Where should I start in teaching a "noob".

[HydraMoon]

I would skip the 3D worlds for now. Save FPS for 'Games 201'. If you're having to show her how to hold a controller- then I would scale it back a bit. Give her a top-down view game or a sidescroller. Even something simple like Peggle would let her get used to using her thumbs on the sticks. As much bull that gets bandied about, casual games are really good for getting newbies used to the controls. Pick a game that's untimed (no stress) and doesn't use fast twitch- keep it low key but interesting.

I would go for Peggle, LBP, Arcade classics she'd know but are now on XBLA/PSN (let's say...Galaga or Ms Pacman), Katamari games. There's a really fun game we played yesterday that would be good for getting her used to gaming- Sumo Squash. Basically, you each get a sumo dude and try to squash the other person. It moves (so not too boring) but only has two or three buttons that need mashing so it shouldn't be too overwhelming.

I also agree- find out what she likes and go from there.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well you might want to consider she wants to play other kinds of games... that involve being naked.

But until you reach that point you should try something simple, I would suggest Sims because girls love that shit, but that isn't on consoles so... get something like it I guess, then set it to the simplest setting and let her play.
Mastery really only comes from repetition.

Uh, the Sims is on consoles

It is? damn you non updated Wikipedia!

Well then, get her that, just don't tell her there is DLC because you will go bankrupt.

 

[Shock and Awe]

NES and Gameboy games, theres only two buttons and a D-Pad. Its where many of us learned how to play, so for your friend it should not be to hard. After she gets the hang of them move up to SNES and Geneis, GBA, than you can easily start with modern games.

 

[Deamonian]

Lego games, Co-op titles and the portal games are good picks. But only pick portal if you have a adequate amount of patience. I'd also say that games such as Pokemon and Mario (including mariocart, etc.) could be good picks. Beyond that, I'd also suggest RTS titles (such as the earlier Age of Empires games, nr. 1 and 2) would be good ideas if she's attracted to that type of gaming. (It's how I started into gaming).

Also, there's really no 'perfect' way of teaching videogames. If she wants to become a 'gamer', so to speak, it requires some dedication on her part. But don't be condecending. If she claim to enjoy a certain type of gaming, let her try progressively complex titles.

Oh, and to start off, I'd say you should offer her a variety of games to play, and try to steer her in with simpler games, and progressively open up harder and harder options.

But whatever you do, don't let her play Dante's inferno if you have that. Just.. no.

 

[Polarity27]

I can help with this, because I came very late to console gaming myself.

Get her a copy of Knights of the Old Republic. Show her the basics of how to work the controller. Mute the television. Leave the room, and let her move around until she feels comfortable with it.

Go back into the room and work through the first level with her.

Or use a very similar game with a different console. My point being that there's no confidence in a game until you understand how to move, and having someone experienced hovering over you makes you feel stupid. I think, the first day with that game, I must have spent a good hour just learning how to walk around before I ever did much else-- and since everything stops when action happens unless you unpause, it's a good teaching game that doesn't stress you out with time clocks or "oh fuck, dead again!" It also has good immersion, an interesting storyline (I've shown it to several non-gaming, non-Star Wars fan friends, and they expressed an interest in the characters and wanted to know more about them), and is generally a good game as well as a good *beginner* game.

The basic idea is to get her comfy with the controls and build up the difficulty slowly enough that she feels her confidence growing-- your call on how slow is slow enough.

(Your game literacy is way greater than mine, if you don't like KOTOR sub in a similar game where you can practice movement with an avatar without getting killed for it.)

Pay attention to where she sounds frustrated, and what specifically is annoying her.

 

[StriderShinryu]

Find out what it is that she likes. What it is that got her interested in gaming in the first place. And then go retro. If she liked the look of a platformer, then take her back to something like the earlier Mario titles. If she liked the look of an RPG, then go for something story and character based with turn based combat to help her learn the concepts. Just throwing random games at her isn't likely to work if it's not scratching that itch that first sparked her interest.

