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Tutorial Level Design Guidelines for 2D Fighting Games

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FDG 2023: Foundations of Digital Games
2023
MURSYID IBRAHIM, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia April 12 - 14, 2023
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Lisbon, Portugal
PENNY SWEETSER, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia

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ANNE OZDOWSKA, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
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Open Access Support provided by:
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The Australian National University
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FDG '23: Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games (April 2023)
hps://[Link]/10.1145/3582437.3582470
ISBN: 9781450398558
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 Tutorial Level Design Guidelines for 2D Fighting Games
Mursyid Ibrahim
Penny Sweetser
Anne Ozdowska
[Link]@[Link]
The Australian National University
Canberra, Australia
ABSTRACT players how to play a game, including learning about the input
Fighting games can have barriers to entry as a result of the compe- system, game rules, and game world (e.g., lore and characters) [28].
tency and skill needed to understand the mechanics and objectives The GameFlow model [31, 33–36] defines that being able to quickly
of play. One of the key challenges in fighting game design is to teach learn how to play a game is a critical component of player enjoy-
players how to attain competency. The most common teaching strat- ment and that learning the game should be part of the fun. Engaging
egy employed in many fighting games is to include a tutorial level. learnability design strategies have been used in video games since
However, there is a lack of research on how fighting game tutorial arcade machines became popular in the 1980s. For example, early
levels should be designed to support learning for new players. In arcade games (e.g., Street Fighter 2 [6] and Pac-Man [26]) used idle
this paper, we propose design guidelines for video game tutori- time to run gameplay demonstrations to both educate and excite
als, based on the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning and potential players. Since the 1980s, video games have become ubiq-
video game design theory. We developed a fighting game tutorial, uitous, more diverse, and often feature distinct mechanics within
based on our design guidelines. We evaluated our design against a each genre. As a result, players’ motivations when playing video
popular, recent fighting game, Guilty Gear Strive, in a user study games have also become more varied [39]. For example, some play-
with 10 players new to the genre. Our evaluation showed that our ers seek to immerse themselves in the storytelling, while others are
design improved on the in-game tutorial, in terms of supporting more focused on competing with each other or playing to relax. As
player learning. We also demonstrated that our design guidelines such, game designers have employed various learnability design
can provide useful insights into how to provide learning support in strategies to meet the unique needs of different players and games.
fighting game tutorials. Video game designers often use in-game manuals, tutorial levels,
cutscenes, and diegetic clues to teach their players in a suitable
CCS CONCEPTS design language [18, 32].
Despite the diversity in player motivations and game types, schol-
• Software and its engineering → Interactive games; • Applied
arly knowledge on player learning support in video games has not
computing → Computer games; • Human-centered comput-
kept pace with the learnability design strategies that are rapidly
ing → User studies.
evolving in commercial video games [28]. For instance, a tutorial
level is often included in fighting games by game designers as part
KEYWORDS
of their learnability design strategy. However, there is limited aca-
Design Guidelines, Game Design, Human Computer Interaction, demic literature that investigates how a tutorial level for fighting
User Study games should be designed to support learning for new players. For
ACM Reference Format: a video game genre that is largely played in a one-player versus
Mursyid Ibrahim, Penny Sweetser, and Anne Ozdowska. 2023. Tutorial Level one-player setting [21], player enjoyment in fighting games can be
Design Guidelines for 2D Fighting Games. In Foundations of Digital Games hindered due to the overwhelming challenge players will face when
2023 (FDG 2023), April 12–14, 2023, Lisbon, Portugal. ACM, New York, NY, paired with higher-skilled opponents. Accordingly, it is important
USA, 11 pages. [Link] to support learning for players in fighting games for the develop-
ment of their skill and enjoyment. While it is common to include
1 INTRODUCTION some sort of initial instruction, some newer fighting games (e.g.,
Learnability, one of the five quality components of usability, con- Tekken 7 [30]) have omitted dedicated tutorials completely. Instead,
siders how easy an interface is to learn to use [16]. Learning is the they use an initial story mode as an instructional guide. The lack of
first significant interaction for users when exposed to a new system empirical evidence on effective fighting game tutorial design and
[27]. In video games, learnability design strategies aim to teach the variable approaches towards the inclusion of tutorials in games
raises the question: what design strategies best support player
learning and increase new player competency in fighting
games? Our research seeks to address this research question.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution International
4.0 License. To investigate our research question, we aimed to develop a de-
sign exemplar of a fighting game tutorial that focuses on supporting
FDG 2023, April 12–14, 2023, Lisbon, Portugal learning for new players. For this purpose, we created a set of de-
© 2023 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).
ACM ISBN 978-1-4503-9855-8/23/04.
sign guidelines by mapping learnability theories from video game
[Link] tutorial design to the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning
FDG 2023, April 12–14, 2023, Lisbon, Portugal Mursyid Ibrahim et al.

