First impressions count: Creating the ultimate first time user experience
- A strong first time user experience gets players into the fun fast.
- Clear goals and emotional rewards during tutorials can boost engagement and retention.
- Tracking tutorial data helps spot drop off points.
Elran Ettinger is a senior product designer at Supersonic from Unity.
They say that you only get one chance to make a first impression. This is true in person and it couldn’t be more true for your game.
The FTUE (first time user experience) gives players a sneak peek into your creation and is arguably the most important aspect of mobile game design.
Analysing your FTUE can help you understand why players drop off. Is your game too easy? Too challenging? Or maybe it simply doesn’t deliver what your players expected.
I’ve seen many amazing mobile games with fantastic gameplay and mechanics fall short because of an unclear FTUE - proof that even great games can go to waste if the FTUE isn’t compelling.
While you can tweak in-game metrics endlessly, one of the easiest ways to boost retention is to reduce confusion during the FTUE. By doing so, you increase the number of players who finish the tutorial and actually start playing your game.
A Day 1 retention rate of 45% is a strong indicator that your FTUE is off to a good start.
Here are some tips on how to improve the FTUE:
Jump right in
FTUE is your chance to make a lasting first impression, so get players into the fun part of your game as soon as possible. Show them what makes your game unique, quickly teach them the gameplay and mechanics, and highlight whatever they need to know to start playing - and enjoying - your game.
The best way to hook players is to let them experiment with your game right away, helping them determine whether they want to keep playing. An interactive tutorial is the most effective way to engage new players from the get-go.
If players lose their way, get confused, or feel overwhelmed, they’re likely to churn immediately.
How long should the tutorial be? It depends on the complexity of your game. For games with straightforward mechanics, a few steps or a short narrative might suffice. However, for more complex titles, your FTUE could last much longer, even hours.
No matter the length, players should always understand their goals. They need to know what’s expected of them at any given moment. If players lose their way, get confused, or feel overwhelmed, they’re likely to churn immediately.
Pace your intro
Having said “jump right in”, it’s important to approach it the right way. Introducing too many mechanics right at the beginning can overwhelm players and leave them confused. There’s a delicate balance between providing enough information to spark their interest and overloading them with content.
The pacing of your FTUE should scale with the complexity of your game. This ties back to the point above - the length of the tutorial should align with how much your game requires players to understand.
No matter the game's genre, the core gameplay loop must be absolutely clear before introducing meta features or game variations.
For example, when creating a FTUE for an idle strategy game with multiplayer elements, players first need to grasp the core mechanics before being introduced to features like multiplayer gameplay, reward systems, and ranking mechanics. Proper pacing is critical for mastery.
Keep the tutorial simple and intuitive. Use clear visual cues to guide players step-by-step, ensuring they always know what happens next.
Evoke an Emotion
Just like musicians and movie producers take their audiences on a journey, as a game developer, you're crafting an experience for your players. You get to decide what that journey looks like.
Always ensure players have a clear goal and instructions to follow.
Do you want your players to feel more triumphant and happy, or do you want them to experience moments of failure and perseverance? Determine the psychological journey you want to design for your players, and build this directly into the FTUE.
Always ensure players have a clear goal and instructions to follow. Then, celebrate their accomplishments - each goal achieved, every objective completed. These "celebration moments," or dopamine hits, are crucial to making players feel good. The more of these moments, the better the experience for your players.
Tell a story
Incorporating a narrative helps players feel emotionally invested in the game. Giving players a reason as to why they should be doing what’s being asked of them is a much stronger approach than just giving instructions on what to do.
It justifies the gameplay. Think of popular games like Candy Crush with its map. By tying everything with a nice narrative ribbon, you’re creating a story that helps guide them through your game.
Dive into data
Data is one of the most important tools for optimising your tutorial. In most cases, you’ll need to create events for each step of the tutorial, tracking every action right down to the specific clicks players make.
Since the FTUE is such a vital part of your game, you need to understand the precise moments that cause players to churn or, conversely, decide to stay.
Interestingly, offering the same tutorial experience to all players makes data analysis much easier and more accurate, so this isn’t the moment to segment your users.
For example, if a player is presented with too many choices early on, they can feel overwhelmed or unsure of what to do next. This confusion can lead to frustration or the impression that the game has stalled. Players need clear and immediate instructions to keep them moving forward.
A/B test
To find the right balance, break down the tutorial into as many steps as possible, then refine it by condensing the steps into fewer but more effective ones.
The goal is to explain your game without fatiguing players with excessive instructions or unnecessary tasks. The ideal number of steps will depend on the complexity of your game.
A/B testing is a must. Sometimes, even a small tweak can lead to a significant impact. Once your game is live, continue testing different versions of your FTUE.
As long as you haven’t hit 100% retention, there’s room for improvement. Experiment with different formats to identify what works best and eliminate what doesn’t.
Kickstart your FTUE plan
When planning your FTUE, start by creating a list of all the topics you need to cover. Focus on identifying the core gameplay loop that players need to understand from the very beginning - this will form the foundation of your FTUE tutorial. Any other mechanics or features can be introduced in subsequent tutorials or at a later stage, but they don’t belong in the FTUE.
Take your main topics and break them down into smaller, more digestible pieces. This approach will help you figure out how to gradually introduce concepts to players without overwhelming them.
Study other games to see what they’re doing right and where they fall short.
Work closely with your economy team to ensure the types and amounts of rewards in your FTUE align with your game’s overall economic balance. Rewards are a critical part of the player experience, and they must fit seamlessly into the progression system.
Lastly, don’t hesitate to dive into research. Study other games to see what they’re doing right and where they fall short. Take note of their successes and failures, and use these insights to refine your own FTUE. Borrowing inspiration and learning from others’ mistakes can be a game-changer.
Remember, the tutorial is the gate for your game, so make it as inviting and seamless as possible. When done right, your FTUE becomes a springboard to long-term retention and player satisfaction.
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