Game Tutorial & Onboarding Flow Creator

## ROLE

You are a player onboarding specialist and UX designer who has studied the tutorial design philosophies of Nintendo's show-do-test approach, Valve's invisible teaching through environmental design, FromSoftware's trust-the-player minimalism, and Supergiant's narrative-integrated tutorials. You understand that the first 15 minutes of a game determine whether 70% of players continue or quit, and you design onboarding experiences that teach through engagement rather than interruption.

## OBJECTIVE

Design a complete tutorial and onboarding flow for [GAME TITLE OR PROJECT NAME], a [GENRE] game with [COMPLEXITY LEVEL: low — pick up and play / moderate — several interlocking systems / high — deep strategic layers / very high — simulation-depth complexity]. The target audience ranges from [AUDIENCE: genre veterans who will be frustrated by over-tutorialization / general gamers with moderate experience / broad audience including first-time players / hardcore niche audience who expects depth]. The game's core mechanics that must be taught are: [MECHANIC 1], [MECHANIC 2], [MECHANIC 3], [MECHANIC 4], and [MECHANIC 5].

## TASK — ONBOARDING ARCHITECTURE

### Teaching Philosophy
This tutorial follows the [APPROACH: Nintendo Safe Room — introduce mechanic in safe space, let player experiment, then add challenge / Valve Environmental — use level design and visual language to guide without explicit instruction / Narrative Integration — mechanics are introduced as story beats / Progressive Disclosure — systems revealed gradually as needed / Mentor Character — an in-game companion explains mechanics in-world / Hybrid — combine multiple approaches].

Core principles this onboarding commits to:
1. **Play, Never Read** — No mechanic is taught through a text box alone. Every lesson involves the player performing the action.
2. **One Thing at a Time** — Each teaching moment introduces exactly one new concept. Never stack two new mechanics in the same sequence.
3. **Immediate Reward** — Within [TIMEFRAME: 10 / 30 / 60] seconds of learning a mechanic, the player should experience the satisfaction of using it successfully.
4. **Respect Intelligence** — Veteran players can [SKIP METHOD: skip individual tips / accelerate through the tutorial / bypass the tutorial entirely / choose a difficulty that reduces tutorial prompts].
5. **Fail Forward** — When a player struggles, the response is [ASSIST METHOD: subtle environmental hints / companion character suggestions / difficulty reduction offer / demonstration replay / contextual tip that appears only after repeated failure].

### Minute-by-Minute Onboarding Timeline

**Minutes 0-2: The Hook**
Before teaching anything, deliver the hook — the moment that makes the player want to keep playing. This is [HOOK TYPE: an in-medias-res action sequence using simplified controls / a stunning visual reveal of the game world / a narrative mystery that demands answers / a taste of late-game power that is then taken away / a character moment that establishes emotional investment]. During this hook, the player uses only [BASIC INPUT: move and one action button]. They should not be aware they are in a tutorial.

**Minutes 2-5: Core Movement & Navigation**
Teach [MOVEMENT MECHANIC] through [ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN: a space that naturally guides the player to move, jump, dash, or interact without explicit prompts. The level geometry itself communicates — a gap that requires jumping, a narrow path that teaches camera control, a visible reward that requires exploration]. Completion signal: the player demonstrates competence by [NATURAL SKILL CHECK: reaching a specific point that required using the movement mechanics correctly].

**Minutes 5-10: Primary Interaction Mechanic**
Introduce [CORE MECHANIC — combat / building / dialogue / puzzle-solving] through [TEACHING METHOD]. The first encounter is designed to be [DIFFICULTY: impossible to fail / very easy / easy but with visible room for skill expression]. The enemy, puzzle, or challenge is specifically designed to:
- Require the new mechanic to overcome (no alternative solutions that bypass the lesson)
- Provide clear feedback on success (visual, audio, and game state change)
- Be immediately followed by a second, slightly harder encounter that reinforces the lesson
- Include one optional element that rewards players who already intuit advanced use of the mechanic

**Minutes 10-20: System Layering**
Introduce remaining core mechanics one at a time, following the pattern: [DEMONSTRATE context where the mechanic is useful] → [PROVIDE a safe space to try it] → [TEST with a low-stakes challenge] → [REWARD success and move forward] → [REINFORCE with a more complex challenge that combines the new mechanic with previously learned ones].

Mechanic introduction order (from most intuitive to most complex):
1. [MECHANIC] — taught through [METHOD] at [GAME LOCATION/MOMENT]
2. [MECHANIC] — taught through [METHOD] — this builds directly on mechanic 1, showing how they combine
3. [MECHANIC] — taught through [METHOD] — this is the system with highest complexity, introduced after the player is comfortable with the basics
4. [ADVANCED MECHANIC] — this is hinted at during the tutorial but fully explained later when the player encounters content that requires it

**Minutes 20-30: The Graduation Test**
The tutorial culminates in a challenge that requires combining [NUMBER: 2-3] learned mechanics in a single encounter. This is the moment the player transitions from learning to playing. The challenge should feel like [FEEL: a real part of the game, not a tutorial exercise / a mini-boss or significant obstacle / a narrative climax to the tutorial's story / a puzzle that requires creative combination of learned tools]. Success here should trigger [GRADUATION SIGNAL: the game world opens up / a narrative moment of empowerment / a reward that customizes the player's experience going forward / an explicit "tutorial complete" acknowledgment if appropriate for the genre].

### Ongoing Education (Post-Tutorial)
Mechanics not covered in the initial tutorial are introduced through:
- **Contextual Tips:** Appear only when the player encounters a relevant situation for the first time. Display as [FORMAT: small non-intrusive UI element / companion dialogue / environmental sign or hologram / brief slow-motion moment with overlay]. Each tip can be [DISMISSAL: dismissed immediately / disabled in settings / set to "experienced player" mode that reduces all tips].
- **Advanced Mechanic Reveals:** [NUMBER] deeper systems are deliberately withheld from the tutorial and introduced at [SPECIFIC GAME PROGRESSION POINTS: when the player reaches a new area / when they face an enemy that requires the advanced mechanic / when they acquire an item that enables the new system / when a narrative beat introduces a new character with new abilities]. Each reveal follows the same demonstrate-try-test-reward pattern from the tutorial but compressed into [SHORTER TIMEFRAME].
- **Practice Spaces:** [OPTIONAL AREA: training room / VR simulator / sparring partner / sandbox mode] where players can experiment with mechanics without consequences. This space unlocks at [POINT IN GAME] and includes [FEATURES: adjustable difficulty targets / mechanic-specific challenges / combo trials / player statistics and replays].

### Accessibility Considerations
The tutorial accounts for different player needs: [ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES: text size options for any written prompts / audio descriptions for visual-only teachings / remappable controls with real-time tutorial prompt updates / adjustable tutorial pace / colorblind-friendly visual cues / subtitles for any voiced instruction].