Writing Tutorials, or Press Start. . . to Start - Professional Techniques for Video Game Writing - page 123

room presents another problem that requires the player to discover how to climb and
jump. In each case, the player is restricted to an area that requires them to complete
a stage of learning before moving on to the next.
In Ico , these problems not only teach control and game style, but they also present
the protagonist with his goal (the need to escape) and the world (a large, forbidding,
and hostile temple) without a single word being spoken or displayed.
Once the player has learned the basic controls, they encounter a girl imprisoned
in a cage whom they must free and then protect. The antagonists are made clear by
action and appearance—shadowy, evil-looking creatures that arrive to take the girl
and frustrate the boy. We see that they are evil as they attempt to carry the heroine
off to her doom.
Ico 's story is simplistic and draws heavily on story archetype, but it succeeds be-
cause it shows rather than tells the story, combining game and narrative in a way that
prompts not only a basic level of immersion but genuine emotion for the charac-
ters contained within its story world. This process begins at the first moment of the
tutorial.
Ongoing Tutorials—Spreading the Teaching Load
Many games add new elements throughout the course of the game. When a writer
works on a game with such an extended learning experience, the writer must con-
sider how to introduce these new elements. While not all such elements need to be
commented on by the game's characters, some will demand an explanation either to
tell the player how to use the new gameplay, or simply because it would be natural for
the game's characters to comment on what they are experiencing. 16 Game characters
don't need to jabber away through an entire game, but they do need to feel real.
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , the player is able to learn new spells
throughout the game. Each of the open-world missions in the main section of the
game requires the protagonist (Harry Potter) to persuade a character to join Harry in
the Room of Requirement to practice spells. Once a character goes to the room, the
player can then choose to meet them and learn a new spell. This hides the artificial
“power-up� process by using people as well as creating a separate, safe tutorial area
within the game itself. This idea is taken even further in Tomb R a i d e r .Inthisgame,
the player can go to Lara Croft's mansion throughout the game, allowing them to
self-select ongoing tutorial and training elements and providing a continuous safe
environment to experiment within.
Ongoing tutorials don't have to be limited to one location, nor do they always
require on-screen text. Half-Life 2 introduces a number of weapons throughout the
game. One technique the game uses to handle these new ingredients is to have a new
weapon introduced by a character who not only hands it over but also explains how
to use it.
16 If a large monster with flaming breath and a magic axe tore part of the city down and slew a hundred
people in front of you, chances are you'd comment on this. If this is true for you, it can feel right for the
game's characters, too—if this fits in with the game's genre and design.