I want to suggest a more interactive manager tutorial in order to prepare new players better for the depth that Buzzerbeater offers. I think this is a fairly easy way to improve user experience when it's most important (when joining the game) and will help a lot to fix the high user turnover we experience. The depth of this game is a great positive that keeps many of us around, but can be daunting for new players. The current tutorial is of course a helpful start, but when learning, feedback is the most important. I feel that many new managers quit because they cannot progress quickly, and not understanding aspects like game shape is a big reason why I believe. Besides the lack of knowledge of the game, I think the general user experience of the game is not up to par with other games today. I understand it's too resource intensive to graphically update the website and game viewer, but some interactivity can be easily achieved and goes a long way in regards to user experience.
A couple of ideas I have for this interactive tutorial:
Create a form of pushed message when a new manager fails at an aspect of the game, for example game shape. When gameshape of multiple players becomes lower than 6, generate a message that warns the manager about it and explain the effect of it. The way this message is designed and displayed can be decided later on, but one possibility is prominently on the home screen when you log in. A nice way would be with the picture of your current Doctor or Trainer who tells you that your player has played too many minutes which leads to bad gameshape and reduced performance in games. We don't have to give away everything but I think the importance should be stressed. This way we can help new managers, but also leave room to find out the best minutes on their own (maybe a link to the forum in the message).
Another message could be from the PR-Manager that tells you your arena has been empty or overcrowded and prices need to be adjusted or expansions could be worthwhile. Or another message could be from your trainer telling you have a young talent that can be trained, but is not receiving proper training. Another one could be from your assistent telling your staff is getting too expensive and can be replaced cheaply.
I think you catch my drift. I think this is an easy to realize adaption of the game that brings the user experience closer to a level of the current age of gaming, leading to a higher retainment of new managers. The power of this interactive version of the manager tutorial is that it warns the user at the moment something needs to be changed, instead of just a general instruction beforehand (which I imagine new managers often do not read in this age, most users just want to start and learn on the fly). If this suggestion is deemed viable and desirable, I can work it out further, but I like to hear your opinion first.
To summarize:
What? An interactive tutorial.
Why? To improve user experience and better retain new managers.
How? Feedback messages on the start page, displayed as being said by the staff members about what needs to be changed. Player minutes, arena prices/expansion, player training etc.
Strenghts of the idea? Relatively easy to implement, big impact on new user experience, does not take away from the depth of the game but does make it more accessible.
Last edited by Jeründerbar at 5/19/2015 7:52:46 AM