UX and onboarding · all games
FTUE (first-time user experience)
Everything a new player sees from first launch until they understand the game well enough to play on their own.
Also called: first time user experience, new player experience, npe, nux, first session
FTUE covers the loading screen, any consent or account prompts, the tutorial, the first win and the first rewards. It is broader than a tutorial: a game can have no tutorial at all and still have a carefully designed first-time experience.
Good FTUEs teach by doing. They introduce one idea at a time, let the player succeed quickly, and hold back systems such as the shop, social features and events until the basics are in place. The goal is that the player reaches the fun part of the core loop as fast as possible.
Because so many players leave in the first minutes, studios treat the FTUE as one of the most measured parts of a game. Each step is a point where a player might quit, so the order and length of steps is a design decision in itself.
In mobile games
Mobile FTUEs compete with an app store full of alternatives, so many games open straight into play and explain later. The first session is also where many mobile games introduce their first currency, first upgrade and often their first offer.
What to watch for
- Front-loading permission, account and consent prompts before the player has any reason to care.
- Tutorials that stop the player from acting. Forced taps teach less than letting a player try and succeed.
- Showing a purchase offer before the player has seen what they would be buying into.
