Thread by @visakanv

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https://twitter.com/visakanv/status/1071626705083625472

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

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”

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

(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

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

- 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

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

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

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:

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