For context, my game, as the title suggests, is a murder mystery game. The basics are easy to understand: There are 15 people with random roles trapped in a building, and two of them are murderers. During the night, the two murderers are set to kill while everyone is sleep. After that, during the investigation, you can investigate the crime scene and make an educated guess on who the murderer is. Finally, a trial occurs, and you discuss the clues and give alibis. After the trial, a poll will ask who you think is the murderer. Once both murderers are voted off, you win. Otherwise, the game continues.
However, it gets more complex than that. First of all, each role needs a tutorial on its own since each role wins the game in their own way, and each role has access to different abilities.
Second, the game itself functions very complexly. As in, during the trial, you have three options to do: Argue, Accuse, and give an Alibi. Some people may not know how this works, though.
Last but not least, the murders. This is, by far, the hardest to explain. There are many different methods of murder, many different clues left behind each different method, many different ways to fake the crime scene, and so forth.
How could I possibly explain everything without info-dumping and exhausting new players?
I think try to be very creative writing, which can be tiny bit easier for new players, or try to be unique of the text messages you put into the game, or try to putting something together, which the new players will not be exhausting. Also, you can give them easier task of the roles you gave them, and try put a basic sounds effects, which can movited them, like bubble gum sim, or more, but most part of the scene for not Incorporate, which can try to use different ending of the game, like story ending of bad parts, and good parts, but try to be more specific of ways, how did the player did not give them more proof, who is the murder of the sence. If this kinda help, you can tell, or some of the parts is kinda confusing about for “How would I Incorporate a Tutorial into a Complex Murder Mystery Game.”
Yea, I already planned on that. Telling people how the game functions? Sure. Explaining each roles? No biggy. Having to intrusively elaborate each and every function that is possible during a murder is the hard part, and quite honestly, I have no idea how to do that. Do I do a short gameplay that shows how the murder works? And what about one for the investigator? The game is honestly really complex and has lots of layers in it. I have a several page document just explaining everything.
Explain as much as possible but you also have to understand that people learn things very quickly, and you wouldn’t want to spoil every element of gameplay anyways, sometimes you don’t have to explain everything and leave it for players to discover themselves which also would make that person more intrigued anyway , I hope I helped!