Rage-Quit - Learn to Play: Designing Tutorials for Video Games - page 70

Figure 4.2 Screenshot from UNCHARTED . (UNCHARTED: Drake's Fortune screenshot ©2007
Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC. UNCHARTED: Drake's Fortune is a registered trademark
of Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC. Created and developed by Naughty Dog, Inc.)
feeling of disempowerment is not always necessary for the appren-
tice. A perfect example of cognitive apprenticeship through tutorial
design in games is presented in UNCHARTED: Drake's Fortune ™
(see Figure 4.2). In the first game of the series, the first moment the
player gains control is marked by a gunfight with pirates off the coast
of Panama. Keeping with modern games, this isn't too far of from the
norm; however, the player encounters the pirates with an AI partner,
Elena Pierce ™.
One of the mechanics necessary to be successful in UNCHARTED ™
and many other shooters is cover. In a firefight, it's probably a good
idea to get behind something and pray for your life. UNCHARTED
double-dips by providing you with a pop-up about how to take cover,
very briefly on the screen, and by illustrating mastery behavior through
the AI, Elena ™. I would argue that Drake ™ is spun, in this particular
story, to be the suave, debonair badass; however, Elena makes for cover
almost immediately. For non-initiate players, this indicates very quickly
that they need to emulate the behavior of the now cognitive master in
order to stay alive and observe tips. By seeking cover, the players are
able to avoid negative consequences (death), and return fire. In so doing,
they complete objectives, feel like a badass, and are given rewards (more
levels, story completion). It's this cycle that players become interested
in the game, as we have already discussed. In true form, the instruction