Launching a beta or early access game? Here's one thing you'd better not forget to include…

Since the launch of Games in Asia, I’ve spent a lot of time playing betas and early access games—games that aren’t really finished. Part of that’s because I’ve been working on my early access experiments series, but part of it is just because that seems to be the direction games, especially non-AAA games, are heading in.

But in my travels, I’ve noticed one major pitfall of the beta/early access game that developers would do well to avoid: launching without some kind of tutorial/new player experience.

It might seem obvious that you’ve got to teach new players how to play your game, but in the context of a beta or an early access game, an introductory tutorial level often isn’t the first thing on the agenda. After all, the developers are still working on tweaking and balancing the core game, adding new gameplay mechanics, etc. The game isn’t done yet! All of this makes perfect sense.

But unfortunately, as “open beta” becomes more equivalent to “launch” in the public consciousness, developers may be getting earlier access to consumer funding for their games, but there’s also an increased need for them to make the game sticky early. After all, if someone tries the beta and doesn’t enjoy it, how likely are they really to come back in another six months when the full game launches? As they say, you only get one chance to make a first impression, and this is as true in game design as it is in interpersonal relationships.

Given that, I continue to be surprised at how many beta and early access games are willing to let you drop into the game world with zero information about what the game is and how to play it. Sure, a popular enough game like DayZ can overcome this because people will stick around long enough to see what the fuss is all about, and figure the basics out for themselves in the process. But for most games, a lack of a tutorial/new player experience can lead to frustration, rage-quitting, or simply writing the game off for good. If it weren’t my job, I would definitely have stopped playing Firefall after my initial experience with an early beta build, in large part because it was terrible at introducing new players to the game (though more recent builds are much better, I’m happy to report). Spacebase DF-9, pictured above, is another game that could use some work on this front.

And the thing is, this doesn’t have to be a fully-produced in-game level. The early access game Space Engineers has a quick Youtube video you can watch in the game (sort of) that takes you through all of the basics, and that’s totally fine. You don’t need to spend time and money on an interactive new player experience if you can’t afford to. But unless your game is very simple, you do need to have something, or you risk losing players who get frustrated or simply don’t feel like spending 15 minutes trying to Google the controls to your game when they could be having fun playing another game.

So whatever else you leave out of your games when launching an early access or beta build, game developers, please remember to include some kind of tutorial or new player experience. It doesn’t have to be shiny or fancy, but if it isn’t there at all, you risk scaring off potential players who don’t have the patience or time to research for themselves what they’re meant to be doing in your game.