Teach / Feel / Tell Framework
The Teach / Feel / Tell framework is a powerful tool for creating or analyzing levels.
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It starts with 3 magic questions:
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What is the level teaching the player?
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Which emotions is the level conveying to the player?
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What is the level telling the player?
Three Faces
Jon Berghoff
The Teach / Feel / Tell (TFT) Framework is closely related to the Player Tension concept and the 3 types of tension at your disposal (difficulty, emotional & narrative). Therefore, I highly recommend reading the article on Contrast first, as it explains this concept.
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​The TFT Framework assumes that every level has a purpose, it either:
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teaches or challenges the player on a game mechanic (not just in tutorials)
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makes the player feel a particular emotion
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tells the player something about the game's story or world
Most of the time, levels do all of the above.​
Starting with an example
Let's start by looking at the first level of Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady Studios).
By examining the level through the TFT lens, we can see what it delivers to the player.
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Teach:
Basic Character & Camera controls
Aiming & Using Tools
Combat system
Stealth & Gargoyles
Feel:
Control
Chaos
Unease
Superiority
Tell:
Batman captured the Joker and brought him to Arkham Asylum
It was a trap, the Joker broke free and now rules the asylum
Vilains are on the loose and wreak havoc in the asylum, they must be stopped
Batman is assisted by Oracle, who is commissioner Gordon's daughter
As you can see, this level conveys a lot to the player, with each elements getting its time to shine and reach its intended design goal.
Using the TFT Framework we can almost reconstruct the level's design brief and its specifications.
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Now, let's look at the techniques we can use to effectively deliver these elements.
HUMAN RAM
Before diving into the techniques, we need to address the concept of cognitive load.
The human brain can only process a limited amount of information at a time.
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Whenever you want to teach something, tell something, or make the player feel something, it will inherently contribute to the player's cognitive load.
Therefore, you must be careful when conveying something to the player. Trying to deliver too much at once — such as an important dialogue during a challenging combat — can lead to mental overload, and some pieces of information will inevitably be lost in the process.
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However, this shouldn't stop you from delivering on multiple aspects of the TFT in the same moment, as long as you handle cognitive load properly.
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Each technique has a different impact on mental load.
For the rest of the article, you will find icons next to each technique that represent the typical impact it has on cognitive load.
Low impact
Medium impact
High impact
Teach
Teach refers to your level teaches or challenges the player on gameplay mechanics.
This isn't limited to just tutorials — any sequence that challenges the player should be considered part of the teaching process.
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Regarding the Player Tension concept, Teach techniques creates difficulty tension.
Tutorial (show, tell, experience):
Medium to High impact
(depending on the game mechanic's novelty & complexity)
A Tutorial can be defined as a situation in which the player encounters a game mechanic for the first time.
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Most of the time, Tutorials are structured in 3 parts:
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Show: Visually demonstrates the game mechanic and its consequences
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Tell: Clearly explains how the game mechanic works and how to use it
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Experience: Allows the player to try the game mechanic in a safe or very easy environment
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Sometimes, Show & Tell can be combined, or one of them might be omitted.​
Portal
Valve
Challenge:
Low to Medium impact
(depending on the challenge's difficulty)
A Challenge is when the player is tested on a game mechanic they have already learned.
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Most encounters in a game are Challenges.
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Challenges are primarly used to keep the player engaged and in the Flow state by providing difficulty tension. They should also be considered as part of the teaching process, as they reinforce a player's skills and ensure they have not forgotten important information and mechanics.​​
DmC: Devil May Cry
Ninja Theory
Twist:
Medium to High impact
(depending on the twist's intricacy)
A Twist is when the game introduces a new way of dealing with an already known game mechanic.
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Twists add depth to a game mechanic and make the player think about it from a fresh perspective.​​
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A Twist typically occurs once the player has mastered the game mechanic. The impact of the Twist on cognitive load depends on how much the player needs to deconstruct their previous understanding of the mechanic or how many new situations can emerge from this Twist.
Limbo
Playdead
Bear traps are not only obstacles,
they can be use to solve puzzles
Feel
Feel refers to whenever your level makes the player experience a certain emotion.
