Goodbye Game Manuals

[das]

They make good items to get signed for game voice actors :P

 

Oh man that could be a good idea. There are a few people that I would want to sign my copy of Mass Effect 2.

 

 

That's actually an interesting cast. Seth Green and Lance Henriksen would prove to be tough to get on the manuals - but are easy enough to get on card thanks to inkworks. I've been trying to track down Keith David for saints row 1 & 2 for ages, so good luck .

 

I've been trying to track down a few voice actors for awhile (Three Dog and others from Fallout), David and Daniel Dae Kim (Saints Row) and the star wars talents.

 

The only problem is video game casts now feature big name actors that are already tough to get like Liam Neeson (Fallout) and Eliza Dushku (Saints row)

[Giordano]

I think my favourite has to be the WoW manual.

 

Undoubtedly my favourite manual is the Age of Empires 2 manual

Two great manuals right there. The Warcraft 1,2,3 and WoW had so much lore stuff in it. And detailed background information of units and buildings. AoE2 had interesting historical background info of the units, technology, and buildings. It makes a great quick-read.

 

This is such an ironic thread though. I was JUST off reading some of the old Warcraft RTS manuals thinking "They sure don't make them like these anymore."

[Rezinol]

The only Manuals I have ever used were the GTA manuals, I found them to be the most useful.

I also skimmed through the Warcraft III Manual for basics like those key shortcuts, I never really went through the WoW manual.

[Pinkbullet3]

I think my favourite has to be the WoW manual.

LOL.

[DarkDude]

I think my favourite has to be the WoW manual.

LOL.

 

What's funny about that?

[Pkmastachaos]

Personally I don't see much use for manuals anymore, most of the things you need to know are covered in the game some way or another. Or can be easily accessible via the internet.

 

I wouldn't want to see them go entirely though, not for the "new-game" smell, but rather just for the how-to-play ordeal. But then there's a simple solution, rather then printing off a small brochure style manual, developers could simply make a one page guide. On one side the controls for the game, and on the other the legal crap.

 

Saves paper, costs down for developers, and keeps the gamers relatively happy.

 

 

 

Just my .02

[Tacos]

I think if they get rid of paper manuals and put them on the comp, sites like gamefaqs would be shut down. That's not good, they are people too.

 

(i'm saying this because if they move to the internet, they still are going to want money for it, thus you have to pay for the guide, therefore gamefaqs would be too similiar and boom, shutdown)

[Nadril]

I think if they get rid of paper manuals and put them on the comp, sites like gamefaqs would be shut down. That's not good, they are people too.

 

(i'm saying this because if they move to the internet, they still are going to want money for it, thus you have to pay for the guide, therefore gamefaqs would be too similiar and boom, shutdown)

 

... what? Why would a site that provides walkthroughs and cheats be shutdown because of an online or PDF manual? You realize that most manuals already have a PC version right? Can't say that makes any sense.

 

 

Anyways I haven't bought a retail game in a while (sticking to digital download/Gamefly) and I haven't read a manual since the old BG2 manual.

[indy500fan]

I think if they get rid of paper manuals and put them on the comp, sites like gamefaqs would be shut down. That's not good, they are people too.

 

(i'm saying this because if they move to the internet, they still are going to want money for it, thus you have to pay for the guide, therefore gamefaqs would be too similiar and boom, shutdown)

 

... what? Why would a site that provides walkthroughs and cheats be shutdown because of an online or PDF manual? You realize that most manuals already have a PC version right? Can't say that makes any sense.

 

 

Anyways I haven't bought a retail game in a while (sticking to digital download/Gamefly) and I haven't read a manual since the old BG2 manual.

 

I'm not following his line of reasoning either. Manuals and walkthroughs are two entire different things.

[DarkDude]

Personally I don't see much use for manuals anymore, most of the things you need to know are covered in the game some way or another. Or can be easily accessible via the internet.