[24]. We employed our design guidelines to analyse a best-case learning across multiple sessions facilitates long-term retention
fighting game tutorial, Guilty Gear Strive [4]. We then developed a of knowledge. Guilty Gear Strive [4] presents a demonstration of
universal fighting game tutorial based on our guidelines and our this approach. In this game, the explicit tutorial level is segmented
analysis of the Guilty Gear Strive [4] tutorial. Finally, we evaluated into various sub-tutorials and tutorials are categorised based on
our tutorial design via a user study where participants played either their difficulty, so players can extend their skills when they are
our tutorial or the Guilty Gear Strive tutorial, before testing their ready. Allowing players to access skills on demand in this way can
skills in Guilty Gear Strive matches. Results from our user study empower players to take control of their own learning during the
suggested that our tutorial design provided better learning support game and can lead to more enjoyable play [18].
for players compared to the tutorial level from Guilty Gear Strive. Tutorial level modality is another factor that can impact a player’s
Further, our design also showed that existing learnability theories experience of a tutorial in terms of learnability, performance, and
from general multimedia and video game design provide a good engagement [17]. Tutorial level modality refers to the mode in
foundation for designing a fighting game tutorial that focuses on which guidance is presented (e.g., text, text with picture, text with
providing learning support for players. spatial directions). Kao et al. [17] found that text with spatial direc-
tions is the best modality in terms of teaching video game controls,
followed by text with picture, and text alone. Whittinghill and
2 RELATED WORK Herring [37] compared the effectiveness of a text-annotated and
Poretski and Tang [28] define a video game tutorial as being a well- non-annotated tutorial level that teaches game controls. They found
defined level that explicitly teaches game mechanics with structured both modes to be equally as effective. Bouki et al. [5] found similar
information delivery. The role of a tutorial is to help players learn results, concluding that textual messages used in parallel with vi-
the mechanics of a game. This means that the tutorial is often the suals distract subject’s visual attention when both media convey
first part of the game that players encounter [2]. Given that players different information. These findings suggest that when both media
need to have positive educational interactions with the tutorial, it do not complement each other, it is not beneficial to display them
is essential that the information presented can be easily accessed together.
and understood by new players. In this section, we review previous Adams [1] argues that game designers should use visual cues
research on learnability in video game tutorials, identifying key (colour glow, large arrows, or highlighted user interface elements)
design factors of implicit versus explicit tutorials, context-sensitive to help focus player attention in video game tutorials. Having a
instructions, surprises, segmenting, modality, and visual cues. way to clearly orient the player is critical in instructional tasks,
Depending on the video game, tutorial levels can be presented as player attention to the game is crucial when learning [37]. The
implicitly or explicitly. Implicit tutorials are tutorials that are in- inclusion of highlighted text, large arrows, and scaffolded guides
tegrated into the main part of the game. They are often low-risk enable players to focus their attention and to complete tutorials
initial levels that play just like the real game and count towards faster [29]. Shannon et al. [29] suggest that faster completion of
in-game progress. Conversely, explicit tutorials are tutorials that essential tutorial elements can allow players to spend more time
are separate from the main part of the game. They exist solely for on learning and exploring other aspects of the game.
the purpose of education and finishing these tutorials often does Previous research has investigated learnability theories in gen-
not contribute towards any in-game progress. In many fighting eral multimedia and video games. However, there is a lack of re-
games (e.g., Dragon Ball Fighterz [3], Skullgirls [19]), the tutorial search on how different learnability theories can be practically
level is presented explicitly. applied in fighting game tutorial design. Moreover, different fight-
Different ways of presenting tutorial instruction can impact ing game tutorials apply different learnability theories with varying
player engagement and retention [2]. Frommel et al. [11] found levels of success [13]. In order to apply and investigate the effec-
that presenting tutorial instruction with context-sensitivity can tiveness of learnability theories in fighting games tutorials, we first
positively impact player engagement. Context-sensitive instruction need to organise and structure learnability theories into a usable
is provided just-in-time, as opposed to being presented as part of framework specific to the fighting game genre. This framework
a block of initial information. Interestingly, when using context- will then be used to develop an exemplar fighting game tutorial.
sensitive instruction within tutorials, Frommel et al. [11] did not
find any effect on player performance or immersion. 3 TUTORIAL DESIGN
Them’s Fightin’ Herds [22] is an example of a fighting game
To develop a design exemplar of a fighting game tutorial that focuses
that presented tutorial levels explicitly with context-sensitive guid-
on supporting learning for players, we followed a four step process.
ance. The developers incorporated context-sensitivity by using
First, we developed a set of design guidelines based on the literature.
AI-controlled characters that read user-inputs and perform various
Second, we analysed a commercial game tutorial level using the
actions that surprise the player in the tutorial level. The game’s use
design guidelines. Third, we developed a new tutorial for a fighting
of surprises allowed it to mimic real fighting game match situations
game. Fourth, we evaluated our final design via a user study.
and add context-sensitivity to the tutorial. Andersen et al. [2] found
that using a context-sensitive approach can lead to improved player
engagement. 3.1 Design Guidelines
Adams [1] and Hiwiller [12] recommend segmenting explicit We used the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning defined
tutorials into smaller sub-tutorials to scaffold players based on by Mayer [23] as the foundation for our design guidelines. This
their developing skill. Dunlosky et al. [8] argue that distributed theory defines principles for effective learning design when using
Tutorial Level Design Guidelines for 2D Fighting Games FDG 2023, April 12–14, 2023, Lisbon, Portugal

Table 1: Cognitive Theory of Game Learning: proposed guidelines based on Mayer’s principles mapped to video game theory.

