Designing the Early-Stage Experience of a Localized Game Based on a User-Type Hexad Scale - Focusing on ‘Plants vs. Zombie 2’

This study recognizes the tutorial as a critical design element in forming an optimal early experience during the game localization process, as it plays a significant role in the early stages of the game from the perspective of the player experience. The study discusses customized localization design approaches based on this concept. The research analyzed user types and preferred game design elements based on the User Types Hexad Scale, utilizing design elements from games widely played in the Chinese market, to derive player preferences in the Chinese market. The findings confirm that the Chinese market is dominated by the Achiever personality type. The analyzed player preference factors were visually organized by combining the tutorial taxonomy with research, focusing on tutorial types and the chronological development sequence of the 'Plants vs. Zombies 2' game's global and Chinese versions in the early stages. The study intends to present localized cases demonstrating how the same game can provide an optimized experience for target market users via functional and sequential changes in the tutorial, as well as implications drawn from these cases.