Video Game Manuals - Do We Still Need Them?

The Civ IV manual is immense its around a centimeter thick, much better than the piss poor excuses for manuals that most games come with nowadays.

Another fine example of the state of the manual - Elite. It even contained descriptions of things not actually in the game but which COULD have been, which helped flesh out the universe.

Indeed, these things were eventualy incorporated into the Acorn Achimedes version.

Ok, so looking at the poll, it looks like a landslide but how many voted for nostalgia reasons? No one has really mentioned why we still need them today

Ah, the days of reading the FF7 manual at the back of maths class :wub:

A lost art. Though I'd be surprised if Civ 5 doesn't have an epic manual.

I hardly even open them. Wouldn't care much if they stopped them all together.

Putting Penny Arcade style comics (the ones they do for some games, I mean) in would be cool, but that sort of barely worth it tat is stuck in special editions and people pay a tenner for it, so that'll never happen.

Floex wrote:Ok, so looking at the poll, it looks like a landslide but how many voted for nostalgia reasons? No one has really mentioned why we still need them today

Yo!

Echarin wrote:
Floex wrote:Ok, so looking at the poll, it looks like a landslide but how many voted for nostalgia reasons? No one has really mentioned why we still need them today

Yo! :arrow:

Missed that :oops:

See, I really like that idea but would that be classed as a manual. It sounds something to accompany the game, which I love the idea of, but not what we are accustomed to when we think of the word manual.

PostRe: Video Game Manuals: A Discussion by **SEP** » Mon Mar 22, 2010 3:27 pm

Floex wrote:
Echarin wrote:
Floex wrote:Ok, so looking at the poll, it looks like a landslide but how many voted for nostalgia reasons? No one has really mentioned why we still need them today

Yo! :arrow:

Missed that See, I really like that idea but would that be classed as a manual. It sounds something to accompany the game, which I love the idea of, but not what we are accustomed to when we think of the word manual.

Sounds like the kind of thing they'd charge extra for, and call it a "Special Edition".

Perhaps making it £20 more than the standard game will convince people it's a bit more special. I think we're onto something here...

..Oh wait

Floex wrote:
Echarin wrote:
Floex wrote:Ok, so looking at the poll, it looks like a landslide but how many voted for nostalgia reasons? No one has really mentioned why we still need them today

Yo! :arrow:

Missed that See, I really like that idea but would that be classed as a manual. It sounds something to accompany the game, which I love the idea of, but not what we are accustomed to when we think of the word manual.

Of course we'd still need the things in there that we normally have in manuals, but it's just that manuals can and should be about so much more than just teaching the player what buttons do what, how the online works and telling them a little about the game world and main characters.

I'm no big fan of GTA (anymore at least), but that's one area Rockstar absolutely nail with each new release.

That sounds to me like a strategy guide/art book. I'll say it again, controls can be looked at in-game, art and world knowledge, strategy book, I really can't see why we need the manual anymore

Floex wrote:That sounds to me like a strategy guide/art book. I'll say it again, controls can be looked at in-game, art and world knowledge, strategy book, I really can't see why we need the manual anymore

How are GTA's manuals either strategy guides/art books?

Rogue Tomato wrote:The Civ IV manual is immense its around a centimeter thick, much better than the piss poor excuses for manuals that most games come with nowadays.

Civ manuals are different class, and they all come with tech tree posters :wub:

The ones for Half-Life, Opposing Force and Blue Shift were great. They had things like Gordon Freeman's letter from Black Mesa telling him he had the job, USMC Ops Manual excerpts and the like.

Ubisoft has announced an 'environmental initiative' to eliminate paper game manuals included with its games.

Starting with the worldwide launch of Shaun White Skateboarding this autumn, the publisher will replace all physical game manuals with in-game digital equivalents on PS3 and 360.

Ubisoft says including game manuals directly in games will offer players "easier and more intuitive access to game information," as well as allowing itself to provide gamers with "a more robust manual".

Ubisoft reckons that producing one ton of paper used in its game manuals consumes an average of two tons of wood from 13 trees, with a net energy of 28 million BTU's, greenhouse gases equivalent of over 6,000 lbs of CO2, and wastewater of almost 15,000 gallons.

In addition, Ubisoft has partnered with Technimark, Inc. to release "the industry's most environmentally-responsible DVD case" for all of its future PC titles in North America, it says, starting with Splinter Cell Conviction on PC on April 30.

"Ubisoft is often recognized for making great games, but it's a special privilege to be the industry leader at saving trees," said Laurent Detoc, president of Ubisoft North America.

"Eco-friendly initiatives are important to the global community and introducing in-game digital manuals on Xbox 360 and PS3 is just the latest example of Ubisoft's ongoing commitment to being a more environmentally conscious company."

Change is coming 8-)

Gears of War man, Cliff Bleszinski has backed Ubisoft's "green" campaign to ditch paper game manuals.

"I fully support losing paper manuals," the designer wrote on his Twitter. That's all.

Floex wrote:
Gears of War man, Cliff Bleszinski has backed Ubisoft's "green" campaign to ditch paper game manuals.

"I fully support losing paper manuals," the designer wrote on his Twitter. That's all.

I fully support losing Cliffy B.

Don't care for manuals. Never read them back then, never do now. Pointless.

They should get rid of physical media too, but that's another topic.

Floex wrote:
Gears of War man, Cliff Bleszinski has backed Ubisoft's "green" campaign to ditch paper game manuals.

"I fully support losing paper manuals," the designer wrote on his Twitter. That's all.

Well the man does design very simple games even children or console gamers can play.

Winckle wrote:
Floex wrote:
Gears of War man, Cliff Bleszinski has backed Ubisoft's "green" campaign to ditch paper game manuals.

"I fully support losing paper manuals," the designer wrote on his Twitter. That's all.

Well the man does design very simple games even children or console gamers can play.

And then fail entirely to adequately cheat proof their online play.

TheTurnipKing wrote:
Winckle wrote:
Floex wrote:
Gears of War man, Cliff Bleszinski has backed Ubisoft's "green" campaign to ditch paper game manuals.

"I fully support losing paper manuals," the designer wrote on his Twitter. That's all.

Well the man does design very simple games even children or console gamers can play.

And then fail entirely to adequately cheat proof their online play.

Going off topic a bit, but isn't that the platform holder's fault? I mean when designing a console game it's for a closed platform, the most you can do is enforce client consistency checks on the server.

Video Game Manuals - Do We Still Need Them?

Video Game Manuals: Still Relevant?

Who is online

Affiliates