Teaching the player

LEARNING IS FUN!

Even if you've never been a great school fan ;) , I'm pretty sure you'll agree with me when I say that in games, learning is fun !

In fact, learning is at the core of any game, and it's definitely the most fun part of it.

• Learning your abilities and how to use them
• Learning the world and how it works.
• Learning your enemies, the challenges and how you can end up victorious.
• Learning new tactics, getting better at what you do.

Level Design is the main artisan of this teaching/learning and it's an important part of any game.

Finally, learning and mastering something is gratifying and you should never miss the opportunity for the player to feel smart from have learned something new.

THE "IDEAL" TEACHING STRUCTURE

Presentation / Learning : show and explain the player.

Present the new mechanic, the new element and how it works

i.e. Grapple Hook example (part 1 /3

The player is chasing an enemy through a military base when he escapes right in front him by using a grapple hook to jump over a chasm.

The HQ tells the player through radio that those grapple hook devices the enemy used are probably compatible with his gear and that he can grab one in the nearby crate and use it for himself. 

Objective = Get a Grapple Hook Device.

• Show : The NPC shows you the device, how it works and what it does.
• No text : UI is pointing at the crate, voice tells you what to do. Clear game objective : grab the grapple hook device.

Training : time for practice.

Provide a setup where the player can safely use his new technic / ability and train as much as he wants.

i.e. Grapple Hook example (part 2 /3)

The crate of Grapple Hooks devices is on a platform a few meters above ground.

The player can climb there with a ladder and once equiped with the device, the HQ voice tells him how to do it (i.e. Aim for a wood surface and press "Right Bumper").
Next objective = try the device.
The UI objective marker is on a nearby platform only reachable with the grapple hook.

There's more than one platform and the player can can easily spots nearby places with bonuses on it (ammo, health, coins, etc) only reachable with the grapple hook.

• Training Ground : Multiple platforms at various distances and height so the player can train and see how his new toy works :)
• Safety : no risk to die there. (platforms might be above water) You can try as long as you want.

Trial : making sure it's understood.

A challenge to make sure the player has learned.

This part is especially important if it's a chore mechanic that you want the player to have understood : you don't want your player to miss a key part of the gamegplay.

i.e. Grapple Hook example (part 3 /3)

After reaching the distant platform, the objective changes to "Use the Grapple Hook to cross the chasm".

The only way to continue is to follow the path of the escaped NPC and jump over the chasm.

This is trial in the sense that if the player has not understood how it works, he won't be able to pass.

If it takes too long for him (i.e. the player has the grapple hook and he has been down on the ground for 30s) you might want a HQ radio msg to remind him what to do + some extra UI pointing at a piece of wood on the other side if he doesn't progress.

GENERAL THOUGHTS

I won't go into tons of details but generally speaking you should pay attention to

• Learning = Playing. You should never give up on fun for the sake of teaching the player.
  Chances are good that something boring to teach will end up being boring to play...
• Make it fit into the universe : as much as possible make the teaching sequences feel natural and logical in the game flow (narrative, action).
• Playtests is your best friend. When dealing with teaching and tutorial, playtests are invaluable. That's where you'll make sure 100% of players understand what they should.
• Don't overdo it. I mean you don't need to teach players that pressing the left mouse button will shoot the weapon in a FPS. The lighter the tutorials, the better.
  Playtests will help you validate the list of what you need to teach, and what is obvious for players.
• Backward Teaching (?) (hehe...not sure how I must call it ^^)
  So, I just said you don't want to overdo it, but at the same time, you must make sure players have understood and get ready for a reminder in case they've not. i.e. The player keeps shooting his grapple hook at everything. After a few bad attempts, have the HQ radio voice remind him that the device only works on wooden structure + highlight a valid hook point with some UI
• No Text : try to use voice and acting NPC and limit the text to the minimum. I know, I know, sometimes budget and timing force you to go the the cheap text tutorial. But try to avoid it ;)
• Having Fun with what you learned : it's super important that the player can spend time playing with what he just learned. It would be a mistake to chain tutorial elements without any "meaty" chunks of gameplay based on it in between.

BUILDING UP COMPLEXITY STEP BY STEP

Teaching is not just about a new abilities or equipment.

To not overwhelm the player, it's usually a good idea to teach him new concepts, make sure he understood what he has to do before adding some challenge on top of it.

i.e. Player's goal is to re activate the Generators of an outpost to power up the defense systeme.

• Left wing is easy and clean.
  The player learns what he must do activate the generator (i.e. Activate fuel pump, fix a broken valve, manually start the generator)
• Right wing adds challenge on top it.
  The player must do the exact same thing but this time, there are enemies attacking.

THE FIRST LEVELS

Although learning is an ongoing process in any game (learning new tactics, new enemies, new environment, new challenges), the first levels are usually pretty heavy on this side.
And to make things even more complicated, on top of acting as "The game school", those first levels need to be super engaging.

Temptation is great to start building the game with those (they are the beginning of the game after all :) ) but although you should definitely prototype them early, you should not rush on raising the quality too much...or expect to loose a lot of time on it.

• Build them early and playtest, again...and again...
• Keep it in a "prototype" phase so it's easy to adjust and react to player feedback.
• Did you train everything needed for the player to enjoy the game ?
• Is the order good ?
• Maybe you teached too much, too fast...or too early...
• Is the pacing engaging and the experience fun ? Does the learning fit with the narative / game experience ? (i.e. Half Life 1 & 2 first minutes)
• Make sure the player can have fun playing with what he just learned before learning something new. (i.e. just got a jetpack? the rest of the level should be built on that)
• Pacing is critical : you want the player to get hooked and want more.
• ...but finish them last.
• You'll probably need to throw them away + rebuild 10 times...the simpler, the faster.
• You'll have learned from building all the other levels, and you'll be able to use this experience to make those early levels better.
• Gameplay will change...what' was thought important at the end of preprod might have shifted to something else, the story might have evolved...
• Keep in mind that those early levels are probably the most complicated to pull out (everyone want to put its best stuff into it!) You'll have learned how to do it from other levels.

