Tutorials in Games

[Moonface]

Everyone has to learn how to play a particular game, and naturally a tutorial is the way to go about doing that. What games have you played that had good tutorials, bad tutorials, repetitive tutorials, or maybe didn't even have a tutorial in any fashion and just left you to it? Is there a particular tutorial style that you prefer and wish more games adopted?

For me, regardless of whether the tutorial is useful to me or not, I hate any tutorial that can not be skipped. Uncharted always comes to mind as an offender, because every time you play the game you are forced to learn the game mechanics, even on difficulties that need to be unlocked by playing on the lower difficulties. Now I get wanting to always keep them in, in case you come back to the game later and need a reminder, but that just strengthens the argument of being allowed to toggle tutorials.

I find that more of my older games have optional tutorials than newer ones do too. Most of my PS1 games had optional tutorials (although many had none at all). Silent Bomber's tutorial is a prequel level you can choose to play or not. Tomb Raider used her mansion as a tutorial level outside of the main campaign (until the 4th game where it became mandatory to do a tutorial). Ape Escape asked if you wanted to visit a tutorial or just skip it entirely, but lets you go back to it whenever you want to. PS2 was the same. It feels like when PS3 came along more games forced the tutorial on you in intrusive ways, and it started dialing back with PS4.

[Karo]

You know unless a game forces me to do a tutorial I noticed I tend to skip it even if it would help.

I really shouldn't, but it just seems more excited and fun to me to suffer while ignoring the tutorial.

[Dragon Lord]

I don't mind tutorials. If I'm playing a new game for the very first time, I'll definitely go through tutorials to learn how to actually play so I don't end up like one of those dipshit Twitch streamers who skip all the tutorials and text and then five minutes later are whining that the game is stupid because it never told them how to play/where to go.

If it's a game in a series that I've been playing, and the gameplay of each game is similar enough to the last, then I'll skip tutorials because I don't really need to learn.

However, in cases where the sequel adds a lot of new mechanics, then I will do them. Example: When I eventually play Nioh 2, I'll have to go through them because it changes mechanics from Nioh and adds in a lot of new mechanics.

[Mr EliteL]

Never understood why games have unskippable tutorials. They should maybe be forced on a first playthrough then able to skip in further playthroughs, kinda how sometimes cutscenes play if you've never encountered it before but give you a prompt when viewing a second time. That's the only time I agree with that tutorials you can't skip. Otherwise it's kinda obvious if you're returning and know you've forgotten how to do something or need a reminder on how a mechanic works, you'll play the tutorial.

I've have a feeling there's a game with a really enjoyable tutorial that's actually worth playing whenever I do play, but it escapes me at the moment. Or I'm just thinking that for the sake of it and thy hasn't been one like that.

Fighting games should always have a tutorial mode, as well as a training/practice (or tutorial is within the latter), for players to get to grips of the way to play and individual characters. I know more Fighters do now, but Blazblue stood out to me. It had not only a tutorial on what a character can do and practice mode, but a challenge mode that makes you try short and long combos. The game is very strict on timing too, and it's very easy to misinput or drop combos so it's also a good way to learn a character.

[Moonface]

Ugh, you mentioning fighting games @Mr EliteL reminded me of my biggest pet peeve with Tekken. Practice mode is alright, but I wish the game could at least teach you what some of the commands actually mean. Like when it shows me a star symbol, I don't know what that means and for older games that shit wasn't even described in the official strategy guides, so you were just shit out of luck because finding answers on the internet wasn't really the thing back then. >.<

[Mr EliteL]

Ugh, you mentioning fighting games @Mr EliteL reminded me of my biggest pet peeve with Tekken. Practice mode is alright, but I wish the game could at least teach you what some of the commands actually mean. Like when it shows me a star symbol, I don't know what that means and for older games that shit wasn't even described in the official strategy guides, so you were just shit out of luck because finding answers on the internet wasn't really the thing back then. >.<

Yeah, I had a problem with that too. The only way I learnt was through BlazBlue for successive directional inputs, and for the star meaning was when I picked up Lee as my main in Tekken Tag 2 (started liking him Tekken 5 but I only played how I did before with King still as my main, T6 I was playing many characters and wasn't focusing on specific stuff). He has a move called Mist Step which is "-> *" or forward into star symbol. Which would end up meaning tap forward without holding on and do nothing, and Lee will move in a longer step forward. One instance being a completely different game and second out of trial an error by myself way later in the series isn't helpful at all. Took DLC in Season 3 Tekken 7 to see the game get more practice chances in-game.

[Dragon Lord]

I think one of the most hilarious tutorials in a game I've seen is the Expert mode tutorial for Project DIVA F 2nd. You go into it thinking that it'll teach you methods on how to better handle expert mode, and instead you find out that it's actually among the hardest songs to do on Expert mode.

So instead of teaching you how to play Expert, it teaches you that you suck (unless you happen to be one of those rhythm game gods).