If you are unfamiliar with the wonderful training level that is World 1-1 from Super Mario Bros, I highly recommend reading over this dissection of it, or finding one of the many other design breakdowns for it available on the internet. In short, almost every single piece of World 1-1 is there to teach the player how to play Super Mario Bros without ever having to say anything. The best part of it is, the player doesn't even know they are learning!
Teaching through intuitive game design is something I have always dreamed about doing for my own projects. These days, I think a little text is unavoidable, but I am still obsessed with figuring out how to make learning to play my game an engaging experience. The following article covers a breakdown of the engaging tutorialization I plan on working with for Swords, Shields, & Sorcery.
Objectives:
- Teach players map and combat mechanics
- Get playing the game ASAP
- Get them personally invested in story progression
Story Introduction:
The adventure will start with a simple letter from your uncle, asking you to look after his cabin while he is in the capitol on 'important' business. He has left you the Cabin Key, and mentioned that he has hidden a great discovery in his house, which needs to be safeguarded.
After reading the short letter, the game will cut to the player character standing at a dock with a large pack of goods as a ferry pulls away. The player character will tuck the letter away, take a look at the key, then put that away as well. This establishes that the player has travelled, they only have the goods in their pack, and it also sets the initial goal for the game.
After this short intro, the player will be given full control of the game. No pop-ups telling players what each button does, no extended text from an NPC explaining the situation. Just a short snippet, a few quick animations, and away we go!
After reading the short letter, the game will cut to the player character standing at a dock with a large pack of goods as a ferry pulls away. The player character will tuck the letter away, take a look at the key, then put that away as well. This establishes that the player has travelled, they only have the goods in their pack, and it also sets the initial goal for the game.
After this short intro, the player will be given full control of the game. No pop-ups telling players what each button does, no extended text from an NPC explaining the situation. Just a short snippet, a few quick animations, and away we go!
Story Screen and Map Navigation Introduction:
The Story Screen for the Docks that the player starts on will now have a single right arrow button displayed. This is a common button for most Story Events in the game. Tapping this will cause the player to walk right, and move to the next section of the screen (which for this event, is off screen). The game will then transition to the World Map.
The Map Screen clearly shows all important destinations: the Dock, the Cabin, a Settlement, and a Forest around a mountain. The player will also be introduced to map movement with the map node system. The first two nodes will be visible: the Dock node, and the next node on the only path towards the Forest, Settlement and Cabin. By tapping on the only available Path Node on screen, the player will travel to the node, and reveal the next node along the path.
After two Path Nodes, the player should have an understanding of how the map functions. The next node along the path is a mandatory Combat Event Node. After traveling to it, the player will be transitioned to another Story Screen, this time, one that leads to combat.
The Map Screen clearly shows all important destinations: the Dock, the Cabin, a Settlement, and a Forest around a mountain. The player will also be introduced to map movement with the map node system. The first two nodes will be visible: the Dock node, and the next node on the only path towards the Forest, Settlement and Cabin. By tapping on the only available Path Node on screen, the player will travel to the node, and reveal the next node along the path.
After two Path Nodes, the player should have an understanding of how the map functions. The next node along the path is a mandatory Combat Event Node. After traveling to it, the player will be transitioned to another Story Screen, this time, one that leads to combat.
Combat Introduction:
On the Story Screen for the combat intro, the player will be shown the right arrow button again, which can be touched to move forward. This time, the player is tripped up by a band of speedy little Sprigands that quickly gather the player's fallen belongings (including the Cabin Key). Most of the Sprigands run away, but a few bumble around, fixated on their stolen goods.
I like this moment for several reasons:
As the player character gets up from the dirt, they draw their weapons, and shout at a nearby Sprigand to give your things back. The Sprigand, holding onto a shield-like object, refuses, and combat begins!
Fight 1 - Shield Sprigand
Health: 2
Sword - Shield - Sorcery Power: 0 - 1 - 0
Sword - Shield - Sorcery Chance: 0% - 100% - 0%
Once combat starts, the player is given all three combat options: Sword, Shield, and Sorcery. The player may select any of these attacks, but the opposing Shield Sprigand will ONLY use the Shield attack. This means, that in order to defeat this enemy and move on, the player needs to use the counter for Shield attacks: Sorcery. If the player uses Shield, the round ends in a draw. If the player uses Sword, they lose and take 1 damage.
After beating the Sprigand and collecting the stolen item, the player will transition back to the World Map. The next node is revealed, and is another mandatory Combat Encounter Node. This one transitions directly into combat with two more Sprigands (one after the other). The first of which will only attack with Sword attacks, and the second only with Sorcery.
