It seems that you're using an outdated browser. Some things may not work as they should (or don't work at all).
We suggest you upgrade newer and better browser like: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Opera

×
Community
General discussion (archive)Are instruction manuals for games dead?(25 posts)(25 posts)
(25 posts)
Pages:
1
2
This is my favourite topic
Posted November 13, 2012
Back in yonder days game manuals use to provide detailed instructions on how to play the game and often fun flavor text and backgrounds. Games with detail back stories sported short stories and maps.

Now-a-days most games have flimsy manual that just go over the key commands and more detailed games (like strategy games) generally just provide an PDF manual that is often out of date within 6 months because a lot of game developers treat the first 6 months of a game an open beta were the tweak game play and even add features months after the PDF manual was made.

Are there any developers who still make quality manuals that help you learn the game and add to the gaming expernce?
Posted November 13, 2012
I think this is because Companies are moving everything online to DD services.
I don't know any with super in-depth manuals that double as books, but the Dishonoured one was pretty neat.
Posted November 13, 2012
I did used to love reading through the manual before playing a game, or reading them during toilet breaks while playing the game. The thing is, I do honestly think that manuals wouldn't really have existed in the first place if game were always stored on media that has as much space as it does now. Nowadays you can have really colourful in-game manuals with great illustrations, even sounds and interactions beyond just turning the page. Not to mention more advanced tutorials nowadays.

Don't get me wrong, I loved reading through the Fallout 2 and Baldur's Gate manuals, that were novella-sized slabs of info and lore, but in the case of most games, all the information can be relayed in-game (e.g. movelists for fighting games, back on the SNES and Megadrive, you didn't get them in-game) or through tutorials or, and this is something foreign to a lot of older games, intuitive and well-designed interfaces. I didn't really need anything explained by a manual when I played Anno 2070, but I sure as hell had no idea what the hell was going on in Wizardry 8 at first.
Posted November 13, 2012
I've yet to see an indie game with a real manual, and most manuals nowadays (even for AAA games) are only a few pages explaining the control scheme and video options.

It makes me sad. I really liked the manuals, especially the big ones with good writing in them. I think that the shift has been made to put that stuff in-game, though, so that they don't have to hire extra writers for the manual. I'm all for a good intuitive interface, but sometimes a little backstory and/or detailed information can go a long way. I'd much rather have that stuff permanently available than only shown once ever in a tutorial popup.
Posted November 13, 2012
Yes, they are dead.

Baldur's Gate had a wonderful manual. Full of lore, and scrawled in comments from Elminster :).
Posted November 13, 2012
I'm with Export. Manuals have always been a crutch. they contained information that couldn't be included on the medium at that time (or only at a massive reduction of visual quality). They also were part of the copy protection.

Sometimes, these crutches were so beautiful that they achieved some value by themselves. I remember when I bought a game 20 years ago, I would always read the manual on the way home, it was a part of the experience that I cherished. A bit like an appetizer that I devoured before I could get to the main dish. But a beautiful crutch is still a crutch.

Today, I rarely miss manuals. Most games don't require them, the information is perfectly well represented in the game itself. In case of games that _do_ benefit from a manual (to explain the background, to explain complex controls, or simply as a handy reference of information that's otherwise strewn across various tutorials), I'm perfectly fine with a PDF. In times where I can read a PDF wherever I go on my netbook, printed manuals simply don't have any advantage over PDFs any more.
Post edited November 13, 2012 by Psyringe
Posted November 13, 2012
avatar
Export: I did used to love reading through the manual before playing a game, or reading them during toilet breaks while playing the game. The thing is, I do honestly think that manuals wouldn't really have existed in the first place if game were always stored on media that has as much space as it does now. Nowadays you can have really colourful in-game manuals with great illustrations, even sounds and interactions beyond just turning the page. Not to mention more advanced tutorials nowadays.