These emotions can be either positive or negative and should align with the current tone of the game.
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Regarding the Player Tension concept, Feel techniques creates emotional tension.
Ambience:
Low impact
An Ambience is the overall mood that the level visually and aurally conveys.
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The visual shapes of the level play a significant role in creating the Ambience
(you can learn more about visual grammar in this article).
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Ambiences can be defined as the overall atmosphere of a given environment. They last over a period of time, and if a contrasting Ambience follows another, the moment of change should be treated as an event.​
A Plague Tale: Innocence
Asobo Studio
Event:
Medium to High impact
(depending on the event's intensity)
An Event is a noticeable moment that lasts for a short period of time.
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Events can include a scene unfolding in the environment, a jumpscare, a breathtaking vista over a landscape, or the discovery of a particular mise-en-scène.
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While Ambiences create a certain mood over time, Events trigger a sudden emotional response based on what the player sees.​​
Outlast 2
Red Barrels
Exotic sequence:
High impact​
An Exotic sequence is a specific gameplay sequence, contained in both space and time, with unique 3Cs and scenography.
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The unique 3Cs are usually quite simple, as the Exotic sequence takes most of the player's cognitive load. The require tutorialization should therefore be kept at a minimum, otherwhise it risks detracting from the sequence's impact.​​
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Exotic sequences are often the level's climax, designed to be high-budget, memorable moments. As such, a game usually features very limited numbof Exotic sequences.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Infinity Ward
Tell
Tell refers to whenever your level tells the player something regarding the game's story or world.
The pieces of information provided can range from major narrative points to smaller details about world's logic.​
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Regarding the Player Tension concept, Tell techniques creates narrative tension.
Environmental storytelling:
Low impact
An Environmental storytelling vignette is a arrangement of props that the player can come across, which tells a story.
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Since the vignette can be missed by the player, it usually only serves to add optional depth to the main story, or to tell a side story.
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Environmental storytelling is a excellent way to make the world more "lived-in" and believable, as it represents the consequences of actions that occured before the player's arrival. It also engages curious players, rewarding their attention to detail with a deeper understanding of the story.​
Ready or Not
VOID Interactive
Text / Dialogue:
Medium impact​
A Text / Dialogue is narration directly conveyed to the player through spoken dialogue with an NPC or displayed readable text.
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It can take many forms: walk-and-talk sequences, dialogue scenes, text displayed on the screen, etc.
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In some dialogues, the player may have some freedom of action, such as moving around during the conversation or interaction through dialogue options.
Cyberpunk 2077
CD Projekt RED
Cinematic:
High impact​
A Cinematic is a long, non-interactive sequence where narration is conveyed to the player through cinematographic means.
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During Cinematics, the player is fully focused on narration, and it's often said that players can drop the gamepad during these moments.​​
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Since Cinematics capture the player's full attention, they are typically used to deliver major plot points in a very controlled and impactful way.
Ghost of Tsushima
Sucker Punch Productions
Mixing techniques
As mentioned earlier, several techniques can be combined and used at the same time, but you must ensure you are carefully managing the player's cognitive load at a given time. For example, a medium-impact technique can be combined with a low-impact one, but you should avoid combining several high-impact techniques.
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In fact, most Player Tension peaks in a level are the result of combining different techniques, which can introduce various types of tension simultaneously.
Tutorial + Environmental storytelling
Dead Space
Visceral Games / Motive Studios
Challenge + Event
Tomb Raider
Crystal Dynamics
Conclusion
The TFT Framework is a powerful tool for analyzing a level and gaining a deeper understanding of both what it's trying to deliver to the player, and how it's trying to deliver it.
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​When working on a level, ask yourself the 3 magic questions:
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What is the level teaching the player?
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Which emotions is the level conveying to the player?
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What is the level telling the player?
Make a list of your answers to those questions, then chose the most appropriate technique — or combination of techniques — to deliver what you are trying to convey to the player.
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Map those moments onto your Player Tension curve to ensure great pacing, and create your level around them.