The Tyranny of Forced Tutorials: Why Hand-Holding Hurts Games

Let’s talk about something that’s been grinding my gears for years. It’s something that, ironically, is intended to help us, to guide us. But in reality, it often does the exact opposite: it insults our intelligence, stifles our creativity, and ultimately, drives us away from the very games we were excited to play. I’m talking, of course, about the insidious practice of forced tutorials.

The Illusion of Choice: A Tutorial’s Deceit

Forced tutorials. We’ve all been there.

You boot up a brand new game, eager to dive into the rich world and compelling gameplay you’ve been promised. Instead, you’re immediately shackled to a pre-determined path, your hand held every step of the way. Your choices limited to pressing the button the game tells you to press. It’s not a tutorial; it’s a digital puppetry show.

This isn’t about accessibility. It’s about control.

Game developers, in their well-intentioned (but misguided) effort to ensure everyone “gets it,” often create these overly restrictive introductory sequences. They design these as a safe harbor, a guaranteed on-ramp to the fun. But what they fail to realize is that, for many players, that “safe harbor” feels more like a gilded cage. It breeds contempt.

Think about it. You’re presented with the illusion of choice.

You might be navigating a beautifully rendered environment, but you’re not truly exploring it. You might be interacting with interesting characters, but you’re not truly engaging with them. You’re simply following a script, going through the motions. You’re waiting for the moment when the game finally decides to let you play.

This is not player agency. This is player antagonization.

The Psychology of Resentment: Why Forced Tutorials Fail

Why do these tutorials backfire so spectacularly? It boils down to basic psychology.

We, as players, crave agency. We want to feel like we’re making meaningful decisions.

We want our actions to have consequences. We want to feel we’re shaping our own experience.

Forced tutorials rob us of that agency. They treat us like children, incapable of understanding even the simplest mechanics without explicit instruction. They foster a sense of resentment. They make us feel that the game doesn’t trust us to figure things out on our own.

Consider this scenario: You’re excited to play a new RPG with an intricate crafting system. The tutorial, however, forces you to craft a specific item using pre-selected materials.