Are game instruction booklets dying?

[Krud]

Not only do I still have my (largely useless) CD-ROM's from the 90's -- most of which lack a usable install program for Windows 10 purposes -- but also the manuals that came with them. (Same with games on floppies, except I ditched the floppies after I no longer had a drive for them.) As to whether any of the manuals are worth anything? I've no idea. But I do miss manuals, and being able to learn how to play a game away from the PC. Now seemingly every game starts with an immersion-breaking hand-holding session with floaty windows that only go away when you do what they ask. (Fortunately there are also games that let you skip this entirely, but not all of them do.)

One game that I really wish had a manual is Europa Universalis IV. Not only would that be a beefy tome to peruse while taking care of bathroom business, but I could learn what everything is without playing a fake game session. I realize "learning by doing" is a popular approach, but for me it's just distracting, and it doesn't help me remember what all of the little icons mean. In fact, forget the manual, just give me a AoE2-style laminated sheet showing me what all the icons look like and their shortcut keys.

Anyway. I think the oldest manual I own is for the first Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon, which you needed for copy protection, otherwise you could still play but could only have two trains, IIRC.

 

[Mazer]

I'm not going to comment on the state of print media on the forums for a monthly magazine, but manuals are definitely dying. I'd always attributed it to a move away from physical product towards full digital distribution, but sward's observation that the rapid iteration and alteration of early access and F2P games would invalidate them too quickly to be worth bothering with is one I hadn't considered and possibly bang on.

My favourite manual was for Fallout 2. A proper, ring-bound notebook which took the form of a Vault-Tec survival manual, sprinkled throughout with faux-handwritten notes made by the chief of the PC's tribe.

And the manual for MDK has put me at odds with lots of people over the years who maintain that the letters of the title stand for the three main characters (Kurt, Max and the Doctor) when the manual states that the Doc gave their whole operation the codename Mission: Deliver Kindness. Maybe it's both.

 

[Volley]

I've held onto all of my Big Box PC games, a spread from around 1990 to present. I quick check on a certain online retail auction site reveals there is demand for Big Box and the contents within.

I still love pouring over the manuals that came with my games, especially Origin Systems and LucasArts games like Crusader No Remorse/No Regret, Wing Commander series of games, X-Wing, TIE Fighter, Dark Forces, etc. It's something Steam cannot provide, though GOG does an excellent job handing us the original manuals in PDF form to check out.

 

[SWard]

There should be a museum for this!

 

[ROFbeddingfield]

X com had a massive manual, almost 2 inches thick.

But the game manual is sadly dead. And many times the material included is not correct to the actual game. Nothing fun with learning at the last moment, the key board commands do not work as the chart is a pre beta test one that got left in the game data.

 

[ROFbeddingfield]

I also forgot, the game walk through book is also an extremely big part of company profit.

 

[Zloth]

Tropico 6 has a manual: T6_Manual_PC_UK_ONLINE.pdf (steamstatic.com)

I remember a manual from one of the early Civ games had a big section on how the game was balanced that was really interesting.

 

[Colif]

Funny enough I bought a physical copy of Mass Effect Andromeda because it was $10 vs buying it on Origin or whatever which was $30. So I get the box, open it and guess whats inside. A slip of paper with a key printed on it to download it from Origin! lol.

that was fairly common on PlayStation games too. Buy disk, download entire game. Now they just don't bother with the disk. Convinced people to buy nothing physical at all. Collectors editions that just give ingame items. I might still have my Age of Conan art book that came with that collectors edition.

At least games like Civ have their manual built in as an encyclopedia which means manual can be patched to stay relevant

most game now use the same buttons for certain things so you don't need to learn them all every time. Played one shooter, played them all.

TL3 could have done with some more indepth instructions than the hints you get on screen

 

[Rolfil]

I much preferred manuals. How you get in game tutorials that are just meh. However there is generally a wiki and top 10 tips and guides within a week of a game launching. But then again a lot of them have spoilers :-(

 

[badman]

Forget about manuals. Does anybody have the T-Shirt that came with the boxed version of Terminator 2?

