TOM FRANCIS
REGRETS THIS ALREADY

Popeye Doyle: Game scripts tend to follow films, so they want to introduce all the characters and the world in the first 30 minutes. Really they should let the player play for 30 minutes, then when he's started to care about the character he's interacting with, the script should start telling them about the chap and the world he's in. At that point, the player should be more curious and attentive, or at least reasonably willing to take a break from all the action.

Pod: Maybe games should have a target audience in the system requirements, so that we don't have to go lowest-common-denominator with the 'PRESS E OR ELSE' stuff?

"You must be not-shit at playing games to play this game"
"You must have played 3 other FPS games to play this game".
"You must actively know an an options menu is to be able to play this game"

Curly: I always left Black Mesa East with guns completely empty, because I'd shot them dry at the yammering fucks who wouldn't let me out of the room.

Most games with stories are made worse by those stories. Most game designers don't have a story to tell. We get regurgitated Saturday morning cartoons for cutscenes because the designers don't care about plot or dialog and only include them to check off an item on the feature list.

And you're not a dick for wanting to skip that. And neither am I. I realise it was probably just the conceit of the piece, but I found it far too apologetic. Indifferent designer bores player with moronic plot, player revolts, designer tightens the screws? Player is not at fault.

SenatorPalpatine: I remember this editorial from a year ago and still agree with it. Every time I play a co-op game the first thing I do is test if there is friendly fire, to my friend's chagrin. Haven't played Bulletstorm though.

I feel reassured that this site is still here and looks the same after so many moons. I have been covertly monitoring its content via RSS for some time.

Phydaux: I never caught these the first time around. Interesting reading. And a bit depressing. It really does seem like Adrian Chmielarz (and many other AAA game designers) seem to think that user testing is the best way to go for a great game?

Why do they think that people who have bought their £50 game are going to give up if they don't know how to crouch, or shoot, or move. Seriously who would spend that kind of money, then give up at the beginning because they didn't know how to control the game?

User test-groups probably respond badly because they don't care and they're not invested in it.

And, I seriously hate installing an old game that forces me through all this. "It's your first play-through so the tutorial is mandatory and all the cut-scenes are unskippable" Uuuurgh.

If only Minecraft had unskippable tutorials, it may have became a massive success, and not the niche underground title that it is... oh wait. ;)