When designing the tutorial, I aimed to strike a balance between guiding the user and allowing them to explore on their own. Too much guidance could leave them feeling lost once they transitioned to the actual game, while too little might lead to frustration as they struggle to beat the tutorial.

Too much guidance

Too little guidance

Just right!

The game’s mechanics build upon one another. For example, learning to rearrange blocks wouldn’t make sense without first understanding how to place them. This progression made it simple to divide the tutorial into sections, each focusing on a specific rule. I gradually increased the difficulty, allowing players to solve puzzles independently by the end.

Easy section where I guide them step-by-step

Harder Section where I tell them what to do

Partially solved puzzle which they solve independently

To design an effective tutorial, I needed to deeply understand my audience and determine the right amount of guidance to create the ideal experience. The testing process was iterative, involving cycles of testing the prototype, gathering feedback from interviews, and making improvements. I went through the below questions in sequence interspersed with giving participants the opportunity to experience the game.

Each interview offered valuable insights that guided the refinement of the prototype after every round of testing. Observing participants’ behavior revealed areas that were too wordy and helped me exclude results influenced by external distractions. Monitoring participant inputs pinpointed ambiguous text and confusing screens. Lastly, the interview questions assessed the tutorial’s overall success. Over time, this iterative process led to consistently positive feedback.

Prototyping this project was unique as I aimed to mimic a game rather than a standard app, making Figma animations more challenging. To gather meaningful feedback, I crafted a prototype closely resembling the final game tutorial. The animations guide users who feel stuck, automatically triggering if they stay on a screen too long. This approach minimizes frustration and keeps the experience engaging.

I felt a Bossa Nova jazz style would be the perfect choice for the soundtrack, as it conveyed both a happy and cozy vibe. I layered multiple clean guitars and acoustic drums to create a strong rhythm, and then experimented with several variations of the piano over the backing track. In the end, we decided on this version.