 

I wouldn't want to see them go entirely though, not for the "new-game" smell, but rather just for the how-to-play ordeal. But then there's a simple solution, rather then printing off a small brochure style manual, developers could simply make a one page guide. On one side the controls for the game, and on the other the legal crap.

 

Saves paper, costs down for developers, and keeps the gamers relatively happy.

 

 

 

Just my .02

 

So if I'm playing a PC game, I'm expected to alt + tab out of it (which I've found in some cases doesn't work too well) then go online to look for it? If I'm playing Console games I need to be within range of my computer at all times. That's silly.

[Rainy_Day]

Well that's lame, to be honest. I normally read the manuals going to/from the shop I bought the game from, or if I am not able to understand a certain element of the game. I realise game manuals aren't as thorough as they used to be, but they are still a nice addition to the game. :thumbdown:

[indy500fan]

So if I'm playing a PC game, I'm expected to alt + tab out of it (which I've found in some cases doesn't work too well) then go online to look for it? If I'm playing Console games I need to be within range of my computer at all times. That's silly.

 

There is no reason that the manuals can't be integrated into the game menu.

[Danqazmlp]

So if I'm playing a PC game, I'm expected to alt + tab out of it (which I've found in some cases doesn't work too well) then go online to look for it? If I'm playing Console games I need to be within range of my computer at all times. That's silly.

 

There is no reason that the manuals can't be integrated into the game menu.

 

 

There is. A little thing called idiotic developers. Especially for Pc games, I would guess most would either be a separate element in the auto run of the game, or somewhere on the main menu. Even the games i know at the moment which have manuals in the game (I'm looking at you Smackdown Vs Raw games!) the in-game manuals are horrid jumbles of information and it has always been so much easier to just open the manual up.

[Pkmastachaos]

[hide]Personally I don't see much use for manuals anymore, most of the things you need to know are covered in the game some way or another. Or can be easily accessible via the internet.

 

I wouldn't want to see them go entirely though, not for the "new-game" smell, but rather just for the how-to-play ordeal. But then there's a simple solution, rather then printing off a small brochure style manual, developers could simply make a one page guide. On one side the controls for the game, and on the other the legal crap.

 

Saves paper, costs down for developers, and keeps the gamers relatively happy.

 

 

 

Just my .02

[/hide]

 

So if I'm playing a PC game, I'm expected to alt + tab out of it (which I've found in some cases doesn't work too well) then go online to look for it? If I'm playing Console games I need to be within range of my computer at all times. That's silly.

 

Look for what online?

 

Sorry if I missed your point, but I never said you should have to go online to find something you need. Nor did I say you should have a computer nearby at all times. What I am saying is that the computer is there, should you need it, for additional information. What I was suggesting, is to cut down the size of the manuals to things of just necessity. Controls, small backstory, legal stuff etc on a single page "manual" just for reference sake. Sort of like a cheat-sheet if you get what I mean.

 

These days manuals are often not needed, as most games will offer some sort of tutorial, an in-game control scheme, and (well I would hope..) a story. Most people will breeze through the manuals in a matter of minutes, and may refer to them once or twice in their first couple hours of gameplay and then what? Nothing.

[TheValeyard]

[hide]Personally I don't see much use for manuals anymore, most of the things you need to know are covered in the game some way or another. Or can be easily accessible via the internet.

 

I wouldn't want to see them go entirely though, not for the "new-game" smell, but rather just for the how-to-play ordeal. But then there's a simple solution, rather then printing off a small brochure style manual, developers could simply make a one page guide. On one side the controls for the game, and on the other the legal crap.

 

Saves paper, costs down for developers, and keeps the gamers relatively happy.

 

 

 

Just my .02

[/hide]

 

So if I'm playing a PC game, I'm expected to alt + tab out of it (which I've found in some cases doesn't work too well) then go online to look for it? If I'm playing Console games I need to be within range of my computer at all times. That's silly.

 

Look for what online?

