It's pretty well documented that the NPE in Eve is terrible. It does absolutely nothing to familiarize the new Eve player to what Eve actually is. I have a somewhat radical idea on how to fix that, so bear with me here.
This first post will talk about NPEs in general, what makes a good one, and what makes a bad one. It will talk about specific games and how they succeed in those first few vital minutes, and about how Eve does none of this. The second part of this post, which I hope to deliver tomorrow, will detail my plan to fix this.
For a start let me go through a few games I have played recently (MMO or otherwise) that have a great NPE. Then we will talk about what makes a good NPE, why these games have it, and why Eve does not
Call of Duty
Halo
SW:TOR
Skyrim
Mass Effect
Angry Birds
Star Craft
What do they all have in common in regards to their NPE? First, the first mission/level in each and every one of these games is simple, and they graduatly increase in difficulty to provide you with an interesting challenge. They all have learning curves and you can't learn all there is to do in one sitting (granted not to the level of Eve, but it's there regardless).
Second, within 10 minutes of playing these games you know what it's about. You can get an idea if you would enjoy it or not, because it shows enough of the basics to get the point across.
Next, they all have a "hook," something that draws you in and makes you want to continue playing beyond that 10 minutes.
Lastly, they all teach you, in simple and easy to understand terms, how to play the game within a reasonable time frame in comparison to the learning curve (Angry Birds takes less that a minute, Skyrim about a half hour). Basically, they give you the tools to succeed in the world they have created.
Now let's compare this to Eve.
Beginning missions are easy, and scale at a rate that will keep you challenged? Nope, all the noob missions are notoriously easy, except for the scanning tutorial which throws you to the wolves with no idea with what you're doing.
Within a short time frame you understand what the game is about, and can make a rational decision on weather or not you would enjoy it? Nope. The noob missions do very little to familiarize a new player with what Eve actually is. It does teach you some basic mechanics, and a few things to do, but in reality you have no idea what this game is truly about. Therefore, you can't make an educated decision about it.
Does Eve have a hook? Nope! You finish the tutorial missions and are dropped off at the nearest gas station with $20 in your pocket and told "good luck." This in my opinion is the single greatest fault Eve has with retaining new players. The learning curve isn't the reason, there are lots of smart gamers out there. It's not the fear of loss, though that is a problem that needs to be addressed. My first time playing Eve I quit because of the simple fact that I had no idea what to do next. How many of you that have quit and come back can say the same thing?
Does Eve, in a proper time frame, teach you how to survive in the world? NO! In the space of a half hour to an hour you are expected to remember 50 missions (all teaching you something different), as they cram in down your throat. They also cram this information down your throat without any context, and compound the problem with providing incredibly useless information right from the start. Seriously, does a 1 hour old noob need to know what the difference between a Radar, Magnetometric, Gravimetric , and Ladar site is? Save it for later. They also miss out on important teaching opportunities with ship fitting, PvP, defense, and a host of other things.
Now that I have detailed the failures of the Eve NPE, in my next post I will outline my plan to fix this
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