Video Game Manuals - Where Did They Go?

[StarCecil]

I was going through some old boxes the other day and discovered a manual for the original Final Fantasy on the NES. I start flipping through it and see some pretty detailed descriptions of classes, prestige classes, transports, town services magic, and even a walkthrough for most of the game. And I realized that their used to be a time when this was bog standard for games.

Compare my younger brother's copy of Mass Effect 2 on the PS3 that has the gall to say that they don't include a manual to save paper.

To quote something I once heard: If you want me to buy it, make your shit nice. I miss when we could expect more from a game purchase. I mean, I bought two copies of Morrowind's Game of the Year Edition and didn't get a paper map...

 

[Ordinaryundone]

To save paper, of course. Do you know how much that stuff costs? I mean, its fine back when you never dreamed your game would ever sell close to a million copies, but now that games are breaking a million pre-orders within a week of being released, it simply isn't cost-effective to put a lot of effort and money into something that, frankly, most people simply do not care about. Especially since many games offer comprehensive tutorials and tool tips within the game proper, making the technical function of manuals academic at best.

That said, I do miss the old style. They made great bathroom reading material.

 

[EHKOS]

Not only great bathroom reading material, they also were nice to satisfy you on the way home from the purchase until you could get to your platform of choice.

 

[Emphasis]

Yeah I miss the days when the paper included in games were more than advertisements or a simple controller diagrams.

And Ordinaryundone, I love your avatar.. Kirby form? Why not Zoidberg?

 

[Batou667]

If, in a modern game, you need to refer to a manual, then that game has failed. With in-game button reference and the obligatory tutorial level (aside: if it's a seperate level called "tutorial" then the game has also failed) there's no excuse for the player not being gently guided through the basic conrols in-game.

Like Ordinaryundone mentioned, game manuals were great to read in the bathroom - but now I use strategy guides for the same purpose.

 

[EmzOLV]

That said, I do miss the old style. They made great bathroom reading material.

Oh my god I thought I was the only one who did that. I sometimes go through game boxes to re-pick them for that very purpose. GTA listings were very good.

I miss it but I'm not surprised. It's too expensive. Especially as many people, when they're stuck, will now go online.

Did anyone ever used to call the hints phone numbers?

 

[StarCecil]

If, in a modern game, you need to refer to a manual, then that game has failed. With in-game button reference and the obligatory tutorial level (aside: if it's a seperate level called "tutorial" then the game has also failed) there's no excuse for the player not being gently guided through the basic conrols in-game.

Like Ordinaryundone mentioned, game manuals were great to read in the bathroom - but now I use strategy guides for the same purpose.

There were things that could be gotten from a manual that could not be found in the game. For instance, my copy of Resident Evil Director's Cut included a complete roster of both S.T.A.R.S. Alpha and Bravo teams and brief dossiers for each member - despite the fact that most of them are dead before the game's start.

And it isn't just manuals I'm talking about, either. Morrowind had a paper map that neatly marked every major geographic formation, from an airship crash in Solstheim to the various Dwemer and Daedric ruins. Oblivion's map marked the major cities. The ones that already appear on the in-game map.

 

[Aethren]

These days, I find strategy guides to be better reading material. The ones for Elder Scrolls games are particular favorites.

 

[Neverhoodian]

Ah yes, the days of proper manuals. I'm not one of those "everything was better in my day" types, but I do miss this particular aspect of gaming.

I remember when my parents got me the original X-Wing and Tie Fighter games back in the day. Each had a reference card for the controls as well as a manual written in the form of a novella about the player character. X-Wing's The Farlander Papers chronicled the actions of Keyan Farlander, a man whose home town is obliterated in an orbital bombardment by the Empire. Seeking justice, he joins the Rebel Alliance and becomes one of their most capable starfighter pilots.

Tie Fighter had a rough equivalent in the form of The Stele Chronicles. The Empire puts an end to a civil war that has wracked a planet for years and recruits a certain man by the name of Maarek Stele. From there he becomes indoctrinated into the Imperial way of life and shows promise as a Tie Fighter pilot. I particularly liked this story because it's the only example in Star Wars I know of that's told from the perspective of the "bad guys" for the entire plot. Stele felt that he was merely upholding order and stability in the galaxy, while the Rebels were agents of terror, anarchy and chaos that must be stopped at all costs. It provided some "shades of grey" morality in a setting that had always been black and white up until then.

The stories were well written and provided a captivating sub-narrative that the games didn't explore. A bit later they published the player's guides for each game that continued their stories in great detail. I still read both of them from time to time. You could tell the developers were passionate about their product and wanted their fans to get as much enjoyment out of the experience as possible, both at and away from the screen.

 

[Artina89]

I must admit to feeling a bit bereft when I got a copy of Alice: Madness returns and the manual was online. I never looked up the manual. The game was fairly self explanatory, but I did enjoy reading the manuals as it is something I have always done since I started gaming at the tender age of 3.

 

[StarCecil]

Ah yes, the days of proper manuals. I'm not one of those "everything was better in my day" types, but I do miss this particular aspect of gaming.