Don't get me wrong, I loved reading through the Fallout 2 and Baldur's Gate manuals, that were novella-sized slabs of info and lore, but in the case of most games, all the information can be relayed in-game (e.g. movelists for fighting games, back on the SNES and Megadrive, you didn't get them in-game) or through tutorials or, and this is something foreign to a lot of older games, intuitive and well-designed interfaces. I didn't really need anything explained by a manual when I played Anno 2070, but I sure as hell had no idea what the hell was going on in Wizardry 8 at first.
Said it better than I would've.
Posted November 13, 2012
I'm with Psyringe and Export on this. Game manuals can be awesome, but I'd much rather they get the information into the game itself. I think Mega Man is probably one of the best examples, where they introduce concepts relatively slowly and you don't need much in the way of a manual.

I suppose some games are genuinely so complex that a manual is needed, but those seem to be mostly simulator games where you can't reasonably infer everything you need to figure out. And that's mostly in cases where they throw too much into the game all at once. And often the extra effects should have been left out anyways.
Posted November 13, 2012
While probably not a huge cost, printing a 50 page manual isn't free and using PDF-files is more cost-effective for the publishers.
Posted November 13, 2012
One more vote for preferring (skippable) in-game tutorials to reading a manual. And this coming from someone who tried to learn playing flight sims like Falcon 3.0c by reading the damn manual. I don't actually recall if Falcon 3.0 had any meaningful ingame tutorials.
Post edited November 13, 2012 by timppu
Posted November 13, 2012
avatar
hedwards: I suppose some games are genuinely so complex that a manual is needed, but those seem to be mostly simulator games where you can't reasonably infer everything you need to figure out. And that's mostly in cases where they throw too much into the game all at once. And often the extra effects should have been left out anyways.
Yeah, but that can be covered by an in-game manual, as seen in Civ 5. Also, lots and lots of tooltips, and the concept of advanced tooltips. While not as "comfy" as sitting down with a big manual, I did have the same kind of fun reading through the Civlopedia (or whatever it was called) that I used to have reading through manuals.
Posted November 13, 2012
Back in the day, when I was fortunate to get a new game, I was more excited to read the manual first then install the game. Or, read while installing.
Posted November 13, 2012
avatar
mondo84: Back in the day, when I was fortunate to get a new game, I was more excited to read the manual first then install the game. Or, read while installing.
Yeah, but now you have internet. You can get on GOG forums to see what people havet o say.

Also, the manuals usually didn't only carry the "howto play the game", but also more informations about the story, background or even part of the game. Therefore, you could put up your manual next to you to have a reference. But why bother when you can have a second monitor ?
Posted November 13, 2012
My boxed copy of Velvet Assassin actually came with a pretty good manual, so I wouldn't say they're "dead" per se, unless the killing blow has come within the past three years. Definitely rare, though.

Personally, I still like them. They may not be necessary, but they make ownership feel more ownership-y; I think their value has far more to do with being something physical that ties you to something inherently non-physical (far more so than a disc that you use once to install), the same as a cloth map or miscellaneous goody.
Attachments:
vamanual.jpg (352 Kb)
Post edited November 13, 2012 by 227
Posted November 13, 2012
I would say only in the West/for Western games.

Examples for PS3:

Yakuza Dead Souls JP manual == 49 numbered pages, full colour
Yakuza Dead Souls US manual == 5 numbered pages, black and white (repeating same information for 2 languages)

ICO JP manual (from Ico/Colossus box set) == 25 numbered pages, stylised, colour
ICO US manual (from Ico/Colossus box set) == 5 pages, black and white (first half of joint manual)
Shadow of the Colossus JP manual (from Ico/Colossus box set) == 29 numbered pages, stylised, colour
Shadow of the Colossus US manual (from Ico/Colossus box set) == 6 pages, black and white (last half of joint manual)

I'd be interested to know how many pages the US/UK, etc. have in following for comparison:

Assassin's Creed 2 JP manual == 25 numbered pages, full colour
Heavy Rain JP manual == 27 numbered pages, full colour
Portal 2 JP manual == 9 numbered pages, full colour

All of these are for the PS3 as availability of PC games, let alone their manuals, is poor here.
Post edited November 13, 2012 by bansama
Pages:
1
2
This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussion (archive)Are instruction manuals for games dead?(25 posts)(25 posts)
(25 posts)