Shovel Knight Tutorial Level Analysis

Shovel Knight Game Tutorial Level Analysis

Shovel Knight has a good tutorial level that explains most mechanisms for the game. Here are some examples that guide players well without text.

 

Beginning Part

     Most games show complicate button tutorials or reading in the beginning, but Shovel Knight does not provide any button guide. It can be challenging, but Shovel Knight requires knowing only two buttons. Jump and Dig. Many people know about the Jump, but not about what the dig button can do. The game explains the dig button by putting a gold mine next to the starting point. Players are going to dig the gold mine since that is how the normal shovel works. Next to the gold mine, the bug slowly comes from the right side. People will try whether jump or dig to kill the bug. People might try to jump on it because that is how the popular platformer game "Super Mario Bros" works. However, the jump does not kill the bug and it hurts players, but the bug wouldn't hurt them a lot. When the players use the shovel, the bug dies in one hit and it drops golds. The game explains the Dig button by using only two objects.

Teaching New Skill

     After the beginning part, the game stops players with send boxes. Players already saw sandboxes and know that it can be destroyed by digging button. However, the sandboxes cannot be destroyed when players are on the sandboxes. When it happens, most games explain how to go through obstacles, but Shovel Knight lets players figure out how to go through the sandboxes. After a few seconds later, players figure out the new skill by pressing jump and down button and it can be destroyed by the new skill. Next to the sandboxes, players find the weak enemy and the goldmine. Like the beginning part, players would test the new skill to them and figure out that the new skill can kill the enemies, but not dig the goldmine. After this part, the game explains another function of the new skill by putting the puzzle that can be passed with the new skill.

Showing new object

     In the middle of the map, players can find the moving platform that hasn't seen in the game. In the first moving platform part, the gold encourages players to use moving platform and players do not get any penalty for falling. However, in the second moving platform part, the deadly spike is under the moving platform. Different from the first moving platform, falling from the moving platform gives the death penalty, so players need to be careful for this. Also, when players go through the map more, the game gives a hard puzzle that is mixed with two mechanisms.

Boss Fight

     Boss Fight for the tutorial level is noticeable than other games because of the tutorial boss, the black knight, who uses the same skill as players. The boss fight encourages players to use various skills.