As you say, "You're not trying to level up – there's no experience-points and no levels; no game-trappings at all." So should there be a tutorial about nothing at all? How to talk and shop? Everyone gets that. Maybe a tutorial about the interface? Blek. I keep thinking of Seinfeld...the show about nothing. Entertaining and obviously successful but once you watch for a while you get the language, pace of the thing, and humor. Maybe the 6-10 hours of "struggle" is just necessary? If it is a true social network people will show them around, which I assume they do.

If I am going to deal with a learning curve I want to...learn something. Let me fry an orc or crash a ship!