Tutorialized

Some of the feedback I've gotten from more senior game designers is that there's lot you have to learn right away in the vertical slice. Attacking, defending, all sorts of spells, items, on top of all the platforming. So it's high-time to show how exactly I plan on introducing the mechanics one by one.

​Click 'Read more' to read more about the tutorials!

Kick, punch, it's all in the mind!

In reality, there isn't too much to say about the tutorials. The level itself functions as the platforming tutorial:

• When Viola falls on her face at the start of the level, the player has to jump out of it by pressing "A".
• The player then gets a ledge, which they can jump over with that same method.
• The game shows Fenrys doing a series of walljumps, letting the player copy his method.
• The player is then put into a pit, where they need to triple jump to get out of.
• Fenrys will catch Viola: establishing a connection and using gameplay mechanics to tell the player they need the other characters ("I would not have been able to jump out of this pit without Fenrys' help!")

Battle background for the caverns.

Next is battling. In the first level, I want the player to learn about attacking and guarding. The first battle is dedicated entirely to just learning how to attack. It also drops some info the player likely figured out on their own, but to make sure, the info is added anyway.

• Fenrys explains attacking, and the player can only attack.
• Fenrys gets to attack.
• The enemy gets to attack.
• HP is explained.
• Speed and turn order are explained.

There's currently a problem where the player deals too much damage if they get "Perfect" hits, and the tutorial gets skipped. Actually, it doesn't get skipped: the scene just exits while the tutorial plays.

I'm highlighting this because it's an interesting issue. Why is it interesting? Because it should be an easy fix: just raise the amount of HP on the enemy.

But this issue happens because the player gets 6 "Perfect" hits in a row. Would players really be able to hit 6 perfects in a row on their first try? I don't think so. Therefore, increasing the amount of HP might make the battle a lot longer for first-time players. This is why testing with new people is important!

I think the best solution would be to leave the HP as is, and when the enemy is destroyed, have a unique conversation between Viola and Fenrys instead. That might be a little bit more difficult to code (interrupting the string of events that happen at the end of battle), so I'll have to get back to it some other time.

Next week I want to finish up the animations for the story sequences in the level, and properly connect the tutorials to the level. Right now, going back to the level after a battle replays the animation at the start. Woops.