Mayer’s Principle Video Game Theory Proposed Design Guideline

Coherence Concise information [25] Information should be presented concisely
Signaling Prominent visuals, visual cues or stencil [29, 37] Prominent visuals should be used
Redundancy Limit annotations [37] User interface element annotations should be limited
Spatial and Temporal Context-sensitive guidance [2, 11] Context-sensitive guidance should be provided
Contiguity
Segmenting Break down tutorial into several smaller sub- Tutorials should be broken down into smaller sub-
tutorials [8] tutorials
Pre-training Tutorial level descriptions [18] Tutorial level descriptions should be provided
Multimedia Include graphics together with text instruction Text and graphics should be used together for instruc-
[17] tions
Personalisation Use text in conversational style [1, 12] Conversational style text should be used

multimedia. It has previously been used to design instructional as adding context to the overall information. Andersen et al. [2] de-
videos [14] and video game tutorials [17]. We mapped the learn- fined context-sensitive guidance as textual help that appears close
ability theories from the literature on video game tutorial design to elements, objects, or tools in the game. Also, Frommel et al. [11]
to the principles outlined in the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia defined context-sensitive guidance as textual help that appears just-
Learning. Our proposed guidelines, which we have called "Cog- in-time (e.g., when a new mechanic or interaction is unlocked). We
nitive Theory of Game Learning" (see Table 1), are based on 9 of mapped the use of context-sensitive guidance in video game tutori-
Mayer’s principles, namely coherence, signaling, redundancy, spa- als to the spatial and temporal contiguity principles. The resulting
tial and temporal contiguity, segmenting, pre-training, multimedia, design guideline for video games is to provide context-sensitive
and personalisation. We excluded Mayer’s principles of modality, guidance.
voice, and image, as discussed in this section. We also combined The segmenting principle identifies that people learn better when
two principles (spatial and temporal contiguity), giving a total of lessons are presented in user-paced segments, rather than one long
eight guidelines. We propose that our guidelines can be used to session. Dunlosky et al. [8] reported that distributed learning across
scaffold the creation of effective game tutorials. multiple sessions contributes to long-term retention more than
Mayer’s coherence principle identifies that people learn better overloading information into a single learning session. In video
when extraneous material is excluded rather than included. To game tutorials, we recommend that tutorials should be broken
follow this principle in multimedia presentation, Mayer [23] rec- down into several smaller sub-tutorials.
ommended that non-relevant information be excluded. This is also Mayer’s pre-training principle states that people learn more ef-
recommended in video game design [25]. Hence, our design guide- ficiently when they receive prior exposure to the basics. In multi-
line sets out that information in video game tutorials, such as in- media presentations, prior exposure can be achieved by defining
structions and guidance, should be presented concisely. key terms before the main presentation. A similar approach can
According to Mayer’s signaling principle, people learn better be achieved in video game tutorials by adding descriptions to the
when their attention is directed towards the material. Whittinghill tutorial selection menu or loading screen. Providing level descrip-
and Herring [37] and Shannon et al. [29] both found that players’ tions as prior exposure is also recommended by Kramarzewski
attention in video game tutorials is crucial in promoting learning. and De Nucci [18]. Therefore, our design guideline recommends
Therefore, we suggest that prominent visuals should be used in providing tutorial level descriptions.
video game tutorials. According to Mayer’s multimedia principle, people learn better
Based on the redundancy principle, people learn better with from graphics and text than from text alone. As such, Mayer recom-
narration and graphics than with narration, graphics, and text mends that relevant images and graphics are used to illustrate key
together. Whittinghill and Herring [37] found that non-annotated points. Kao et al. [17] found that video game tutorial instructions
user interface elements in tutorial instructions were as effective are best delivered with text alongside graphics, which supports this
as the text-annotated version. They also found that unnecessary recommendation. Our design guideline recommends that text and
annotations can confuse players due to being unclear or redundant. graphics are used together when providing instructions.
Hence, to follow the redundancy principle in video game tutorials, We did not find any video game tutorial design research on the
user interface element annotations should be limited. effect of the personalisation principle on player learning. However,
Both the spatial and temporal contiguity principles highlight the use of conversational style text is featured in video game design
the need to represent sequences of information in relation to each books [1, 12]. As a result, we recommend the usage of conversa-
other. In multimedia presentations, text and graphics should be tional style text, which is part of Mayer’s personalisation principle.
presented near each other. Meanwhile, narration and animation We excluded three of Mayer’s principles from our design guide-
should be timed together [23]. In video game tutorials, presenting lines, namely modality, voice, and image. Modality and voice were
a sequence of information in relation to each other can be viewed excluded as we found no literature to suggest that either impacted
player learning in game tutorials. However, this could be an area
FDG 2023, April 12–14, 2023, Lisbon, Portugal Mursyid Ibrahim et al.

for future research. Mayer’s image principle was not included in

our mapping as there are very few games that use real human faces
in their tutorials. As such, these principles were not included in our
design guidelines or applied in our tutorial design.

