MSc Final Project DevLog #5: Tutorial and Level Design

With all of the primary mechanics sufficiently developed to allow playtesting, the next step in the project was to develop levels to teach players how to use them as well as a single level containing puzzles for players to solve using the knowledge provided in the tutorial levels. The Tutorial The game tutorial is split into five short levels. Each level imparts knowledge of one or more of the previously developed game mechanics. The number of tutorial levels was decided by listing out all the required mechanics and dividing them up across a number of levels that gave each mechanic the desired amount of attention. The goal of this was to ensure that the player was not overwhelmed with too much new information at any one time. Here is how the mechanics were divided across the five levels: Level 1: Player movement, looking around, jumping, and interacting with objects Level 2: Command generation system, Activate command, and signal blocking and range limitations Level 3: Controlling robot NPCs, target destinations, Follow command, Move To command, Cancel command, NPC-locked doors, and pressure plates Level 4: Using the Attack command against NPCs and destinations Level 5: Reflective and absorptive surfaces, signal reflection, low-frequency signals, signal penetration limits, and secret areas Tell and Show The tutorial levels all follow a pattern of tell then show. Every mechanic is explained via text on walls in the levels, and immediately followed by an opportunity or obligation to use that mechanic. For example, the first tutorial level starts with the player facing a wall displaying the controls to look around. In order to progress into the next area, the player must use those controls to turn around in order to see the way out of the starting room as well as the text explaining how to move. Similarly, at the beginning of the second tutorial level, the controls for generating an Activate command are displayed on the wall in front of the player with a door to their