“The designer doesn’t come in the box.” It’s easy for designers to forget that players don’t initially know how to play their games, and adding tutorials too late in production can lead to bad first time user experiences (FTUE). As always, VR only complicates the problem. This week, we discuss all these issues and more. How exactly do you train your player to play your game?

Timestamps:

0:58 - Introduction

4:50 - FTUE

7:56 - "Glimmer Grove" Example

10:45 - Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners

17:30 - Limiting The Lessons

21:00 - Avoid Teaching the Wrong Thing (Battlewake)

24:36 - Player Expectations

27:47 - Ongoing Instruction

31:06 - The VR “Wow!” Moment

33:56 - Building Feedback into your Mechanics

35:50 - VR Conventions

39:09 - Wrap-up

Games We Mention:

Fruit Ninja VR

The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners

Vader Immortal

Battlewake

SUPERHOT VR

Until You Fall

Shadow of War

The Last of Us Part II

Asgard’s Wrath

Stormland