3.2 Case Study: Guilty Gear Strive

In order to evaluate how current 2D fighting games use tutorials
to teach players, we examined the tutorial in Guilty Gear Strive [4].
We used our proposed Cognitive Theory of Game Learning design
guidelines to analyse the tutorial. At the time this research was
conducted, Guilty Gear Strive was the latest game published in the
fighting game genre. Moreover, the tutorial in Guilty Gear Strive
has been praised by professional game reviews [9, 10, 38, 40] and
is considered to be a best-case commercial fighting game tutorial.
The Guilty Gear Strive tutorial also contains in-depth and extensive
content that covers almost every universal fighting game mechanic.
It provides a baseline for our analysis of fighting game tutorials
and also acts as a comprehensive test case for our proposed design
guidelines.
Guilty Gear Strive’s tutorial is structured into five themes, each
of which contains sub-tutorials grouped by difficulty. The themes
range from basic universal fighting game mechanics to advanced
and competitive high-level strategies. In total, there are 133 sub-
tutorials across all themes. Every sub-tutorial in Guilty Gear Strive
begins with an information page (see Figure 1), where players are
briefed on the aim of the sub-tutorial and also the input buttons Figure 1: Guilty Gear Strive sub-tutorial start screen (top),
they need to use within the sub-tutorial. After the information page, gameplay screen (middle), and debrief screen (bottom).
the gameplay of the sub-tutorial begins. To successfully complete a
sub-tutorial, players are tasked with correctly executing the sub-
tutorial’s required execution at least three times out of five rounds.
For each successful execution of the completion requirement, the delivery to satisfy the spatial and temporal contiguity guideline. Sec-
round is recorded as a win and congratulatory remark is given. ond, visual cues need to be incorporated in the tutorial gameplay
Following the overall successful completion of the tutorial, players to fulfil the signaling guideline.
are debriefed on a final information page (see Figure 1).
By applying our design guidelines, we found that the Guilty 4 TUTORIAL DEVELOPMENT
Gear Strive tutorial fulfills six out of eight of the guidelines. First, Based on our analysis of the Guilty Gear Strive tutorial, we devel-
the tutorial is segmented into multiple sub-tutorials and grouped oped a new universal fighting game tutorial, using Unity game
based on difficulty (segmenting). Second, players are briefed through engine version 2019 (see Figure 2). We replicated the overall de-
the information page presented before beginning their gameplay sign of the Guilty Gear Strive tutorial as the starting point for our
(pre-training). Moreover, the text presented on the beginning and tutorial. First, we replicated the sub-tutorial information page. In
debriefing pages are also accompanied by visual representations the information page, we placed the title of the sub-tutorial at the
(multimedia). Phrases such as "The better you are" and "Keep in top of the screen. Below the title, we placed the information text
mind" are used to add a conversational tone to the text presented that contains the aim of the sub-tutorial and helpful tips. Following
(personalisation). Furthermore, annotations are kept short in the the information text, we placed pictures to illustrate movements
tutorial through the use of symbols, where directional instructions that players should use in the tutorial. The pictures were labelled
(e.g., "back" and "down and back") are replaced with symbols rep- along with the input buttons required for the movement illustrated.
resenting a controller’s directional input buttons. Together with Also, similar to the reference design, we used actual button inputs
simple direct instructions and information given in the tutorial, to represent directions in the label, instead of annotating them.
both coherence and redundancy have been fulfilled in the tutorial. Second, we replicated the gameplay screen. Similar to the reference
From our analysis, two guidelines were not fulfilled in the Guilty design, we placed the characters’ health bars at the top right and
Gear Strive tutorial design. The unfulfilled guidelines are spatial left of the screen. In the middle of the health bars, we placed the
and temporal contiguity and signaling. Referring back to our design timer for the tutorial. Under the right health bar, we placed the
guidelines, two modifications are needed to address the remaining round marker, where "-" indicates that the round is not yet played,
guidelines. First, the tutorial needs context-sensitive information "X" indicates that the round is lost, and "O" indicates that the round
Tutorial Level Design Guidelines for 2D Fighting Games FDG 2023, April 12–14, 2023, Lisbon, Portugal

Figure 3: Attacking sub-tutorial in Guilty Gear Strive (top)

and our tutorial (bottom). Players are instructed to land a
low attack on an opponent who is stand blocking.

Figure 2: Our tutorial design, including segmentation into

sub-tutorials (top), sub-tutorial beginning and debriefing
screen layout (middle), and gameplay screen (bottom). Tuto-
rial segmented into smaller sub-tutorials.

is won. Finally, at the middle right, we placed the completion re-

quirement of the sub-tutorial. When a round won, a congratulatory
remark is given at the middle of the screen.

4.1 Sub-Tutorial Selection

We selected three out of 133 Guilty Gear Strive sub-tutorials to use as
test cases. The selected sub-tutorials cover fighting game mechanics,
such as attacking, blocking, and neutral (spacing). According to Figure 4: Blocking sub-tutorial in Guilty Gear Strive (top)
Iyer [15], these mechanics are fundamental and universal in most and our tutorial (bottom). Players are tasked with blocking a
games in the fighting game genre. Consequently, selecting these series of random low-attacks and overhead attacks.
sub-tutorials means that our design is generalisable and applicable
to other fighting games.
The attacking sub-tutorial covers the basic types of attacks avail- attack type used by the opponent. In the sub-tutorial, this is done by
able in most fighting games. The types of attacks are low-attacks having the player block a series of low-attacks and overhead attacks
and overhead attacks. Low attacks are attacks that hit the lower while not getting hit. Figure 4 shows the blocking sub-tutorial from
body of a character and can only be blocked while crouching. Mean- Guilty Gear Strive and our adapted version.
while, overhead attacks hit the upper body and can only be blocked The neutral tutorial is about teaching players proper spacing and
while standing. The aim of the attacking sub-tutorial is to teach how to begin their offence in a fighting game match. In the Guilty
these properties and the situations in which they are required to Gear Strive neutral sub-tutorial, this is taught by having the players
be used. In Guilty Gear Strive, this is done by instructing the player attack an approaching opponent using the attack with the longest
to attack a static blocking opponent. The attacking sub-tutorial in range in their arsenal. In fighting game lingo, this is called "placing
Guilty Gear Strive and our adapted version are shown in Figure 3. pokes" or "poking". The neutral sub-tutorial from Guity Gear Strive
The blocking tutorial teaches the two different types of blocking and our adapted version are shown in Figure 5.
options in fighting games. The two types of blocking options are
crouching block and standing block. Crouching block means to 4.2 Modification: Visual Cues
block while in crouching position, while standing block means to In order to satisfy the signalling guideline, which we identified
block in a standing position. The aim of this sub-tutorial is to teach as lacking from the Guilty Gear Strive tutorial, we incorporated
which type of blocking option the player should use to match the visual cues into our tutorial design. To do this, we followed the
FDG 2023, April 12–14, 2023, Lisbon, Portugal Mursyid Ibrahim et al.

