Onboarding And Difficulty

Use when the question is how players learn, survive, improve, and feel challenged without being lost, bored, or coerced.

Teaching Principles

Teach through play where possible; use direct instruction when playtesting shows subtlety fails.

• introduce one concept at a time;
• create a safe first use;
• require the player to act, not only read;
• give immediate feedback;
• repeat in a new context;
• combine learned concepts only after each is legible;
• remove instructions once behavior proves understanding.

Difficulty Curve

Map challenge against player skill, not an average-player fiction:

• starting skill assumptions;
• first friction point;
• mastery gates;
• optional challenge branches;
• failure cost;
• retry time;
• player-controlled assists;
• catch-up or re-entry paths;
• endgame challenge identity.

A strong curve can be linear, branching, adaptive, optional, social, or player-selected, but it must be readable.

Assist And Accessibility Of Challenge

Assist options preserve dignity:

• describe what changes;
• let players choose the kind of help;
• avoid shaming labels;
• preserve core fantasy where possible;
• separate accessibility from prestige only when the game's social contract requires it;
• make the default challenge intentional but not exclusionary.

Failure Review

Good failure is readable, points to a better next attempt, has proportionate cost, preserves momentum, supports mastery, and does not hide rules.

Bad failure:

• repeats long known content;
• punishes experimentation;
• obscures cause;
• blocks learning behind grind;
• humiliates or excludes players.

Output

Return:

• first-session learning path;
• skill ramp and difficulty curve;
• confusion and boredom risks;
• assist/accessibility recommendations;
• failure-cost diagnosis;
• playtest tasks and stop conditions.

Use ../../references/contracts.md for reusable onboarding and difficulty reviews.