Talin: A Framework for Dynamic Tutorials Based on the Skill Atoms Theory

Abstract

Most tutorials in video games do not consider the skill level of the player when deciding what information to present. This makes many tutorials either tedious for experienced players or not informative enough for players who are new to the given genre. With Talin, implemented as an asset in the Unity game engine, we make it possible to create a mastery model of an individual player's skill levels by operationalizing Dan Cook's skill atom theory. We propose that using this mastery model opens up a new design space when it comes to designing tutorials. We show an example tutorial implementation with Talin assembled using only graphical components provided by our framework, without the need of writing any code. The dynamic tutorial implementation results in the player receiving information only when they need it, whenever they need it. While the novice player is given all the information they need to learn the system, the expert player is not bogged down by tooltip pop-ups regarding mechanics they have already mastered.