Figure 5: Neutral sub-tutorial in Guilty Gear Strive (top) and

our tutorial (bottom). Players are tasked with "placing a poke"
in order to stop an approaching enemy.

visual cues design framework set out by Dillman et al. [7]. This
framework describes visual cues along three dimensions: purpose,
markedness, and trigger source. Purpose describes the utility of the
cue, markedness describes the visual design of the cue, and trigger Figure 6: Visual Cues Sketches: Subtle Markedness (top), In-
describes the situations in which the cue is shown. tegrated Markedness (middle), Emphasised Markedness (bot-
A visual cue’s Purpose can be to guide the player to: tom).
• Discover: Informs the player of objects or points of interest
in the environment. This is important as timing is a part of fighting game mechanics.
• Look: Informs the player where to put their visual attention Some input executions in fighting games are timing-sensitive, hence
in a timely manner. they can be a challenge for beginners to learn. For instance, blocking
• Go: Provides navigational assistance through environment. an opponent’s attack requires the block input to be pressed just
A visual cue’s Markedness can be: before the attack lands.
• Subtle: The cues blends into the environment seamlessly. For markedness, we selected Integrated markedness. This de-
• Emphasised: An object or surface in the environment is cision was made by sketching several visual cues’ usage in the
highlighted. blocking sub-tutorial (see Figure 6). Based on our sketches, we
• Integrated: A "virtual" object is added into the environment, found that Integrated markedness strikes the best balance between
tracked by the view port. subtlety and prominence. This balance is crucial as we do not want
• Overlaid: Virtual objects are added atop the view port, and to distract beginners from where they should focus. At the same
do not track the view. time, we want it to be attractive enough to achieve its purpose. In
the gameplay sketch for Subtle markedness, players are informed
A visual cue’s Trigger can be:
of the timing by a blinking exclamation mark. Instructions are pre-
• Player: The cue is activated by an explicit player action. sented in text on the right. For Integrated markedness, players are
• Context: The cues is activated by some implicit player ac- informed of the timing by an arrow indicating where the attack
tion. will lands. Instructions are presented using button symbols on top
• Other/Agent: The cues is activated by some other agent of the arrow. For Emphasised markedness, players are informed of
(system or other player). the timing through highlighted vulnerable spots. Instructions are
• Persistent: The cue is always visible. presented using a virtual controller on the top right.
In terms of purpose, we selected Discover and Look from the Using the Integrated markedness sketch in Figure 6 as reference,
framework as the purposes of our visual cues. The Discover purpose we incorporated the visual cue design into our attacking, block-
is to help inform beginner players where they should be focusing ing, and neutral sub-tutorials. In the attacking sub-tutorial, orange
their attention on the screen. This is because fighting games are arrows were used to point toward the vulnerable spot in the op-
fast-paced, so beginners should know where to pay attention to ponent’s defense. Above the arrows, we placed the notations for
when they are learning. For example, when attacking a blocking the inputs that the player must perform to exploit the vulnerable
opponent, players should focus their attention on the weak spots spot. For the blocking sub-tutorial, we used the orange arrows to
of their opponent defence. Meanwhile, the Look purpose is to assist point towards the opponent’s target spot. These arrows appear a
beginners with the proper timing when performing certain inputs. few seconds before the opponent actually attacks, thus granting
Tutorial Level Design Guidelines for 2D Fighting Games FDG 2023, April 12–14, 2023, Lisbon, Portugal

Figure 8: Context-sensitive tutorial sketch.

Figure 7: From top to bottom, visual cues usage in attacking,

blocking, and neutral sub-tutorial.

