Masahiro Sakurai: "Players should understand why a game is fun in the first three minutes"

[Phoenix Splash]

"A game that starts slow is often a game taht's starting on the wrong foot. Don't leave players wondering what the actual game is like. I think it's best to get right to the point and jump into gameplay early."

"RPGs need a bit of an introduction. All The same, I'd recommend laying things on so that gameplay comes first and drop them into action. Although, it'll depend on the game, because games with well-known mechanics (FF, DQ, Pokémon I'm guessing) or prominent story elements need their own approach"


On his new youtube channel, Masahiro Sakurai shares his thoughts on video game creation/development. I found this last video interesting from a palyer's perspective, as I can say the best game intros are always the ones that have an (almost) fully playable section. This comes from the days of arcade games and, even though I wasn't an arcade person myself, I completely agree.

Sakurai will explain it much better than myself:


View: https://youtu.be/PlbwQ_rntCM

Did you ever drop a game in the first 5 minutes because of not finding it appealing? What is your favorite first level/intro?

Two first levels/intros I really enjoyed were Nier: Automata's and DOOM's

 

[Napalm_Frank]

I usually give a game at least 30 minutes before deciding to drop anything. Of course you would be wise to introduce good hook(s) as early as possible.

 

[Durden]

I agree generally with Sakurai but not with the poll options

 

[Blackleg-sanji1]

Idk about 5 minutes but I've def dropped something a good 20-30 minutes in.

 

[Phoenix Splash]

I agree with Sakurai but not with the poll options

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What would you suggest? It was a quick poll. Didn't wanna leave it at "yes or no"

 

[shaneo632]

I'll usually do at least 10-15 mins but I'm definitely not someone with the patience to spend hours waiting for a game to get good.

 

[Busaiku]

I mean, locking characters in a fighting game seems antithetical to this.

 

[Jakenbakin]

Sakurai thinks Yakuza games are trash confirmed.

 

[Celestial Descend]

If it's an RPG I'd still be watching cutscene, that is, if I've passed character creation.

I did drop Kid Icarus Uprising super early though. Only a few minutes is enough for me to know I would never get used to the control scheme.

 

[sazz]

Depends on the game

 

[Toli08]

Ive dropped certain games in the first ten to fifteen minutes. It's games that usually don't feel good to play. Like the character movement feels off and just does nothing for me.

 

[PhillyPaw]

I can usually tell by trailers, but if I'm still unsure, I need a good :30 min - 1 hour of gameplay to confirm.

 

[Doggg]

Seems like a good rule of thumb.

 

[Kiryu]

personally 5 minutes is not enough. i've definitely decided i like a game couple of days of playing it

 

[Firestorm]

Not quite 5 mins but if a game doesn't grab me in my first play session which could be 15 mins or so, then it's unlikely I'll go back.

 

[Cameron122]

I hate to be a fence sitter but I honestly think it depends on the genre. A shoot 'em up? Five mins. A turn based tactics game? 30 mins. A 4X game? A few hours. A grand strategy game? A couple days😂

I mean, locking characters in a fighting game seems antithetical to this.

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Personally I like the reward of unlockables but I understand why they are no longer popular with people.

 

[Greywaren]

In a gameplay-focused game, sure. But there are many kinds of games out there, you can't apply this rule to everything.

 

[Starlatine]

I feel a better way of phrasing it is "its okay to drop games after strong negative first impressions". i dont think attributing some arbitrary time limit helps, but everyone certainly played something that after fiddling for a while they could think "this is so not for me"

Sakurai thinks Yakuza games are trash confirmed.

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He's right about that at least

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Honestly, yeah. If a game's gameplay doesn't hook me pretty quickly as soon as the game portion starts, I will probably walk away. It's why I dump so many indie games.

 

[L Thammy]

I mean, locking characters in a fighting game seems antithetical to this.

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Locking characters doesn't mean that you don't get into the gameplay immediately.

 

[nded]

This one is near and dear to my heart. If I'm not playing your game within three minutes of pressing start I'm annoyed.

 

[nogoodnamesleft]

So when people tell me to play death stranding for 10 hours before deciding if it's good or not are crazy. Thought so!

 

[Android Sophia]

I'm really glad he brought up actual examples of RPGs that draw you in with gameplay, and then tell you the story. While I feel like "three minutes" isn't a hard rule one should adhere to (especially given RPGs can need more setup), a player should have a good understanding of what your game is like by the 30 minute mark.

 

[snausages]

Most of my favourite games take a lot longer than that to get good.

morrowind, dmc, outer wilds, botw, pathologic, in fact I can't think of one which works in the first 3 minutes

 

[Titan6062]

3 minutes is a ludicrously short amount of time and only makes sense for the types of games Sakurai makes. Give it an hour at least.

