When I wake up in the morning and make a pop-tart for breakfast, I don’t read the directions on the box. Why? Some products are just easy to figure out by their consumers. The same fact holds true for Flash games. Most flash games are so simple that a user can figure out how to play without reading any instructions. Unfortunately, too many games require the user to sift through pages of text in order to figure out how to play the game.

Flash games are often played at work by employees who’s boss’s backs are turned or by students at school who’s teacher’s backs are turned. So Flash gamers only plan to spend just a few minutes on any Flash game. A piece of work you spent a month on will probably only be played for 5-10 minutes by players. With this in mind, build a game in a way so that users don’t waste their time reading a lot of instructions.

It’s a law of nature: users usually completely ignore buttons with the words “How to Play”, “Directions”, or “Instructions.” Users really like buttons that have the words “Start”, “Play”, or “Begin” written on them.

Now this doesn’t mean you should get rid of directions all together, nor does it mean that your game must be ridiculously simple. Instead, try changing the placement of instructions. Integrate your directions within the actual game. Bring the player into the enviornment and then show instructions as the game progresses. Introduce instructions on a need to know basis. For example, “Press the up key to jump” should be shown when a player needs to jump over a cliff. “Press space to shoot” should be shown when a player encounters a bad guy for the first time.

Elite Base Jump does a great job with this; the game lists some basic directions when you start the game.

Notice the lack of the “How to Play” button!

After clicking play, I arrive at this screen.

Two sentences explain the entire game!

After pressing the “any key”, the game starts!

Elite Base Jump is a perfect example of a creative, unique game that manages to teach the player how to play without interrupting gameplay.

If possible, don’t force players to read long directions before getting into the game environment. Keep instructions as short as possible. If the game requires keyboard controls, show pictures of the keys. If the game uses mouse controls, show a picture of a mouse.

Good luck!