I think the game should have an in-game tutorial, in some far off post-beta future, but not your normal tutorial, that will never do. We need a tutorial custom crafted to Minecraft. Minecraft wiki is good, but it's outside the game, and I think something integrated is more appropriate. Minecraft wiki is also kind of a cheat.
Instead of videos, pop-ups, or taking control from the player to show how things are done, the game can have a journal that is automatically filled when certain goals are accomplished. Find coal for the first time and it will trigger an entry. The journal entries introduce the player to basic crafting ideas, at first by explicit diagrams, and then by implicit pondering. Entries are arranged by time, and topic. This allows a player to follow their journey linearly, or jump to specific topics, such as coal, or general topics such as minerals. Italicized portions are not in journals, they're just descriptions of what leads to entries.
You arrive in the world, no memory, no knowledge of what you can do or how you can act. Suddenly, you hear a sharp scribbling sound, emanating from your left hand. In it is a Tome, numbered 1, and upon its first page are seemingly the thoughts you thought you should have thought, if given a moment to think.
"Looking upon this world, I thought myself a blank slate to be filled, but it is the world that is empty. Night is coming. I know this, not how, but Night is to be feared. I need shelter, and light.
My lack of tools is so angering, I feel I can punch the world to pieces if I hold my fists down long enough."
You punch your first tree, receiving a log. The scribbling again.
"A log! From this I should be able to craft more manageable pieces of wood. The odd two by two surface in my inventory should do as a work surface, for now."
Once you have the materials for tools, it would get more specific about the initial arrangement of materials for tool crafting, "The sticks are a little short, two of them vertically should make a good handle." It would hint at the sword, and hint at using different blade materials.
Reading journal entries don't stop time, and when you activate the Tome, you do so with T. Every time you die, the Tome number goes up by one. Manual entries should be possible. Tome appears in the left hand only when summoned. Perhaps old tomes appear on shelves, with a spine thickness related to how many pages are filled.
It has been confirmed that a tutorial will be added to the game, so don't worry about that. Even when you first log in you can see the, not yet usable, tutorial option.
I'm actually having trouble, cynic that I am, nailing down any firm criticisms for this one: My only qualm is that it should be possible to make books other than this tome, and write in those, should you wish to do so. That, and the question of where the tome goes when you die, are my only comments: Other than that, this seems to be a fairly solid idea to implement the long-sought tutorial mode.
It has been confirmed that a tutorial will be added to the game, so don't worry about that. Even when you first log in you can see the, not yet usable, tutorial option.
I honestly forgot the tut level button, however, this can be taken as a suggestion against a conventional tutorial. Instead, using the tutorial button would activate the Tome journal mode. Playing normally turns the journal entries off, but leaves you with a master Tome.
Quote from Alexor »
Interesting.
I'm actually having trouble, cynic that I am, nailing down any firm criticisms for this one: My only qualm is that it should be possible to make books other than this tome, and write in those, should you wish to do so. That, and the question of where the tome goes when you die, are my only comments: Other than that, this seems to be a fairly solid idea to implement the long-sought tutorial mode.
I like that. Playing in normal mode could mean not getting a Tome, and having to make various lesser books from basic books. One could be the Journal, for entries and automatic dating, an Index for searching books in a Google like manner, and a Death Log which counts how many times you died, and perhaps how you died. These could be useful alongside the Tome by offering expanded capabilities. Google search as apposed to fixed topic search, times died and why, instead of only times dead. Maybe day and moon phase, instead of only day.
Where the Tome goes, well it's magic, like those cursed objects you cannot get rid of no matter how hard you try. With the T key, I was thinking it would just disappear and appear as needed. It's really a part of you and can't really be separated. Maybe it goes to hell, or a pocket dimension.
Rather than old ones appearing on a shelf, it should actually be the same Tome with a higher number each time you die.
My original idea was that it was a removable inventory item. If you lost it, or left it behind, eventually it would either appear in your inventory on its own, when not looking. But, then I realized, I didn't want it taking a spot in the inventory, so a specialized key makes sense. It appears in the left hand because the left hand is never used for anything.
Instead of videos, pop-ups, or taking control from the player to show how things are done, the game can have a journal that is automatically filled when certain goals are accomplished. Find coal for the first time and it will trigger an entry. The journal entries introduce the player to basic crafting ideas, at first by explicit diagrams, and then by implicit pondering. Entries are arranged by time, and topic. This allows a player to follow their journey linearly, or jump to specific topics, such as coal, or general topics such as minerals. Italicized portions are not in journals, they're just descriptions of what leads to entries.
"Looking upon this world, I thought myself a blank slate to be filled, but it is the world that is empty. Night is coming. I know this, not how, but Night is to be feared. I need shelter, and light.
My lack of tools is so angering, I feel I can punch the world to pieces if I hold my fists down long enough."
You punch your first tree, receiving a log. The scribbling again.
"A log! From this I should be able to craft more manageable pieces of wood. The odd two by two surface in my inventory should do as a work surface, for now."
Once you have the materials for tools, it would get more specific about the initial arrangement of materials for tool crafting, "The sticks are a little short, two of them vertically should make a good handle." It would hint at the sword, and hint at using different blade materials.
Reading journal entries don't stop time, and when you activate the Tome, you do so with T. Every time you die, the Tome number goes up by one. Manual entries should be possible. Tome appears in the left hand only when summoned. Perhaps old tomes appear on shelves, with a spine thickness related to how many pages are filled.
I'm actually having trouble, cynic that I am, nailing down any firm criticisms for this one: My only qualm is that it should be possible to make books other than this tome, and write in those, should you wish to do so. That, and the question of where the tome goes when you die, are my only comments: Other than that, this seems to be a fairly solid idea to implement the long-sought tutorial mode.
[Diamond]
I honestly forgot the tut level button, however, this can be taken as a suggestion against a conventional tutorial. Instead, using the tutorial button would activate the Tome journal mode. Playing normally turns the journal entries off, but leaves you with a master Tome.
I like that. Playing in normal mode could mean not getting a Tome, and having to make various lesser books from basic books. One could be the Journal, for entries and automatic dating, an Index for searching books in a Google like manner, and a Death Log which counts how many times you died, and perhaps how you died. These could be useful alongside the Tome by offering expanded capabilities. Google search as apposed to fixed topic search, times died and why, instead of only times dead. Maybe day and moon phase, instead of only day.
Where the Tome goes, well it's magic, like those cursed objects you cannot get rid of no matter how hard you try. With the T key, I was thinking it would just disappear and appear as needed. It's really a part of you and can't really be separated. Maybe it goes to hell, or a pocket dimension.
Rather than old ones appearing on a shelf, it should actually be the same Tome with a higher number each time you die.
My original idea was that it was a removable inventory item. If you lost it, or left it behind, eventually it would either appear in your inventory on its own, when not looking. But, then I realized, I didn't want it taking a spot in the inventory, so a specialized key makes sense. It appears in the left hand because the left hand is never used for anything.