Overwritten.net
Games => General Gaming => Topic started by: K-man on Saturday, July 16, 2011, 10:28:40 AM
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My recent acquisition of Starcraft 2 prompted me to go and read through some of my old Blizzard instruction manuals. Blizzard has always put an emphasis on back story and lore surrounding their games, and it makes for some pretty decent reading. Manuals have shrunk at a rapid pace over the past few years, and now only offer the most basic of instructions, with a paragraph dedicated to the story (if you're lucky). Now it seems even Blizzard has caught on, as the SC2 manual is little more than a rundown of the installation, game modes, and controls.
I remember as a kid taking some of my NES game manuals to school, reading them on breaks and on the bus. I also remember fondly thumbing through my manuals for Civilization 2, Sim City 2000, etc for fun. These manuals are huge, informative, and a joy to read. In fact they are all on my bookshelf now, as I have kept them (along with the original games) all these years.
I know from a business standpoint it's much easier to just put the information on the disc, or present it in some other way. But I really do miss big manuals packed with information and back story. Absolutely one of those relics from the good old days that's an exception rather than the rule now.
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I love all my big old manuals. My copy of Tribes had a big manual, plus a separate softcover book that was nothing but the backstory and lore of the universe.
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Return to fat manuals?
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Read the fucking manual?
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Read the fucking manual?
This. Thought it would be a clever thread title.
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I think games like Mass Effect and The Witcher series have basically replaced the need of game manuals w/ detailed Codexes and Journals that give players details on everything: the game-world, characters, lore, backstory and how to play the game [controls].
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I can't read a PC game on the toilet though, D.
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I miss those manuals. I remember the Fallout 2 manual and Homeworld manual having tons of backstory, lore, etc. It's too bad it has become a thing of the past now.
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I miss those manuals. I remember the Fallout 2 manual and Homeworld manual having tons of backstory, lore, etc. It's too bad it has become a thing of the past now.
Oh, yeah - Fallout 2 manual was great. :)
Same could be said about many of the Bioware BG series and the NWN series of manuals, too.
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Mech Warrior 2 (IIRC) came with a fat manual plus a second booklet, plus a laminated controls reference card. Ah, the good ol' days.
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Homeworld is probably one of my favourite manuals. It was full of lore. I really loved that stuff.
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I miss those manuals. I remember the Fallout 2 manual and Homeworld manual having tons of backstory, lore, etc. It's too bad it has become a thing of the past now.
Totally with you there.
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When I think about that stuff, I do miss it.
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I miss the joy of opening a box and unraveling the wonderful contents inside. Now the retail versions are just a disc in a DVD box with a card, and quite often if there's a second disc it's in a flimsy envelope instead of a proper case that can house multiple discs.
I can't remember which game it was but it didn't have a physical manual, just a card with an ad that said "Visit www.blahblah.com/manual to download the manual." I felt screwed.
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How long until we see a "premium manual" as part of a collectors edition?
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Hmm. That would at least make me consider buying a CE. Random goodies that don't improve the game experience won't take me that far.
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So I just bought Assassin's Creed Brotherhood... there is no print manual with the game. It's just a leaflet containing three pages, back to back regarding the EULA, health warnings, and how to insert the disc into the PS3. The 'manual' is actually digital within the game.
The publishers claim that this is for an environmental cause (the AC Brotherhood manual states this explicitly), but I believe the paper industry has become self-sustaining and most paper is post-consumer content anyway. The reason for not making a print manual though is the reduction in cost to the publishers. Everything is about cost nowadays and wherever costs can be cut without having a significant impact on the 'typical' end user, that's where content can be removed.
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Did anyone buy Civ 5 retail? I'm curious if it contained a decent manual or not.
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ha... no I bought it on Steam. The question made me laugh, because ten years ago I wouldn't have even considered buying the game outside of retail.