of the game, they'll eventually leave. That was my case with Stellaris<\/em> (a 4X grand strategy space game), whose sheer number of features lost me completely. Sure, there's an introduction, but it failed to make the basics click for me, which ruined the experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how do you convey the developers' intent without turning it into a school lesson, breaking the (already fragile) immersion in the game?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The solution: a tutorial designed for players. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A video game tutorial is the entire set of tools a designer puts in place to teach the player the rules and mechanics of the game, before or during play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That covers very different things: a text screen before the game starts, an NPC telling you \"press A to jump,\" a room designed so you discover on your own that a crate can be pushed, or an enemy placed exactly there so that dying to it teaches you not to charge in headfirst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do they have in common? They exist to reduce entry friction. Their goal isn't to explain the whole game, but to give the player the minimum keys needed to start playing independently.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Key concepts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Learning safe space <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Before throwing the player into the deep end, most games set up a protected space: an environment with no real stakes, where they can fumble, fail, and start over without any cost. This is where they test the controls, get a feel for the game's physics, and discover the first basic features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is called the learning safe space. Its purpose is to build the player's confidence and early reflexes before real gameplay begins. In essence: try things, explore, there are no consequences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Scaffolding <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Borrowed from educational psychology<\/a>, scaffolding refers to the temporary support structure placed around learning, gradually removed as the player gains skill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In practice: you don't dump every mechanic at once. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You break things down step by step. First walking, then jumping, then running, then chaining the two together, then adding the wall jump. Each step is presented and (in theory) mastered by the player before the next one is introduced. Visual cues and text hints accompany the first attempts, then disappear once the mechanic has been internalized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal is to keep the player within what psychology calls the Zone of Proximal Development<\/a> : a challenge stimulating enough to maintain engagement, but never overwhelming enough to discourage. Too easy, and players get bored. Too hard, and they ragequit. It's the same principle as the flow state discussed in an earlier article<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Immediate feedback loop <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Every player action in the tutorial must trigger an instant, clear response, whether visual, audio, or physical. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the player presses the right button, the game must immediately signal that it was the correct action. If the action fails, the feedback must be just as explicit so the player understands why it didn't work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This mechanism is what establishes cause and effect in the player's mind. Without immediate feedback, learning doesn't stick. The player repeats actions without understanding their logic, and eventually disengages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


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Introduction curve <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A game can have the best mechanics in the world, but if they all arrive at once, the player drowns. This is what's known as information overload: too much information to absorb in too short a time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The introduction curve addresses this. The Game Designer sets a pace for how mechanics are presented, generally following three steps: <\/p>\n\n\n\n