FTUE is one of the most essential things when it comes to F2P game design. This presentation should help you learn how to think about FTUE design.

1. FIRST TIME USER
EXPERIENCE
The Hero’s Journey

2. “You don't get a second chance to make a first impression”
— SOMEONE FAMOUS (probably)

3. My name is Stanislav Stanković
I am a Creative Director at TrackTwenty/EA Studio in
Helsinki, Finland
HELLO!

4. THE JOURNEY
INTRODUCTION
Player as a hero in his own story
The purpose of First Time User Experience
CROSSING THE
THRESHOLD
CONCLUSION
Key takeaways
The first steps
CALL TO ADVENTURE
The journey begins
THE MENTOR
Guide into the game world

5. INTRODUCTION
01
The purpose of First Time User Experience

6. ● Initial stages of using a piece of software - also know as FTUE
● We need to make a distinction between:
○ Premium game FTUE
○ Free-to-play game FTUE
● The main difference is in the importance of the FTUE for the success of the
game
FIRST TIME USE EXPERIENCE

7. ● Traditional monetization model
● Player has already paid for the game before starting playing it
● Player has INVESTED money before hand
● Retention is not an issue
● Sunken cost fallacy is not the right term, but it helps
● FTUE is not essential for financial success of the game
● Importance of FTUE is only secondary
PREMIUM GAMES

8. ● Prevalent monetization model on mobile platforms
● Game is distributed for free
● Player makes no investment before trying out the game
● Retention is essential for monetization
● FTUE is essential for retention
● This presentation is focused on mobile games
FREE-TO-PLAY

9. TOWARDS MONETIZATION
Acquisition FTUE Retention Monetization

10. RETENTION
“A beginning is a very delicate time.”
FTUE Churn

11. The purpose of FTUE is to create an
emotional connection!

12. ● FTUE is far more than a tutorial
● Players have a good grasp of UI conventions
● This is true even for casual players
● Not need to focus on teaching basic interactions!
● Unless you are using a very exotic control scheme
● Teaching the player is still necessary!
TUTORIAL

13. Make the player chase the ARROW!
INSTEADDO NOT
Focus on building an ENGAGEMENT!

14. THE JOURNEY
02
Player as a hero in his own story

15. CUSTOMER JOURNEY
Awareness Consideration Installation Retention Advocacy

16. CUSTOMER JOURNEY
Awareness Consideration Installation Retention Advocacy
FTUE

17. Everyone wants to be a HERO in his
own story!

18. ● The Hero’s Journey!
● A framework for thinking about an epic narrative
● A storytelling pattern recognisable across cultures and ages
● Proposed by Joseph Campbell
● Applied widely in Film, TV, graphic novels, ets.
MONOMYTH

19. HERO’S
JOURNEY
Known
Unknown● A journey from the real world into unknown
● Several distinct steps
● Hero embarks on a quest unsure of his
abilities
● Encounters friends and foes
● Overcomes obstacles
● Gets transformed in the process
● Returns as victor to the real world

20. Your player is a HERO.
Treat him as one!

21. ● The player starts from the real world
● Game world is unknown to him
● He is unsure of his own abilities
● We want him to get immersed into the game
● His journey contains several important steps
PLAYER’S
JOURNEY Real World
Game World

22. CALL TO
ADVENTURE
03
The journey begins

23. “Now is the beginning of a fantastic story! Let’s make a
journey to the cave of monsters!”
— BUBBLE BOBBLE by Taito, 1986.

24. VIRAL
PAID
ORGANIC
Player has heard about you game from a friend
or seen a social media post
Player sees your ad
Player discovers the game via App
Store
THE FIRST ENCOUNTER

25. ● Hero is entitled to reject the call to adventure
● Not only your AD but YOUR GAME needs to be inviting
for the player
● INSTALLING and RUNNING the game for the first time
can create huge churn!
INVITING PLAYER

26. MANDATORY LOGINS
TO MANY POPUPS
HUGE DOWNLOAD PACKAGES
Don’t spam players with additional requests to
login with FB, Google or other social media
credentials. Don’t ask them to create new user
accounts.
Legal requirements might mandate various
warnings and popup. These are scary and
annoying!
Players have issues with data transfer cost, no
access to WiFi, devices clogged with photos and
other games.
THINGS TO AVOID!