Figure 9: Context-sensitive information textbox

the player time and hint to react. Above the arrows, notations for
the blocking inputs were placed to block the incoming attack. In
the neutral sub-tutorial, we used pairs of orange arrows as marking Fightin’ Herds tutorial, there is only a single round. However, we
points to indicate the player’s maximum attacking range. This can decided to add an extra buffer for our players, so we used two
act as a useful tool to help players time their pokes to attack an rounds. Moreover, since one round is dedicated to context-sensitive
incoming opponent. Above the pair of arrows, we placed the attack surprises, our tutorial had an additional round compared to the
inputs with the corresponding range. Figure 7 illustrates the usage Guilty Gear Strive tutorial. Therefore, the total number of rounds for
of visual cues in all three sub-tutorial. our tutorial was six instead of five. Figure 9 shows the information
delivered after a surprise from our tutorial.
4.3 Modification: Context-Sensitive Guidance Another thing to consider in delivering context-sensitive guid-
In order to satisfy the spatial and temporal contiguity guidelines, ance is to accommodate expert players. Expert players might find
which were also identified as lacking from the Guilty Gear Strive tu- the guidance unnecessary, which can hinder their learning experi-
torial, we incorporated context-sensitivity into our tutorial design. ence [12]. Hence, the guidance should not be shown when players
We adopted the surprise approach used in the Them’s Fightin’ Herds already successfully overcame the surprise. In our given example
tutorial. The surprise approach works by having the AI-controlled (Figure 8), if players manage to block the opponent’s attack suc-
opponent in the tutorial do something that players would not ex- cessfully, the text explanation for the surprise is skipped. Therefore,
pect. For instance, we can task players to block an incoming low from the players’ perspective, the current round is won.
attack from an opponent, but instead set the opponent to attack
the players using an overhead attack. By using this surprise, we 5 EVALUATION
can show players how each type of attack works and demonstrate We conducted a user study to evaluate the effectiveness of the tuto-
its usage in breaking a character’s defence. Figure 8 illustrates the rial we developed following our design guidelines. We designed a
use of surprise to add context-sensitivity. First, players are tasked between-subjects experiment to compare our tutorial to the Guilty
to block an incoming low attack. Then, players are surprised with Gear Strive tutorial. In the user study, participants were first re-
an overhead attack instead. After the surprise, information can be quired to answer a short screening survey to determine their back-
delivered in a context-sensitive manner. ground experience with video games. Eligible participants then
An important consideration before adding a surprise is timing played either our tutorial or the Guilty Gear Strive tutorial. Partici-
[1]. In our tutorial, we used the round system to determine the best pants were then matched against several AI-controlled characters
time the surprise should be shown. That is, we used the number in Guilty Gear Strive to measure their attained competency. Finally,
of rounds won by the players as a heuristic to gauge their initial participants took part in an interview regarding their experience.
mastery of the learning outcome in the tutorial. In the Them’s The overall session lasted around one hour, including 5 minutes for
FDG 2023, April 12–14, 2023, Lisbon, Portugal Mursyid Ibrahim et al.

the screening survey, 15 minutes for playing the tutorial, up to 30 Table 2: T-test results for Competency measure in Guilty
minutes for the competency test, and 10 minutes for the interview. Gear Strive (GGS) tutorial and our tutorial.
A total of 10 participants took part in the user study. The tar-
get participants for our user study were people aged 18 years or GGS tutorial Our tutorial
over who have never played any fighting games or have played Mean 1.20 2.60
fighting games for less than 10 hours in their life. Participants were Standard Deviation 0.84 1.52
recruited using word-of-mouth and also through the university’s Standard Error of Mean 0.37 0.68
participant recruitment system. This research received approval Standard Error of Difference 0.7750
from the university ethics committee. Degree of Freedom 8
One-tailed P-value 0.0541
5.1 Data Analysis T-value 1.8074
The aim of our evaluation was to compare the attained competency
and reported experience of the group who played the Guilty Gear
Strive tutorial with the group who played our tutorial. Competency difference was not statistically significant (𝑝 = .0541). Thus, the null
was measured by how many AI-controlled characters of increas- hypothesis cannot be rejected. Table 2 describes the T-test summary
ing difficulty were defeated in Guilty Gear Strive survival mode. produced from our analysis. We also examined level completion
Competency measured from the two groups was compared via an rate. From this data, it was observed that every participant in the
unpaired T-test, which is appropriate for our small sample size [20]. group that played our tutorial managed to successfully finish every
The hypotheses for our T-test were: sub-tutorial available. On the other hand, the average completion
rate for the in-game Guilty Gear Strive tutorial was only 75%.
• Null Hypothesis: No difference in the number of AI-controlled
characters defeated between groups.
• Research Hypothesis: Players who played our tutorial
6.3 Qualitative Data
can defeat more AI-controlled characters than players who We analysed the qualitative data collected during our semi-structured
played the in-game tutorial. interviews. In this section, we present our analysis, structured into
three categories, related to issues in the Guilty Gear tutorial, impact
In addition to measuring competency, we also measured the av-
and limitations of our tutorial design, and user-suggested additions
erage completion rate for each tutorial. Completion was measured
to both tutorials. Player quotes are presented in italics with the
by how many sub-tutorials participants finished within the allo-
letters "A" (in-game tutorial) and "B" (our tutorial) appended to the
cated 15 minutes. Since there were 3 sub-tutorials in total, each
participant’s number. The way in which the design guidelines relate
sub-tutorial contributed to 33.3% of the overall tutorial completion.
to the qualitative data is also discussed.
Reported player experience was gathered through semi-structured
interviews. Interview questions covered the following topics: 6.3.1 Issues in the Guilty Gear Tutorial: Clarity, Timing, Context.
• Player experience with the tutorial assigned. Participants from the in-game tutorial group stated they had dif-
• Applicability of the tutorial in a real fighting game match. ficulty understanding the instructions given in the tutorial ("they
• Learning difficulty in the tutorial. are asking to do this kind of movement, but they don’t really say
• Possible improvements on assigned tutorial design. which button I should press" - P1A). This lack of understanding led
participants to develop bad habits in the real game after playing the
6 RESULTS tutorial ("Even not knowing what exactly what I was pressing, I was
just spam clicking" - P5A). Participants also highlighted how they
This section presents analysis of both quantitative and qualitative
needed to experiment and explore more in the tutorial due to the
results collected from our user study.
unclear instructions ("I feel like I need to figure things on my own"
- P1A) and expressed the need for additional help in completing
6.1 Participants
the tutorial ("I feel like I need additional help apart from the infor-
Ten participants (4 males, 6 females) participated in this study. mation presented" - P2A). These comments provide reflections on
Five participants reported playing video games once per month, the importance of providing coherent information and appropriate
three reported playing a few times per week, one reported playing signalling, which supports the concise information and prominent
every day, and one once per week. The video game genre most visuals guidelines.
frequently played by participants was Role-Playing (36%), followed Participants also expressed concern with the unguided timing
by Simulation (25%), Sports and Adventure (13% each), and Action in the tutorial, noting that it was "very quick, I don’t have time to
and other genres (6% each). think, and the game just starts" - P1A. Participants’ struggle with
the timing of visuals indicates that effective signalling is a critical
6.2 Quantitative Data aspect of effective instructional design. Participants also noted they
Competency was measured by how many AI-controlled characters were unclear on the context and application of the tutorial’s content,
of increasing difficulty participants defeated in Guilty Gear Strive with one participant stating "it is not applicable in the real game. I
survival mode. Our data showed that the mean number of AI charac- feel like I can just jump and then move away" - P3A. This illustrated
ters defeated by participants who played our tutorial (𝑀 = 2.6) was a lack of context-sensitivity within the in-game tutorial. In sum-
higher than the in-game tutorial group (𝑀 = 1.2). However, this mary, the Guilty Gear tutorial did not provide clear and sufficient
Tutorial Level Design Guidelines for 2D Fighting Games FDG 2023, April 12–14, 2023, Lisbon, Portugal

