[arg_discuss] Looking for Resources on Engaging Casual Players in ARGs

[Thomas Maillioux]

2013/6/6 Ian Pottmeyer <ian at studiocypher.com>


> If you want to see more of this tutorial style of gameplay, Valve games are

> an absolute treasure trove. Check out Portal 1, I'm pretty sure the in-game

> developer commentary talks about how they designed the levels to teach.

>

> Put short, they'll have one level where they teach you a concept very

> explicitly: "DO THIS" Then they'll immediately follow that with a level

> where you have to use the skill you were just taught in order to progress.

> They don't tell you that's the case, they let you figure it out yourself.

> Since the new technique is still fresh in your mind, you're more likely to

> be still thinking about it, and using it in the next area feels natural,

> and that solidifies it in your gameplay repertoire.

>


Teaching your players something, then giving them the opportunity to apply
what they have juste learnt works great in video games design, especially
adding little variations one on top of the other to help players develop
their manoeuvers repertoire : Edmund McMillen of Team Meat breaks it down
really really well in Indie Game : The Movie - you can find the excerpt
where he explains all that over at Critical
Commons<http://www.criticalcommons.org/Members/fearv/clips/indie-game-the-movie-edmund-mcmillen-discusses>.
The parallel between Super Meat Boy and ARGs might make even more sense in
that, much like the main character, players don't necessarily learn new
moves along the course of a game.

Regarding what Wendy said about tutorials not being too hamhanded - the
most subtle tutorial I've ever seen is for Left 4 Dead. In fact, there is
no tutorial : the trailer for the game, that people got to see over and
over before launch, had all the information one needs to understand basic
tactics and the behaviours of the different types of zombies. You can find
it over YouTube <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF1HVlcXBmA> among other
places. Such a tutorial doesn't require much effort to soak it all in, and
it might work well with casual, passers-by audiences.

Regarding ARGs and casual player engagement in general : good luck ! That
audience can be especially hard to woo, even moreso with the competition
with other forms of entertainment (and Candy Crush Saga) ! At what point
would you consider your audience "engaged" ?

Good luck and keep us posted ! It's a great time for ARGs to explore
different roads and themes and I'm looking forward to reading about your
project here and there :) And I'd love to read more about the library ARG
as well (I'm a librarian and ICT trainer by day) !

-- 
"We do it because we are compelled."
http://www.tommaillioux.fr
Twitter :
@JTMaillioux - Documentation et actualité académique
@Bookmore - Culture digitale, gaming, DIY
+33669245239
PGP : 0xCE442D1D