RSS Feed
Twitter
For those of us who speak “MMO” like ‘aggro’, ‘ganking’, ‘Pvp’, ‘PvE’, etc. We probably will skip the tutorial of a new MMORPG game.
But what about the millions of people out there who have never played an MMORPG before? Are the current tutorials in existing games good enough for them? Some would be content with skipping the lengthy and boring medleys and just experience the game head on. But of course, some would want to be spoon-fed info. So, what do game developers and designers need to do?
Sure tutorials are important. But my main beef with them is a) they’re long and b) they’re boring. What if we come up with alternatives to make tutorials more fun and interactive? That would be a swell thought…
If I were to design a new game, I’d like to try out these new ideas on tutorials.
- Make more use of videos – putting video tutorials inside the game should be easy. Also, there should be noob videos at the game’s site and/or forums. Watching is better than reading.
- Tests - see if the noob got it by giving him a test. Get a correct answer and you get newbie items like pots or starter gear
- Manuals – instruction manuals should have 2 parts, a “Haven’t played an MMORPG before?” part and an “Expert” part. Sort of how Magic The Gathering did its thing before. This way, those who like to skip on reading (like me) can just get to the Expert part and know what to avoid.
- A Newbie area – There must be an area in the game world where noobs can ask questions with players, mods or volunteers. We do this with RF Online and call it the Novus Tour. Ragnarok has the novice land but It’s been ages since I visited. Now’s a good chance to do so, eh?
- Noob Central – One of the first major additions I made to the Ragnarok site was to create a Newbie section. There, basic how-tos and guides were placed.
And there you have it, interesting ideas to make MMORPG tutorials even better.
What about you? Got other ideas to add?
Posted in 
Tags: 
One of the best tutorials I’ve ever played is in Guild Wars: Prophecies. The world you play in has it’s own distinct map from the rest of the experienced players. The quests are designed to give you an idea of what class is suitable for you and because you’re separated from the rest of the world, you don’t look like a newb since all of you are newbs together. Once you leave newbieland (called Pre-Searing), you can never return to heckle the other newbies, thus letting them keep their dignity while allowing them to learn more about the game.
While tutorials are really useful, I prefer the human type that can at least impart some useful “diskarte” to both be able to maximize the enjoyment of the game and the ins and outs of economics.
I still do read them no matter how boring they usually are… saves a lot of questions.
Sometimes it is better to read the manual. Some veterans have attitude problems towards newbies. And some newbies have n00b attitudes. An etiquette section in the manual or tutorial is definitely needed.
Agree. But gamers tend to NOT READ THINGS, ya?
n00bs tend to not read things GM T
lalo na ung makukulit na gusto uber agad sila.
Most people tend not to read the manual. That’s why technicians have the term ODNRM syndrome for certain problems. That’s Owner Did Not Read Manual. @_@
Speaking of WoW, Did you guys hear about the changes to Shamans in the Cataclysm update? Apparently they are getting an AOE heal, another AOE DPS Earthquake spell, and the ability to cast spells WHILE MOVING!!!
New Warlock Spells: Fel Flame (level 81): Quick-hitting spell dealing Shadowfire damage. This is similar to the mage ability Frostfire Bolt, in that the lower of the two resistances (in this case shadow and fire) on your target will be used for calculating its damage. Additionally, Fel Flame refreshes the duration of Immolate and Unstable Affliction. Our goal for Fel Flame is to provide a spell that’s good for mobility and for use by Destruction and Demonology specs. Also, did we mention it uses green fire? Yep. Instant cast.
I don’t suppose the blogger here has ever thought about dualboxing before?