27. ● Player has no first hand experience with your game
● Player has preconceptions
● MENTAL MODEL is formed based on previous
experiences and expectations
● Difference between model and reality causes a
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
PLAYER EXPECTATIONS

28. SOMETHING
NEW
SOMETHING
OLD
SOMETHING
BLUE
SOMETHING
BORROWED
The journey begins in a
FAMILIAR setting...
...but continues into
the UNKNOWN and
surprising

29. THE MENTOR
04
Guide into the game world

30. ● A magica helper
● A GUIDE to the unknown
● A gift giver of supernatural items
● Items that the hero will use in the adventure
MEETING THE MENTOR

31. ● Direct parallel in FTUE design
● Helper character a time tested trope
● Creates an emotional connection
● Sets the tone of the narrative
● Serves as a GUIDE!
● People relate to characters better than to
abstractions such as texts and symbols
MENTOR IN FTUE

32. ● Direct parallel in FTUE design
● All game items are “magical”
● Magic allows hero to do things he is naturally unable
● Items enable player to do things in game
● Tutorial Gacha is a good example
● Well known trope in CCG and RPG games
MAGICAL ITEMS

33. CROSSING THE
THRESHOLD
05
The first steps

34. ● The HERO enters the UNKNOWN
● He needs to overcome the first obstacle
● To test his abilities for the first time
● Puts into use the instructions received from the
menthor
CROSSING THE THRESHOLD

35. Nobody dies on first Goomba

36. ● The moment in FTUE when player needs to take
control
● This is the moment when player gets to take an
action for the first time
● Games are INTERACTIVE by nature
● Player is here looking for this action
● This is why player is here!
THE THRESHOLD IN FTUE

37. Basic psychological need to be an ACTIVE
agent. To be able to have control over our
actions.
COMPETENCEAUTONOMY
Basic psychological need to experience
MASTERY of a skill. One’s actions lead to
intended outcome.
BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS

38. ● The first action that player takes needs to feel
meaningful
● In needs to fulfill basic psychological needs of
AUTONOMY and COMPETENCE
● Allow your player to make a CHOICE
● Choice needs to be alligned with his MENTAL MODEL
THE FIRST ACTION

39. SIMCITY BUILDIT
● Player is asked to provide power to his
city
● He needs to make a choice between
cheap but polluting and expensive but
eco-friendly options
● He is able to make a choice aligned to his
MENTAL MODEL
● Choice feels consequential
● Player establishes his identity
● What kind of a mayor am I going to be?

40. BELLY OF THE
WHALE
06
Into the unknown

41. ● The HERO is now fully immersed into the world of adventure
● The PLAYER should now be immersed in the game
● The nature of the quest dictates HERO’s trajectory
● The narrative drives the HERO forward
● The structure of the game drives the PLAYER forward
BELLY OF THE WHALE

42. ● Winning, being successful is about reaching goals
● The game presents goals to the player
● Goals differ in time required to reach them:
○ Short term goals
○ Mid term goals
○ Long term goals
GOAL FORMING

43. The princess is in another castle!

44. 3. MID TERM GOAL
2. SHORT TERM GOAL
1. LONG TERM GOALS
REACH THE END OF THE LEVEL - domain of
metagame. Retention is about player moving
from one mid term goal to the next
JUMP OVER THE GAP BETWEEN PLATFORMS - an
immediate goal part of minute to minute
gameplay
SAVE THE PRINCESS - an ultimate goal, an
aspirational goal that player expects to reach
eventually
ORDER OF PRESENTING THE GOALS

45. OLD WAYS
● Level progression
● Goals are clear
● Single progression vector
● Player needs to beat the current level
before progressing to the next one
● Player has no agency over the order in
which to pass levels
● Once stuck player wil CHURN!

46. ● Getting stuck with an unreachable goal causes
frustration
● Goals need to feel achievable
● Let the layer choose his own goals
● Provide a density of goals for player to choose from
DENSITY OF GOALS

47. MODERN APPROACH
● RPG elements
● Layers of metagame
● Multiple progression vectors:
○ Trophy road
○ Brawl pass
○ XP, ets. Etc.
● Progression in metagame tied to player
engagement
● Progression not dependant on success in
individual match

48. CONCLUSION
07
Key takeaways

49. ● The purpose of the FTUE is to establish an EMOTIONAL
INVOLVEMENT
● Player is a HERO of his own journey
● FTUE follows the MONOMYTH pattern
● FTUE needs to support basic psychological needs of
AUTONOMY and COMPETENCE
● Provide DENSITY of goals
KEY TAKEAWAYS

50. THANKS!
Do you have any questions?
stanislav.stankovic@gmail.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanislavstankovic