This time I'll be doing something a little different and focus on how I utilized skill chain diagrams. What are they? As explained in this Gamasutra article they are basically a visual representation of how players learn by linking basic skill atoms together to create a skill chain.
In my first attempt, I used the Tetris Skill Chain as an example to create my own diagram for our project Lil Tribals. This started out okay, but Tetris is a much simpler game compared to Lil Tribals and it got increasingly difficult to make one diagram that could convey how every skill connects.
I initially approached it thinking these are the skills that players will learn in the beginning, and these are the following skills that will learn by knowing this skill. Eventually it got really messy and I didn't really find it useful since it wasn't readable to me. I didn't end up finishing this version but we got feedback for it regardless.
It turns out that we were missing a specific end goal / takeaway for the player. In Tetris, they get a high score and the player walks away with bragging rights, but what about our game's experience? One of the things that we had always talked about since the beginning of the project was how 'eventful' we wanted the game to be. After asking my group members, I got two similar responses:
Almost like a drama show. It has its ups and downs, happy and tragic times.
Kind of like working in a group project where you're the project manager.
This became the last atom in our chain.
So I started again. This time I worked backwards and thought of it in terms of mechanics and what dependencies they relied on.
For example, the diagram to the right shows a subset of skill chains for the player to know the basic controls of the game. Movement is usually the classic first thing players learn (other than pause/escape). And from there they will learn how to interact with tools and items, and eventually other relevant skills like swapping, dropping, and throwing.
This doesn't really explain how the player will learn the skills but it'll help the group develop the initial tutorial and learning stages of the game and what the player needs to know.
Now lets move onto something a little more specific like gathering resources.
The player needs to gather materials and food throughout the game, but first they need to know where to get these items and recognize gathering spots. Visual feedback should also be considered a player skill and if the player is not hitting that atom then they are going to miss the entire chain.
Next, they should already know how to interact with objects after learning the basic controls. From that they will be able to gather berries, chop trees for logs, and mine rocks. Hunting will teach them that they can get injured, but that boars will drop meat when killed. Afterwards, the player should know how to pick up items to be able to obtain these resources.
I broke these mechanics into sections but each can be considered an atom of its own. I'm not entirely finished with the revised version of my skill chain but here's what it currently looks like:
As you can see, it's much more comprehensible and you can easily pinpoint what skills certain mechanics are dependent on.