In part two of my analysis of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, let’s talk about how, at a very basic level, Nintendo managed to squeeze some of their game’s mechanics into the main menu.

After the introductory cinematic has finished, excited (blinking even!) instructions appear, telling the player to “Touch the screen!”. It intrigued me that the game didn’t give the classic “Press Start” or the more modern approach of just showing the main menu. Touching the screen is the most rudimentary skill atom available for consumption in the game, and apparently Nintendo wants to make sure that the every player “gets it,” since they will be using it for the rest of the game.

Exposing the player to skill atoms in the main menu which will later be incorporated into game mechanics takes a bite out of the learning curve for inexperienced players. This is a great way to take advantage of the fact that humans are information-seeking machines, stuck on a life-long learning binge. People are learning things all the time, whether or not they are in what is commonly thought of as “the game” part of your game. So why not use the whole product, from start to finish, to give your players the experience they want? Teach someone something in the menu, and you won’t have to bore them with a tutorial later.

For another example of this technique of putting mechanics in the menu, check out the load game menu from the original Katamari Damacy. If you can think of any other games that employ this technique, don’t hesitate to post a comment below!