 

Sorry if I missed your point, but I never said you should have to go online to find something you need. Nor did I say you should have a computer nearby at all times. What I am saying is that the computer is there, should you need it, for additional information. What I was suggesting, is to cut down the size of the manuals to things of just necessity. Controls, small backstory, legal stuff etc on a single page "manual" just for reference sake. Sort of like a cheat-sheet if you get what I mean.

 

These days manuals are often not needed, as most games will offer some sort of tutorial, an in-game control scheme, and (well I would hope..) a story. Most people will breeze through the manuals in a matter of minutes, and may refer to them once or twice in their first couple hours of gameplay and then what? Nothing.

 

I think some games still really need a manual, for example the Oblivion manual had a ton of stuff about character creation that I would have been [bleep]ed without.

[Nurse_Renard]

Oblivion was my fave manual, I rember spending quite a bit of time just reading it to begin with, and generally, I read it while waiting for things to load.

 

I thought Red Steel 2 has a pretty decent manual, surprisingly.

[Pkmastachaos]

[hide]

[hide]Personally I don't see much use for manuals anymore, most of the things you need to know are covered in the game some way or another. Or can be easily accessible via the internet.

 

I wouldn't want to see them go entirely though, not for the "new-game" smell, but rather just for the how-to-play ordeal. But then there's a simple solution, rather then printing off a small brochure style manual, developers could simply make a one page guide. On one side the controls for the game, and on the other the legal crap.

 

Saves paper, costs down for developers, and keeps the gamers relatively happy.

 

 

 

Just my .02

 

So if I'm playing a PC game, I'm expected to alt + tab out of it (which I've found in some cases doesn't work too well) then go online to look for it? If I'm playing Console games I need to be within range of my computer at all times. That's silly.

 

Look for what online?

 

Sorry if I missed your point, but I never said you should have to go online to find something you need. Nor did I say you should have a computer nearby at all times. What I am saying is that the computer is there, should you need it, for additional information. What I was suggesting, is to cut down the size of the manuals to things of just necessity. Controls, small backstory, legal stuff etc on a single page "manual" just for reference sake. Sort of like a cheat-sheet if you get what I mean.

 

These days manuals are often not needed, as most games will offer some sort of tutorial, an in-game control scheme, and (well I would hope..) a story. Most people will breeze through the manuals in a matter of minutes, and may refer to them once or twice in their first couple hours of gameplay and then what? Nothing.

[/hide]

I think some games still really need a manual, for example the Oblivion manual had a ton of stuff about character creation that I would have been [bleep]ed without.

 

 

I agree completely, there are exceptions of course that can go either way. Oblivion might be one, and as others have already said COD: MW2 might be another. It's a matter of finding that sweet spot.

[Danqazmlp]

I don't think for games such as strategy games, where needing to know every factions troops, buildings, strengths weaknesses etc will be as good without a manual. Being able to quickly get to a page while playing is much better than having to stop, load something up, load the index, load the page you want etc.

[Distracted]

Man, I loved GTA manuals, they're so awesome lol.

 

But yeah, I don't even bother checking a manual these days, they don't actually tell you much except for the obvious HUD stuff.

[Pinkbullet3]

I think my favourite has to be the WoW manual.

LOL.

 

What's funny about that?

You and your WOW fanaticism. :lol:

[Wizz]

Where shall I get my combos now?

[db300]

Civ2 manual was a whole book. Don't remember if it was written in other languages or if it was just in english, but it was still very long. It was also quite compulsory reading if you wanted to be any good in the game in harder difficulty levels...

 

I never played Civ2, but I remember Civ3 had a pretty extensive manual as well. This is a sad day indeed. :sad:

[Nadril]

Seriously though, on the subject of good game manuals.

 

[Orpheus]

I'm actually playing through that game right now haha. DnD is [bleep]ing confusing somewhat, but I'm doing fine with it.

 

Most recent game I've picked up, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey has a 100-page manual. For a DS game.

[Dax]

The creative manuals are awesome, GTA comes up there, others I can do without. But I do like having something to read while I imagine the awesomeness the game is going to hold for me. Like when I get a game during holidays and I can't play it straight away.