I'll try to prove my theory: Which game was you very first adventure game?
By the way, normally, easy to learn is the polar opposite of easy to use (not always mind you). You have to know for how many time people are going to use that interface and how many people are going to use that interface. Games is not something you usually dedicate a ton of time of realize how to do something (No what to do, how to do!) and not something you are going to use forever or in an extending amount of time. There's another software which is critical the amount of time you dedicate in how to do something, like Software for the Army, and those software are known for been a pain to learn, but they stick on it because how many time you dedicate to do something is matter of life. On the polar opposite, games are something you want to have fun and don't have to work, if a game takes too many work for start, the most possible thing is the people are going to stop playing the game and go to do something else. Since for a game is critical to hold your attention is that moment, easy to learn has to be first.
I don't think it really makes sense to say that a slight adjustment to the way item combination works would throw the learning curve so far out of proportion that people would be discouraged from playing.
A tutorial in the first episode might be fine the first time around, but if in the future Telltale offers the episodes for sale separately future players might not get that first episode. Also it allowed you not just to "combine" items, but use them on each other,
like reading the secret notes with the eye of the manatee.
Using the same interface let them use the same pop-up animation, and it even tied in visually with the locket puzzle later as well.
Pushing the "button" between the two slots caused a reaction.
How many people picked up on that last visual aid, I don't know. They are oriented differently so it's not that obvious.
I don't think it really makes sense to say that a slight adjustment to the way item combination works would throw the learning curve so far out of proportion that people would be discouraged from playing.
I'm just explaining why "easy to learn" comes first to "easy to use" in video games. I'm not really aplying to the actual conversation.
A tutorial in the first episode might be fine the first time around, but if in the future Telltale offers the episodes for sale separately future players might not get that first episode. Also it allowed you not just to "combine" items, but use them on each other,
like reading the secret notes with the eye of the manatee.
Using the same interface let them use the same pop-up animation, and it even tied in visually with the locket puzzle later as well.
Pushing the "button" between the two slots caused a reaction.
How many people picked up on that last visual aid, I don't know. They are oriented differently so it's not that obvious.
Well, in all of their other series, each game has shipped with it's own special tutorial that you can access from the main menu, I'd imagine that would be the case with any future titles that don't maintain as strict of a story arc as TMI had.
That's what I thought, but those games all included the tutorial even with the downloaded releases and Tales didn't. I think Telltale was experimenting with doing things differently this season.
Honestly, I never paid that close attention to it. In a "typical" guy way, I just tore into it and didn't get too stuck. Another interesting statistic would be to see how many people even look for a tutorial.
By the way, normally, easy to learn is the polar opposite of easy to use (not always mind you). (...)
I definitely disagree here - they usually go hand in hand. Otherwise, I see where the reasoning comes from, but I think you're talking extremes - we're not talking rocket science here, and if the interface has any learning curve, you can make it as well enjoyable.
@Lena: you can include the tutorial in each episode, like in Wallace & Gromit.
@Pantagruel's Friend They could, but they didn't. I think they wanted to integrate instructions into the game series more subtly and organically. It's something they've said they want to do with their hint systems, anyway, so I don't think it's such a leap that they'd want to try for the same thing game mechanic-wise, as well.
My initial point was in response to Pale Man's suggestion that the first episode could have had Guybrush reference his ability to combine things somehow. An "ingame" tutorial if you will.
@Pantagruel's Friend They could, but they didn't. I think they wanted to integrate instructions into the game series more subtly and organically. It's something they've said they want to do with their hint systems, anyway, so I don't think it's such a leap that they'd want to try for the same thing game mechanic-wise, as well.
My initial point was in response to Pale Man's suggestion that the first episode could have had Guybrush reference his ability to combine things somehow. An "ingame" tutorial if you will.
The first episode did have that. The only reason it wasn't included in later episodes as a tutorial is that it's pretty much a well known fact that you have to start at chapter 1 if you want to have some clue what is going on in the game, not to mention that for quite a while you couldn't get the other episodes without getting the first episode.
2010. (And I'm guessing we'll get more info as soon as the Telltales get back from Christmas break and visiting their families and sleeping and whatnot.)
My initial point was in response to Pale Man's suggestion that the first episode could have had Guybrush reference his ability to combine things somehow. An "ingame" tutorial if you will.
Yep, and there we went off to a tangent discussing if easy-to-learn or easy-to-use is the more important. I'm still convinced it's the latter
I think they've already voided their warranty with some of the other driving they did like
driving to the moon, driving underwater on the way back from a case, things I'm sure wouldn't be allowed. The better question is whether their insurance covers demon-possession, but I doubt they can even get insurance.
Comments
I don't think it really makes sense to say that a slight adjustment to the way item combination works would throw the learning curve so far out of proportion that people would be discouraged from playing.
I'm just explaining why "easy to learn" comes first to "easy to use" in video games. I'm not really aplying to the actual conversation.
Well, in all of their other series, each game has shipped with it's own special tutorial that you can access from the main menu, I'd imagine that would be the case with any future titles that don't maintain as strict of a story arc as TMI had.
Well, it was called Valley of somethingicantremember, and it was a text adventure with hardly any pictures
I definitely disagree here - they usually go hand in hand. Otherwise, I see where the reasoning comes from, but I think you're talking extremes - we're not talking rocket science here, and if the interface has any learning curve, you can make it as well enjoyable.
@Lena: you can include the tutorial in each episode, like in Wallace & Gromit.
My initial point was in response to Pale Man's suggestion that the first episode could have had Guybrush reference his ability to combine things somehow. An "ingame" tutorial if you will.
The first episode did have that. The only reason it wasn't included in later episodes as a tutorial is that it's pretty much a well known fact that you have to start at chapter 1 if you want to have some clue what is going on in the game, not to mention that for quite a while you couldn't get the other episodes without getting the first episode.
Where the Hell is Sam & Max Season 3?????
ToMI was great, but it's not Sam & Max!
Please, please at least make an announcement for when we can get word on S&M3!
(pant, pant)
(Yes, I'm hyperventilating).
But yeah. Sam and Max. So I hear they've got a
Yep, and there we went off to a tangent discussing if easy-to-learn or easy-to-use is the more important. I'm still convinced it's the latter
I think they've already voided their warranty with some of the other driving they did like