information through its instructions in the game. Moreover, infor- for simple instructions ("provide more simple and clear instructions.
mation delivered was lacking in context, which led to difficulty in Like I said before, adding information like which button I should
transferring and applying it in the real game. Participants’ reported press" - P1A). Additionally, cues in the form of audio and visuals
difficulty in transferring skills from the tutorial to the real game is were also recommended. In particular, a participant wished to have
an example of Guilty Gear Strive failing to implement spatial and cues in the form of "a light-up version of a button you are meant
temporal contiguity through context-sensitive guidance. to click and tells you ’Press this key and and see what it does.’" -
P5A. Meanwhile, audio cues were suggested to be "some sound
6.3.2 Impact and Limitations of Our Tutorial Design. Participants
effect when I mistakenly do something" - P4B. Interestingly, one
who played our tutorial stated that it helped them understand and
participant mentioned that information within the tutorial should
play fighting games easier, describing it as "really helpful. It makes
also be contained in an accessible information page where players
it pretty much easier because I am not really used to playing fighting
can go back and forth ("maybe you can have like a page to show
game and having that kind of tutorial really helped me" - P1B. The
how to make a combo or a skill. In the game I did not see any" -
applicability of our tutorial was also clear for participants ("The
P4A). Furthermore, participants expressed a desire for a mode that
tutorial is really helpful for me because I have learned how to actually
allows for free trials and additional practice within the tutorial.
attack, defence and all. Because we have like a lot of buttons to attack
One participant highlighted the need to have a quick trial so that
right? So, I knew that, and I am familiar with all the movement before
players can get used to the button input first before learning about
I played the real game. I found it was really helpful for me and can
its usage ("Have a, you know when we start, it is already game starts.
help me in playing the real game" - P3B). As our tutorial was directly
If we have like a trial version say you should just press those buttons
linked with transferable skills used in gameplay, it was successful
to practice your skills before you start the real game" – P2A"). Also, in
in achieving a number of design guidelines, including presenting
order to better apply the teaching of the tutorial, participants also
concise information and appropriate signalling through appropriate
suggested "having like a practice duel where you have to use all the
and prominent visuals.
different methods you have learned to win. That way you can know
Participants also found the added context-sensitivity feature to
how it all works together" – P5A".
be helpful, stating that the pop-up text box was "a helpful prompt
to remind me of what is the move that I actually need to do" - P3B.
Participants also felt that the context-sensitivity encouraged them 7 DISCUSSION
to think in the tutorial, stating that "the tutorial is quite helpful, like
Our research investigated how to design a fighting game tutorial to
the surprises in the tutorial, it gives some sort of ability to think in
support player learning and increase new player competency. We
the tutorial to asses how much you learned" - P1B and "it is chal-
aimed to create an exemplar of a fighting game tutorial that focuses
lenging you to think, and I like that rather than just providing the
on providing learning support for new players. We first developed
answer directly" - P5B. Positive feedback on the inclusion of prompts
design guidelines by mapping learnability theories from video game
and surprises provides support for the effective implementation
tutorial design to the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning
of the context-sensitivity, limited annotations, and effective use of
[23], resulting in our proposed Cognitive Theory of Game Learning
multimedia through use of graphics with text instructions.
design guidelines. Then, we analysed the Guilty Gear Strive tutorial
Although the feedback regarding our tutorial was mostly posi-
to explore how existing tutorials met our guidelines and to identify
tive, we also received some criticism. For instance, the visual cues
areas for improvement. Based on our analysis, we developed our
we provided in the game were described as being "confusing at
tutorial by replicating the Guilty Gear Strive tutorial and adding
first, but then as I try to practice more, I find it helpful" - P3B. Some
context-sensitivity [2, 11] and visual cues [29, 37]. Finally, we com-
participants were even unsure of the purpose of the provided visual
pared our tutorial against the in-game Guilty Gear Strive tutorial
cues: "When I first look at it, I think in my intuition, it is asking me
via a user study with 10 participants.
to move forward. But I am not really sure why it is there" - P3B. Aside
Our evaluation and comparison of the in-game tutorial and
from the design, our implementation of the tutorial itself was also
our tutorial returned mixed results. The competency comparison
criticised. In particular, participants noted that they faced some
showed that there was no significant difference in attained compe-
difficulty in the real game due to the different character movements
tency between participants who played the in-game tutorial and
in the tutorial. A participant highlighted that the movement in the
participants who played our tutorial. However, during interviews,
tutorial was "like a low-powered attacks but in the real game, it is
the in-game tutorial was criticised for its inability to provide basic
really high-powered. There is a lot of other moves you can use, and the
learning support, such as giving clear instructions and guiding the
enemy can use against you" - P5B. Moreover, technical issues were
learning pace of the tutorial. In contrast, participants found our
also reported to have happened in the tutorial. Character moves
tutorial to be helpful in learning to play fighting games, as it pro-
that require buttons to be pressed in combinations were described
vided multiple learning supports, such as assisting with information
to be "a bit lagged behind when I press the button combinations"
retention, providing clear learning applications, and encouraging
- P2B. This issue with responsiveness is important to note, as it
thinking.
can affect reaction time and add difficulty in learning movement
The lack of a statistically significant difference in attained com-
that requires strict timing, such as the blocking mechanic in the
petency might be due to our small sample size, limitations of our
blocking sub-tutorial.
metric, or discrepancies between our tutorial and the actual game.
6.3.3 User-Suggested Additions. To alleviate the issues discovered Although the difference in attained competency was not statisti-
in the Guilty Gear tutorial, some participants mentioned the need cally significant, it was very close at 𝑝 = .0514 (with a threshold of
FDG 2023, April 12–14, 2023, Lisbon, Portugal Mursyid Ibrahim et al.

