Miyamoto: Get to the Point of Fun More Quickly

Link's Hideaway writes:

"Recently, Shigeru Miyamato was questioned about the long tutorial times in the Zelda series as well as some Mario titles."

[Bagogames]

I almost wish he had stayed out for the whole conference instead of handing it over to "where's the love?" zombie Reggie LOL.

[Y_5150]

I love how the lengthy tutorials was in Twilight Princess. But learning the game on your own is a great feeling, unless if the game sucks then it is frustrating! I find that multiplayer games have less of a forceful tutorial aspect than single player games.

[PopRocks359]

He produced Skyward Sword, he did not direct it.

[Y_5150]

I wasn't talking about Skyward Sword though. Explain what was the point of this response please?

[PopRocks359]

Lol I mentioned the wrong game. He didn't direct Twilight Princess either, he only produced it. Same with Skyward Sword.

[Y_5150]

Ok thanks for the info buddy! But still it's kinda irrevelant to my comment because I wasn't talking about Miyamoto's involvement in recent LoZ titles. :P

[omarzy]

well every zelda game has different controls. TP needed different controls because, well it was a different console than the rest. every zelda game has different contrsols. If nintendo consoles had a few zelda titles per console, then the tutorial would be optional

[Bimkoblerutso]

That doesn't explain the CONSTANT hand-holding in the more recent titles. It was prevalent in TP, but in SS it was...dear god it was bad. SS felt like a tutorial for the entire game.

Items popped up with explanations every time the game was restarted (as if their purpose was so complicated that we forgot what to do with them), the path to objectives was always made stupidly clear, and Fi...dear Lord in heaven, Fi. She was, by far, the most obtrusive, obnoxious, and downright annoying partner in any Zelda game; constantly popping up unprompted with "helpful" tips about what you just saw or where you're supposed to go or what percent chance it was that the pointy eared, blonde-haired young lady you just had a full conversation with was in fact (*gasp*) ZELDA! WHO COULD HAVE GUESSED THAT!?

[MiamiACR21]

That's what I keep telling her, but no, there's always that long boring tutorial of cop vs robbers, and how many fingers go where and for how long.

[karlowma]

I am replaying A Link to the Past right now, and that's one of the differences that really strikes me. There is minimal guidance from the game (unless you seek it specifically through the fortune teller). I think this adds depth and scale to the world, because the onus is more on the player to familiarize themselves with different areas. Similarly, when a new item is acquired, part of the joy of the series is, or has been, figuring out what you can do with it. For example...

*** MINOR SPOILER ***

When you need to get the second pendant from the sand temple, you show up at the door only to find it blocked. Strange, unreadable text greets you. Upon wandering the desert some more, you find a man in a cave (a staple to the series) who tells you about a book that can decipher the language of the Ancients, and vaguely, where it is located. So you go and hunt down that book, take it back to the temple, and voila! Open sesame.

*** END SPOILER ***

Moments like these define the Zelda series for me. Shamefully, I haven't yet played Twilight Princess or Skyward Sword, so I'm unaware whether this is carried forward, but games in general are definitely showing more tendency to hold your hand and guide you every step of the way. I like figuring things out, and I don't mind "getting stuck" for a while. A game like Demon's Souls is a refreshingly retro take on gameplay.

[malypso]

Wow, I read your comment after I posted mine and I must say, I thought of that same exact moment in Zelda while reading this. I also agree 100% with you on the whole hand holding thing. I love figuring things out on my own and feeling that sense of accomplishment after I figure it out, or beat a boss or level that took a lot of work and effort to do.

[malypso]

Games like Demon's/Dark Souls, are perfect examples of what Miyamoto is talking about. I love the fact that Dark Souls doesn't hold your hand at all and feels like your in control of the pace the entire time. It has a tutorial system via messages on the ground, telling you how to play; ex. (X/A: to input command, R1/RB: to strike), which is perfectly fine and acceptable. I enjoy some tutorials, but when it take 4-5 hours to get the point across, it becomes unacceptable. I find that most games this generation are way to scripted and need to return to their roots. It's cool to see pre-scripted story, action sequences, explosions, etc. but I rather be the one deciding where the explosions and destruction happen and a quick 5-10 minute tutorial, letting me figuring out the rest. Metroid Prime is another example of how a game can feel retro while having an updated feel, without ever compromising game-play or having lengthy tutorials. All 3 Castlevania's for the DS did a marvelous job executing game-play and complex menu mechanics without lengthy tutorials. The list can go on and on, but the point is that developers should stop wasting their time on developing games around story driven game-play mechanics, and focus from the ground up on solid, tight controls, and quick and innovative tutorials, letting us (as the gamer) figure out where and what to do next and how to do it.