Midcore playable byte budget vs tutorial length tradeoff checklist

Tutorial length fights byte budgets on midcore more than casual. Unity requires playables under 5 MB in a single inlined HTML (Unity playable specs). TikTok requires a playable .zip smaller than 5 MB (TikTok playable ads). Those caps are hard packaging limits, not creative taste.

Operator checklist

1. Pick the export target first: Unity single HTML vs TikTok zip — do not assume one binary serves both without re-export.
2. Budget assets: Allocate bytes to tutorial frames, audio and fonts before adding a second mechanic.
3. One teachable verb: Midcore playables should teach one session-1 verb that exists in FTUE; cut lore cards that inflate base64.
4. Measure raw HTML/zip size before gzip myths; vendors weigh the uploaded package.
5. CTA early enough: If tutorial length pushes interaction past typical rewarded attention, shorten — size compliance alone is not enough.
6. QA matrix: Portrait/landscape, MRAID viewableChange (Unity), TikTok safe zones.
7. Kill criterion: Reject builds that only pass size by stripping the verb the UA brief promised.

Facts vs limits

Download the evidence table.

Research checked 20 September 2026. Local draft; human editorial review pending. No CMS write performed.