I really don't understand the need for in-yer-face tutorials for tutorials' sake.

Very complicated games like Command & Conquer and Total Annihilation didn't have them.. They just had a manual telling the story, the units and the short-cut keys, the player could visit this additional source of information as they needed to.

The levels were structured in such a way that overly complicated stuff wasn't available to muddy things up and the level was just difficult enough to let the player discover how to control the game on their own.. adding to the feeling of achievement and immersion in the game.

If the player had been faced with the full tech tree and AI onslaught of the final levels, a tutorial would have certainly been required to arm the player with enough skills to survive... however, the game's mechanics were such that they could gradually introduce these new elements gradually, thus making a tutorial irrelevant.

The Closest Command & Conquer had was in the mission briefing.. "Build a base, a barracks and some soldiers" if the player was replaying and knew a better way, they were free to try.

In Guns Reloaded, I've got a tutorial, but it's not a required step and the player can just start the game if they want.. It's set in the style of a training course where each mission is about achieving a single set objective, all within the context of the game and without obtrusive popup windows.

(BTW: I'm not complaining about the requirements for the competition, I'm merely discussing the different ways tutorials and help screens were realised in different games with a small coating of personal opinion )