I remember when my parents got me the original X-Wing and Tie Fighter games back in the day. Each had a reference card for the controls as well as a manual written in the form of a novella about the player character. X-Wing's The Farlander Papers chronicled the actions of Keyan Farlander, a man whose home town is obliterated in an orbital bombardment by the Empire. Seeking justice, he joins the Rebel Alliance and becomes one of their most capable starfighter pilots.

Tie Fighter had a rough equivalent in the form of The Stele Chronicles. The Empire puts an end to a civil war that has wracked a planet for years and recruits a certain man by the name of Maarek Stele. From there he becomes indoctrinated into the Imperial way of life and shows promise as a Tie Fighter pilot. I particularly liked this story because it's the only example in Star Wars I know of that's told from the perspective of the "bad guys" for the entire plot. Stele felt that he was merely upholding order and stability in the galaxy, while the Rebels were agents of terror, anarchy and chaos that must be stopped at all costs. It provided some "shades of grey" morality in a setting that had always been black and white up until then.

The stories were well written and provided a captivating sub-narrative that the games didn't explore. A bit later they published the player's guides for each game that continued their stories in great detail. I still read both of them from time to time. You could tell the developers were passionate about their product and wanted their fans to get as much enjoyment out of the experience as possible, both at and away from the screen.

See, that's what I'm talking about. And those little novellas actually add to the story of the game. I remember that the manual for Homeworld was over 100 pages with tons of detail about the society of the planet, the politics, the history - all for a planet that is destroyed in the third level!

 

[Stall]

The world's a-moving onto digital media! Physical media is SO last millennium!

 

[StarCecil]

The world's a-moving onto digital media! Physical media is SO last millennium!

Chances are that manual is just a token effort at describing the controls and how to save the game. Nothing about the characters, nothing about the setting, no map (paper or cloth), no tips or strategies, no real-world information on the game elements, and nothing besides what could be fit under the definition of "manual".

 

[Stall]

Chances are that manual is just a token effort at describing the controls and how to save the game. Nothing about the characters, nothing about the setting, no map (paper or cloth), no tips or strategies, no real-world information on the game elements, and nothing besides what could be fit under the definition of "manual".

Isn't that all a manual needs to be nowadays? Given that all those things are in the actual game? Hell, it's not like the controls and how to save aren't readily avaliable in games. Besides, isn't a manual, by definition, a reference item? So, just having controls and how to save make it a manual by definition.

You know, come to think of it, manuals are as anachronistic and physical media. They don't need to exist any more.

 

[StarCecil]

Chances are that manual is just a token effort at describing the controls and how to save the game. Nothing about the characters, nothing about the setting, no map (paper or cloth), no tips or strategies, no real-world information on the game elements, and nothing besides what could be fit under the definition of "manual".

Isn't that all a manual needs to be nowadays? Given that all those things are in the actual game? Hell, it's not like the controls and how to save aren't readily avaliable in games. Besides, isn't a manual, by definition, a reference item? So, just having controls and how to save make it a manual by definition.

You know, come to think of it, manuals are as anachronistic and physical media. They don't need to exist any more.

Only by the most technical definitions. I don't know how old you are so you may or may not remember, but when I was a kid stuff lack background and plot information and strategies were literally the least that was expected to be included in a manual. Some games really went above and beyond, as a few examples here have pointed out. To reiterate my Resident Evil example, my copy's manual included a brief description of Raccoon City and S.T.A.R.S. as well as rosters and dossiers for both teams. And the majority of those characters were dead at the game's start, making all that information rather irrelevant. But it was one of those things that made the game great.

Now, this talk of digital distribution phasing out physical copies doesn't pertain to this discussion, but it's something I disagree with wholeheartedly.

 

[Insanity72]

I miss having large manuals to read, i usually read them on my way home from the shops after buying them, i was incredibly suprised when i saw Gears of War 3s manual.....

all it is, is a small maybe 4 line bit of text that quickly sums up the story, the controls picture, then just all the copy write, trademark stuff, it's just a single page.....

 

[SmegInThePants]

if we had good manuals, you would be much less likely to pony up for the strategy guide.

favorite digital manual = the fan made fall from heaven 2 (mod for civIV) manual. pdf, but w/clickable cross references. If we're gonna have to deal w/a pdf manual these days, the least they could do is put in a level of effort that this fan was willing to, for a mod no less.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=8635

 

[thenumberthirteen]

I don't feel there's much of a use for them.

Games now actually have the sense to explain things. There should be no need to have to read a book before playing. Controls, mechanics, background, and setting should all be woven into the game. Games are better this way. Old School RPGs didn't have the space to fit in all the dialogue and story as they were on embarrassingly small disks you couldn't fit a word document onto nowadays. It's a habit the industry just got over as they became less and less useful, and fewer people read them. It just gets to the point where it's less important to have a big manual. So you pare it down to a small booklet with basic installation instructions, controls, and legal info along with a helpline or web address, and let the game do the rest.