Fight 2 - Sword Sprigand
Health: 2
Sword - Shield - Sorcery Power: 1 - 0 - 0
Sword - Shield - Sorcery Chance: 100% - 0% - 0%
Fight 3 - Sorcery Sprigand
Health: 2
Sword - Shield - Sorcery Power: 0 - 0 - 1
Sword - Shield - Sorcery Chance: 0% - 0% - 100%
After defeating the three Sprigands, a tougher one will appear that uses Swords, Shields, AND Sorcery. This fight will act as a test, checking that the player's understanding of the combat mechanics, and providing a ramp-up to the rest of the enemies of the game that also use all three attack types.
Fight 4 - Sprigand Boss
Health: 3
Sword - Shield - Sorcery Power: 1 - 1 - 1
Sword - Shield - Sorcery Chance: 33% - 33% - 33%
The Sprigand Boss should be fairly easy to win, but still possible to lose. The player has quite a bit more health than the boss, but must still win 3 rounds total. Once defeated, the player will see the rest of the Sprigand gang flee into the nearby forest.
In Summary, these combat encounters should give the player a safe environment to see how the three combat options affect the outcome of battle. If everything works as intended, players will learn how the combat system works without ever having to be told!
I like this moment for several reasons:
- The player has been robbed, and that should make them angry. Wonderful! That means the player now cares about what happened in the game and they will probably want to serve justice to the thieving little Sprigands.
- With the Cabin Key gone, the player's curiosity for the secret in the cabin might switch to panic. With the key gone, and you can't discover the secret OR protect it until you retrieve it back.
- This is a perfect opportunity to kick off combat! The player has been wronged, and now has a purpose for beating up some mischievous forest creatures.
As the player character gets up from the dirt, they draw their weapons, and shout at a nearby Sprigand to give your things back. The Sprigand, holding onto a shield-like object, refuses, and combat begins!
Fight 1 - Shield Sprigand
Health: 2
Sword - Shield - Sorcery Power: 0 - 1 - 0
Sword - Shield - Sorcery Chance: 0% - 100% - 0%
Once combat starts, the player is given all three combat options: Sword, Shield, and Sorcery. The player may select any of these attacks, but the opposing Shield Sprigand will ONLY use the Shield attack. This means, that in order to defeat this enemy and move on, the player needs to use the counter for Shield attacks: Sorcery. If the player uses Shield, the round ends in a draw. If the player uses Sword, they lose and take 1 damage.
After beating the Sprigand and collecting the stolen item, the player will transition back to the World Map. The next node is revealed, and is another mandatory Combat Encounter Node. This one transitions directly into combat with two more Sprigands (one after the other). The first of which will only attack with Sword attacks, and the second only with Sorcery.
Fight 2 - Sword Sprigand
Health: 2
Sword - Shield - Sorcery Power: 1 - 0 - 0
Sword - Shield - Sorcery Chance: 100% - 0% - 0%
Fight 3 - Sorcery Sprigand
Health: 2
Sword - Shield - Sorcery Power: 0 - 0 - 1
Sword - Shield - Sorcery Chance: 0% - 0% - 100%
After defeating the three Sprigands, a tougher one will appear that uses Swords, Shields, AND Sorcery. This fight will act as a test, checking that the player's understanding of the combat mechanics, and providing a ramp-up to the rest of the enemies of the game that also use all three attack types.
Fight 4 - Sprigand Boss
Health: 3
Sword - Shield - Sorcery Power: 1 - 1 - 1
Sword - Shield - Sorcery Chance: 33% - 33% - 33%
The Sprigand Boss should be fairly easy to win, but still possible to lose. The player has quite a bit more health than the boss, but must still win 3 rounds total. Once defeated, the player will see the rest of the Sprigand gang flee into the nearby forest.
In Summary, these combat encounters should give the player a safe environment to see how the three combat options affect the outcome of battle. If everything works as intended, players will learn how the combat system works without ever having to be told!
Additional Considerations:
One thing I still need to design for is how to introduce players to the equipment mechanic, which does not necessarily need to be introduced until the player receives their first equipable item. One possible method might be to introduce the first item after the Shield Sprigand story fight, and require that the player equips it in order to complete the next fight (ie. Equip a shield in order to win against an enemy that uses Sword attacks exclusively).
© Scott Balmer - Game Design - 2014
© Scott Balmer - Game Design - 2014
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