𝑝 < .05). With a larger sample size, our results could become sig- fighting game tutorials. However, as they are based on general game
nificant. Also, it is possible that the competency metric of counting and multimedia design theory, they are not specific or limited to
the number of AI characters defeated was too simplistic. Our metric fighting games. We hope that future work can further utilise and
gave participants little time to demonstrate what they learned, as investigate our design guidelines and their applicability and efficacy
their participation ended once they lost to an AI character, due to for designing, evaluating, and improving tutorials in different game
the time constraint of the user study. The same problem with time genres. Future work could also include further experiments with a
constraints was also faced by Frommel et al. [11] in their context- larger sample, longitudinal play, and improved performance and
sensitive tutorial evaluation. As our metric was based on matches competency metrics, as well as investigating the suggestions made
against AI characters in Guilty Gear Strive, we cannot accurately de- by our participants.
duce whether a participant’s matches against the AI characters were
influenced by elements of luck or nuances in the AI’s behaviour. 8 CONCLUSIONS
Finally, throughout the development process of our own tutorial, The aim of this research was to develop a design exemplar of a
we encountered difficulties in replicating character movements and fighting game tutorial level that focuses on supporting learning for
button responsiveness to match the in-game tutorial. As a result of new players. Using the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning
these difficulties, our tutorial has different character movements [23], we organised learnability theories from video game tutorial
and clunkier button sensitivity compared to the actual game. These design into design guidelines, named Cognitive Theory of Game
issues were criticised and alluded to by our participants as adding Learning. We applied our design guidelines to analyse the Guilty
difficulty for them to transition from our tutorial to the competency Gear Strive tutorial, which we used as the foundation to design our
test in the real game. own tutorial, including two key modifications - context-sensitivity
Despite the limitations, there is evidence that our tutorial design and visual cues. Finally, we conducted a user study to evaluate our
presented an improvement over the in-game tutorial. We attribute tutorial design against the base design.
this improvement to the issues that we identified through our anal- Our tutorial design demonstrated improvements over the in-
ysis and subsequently addressed in our own design. The issue of game tutorial in terms of aiding tutorial completion and providing
players needing extra explanation was alleviated by the addition learning support. By incorporating visual cues, our tutorial achieved
of visual cues. This is evidenced by the higher completion rate better overall tutorial completion compared to the in-game tutorial.
achieved by participants who played our tutorial compared to the The addition of context-sensitivity made the applications of our
in-game tutorial. This finding supports the importance of visual tutorial content clear to our participants. Furthermore, the context-
cues in tutorials, as they can serve as a completion guide [29]. Fur- sensitivity modifications also helped participants retain information
thermore, we successfully addressed the issue of unclear application and encouraged them to think when playing the tutorial.
of tutorial instructions by incorporating context-sensitivity. This is Despite the improvements made, our tutorial is still not an ex-
evidenced by participants’ positive comments regarding the clear emplary design. Based on our competency test data, there was no
application of our tutorial instructions. The surprises incorporated difference in attained competency between participants who played
to add context to our tutorial were also reported by participants our tutorial and participants who played the in-game tutorial. More-
to have additional benefits of aiding in information retention and over, our tutorial design was also criticised for having confusing
encouraging them to think when playing the tutorial. This finding visual cues that participants struggled to understand. Hence, our
highlights the importance of context-sensitivity in fighting game tutorial still has room for improvement before becoming an exem-
tutorials. plary design. Regardless, in its current form, our design can still
Despite the improvements reported, our tutorial can still not be be used as an example of how a fighting game tutorial can sup-
considered an exemplar. As criticised by our participants, our visual port learning for new players. Our design provides a starting point
cue design was confusing and required repetition to understand its for further research into tutorial level design for fighting games.
purpose. Furthermore, participants also suggested several modifica- Moreover, our design guidelines provide a foundation for designing,
tions that could be added to our design. For example, instead of text evaluating, and improving game tutorials in general, and for future
and arrows, it was suggested that our visual cues be replaced with work on learnability in games.
light-up button symbols. Our participants also suggested several
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