Game tutorials have been a staple of video game design for decades, carefully crafted to introduce players to mechanics and systems. But here’s the uncomfortable truth developers are finally admitting: players despise them. A recent discussion among Japanese game developers has pulled back the curtain on one of the industry’s most persistent challenges, revealing that all those carefully written instructions and helpful tips are being ignored at an alarming rate.
The 30-Second Discovery That Changed Everything
The conversation started when Itchie, a Japanese programmer and producer with experience at Square and SNK, shared a revelation from his mobile game development days. Noticing a troubling player dropout rate, he did what any conscientious developer would do. He assumed players were confused and needed more explanation, so he added extra tutorial content to clarify the game’s systems.
The results were disastrous. After examining player logs, Itchie discovered something shocking. Players weren’t reading the instructions at all. The high dropout rate had nothing to do with comprehension and everything to do with impatience. Players were abandoning the game because they were forced to wait too long before actually playing. When he shortened the tutorial by just 30 seconds, player retention visibly improved. The lesson was clear: developers had been solving the wrong problem.
Why Players Refuse to Learn
Hiroyuki Matsumoto, CEO of 3D model outsourcing company Flight Unit and character designer for the Atelier franchise, doesn’t mince words about the situation. He states plainly that players just want to play the game no matter what, which means they hate tutorials by default. His perspective comes from both sides of the screen as an active gamer himself.
Matsumoto admits that even though he plays games every day, he never remembers or understands tutorial basics when they’re explained upfront. The information simply doesn’t stick. He describes forgetting everything after stepping away from a game for a while, highlighting a fundamental disconnect between how developers think players learn and how they actually engage with games. According to him, all players really need is simple visual guidance like a red circle pointing them in the right direction and quick prompts before using important items.
The Management Problem
Game developer Shimaguni Yamato added another layer to the discussion by highlighting internal studio dynamics. Management teams tend to push for more explanations when problems arise, but developers on the ground know this approach backfires. The solution isn’t more tutorial content but less of it delivered at better times.
Yamato argues that giving players an immediate sense of thrill trumps detailed instruction every time. Game systems are inherently tedious to learn about in abstract terms, so players naturally prefer discovering them after they’re already hooked by engaging gameplay. The developer specifically addressed criticism of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which despite its popularity became notorious for dense tutorial sections. The key, according to Yamato, is introducing tutorials mid-game in bite-sized portions while clearly distinguishing between essential core rules and optional advanced mechanics.
The Stubborn Reality
The consensus from this developer discussion paints a stark picture. Players don’t read manuals, they skip tutorials, and they won’t look for instructions until they’re absolutely forced to by being completely stuck. This behavior pattern creates a frustrating paradox for developers who genuinely want to help players understand their carefully designed systems.
Nintendo’s Masterclass in Invisible Teaching
When developers started discussing solutions, one company emerged as the gold standard: Nintendo. Indie-us Games lead Alwei praised Nintendo’s approach to teaching mechanics through gameplay rather than explicit instruction. The company has mastered the art of making tutorials feel invisible, integrating learning seamlessly into the experience.
Recent Nintendo titles like Mario Kart have taken this philosophy to its logical conclusion by omitting traditional tutorials altogether. Players responded enthusiastically to this approach, citing classics like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and the more recent Donkey Kong Bananza as examples of ideal tutorial design. These games teach through doing rather than telling, creating situations where players naturally discover mechanics through experimentation.
What This Means for Future Games
This developer discussion highlights a critical shift happening in game design philosophy. The traditional front-loaded tutorial where players spend the first 30 minutes learning systems before experiencing actual gameplay is increasingly recognized as outdated and counterproductive. Modern players have less patience and higher expectations for immediate engagement.
The challenge for developers becomes finding that delicate balance between leaving players completely lost and boring them with explanations they’ll ignore anyway. The most successful approach appears to be contextual learning, where mechanics are introduced naturally when players need them, presented briefly, and reinforced through repeated use rather than lengthy explanation.
FAQs
Why do players skip game tutorials?
Players skip tutorials because they want to start playing immediately rather than sitting through explanations. Game developers have found that players view tutorials as obstacles preventing them from experiencing the actual game, leading to high dropout rates when tutorials are too long or text-heavy.
What did the developer discover about tutorial length?
Developer Itchie discovered that shortening a mobile game tutorial by just 30 seconds led to visible improvements in player retention. The issue wasn’t that players didn’t understand the game, they simply didn’t want to wait before getting hands-on with the controls.
How does Nintendo approach game tutorials?
Nintendo has mastered integrating tutorials directly into gameplay so they don’t feel like traditional instruction. Their games teach through doing rather than explaining, and some recent titles like Mario Kart have eliminated traditional tutorials entirely, allowing players to learn naturally through play.
Which game is known for having problematic tutorials?
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was specifically mentioned as having dense tutorial sections despite being a popular game. Developers suggested that tutorials work better when delivered mid-game in small portions rather than dumped on players at the beginning.
What do players actually need instead of long tutorials?
According to developer and gamer Hiroyuki Matsumoto, players mainly need simple visual guidance like colored indicators showing where to go and brief prompts before using important items. Lengthy explanations of game systems are typically ignored or forgotten.
Do players ever read game manuals or instructions?
No. Developers in the discussion agreed that players don’t read manuals, skip tutorials whenever possible, and won’t look for instructions until they’re absolutely stuck and have no other option. This behavior is consistent across different types of games and player demographics.
What games have good tutorial design?
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Donkey Kong Bananza were highlighted as having ideal tutorial approaches. These games introduce controls and mechanics through gameplay situations that feel natural rather than forcing players to sit through instructional segments.
Should developers add more explanations when players struggle?
No. Developers found that adding more tutorial content often makes problems worse. When player retention drops, the solution is typically to shorten tutorials and get players into active gameplay faster, not to add more explanation that will be skipped anyway.
Conclusion
The honest conversation among Japanese game developers exposes an uncomfortable reality the industry has been dancing around for years. Despite best intentions and significant resources invested in creating comprehensive tutorials, players simply aren’t engaging with them. The solution isn’t better tutorials in the traditional sense but rather a fundamental rethinking of how games teach their mechanics. Nintendo’s approach of invisible teaching through contextual gameplay represents the direction the industry needs to move. Developers must accept that players will skip, ignore, and forget explicit instructions no matter how clearly presented. The future of game tutorials lies in making them disappear entirely, replaced by intuitive design that teaches through play rather than lecture. As frustrating as this reality may be for developers who want players to fully understand their carefully crafted systems, adapting to player behavior rather than fighting against it ultimately creates better experiences for everyone.