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Egoraptor opens by explaining how early video games didn't really know how to how to teach & engross players. They made poor simulations of real-world games, like sports or cards. They would often use tedious instruction manuals on how to play, or distracting in-game tutorials https://t.co/kWVIzrbSJw
Megaman taught players how to play *through* the level design The game will *show* you what’s ahead “The designers want it to feel justified when you got hit – it must be your fault” “Overcoming obstacles feel more satisfying as a result, because you’re improving by learning” https://t.co/PNIpdUUZvJ
In Gyroman’s stage, you face… 1- flying spikes dudes who fall on you 2- falling platforms After encountering both things separately, you face them simultaneously, which is extra challenging. But you know what to do! You're challenged but not overwhelmed. Great design https://t.co/Herh34IpNa
(This is a great snippet to observe Egoraptor's presentation skills: how he uses contrast, going soft to loud, big to small, etc) "Jump and shoot man" = eg of breaking down something into constituent parts Megaman X uses the MENU SCREEN to teach you that Megaman can shoot stuff https://t.co/a7e5JkqHNl
Game starts without telling you anything You can't go left because there's a wall, so you go right Through each new enemy, you learn that you can... - jump over obstacles - shoot things - jump and shoot things at the same time You learn all of this by yourself! No tutorial https://t.co/jKTqHyAUN6
- the tall legged enemies teach you that some enemies can only be damaged by hitting their sweet spots - by putting you in a ditch, the game teaches you that you can wall-slide, & climb walls by jumping + sliding Egoraptor compares this with games that leave you lost & confused https://t.co/suXUSKtIId
Towards the end of the intro level, you face Vile, who, like the previous bumblebee miniboss, doesn’t have a lifebar. After you’ve learned so much, the game makes you feel *extremely* weak and helpless And then Zero rescues you, and promises you that You Will Become Stronger https://t.co/nxb1R9RJh2
everything in the game is about X growing stronger You the player are motivated to defeat Vile, who made you personally feel helpless You find the armor, you beat the enemies. You feel connected to the hero. You get to repay your mentor’s favor and rescue HIM from Vile https://t.co/X9UHYLscXg
OK yeah that's basically all I wanted to break down from the video! I recommend watching the whole thing (19m) to better appreciate Egoraptor's chops as a filmmaker and speaker/presenter: https://t.co/fJ8dprGKIk So, a quick recap of what Megaman X does so brilliantly...
Motivation – articulate *why* it is that you want to do something. The more personal it is, the better Piecemeal – All big, scary, complicated things are made up of smaller, simpler, constituent things. Where possible, try to learn each constituent thing independently first
A less obvious thing is clarity in presentation. I suppose it would be... Simplicity – when looking to appreciate patterns, it's difficult to begin with something complicated. Empathetic design is considerate of the beginner mind, & strips away as much noise as possible https://t.co/pjAyqkD8yi
@visakanv It also *forces* you to learn the wall slide + wall kick As a general rule, designers can ensure you've figured certain things out by forcing you to use them to progress And from then on in the game, they can assume you know it, and design levels with that in mind
@visakanv They also set up teaching the wall slide very gracefully, by trapping you in a pit *with no enemies* So there's no time pressure, you can mess around for as long as you need to and the game won't punish you for it Great design
@visakanv Additionally: the menu screen shows you that you can shoot a big green projectile, which if this is your first megaman game (it was the first one for SNES) you may not know you can charge your shots This hints at the capability by contrasting the yellow shots you fire normally