Co-op will be much better than anything head to head, but bear in mind that co-op can feel just as patronizing. If she feels that she's somehow holding you back or keeping you from enjoying the game, it can hurt the experience instead of pushing her to learn. Also in that vein, be sure to not be too overbearing. Some people respond well to a teacher that is constantly there and walking them through every step. Some people don't want that and are just looking for infrequent tips and warranted praise.

 

[Fraught]

[...]keeping your index and middle fingers on L/R 1/2, ect[...]

Oh my god, what is wrong with you? Of course she can't learn well if you teach her such bull.

Keeping both your index and middle fingers on both of those button is uncomfortable as fuck. I just hold my index fingers on the R1 L1, and then use those to press R1 and L2 if needed.

You use your bloody middle finger to support the control from below.

I mean lord. I'd say you're the noob here. In holding a controller. You should be ashamed.

 

[Rabish Bini]

[...]keeping your index and middle fingers on L/R 1/2, ect[...]

Oh my god, what is wrong with you? Of course she can't learn well if you teach her such bull.

Keeping both your index and middle fingers on both of those button is uncomfortable as fuck. I just hold my index fingers on the R1 L1, and then use those to press R1 and L2 if needed.

You use your bloody middle finger to support the control from below.

I mean lord. I'd say you're the noob here. In holding a controller. You should be ashamed.

This guys correct. Get her to only keep the index fingers on the triggers, that's so much easier.

Oh, and get yourself a NES and some classic titles, and go nuts. My suggestions are:
-Mike Tyson's Punch Out!
-Super Mario Bros.
-Megaman 2

 

[Hexenwolf]

Have her start, maybe, with some kind of basic side scroller, to get her used to using at least one analog stick in combination with other buttons. Then do something that might involve using both analog sticks. For instance, a look down shooter or something along the lines of that. The biggest problem with people I've seen just starting is getting used to using both analog sticks at the same time.

This. I've been in a similar situation before, and getting them used to dual analog sticks was DEFINITELY the most difficult part. Starting out with 2d games is a very good idea. If you can find any games that use the "left stick moves, right stick shoots" control scheme, that can be a great middle step between 2d and 3d games. (I'm referring to games like Geometry Wars).

 

[JackWestJr]

Well you might want to consider she wants to play other kinds of games... that involve being naked.

But until you reach that point you should try something simple, I would suggest Sims because girls love that shit, but that isn't on consoles so... get something like it I guess, then set it to the simplest setting and let her play.
Mastery really only comes from repetition.

Uh, the Sims is on consoles

It is? damn you non updated Wikipedia!

Well then, get her that, just don't tell her there is DLC because you will go bankrupt.

Haha, that is funny! Well, they constantly fork out hundereds over the course of all the expansion packs that are on PC! Seriously, there has to be a hundred odd expansions!

 

[Tentickles]

Pfft. Should start from the begining. Get her a gameboy or N64 and start there. Or a NES emulator.
Mario, Sonic, Zelda, Kirby are some good starting points.

I would go as far as buying her the giant grey brick that was the first gameboy.
good times.

 

[omega 616]

keeping your index and middle fingers on L/R 1/2

Wait, what? You only need two fingers to press R1/2 and L1/2, middle fingers never touch a shoulder button. You place your index finger in the groove of the 1 and 2 buttons, if you want to press 1 you roll it up, if you want 2 you roll it down.

Put her on a platformer, LBP is loved by people (except me) and all you have to do is move sideways and the odd movement to the foreground or background.

The controlls are as simple as hold right, press X and every so often nudge up or down.

Muscle memory will take over after a few hours, so instead of pressing X to jump her thumb just naturally presses a button which causes her to jump. Like PC gamers can instinctivly press the button they need to get the weapon they want, if you move from console to PC you will see what I mean.

After muscle memory is instilled in her hands bump up the game to something like a drving game, now your asking her to hold a button, quickly press another button, then back to holding another one (accelerating, braking, accelerating) and being more precise with a stick.

The very last type of game you want to put her on is an FPS, especially COD. Using every button quickly, while using the sticks to look around and move, combined with some peoples motion sickness is never a good place to start somebody.

 

[pubbing]

Start with Demon's Souls.

Awaken the champion within her.

