Imagine the first time you use a brand new car. You sit down, and the car doesn't let you go anywhere. It first tells you how to buckle your seatbelt. It then tells you how to adjust the air conditioning, where the brake and gas pedals are, where the key goes and which way to turn it. When you finally get out on the road it tells you how to use the turn signal and how the horn works.

Now imagine you buy a new car every week, or month even.

THIS IS WHAT VIDEO GAME TUTORIALS FEEL LIKE!

Rant over...

Videogame devs would like to think that their game is the first game you've ever played. And would also like to remind you that you're playing a game, by giving you achievements alerts when you figure out what button to press, in order to remove any sort of immersiveness they were trying to accomplish (with their tutorial).

Here's an interesting way to empower your player. Allow them to FIGURE SHIT OUT ON THEIR OWN. I'm also looking at you Nintendo (for every recent Zelda game).

Two words: Focus testing.

(and alerts can be disabled, Joe)

/thread

PS3 alerts can't be disabled.

Fail platform is still fail.

...recent Zelda games had overly long tutorials? I don't remember Spirit Tracks going on and on.
Now Square Enix games on the other hand...

I just mean the amount of hand-holding in recent zelda games. You get to a boss, and your "talking helper" (because Link is a silent hero, they always give him some blabbermouth now...) gives you a very obvious hint on how to beat him. Or enter a room, points out something to solve the puzzle. I just wish I could turn that shit off.

Spirit Tracks was TERRIBLE for that. Even the simplest puzzles, in the late levels. Ghost Zelda would appear and be like "look at this pattern on the floor, I wonder if there's another room with a pattern that matches this?" They just assume you're totally clueless.