Listen to the players

A quick one today about the importance of player feedback and play-tests.
When I say "player feedback" it's basically anyone but you, including your colleagues or friends :)

Levels are complex structures mixing art, gameplay and narrative, and it would be foolish to think that you can build the perfect one from scratch.
You need to show it to other, and the sooner the better as long as you follow a few guidelines...

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO TEST ?

Whatever the advancement of your work, you should always be clear with the following points

• What do you want to learn from presenting your work?
• Does your current level has what it takes for the player to give you valid answers?

The second point is important : you can't wait for the level to be 100% finish to get some feedback, but you'll usually need enough so it's possible for someone to give you interesting answers.

i.e. To test orientation in your level, you'll need at least some evolved grey box version with early texturing (just so it's not all flat color from ground to rooftops) , shaping, lighting, and the landmarks + key orientation elements (props, etc). You'll probably also want objectives place holders to be functional.

One last point : don't be afraid to disclaim what is NOT there and should therefore not be commented.

LISTEN TO THE PLAYERS

There's Always a good reason...
When players complain, there's ALWAYS a reason for it, so you should always pay attention.

But finding the right problem/solution is the difficult part
The key is to evaluate the source of the problem, and I suggest you'd be cautious with direct play-testers feedback.
I'll give you a quick example : In versus mode multi-player games, players could complain that they are not moving fast enough. They constantly want to sprint and they'd like to run twice faster.
What you must understand is not "Let's make the player run faster" (changing this would affect combat, aiming, lag effect, GD balance + LD scale) but asking why they'd like to run faster?
Maybe it's because the map is too big? Or maybe the time to capture an objective is so fast that you feel like you don't have time to reach it and do anything about it? or it can be because the map structure is chaotic and you feel like you are having trouble finding a sustained stream of interesting PVP action?

And check your play-tester's profile
I mean, if a hardcore multiplayer Call of duty player finds your stealth level boring, it might just be because he doesn't like stealth games ^^

But there's always something behind it
Players never complain for nothing...

THE PATH OF LEAST LD RESISTANCE

Sometimes what you thought would be obvious is not and the majority of players go in the wrong direction or don't understand an objective.

I've seen some LDs deploying tons of efforts to guide the players where they wanted them to go, while sometimes, it's easier to simply follow the player's "natural path".

i.e. You placed the dynamites needed to blow up the bridge clearly visible in front of the commander's tent but  the majority of players tend to go directly to the truck, and it takes them time (and frustration) to finally find the explosives back at the tent. Unless there's some special super important reason, you'd better just move your dynamites next to the truck as it's where players seems to be looking for it :)

PLAY-TESTS ARE INVALUABLE

Play-tests are key to design good levels, not only because it helps you build a better version of the level you are currently working on, but also because it helps you understand others and how they play.

I recommend play-testing your level as soon as possible (start with colleagues) so you can iterate violently if needed ^^ (the very first thing to play-test is accessibility and orientation)

On top of that, there's nothing more satisfying than watching others having fun in the level you specifically crafted for this very reason, so don't be shy :)

To sum it up I'd say

• Never forget the intention / goal of your level
• Know what you want to learn from the playtest
• Listen to player's feedback...
• ...but be the judge regarding what and how to fix problems.
  (ultimately, you know why things are this way and how much it costs to change it)

Level Design Checklist

This is the big check list I go through from time to time when I work on a level, just to make sure I haven't forgotten something important.

Not all the points apply to any map (i.e. What about emotional involvement in a death-match arena ^^) but I'd rather skip it upon reading than not finding it or having to browse through various lists.
Some of them are just there as a reminder that "It can sometimes be fun...just think about it" (i.e. Reuse space and backtracking)

• Check level versus blueprint and initially defined core values?
• Orientation : Where you are, where you go, what are your options
• Strong and Memorable moments : Identify them. Tech + prod feasability.
• Pacing and Game Rythm in line with high level intentions
• Diversity : avoid tasteless, repetitive and monotonous action
• Create motivation, goals, and give back rewards
• Surprise the player, make him wait for the unexpected
• Emotional Involvement : choice for the player, powerful situations
• Don't do everything at the same time (narrative, gameplay, tech show off)
• Define the passive narrative of your locations (Every place has a story to tell)
• Reuse space and backtracking : once a place is learned by player, reuse it with new objectives and challenges
• Layered Gameplay (game on demand) : Deliver the core experience, and think of bonuses and extra / side missions. (Bonus narrative, Bonus difficulty steps)
• Half the player choices should come from the level itself : positioning yourself, choosing your path and challenge, using interactive element to modify the area (close/open access or covers, switch On/Off gameplay modifiers, hinder your opponent and make it your place, etc)
• No dead ends (backtracking with new gameplay can be OK)
• Clear Objective and sub goals. Is pacing OK ?
• Always something animated / moving in the scenery
• Identify choke points, attractors and repulsors
• Learning setups (teaching new stuff to the player)
• Check contrasts : layout and volumes (big / small), action pacing (quiet, frenzy), lonely vs busy nest, player in control or not
• Objective and sub goals accomplishment feel cool (special setup, cut scene, etc)
• Present the rewards, tease the player with it
• Narrative twist, Action twist (things don't go as expected)

As a lead, it can be useful to add your specific project points, remove those irrelevant and build a grid to share with your LD for easy tracking.