Its kinda funny you mention that, first thing on day one was getting he to look through my collection and picking out games she thought had interesting cover art and synopsis, I ran to my room to go grab a controller, and when I can back, she had picked up demon's souls. Took me some time to explain that it wasn't a game for new commers. XD

She could play demon's souls. Just show her how to open up the shortcuts and to avoid going down the hard(red knight) path too early.

 

[GeorgW]

I'd say Portal. I even got my physics professor to play Portal, and he loved it!
It has a slow pace, a great introduction and is genuinely a great game with a good story.

Other than that, Nintendo. Just, Nintendo.

 

[manic_depressive13]

Begin with a competetive online game- I suggest SC2 or HoN. Expect her to already have the skills required for the game, despite you yourself only having aquired them due to years and years of playing it in the past. Demand that she immediately assimilate all new information with little to no practice. Scream at her and insult her when she does something wrong. That's how my brother taught me!

Edit: I figured I should give a serious answer. You want to teach her console gaming? If she's only just learning to hold a controller, why not begin with a button mashy fighting game, such as Tekken? The fact that you can do rather well with absolutely no skill will prevent her from losing morale, and if she accidentally does a cool move, she'll probably want to learn to repeat it, thereby gradually becoming accustomed to using a controller.

 

[Heat149]

[...]keeping your index and middle fingers on L/R 1/2, ect[...]

Oh my god, what is wrong with you? Of course she can't learn well if you teach her such bull.

Keeping both your index and middle fingers on both of those button is uncomfortable as fuck. I just hold my index fingers on the R1 L1, and then use those to press R1 and L2 if needed.

You use your bloody middle finger to support the control from below.

I mean lord. I'd say you're the noob here. In holding a controller. You should be ashamed.

I know, dont rag on me for it, it's just how I learned. I start playing when I was a little kid, and having both fngers on them made it wasier for my small hands. FFWD 11 years and I never did drop that bias. always felt comfortable to me, what else can I say?

Good advce though, I know lots of people point it out when they notice me playing, so I'll let her know most poeple just use their index fingers.

 

[Darwins_Folly]

I'd suggest either the Lego Star Wars or Lego Indiana Jones games. Fun, easy, Co-op and not terribly frustrating. Great games for any beginner.

 

[SoranMBane]

I'd have to say LittleBigPlanet. Even my dad didn't have too much trouble with that game, and he's one of those types that seems physically incapable of playing most other games. Plus, you can easily play co-op so you can demonstrate harder concepts to her before she tries them herself. After she gets the hang of that, you're probably going to want to give her something that forces her to use both analog sticks at once, like Super Stardust, but not quite as heavy. The PSN title Microbot seems to fit the bill, and it doesn't seem too bad of a game from what I could gather in the demo. After that, try Portal, or even Portal 2's co-op (again, so you can demonstrate harder concepts to her before she has to try them). They're simple, well-paced, and the lack of real combat should make things feel less tense and frustrating. Plus, even if she completely fails at it in the beginning, if the humor and GLaDOS don't make her want to keep trying, I don't know what will.

 

[Fraught]

[...]keeping your index and middle fingers on L/R 1/2, ect[...]

Oh my god, what is wrong with you? Of course she can't learn well if you teach her such bull.

Keeping both your index and middle fingers on both of those button is uncomfortable as fuck. I just hold my index fingers on the R1 L1, and then use those to press R1 and L2 if needed.

You use your bloody middle finger to support the control from below.

I mean lord. I'd say you're the noob here. In holding a controller. You should be ashamed.

I know, dont rag on me for it, it's just how I learned. I start playing when I was a little kid, and having both fngers on them made it wasier for my small hands. FFWD 11 years and I never did drop that bias. always felt comfortable to me, what else can I say?

Good advce though, I know lots of people point it out when they notice me playing, so I'll let her know most poeple just use their index fingers.

Yeah, sorry. After I was quoted before, I read through my post, and it was way too aggressive, so I'm sorry for that.

But yeah, holding both of those fingers there is usually much more uncomfortable. For a grown person who wants to game I'd definitely recommend the one-finger method.