Why Your Tutorial is Failing: UX, Not Just Instructions

Why Your Tutorial is Failing: It’s the UX, Stupid

We’ve all been there. Hours spent crafting the perfect tutorial, meticulously detailing every step, only to see players bounce off faster than a rubber duck in a hurricane. You followed all the best practices, right? Clearly written instructions, step-by-step guidance…so what went wrong? The answer, more often than not, lies in the user experience, not the instructions themselves.

Onboarding: First Impressions Matter

Your tutorial is the player’s first real interaction with your game. A clunky, confusing onboarding can sour the entire experience before they even get to the fun part. Think of onboarding like a handshake: it should be firm, confident, and leave a positive impression.

I once played a strategy game where the tutorial immediately threw me into managing a sprawling city with a dozen different resources. No context, no explanation of the UI, just a cascade of flashing icons and urgent messages. I closed the game within five minutes.

Instead, start small. Introduce one core mechanic at a time. Let the player experience success early on. Baby steps are the key. Show them a single action and it’s payoff.

Clear Goal Communication: What Are We Even Doing?

Players need to understand why they’re performing a specific action. A tutorial that just lists steps without providing context is a recipe for disaster. It’s like following a recipe without knowing what dish you’re trying to make.

Avoid ambiguity. Clearly state the goal of each tutorial section. “In this step, you’ll learn how to harvest resources” is much better than “Click on the glowing tree.” Explain why harvesting resources is important. Explain how those resources benefit the player.

Scaffolding Complexity: Layered Learning

Don’t overwhelm players with too much information at once. Introduce complexity gradually, building upon previously learned concepts. This is known as scaffolding. It’s like building a house: you don’t start with the roof.

Consider a role-playing game. Instead of explaining all the intricacies of the combat system at once, start with basic attacks, then introduce blocking, then special abilities. Each step builds upon the previous one, creating a solid foundation of knowledge.

I made a similar mistake in my own game, which teaches complex coding concepts through gameplay. My initial tutorial was dense, teaching the player how to define functions, call methods, and use variables all in a single screen. Players were overwhelmed. By breaking it down into much smaller chunks, each introducing one topic at a time, I significantly improved player retention.

Providing Helpful Feedback: Am I Doing This Right?

Players need clear and immediate feedback on their actions. If they’re doing something wrong, tell them why. If they’re doing something right, celebrate it. Ambiguous feedback is worse than no feedback at all.

Avoid generic messages like “Incorrect action.” Instead, provide specific guidance. “You need to select a worker unit before you can build a structure.” Visual cues can also be incredibly helpful. Highlight the correct action on the screen, or provide a clear visual indication of success or failure.

In a puzzle game I worked on, the tutorial initially didn’t provide any feedback on why a puzzle piece wouldn’t fit. Players just kept trying the same thing over and over, getting increasingly frustrated. By adding a subtle visual hint indicating the incorrect rotation, we dramatically reduced player frustration and increased tutorial completion rates.

Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3: Real Users are Key

You are not your target audience. You know your game inside and out. What seems obvious to you may be completely opaque to a new player. Testing your tutorial with real users is essential for identifying pain points and areas for improvement.

Find players who are representative of your target audience and watch them play through your tutorial. Don’t interrupt, don’t offer hints, just observe. Take notes on where they struggle, where they get confused, and where they seem to lose interest. This real player experience will give you a wealth of data.

I’ve found video recordings of playtests to be invaluable. Watching someone struggle with a section you thought was obvious is a humbling, but enlightening, experience.

A/B Testing: Optimization Through Experimentation

Once you’ve identified areas for improvement, use A/B testing to compare different tutorial designs. Create two versions of your tutorial, each with a slightly different approach. Show each version to a different group of players and track their completion rates, time spent in the tutorial, and overall satisfaction.

This allows you to objectively measure the effectiveness of different design choices and optimize your tutorial for maximum engagement and comprehension. One tutorial may offer a hand holding experience, while another gives the players more freedom to learn at their own pace.

Good UX in Tutorials: Examples

Consider the tutorial in Baba is You. The game introduces its core mechanic – rewriting the rules of the game – through a series of simple puzzles that gradually increase in complexity. Feedback is immediate and clear, and players are encouraged to experiment.

Slay the Spire's tutorial slowly doles out card mechanics, first introducing attack cards, then blocking, then statuses and abilities. The player is given small victories along the way so that they feel a sense of accomplishment.

Bad UX in Tutorials: Examples

Many older real-time strategy games suffer from overly long and tedious tutorials that require players to perform a series of arbitrary tasks without any clear explanation of why. This can be incredibly frustrating and lead to player churn.

I played another game recently where the tutorial forced me to watch unskippable cutscenes between each step. This was incredibly frustrating, especially when I made a mistake and had to repeat a section.

Actionable Changes: What You Can Do Now

Here are a few actionable changes you can implement in your tutorial right now:

• Simplify the onboarding: Start with the absolute basics and gradually introduce more complex concepts.
• Communicate clear goals: Explain the why behind each tutorial step.
• Provide helpful feedback: Tell players what they’re doing wrong and how to fix it.
• Test with real users: Watch players play through your tutorial and identify pain points.
• Iterate and improve: Use A/B testing to optimize your tutorial design.

Your tutorial is not just a set of instructions; it’s an integral part of the user experience. By focusing on UX principles, you can create a tutorial that is engaging, informative, and ultimately, helps players fall in love with your game. Stop simply listing steps and start crafting a learning experience.