 

[.exe]

Yes, plenty. Recently I dropped Loot River within minutes because I did not like the central mechanics (shifting platforms) and how the action felt.

Conversely, I knew I would love Hades within moments. Despite story being an important part of it, you get a little bit of flavor and are dropped into the action from the get-go.

 

[Durden]

What would you suggest? It was a quick poll. Didn't wanna leave it at "yes or no"

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It's more like he's generally right, but considering game variety and design I can give more leeway. Kinda hard to describe and hard to determine what the poll options should be.

Basically the very best games that hook me the most Sakurai's on point for, but I've also had games I really love that don't hook me in 3 mins for multiple reasons.

 

[-Tetsuo-]

Depends on the game

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Pretty much

 

[Deleted member 93062]

Maybe not three minutes, but yes games should be action packed from the start. Cannot stand a long prologue and it makes me drop games basically instantly. Looking at you RDR2.

Sakurai knows ball.

 

[entremet]

Clearly action games. Sakurai is a big rpg gamer too. He loves Persona

 

[Wrexis]

Unless it's a Square-Enix game.

 

[2shd]

I get the idea, and maybe he just means gameplay, but this seems at odds with how convoluted Smash's menus are.

Ultimate was my first and just trying to figure out how to play a match vs my choice of CPU opponent was awkward.

 

[Rosebud]

I love many games that I don't consider fun, so...

 

[SilverX]

This is the same man who created Kid Icarus: Uprising. Dont tell me those funky ass controls took 3 minutes to be ¨fun¨

 

[Flambe]

Highly depends on the genre, but for a few of them sure I guess.

Most of the games I tend to play require a lot more investment though to make that kind of judgement.

 

[Busaiku]

Locking characters doesn't mean that you don't get into the gameplay immediately.

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Different characters completely alter the experience in a fighting game.
I might think Super Smash Bros is awful if I play Mario, but think it's the best game ever if I play Ike (I don't know if Ike was locked or not, I didn't get Ultimate cause of locked characters).
It's essentially like I'm playing a different game.

 

[Ryengeku]

Nah. Some media(not just games) require a buildup that can end up being very satisfying. "The first three minutes" almost translates to instant gratification to me and not everything needs to be a quick, fast, straight dopamine fix.

 

[naw]

i agree

 

[Doggg]

And yes, in the video, he mentions that it naturally depends on the game. More established series that have gameplay that are already familiar to players can get away with having more of an intro, and rpgs often need them, too.

 

[Katana_Strikes]

Plenty. Usually when I find out it's a rogue lite

 

[Ariakon44]

This rules out almost every JRPG I love, haha, though, as Doggg pointed out, Sakurai mentions that it's dependent on the game

 

[MadeULook]

Typically I give a game a couple of hours to grab me. Some games take a bit before they really get going so I don't agree with this at all.

 

[L Thammy]

Different characters completely alter the experience.
I might think Super Smash Bros is awful if I play Mario, but think it's the best game ever if I play Ike (I don't know if Ike was locked or not, I didn't get Ultimate cause of licked characters).
It's essentially like I'm playing a different game.

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Okay, but you're still engaging with the core universal mechanics of the game itself, and those other characters are still designed to be fun, they're just not the ones you personally prefer.

I can understand why someone might not enjoy characters being locked, but it's a painfully reductive argument to claim that you won't get an understanding of the game because you don't have access to a particular character.

 

[Starlatine]

And yes, in the video, he mentions that it naturally depends on the game. More established series that have gameplay that are already familiar to players can get away with having more of an intro, and rpgs often need them, too.

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still not a good point cause games dont necessarily need to be fun in their design. pathologic is an oppressive deppressing game, its not fun 3 minutes nor 3 hours nor 3 days in. maybe if the haruspex and the doctor had a sword fight in the first 3 minutes sakurai would like it more though

 

[RPGam3r]

Yeah I'm onboard with this concept of design. I should be able to see why it's going to be fun quickly. Ironically RPG titles don't do a good job at this a lot of the time.

 

[Busaiku]

Okay, but you're still engaging with the core mechanics of the game itself, and those other characters are still designed to be fun, they're just not the ones you personally prefer.

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And it's still a fundamentally different experience.
The core mechanics of Super Smash Bros stays consistent, but people hate Brawl, while loving Melee.
Same applies for different characters in the same game.

 

[Angie]

I guess no RPG is fun then

 

[TSM]

I've bounced off of games with super long unskippable intros/tutorials. I have zero interest in sitting there waiting for 20+ minutes before I can even play. Also if a game doesn't have skippable cutscenes I'm very unlikely to bother with it.

 

[Uncle at Nintendo]

"It gets good 30 hours in" posters in shambles right now.

 

[Deleted member 93062]

"It gets good 30 hours in" posters in shambles right now.

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lmao