The beginner's tutorial was even shorter than Robert had anticipated.
He was simply told how to press the accelerator to move forward and how to press the brake to stop at the edge of a cliff.
However, even with such a simple task, Robert didn't take it seriously even once.
"Hey! Stop!"
The little red car was going faster than he expected.
As he got closer and closer to the cliff edge, it was too late for him to brake.
The car flew in an arc, as if it had lost its balance, and the driver's head slammed straight into the ground.
The area below the cliff was not the blank space one might imagine.
It's as if the designers had anticipated that players would accidentally stumble out here.
This is a huge crater, filled with the wreckage of a little red car that looks exactly like his.
There's a strange sense of humor about it.
I had to start over, and this time there were no more mishaps, so I was able to complete the entire beginner's tutorial without any problems.
Although Robert himself did not notice it, this cliff, which is very easy to make a mistake, was indeed a deliberate design by Lin Lixin.
When first encountering this game, or rather, when players first experience a racing game, they often unconsciously floor the accelerator.
This is also something that the game itself subconsciously guides Robert to do.
This fostered a habitual way of thinking in him that flooring the accelerator was a necessary thing to do.
The moment this inertia was successfully established, Robert's brain was already on a very delicate edge.
If this beginner's tutorial continues at this pace, his brain will enter a "managed" state.
In other words, it's a kind of unconscious distraction.
That's a bit too early.
Therefore, Lin Lixin deliberately increased the difficulty of the braking instruction in the subsequent lessons.
At this moment, Robert, who had already lost connection, will instantly come back to life due to the failure.
Lin Lixin had already achieved his goal when his attention was refocused on the game.
One of the major prerequisites for flow has been met.
That's what makes excellent game design—it allows players to enter the game unconsciously.
Now it's time to move on to the next stage.
Robert finally crossed the finish line and officially entered the game.
The game immediately presents four options to you upon starting.
[Vehicles], [Levels], [Start], [Settings].
Apart from the UI displaying the coins at the top, there are no other redundant elements.
The extremely clean UI allowed Robert's brain to quickly process the information on the screen.
And it was at this moment that Lin Lixin's next little trick quietly came into play.
Although the [Start] option is highlighted in green, it is placed third.
When using a handheld device, the default option starts from the first one.
This almost subconsciously gave Robert the idea that he should "check out what's in each one."
Thus, the other condition for flow is automatically achieved in this instant.
"Completable tasks"
Those enhancements that cost thousands or even tens of thousands of gold coins to purchase are blatantly displayed right below the amount of gold coins available.
Even each upgrade has an upper limit.
For example, the first item, [Engine: 1/13].
This design is really cunning, even more so than the design of Zork Idle, which has no obvious upper limit.
Because of the upper limit, it actually provides players with a clear goal, a definite and achievable task.
You'll succeed once you reach level 13.
This understanding was almost subconsciously implanted into Robert's mind.
Not to mention the ever-increasingly expensive cars that followed the Little Red Car.
There are even cars that cost millions of gold coins to buy.
These were all potential targets, constantly piquing Robert's interest and making him increasingly eager to earn more gold coins.
He had played Nova Kart and seen the coins on the track that he could collect.
But those gold coins had never given him such a strong feeling.
Even when Yuli told him things like collecting coins could increase his maximum speed, he didn't care at all.
Robert instinctively resisted spending extra time figuring out how to collect more gold coins.
But here, that resistance is gone.
Instead, it is replaced by a completely original, instinctive subjective initiative.
even----
Robert was completely unaware of this emotion.
He simply invested all his gold coins into the engine, upgrading it to level 5.
Upgrading the engine next will require a full 25,000 gold coins.
This exponential increase in consumption was really troubling him.
Fortunately, the other features haven't been upgraded yet; they only require a small amount of gold coins to upgrade.
After completing these steps, Robert exited the app and went to the second tab, which is [Levels].
"Even unlocking levels requires coins?!"
This place is like a product showcase, with each map displayed on it and the number of gold coins required clearly marked below.
He even saw a map called [the Moon].
Unlocking it alone will cost a whopping 200,000 gold coins!
"Forget it, let's just run around and see. We've been putting this together for so long and haven't even had a proper game yet."
Seeing that he only had a pitiful amount of gold coins left, Robert didn't bother with it anymore and simply logged out to start the game.
"Um?"
As soon as he arrived, Robert noticed a very obvious difference.
The engine upgrade we just did have an effect, or rather, the effect was extremely significant.
With the same acceleration, this time his car practically lurched forward.
The powerful horsepower caused the front of the car to lift high into the air.
If Robert hadn't reacted quickly and stepped on the brakes to adjust his posture, he might have been killed instantly on the spot.
Such strong feedback on the upgrade immediately invigorated Robert.
Upgrade is great! I need to upgrade!
"Tsk!"
Robert clicked his tongue. In his greed for a gold coin worth 100 yuan, he had been a little reckless, causing the car to go completely out of control.
Excessive horsepower doesn't necessarily seem to be entirely a good thing.
It's definitely not a good thing, at least not when the grip is insufficient.
"That's not bad, running nearly 500 meters on your first try."
Robert nodded in satisfaction.
The screen displayed the results of this round.
The number of coins collected, the time spent in the air, and the number of forward and backward rolls are all clearly recorded on it.
Perhaps I was being a bit too conservative with my driving; aside from a little bit of time in the air, the number of somersaults was consistently zero.
"I think somersaults give a bonus to coins?"
Robert vaguely remembered that this part was taught in the tutorial level.
But it doesn't matter.
Anyway, I've collected quite a few coins this round, so I can upgrade the car and play another round.
"By the way, what's this gasoline can used for?"
He glanced at the dashboard below; he had been so focused on the road that he hadn't even noticed there was a dashboard there.
"Never mind, let's start another game quickly."