Oh...I really miss the old manuals.

The manual was something you read when the PC wasn't running. I took it with me everywhere I could, almost like a book. In some cases, it actually looked like a book.

I remember the enormous manual of Red Baron. That thing not only showed you how to fly, but it was an encyclopedia on the whole aerial war during WW1. It included several big foldable maps of the front and detailed descriptions of WW1 airplanes.
A lot of flightsims from the early 90's had big manuals tbh...

 

[ROFbeddingfield]

Forget about manuals. Does anybody have the T-Shirt that came with the boxed version of Terminator 2?

Oh...I really miss the old manuals.

The manual was something you read when the PC wasn't running. I took it with me everywhere I could, almost like a book. In some cases, it actually looked like a book.

I remember the enormous manual of Red Baron. That thing not only showed you how to fly, but it was an encyclopedia on the whole aerial war during WW1. It included several big foldable maps of the front and detailed descriptions of WW1 airplanes.
A lot of flightsims from the early 90's had big manuals tbh...

looks over,,,, yep still got my Red Baron box,, and everything inside. Never actually used the maps, to fragile unless you had a huge wall to pin them up on. And the parentals NEVER thought that was a good idea

 

[Brian Boru]

I much preferred manuals. How you get in game tutorials that are just meh

There were plenty of meh manuals too—'all your base are belong to us' Even the good ones usually fell apart after enough abuse.

Games are far more complex software these days, so patches are inevitable after release. Which means a print manual would be obsolete before it ships. Updated wikis are the way to go—you can read on your phone/tablet while on the go, without anyone being any the wiser.

Two monitors makes it very easy to have the up-to-date digital guide of your choice open while playing—switch screens easily for scrolling if you have the game in 'windowed borderless' mode.

 

[Zloth]

I love wiki's but why do developers make players do the things?? It just gives Wikia (or whatever) a way to leech off their player base. Make them for your own games and keep them up to date.

Two monitors makes it very easy to have the up-to-date digital guide of your choice open while playing—switch screens easily for scrolling if you have the game in 'windowed borderless' mode.

Or windows key + control + right/left arrows to switch between desktops. I really like that feature.

 

[ROFbeddingfield]

Imagine what a fully explanatory manual for cyberpunk 2077 would look like if it explained everything.

 

[Pifanjr]

The best manual I can remember off the top of my head is the one for Overlord, which had a lot of the typical humour of the game in it.

I recently downloaded the manual for Conquest of Elysium 4 after buying it and it was so nice to read through an entire manual again and learning some little facts that I probably would have missed if I had just played the game.

 

[Rogue Leader]

The manual back in the day of PC Gaming was what you read while installing the game, because it took forever to install 12 floppy disks worth of game!

 

[badman]

The manual back in the day of PC Gaming was what you read while installing the game, because it took forever to install 12 floppy disks worth of game!

Brrrttt...error on disk 12

 

[Rogue Leader]

Brrrttt...error on disk 12

Oh my god this comment makes me want to rage lol.

Kids today.... forget what its like to have to GO TO THE STORE to buy "DLC".

 

[badman]

Oh my god this comment makes me want to rage lol.

Kids today.... forget what its like to have to GO TO THE STORE to buy "DLC".

TBH...I installed a ton of games back in the day and only had errors on maybe a handful of them. It was very rare, and even then: the store made no problem of taking the games back.

 

[Zloth]

The manual is only partially for the install! Most of it was read during bathroom breaks.

 

[ceaRshaf]

Most games get a lot of patches and reworks so that booklet or manual becomes obsolete really fast.

 

[Dan]

Badman you say ,,,,,, no problem taking a game back , what country are you in.
I am in England and many years ago i tried to get a refund on faulty discs from a well know electrical store.
I was always refused because the staff use to say that once i opened the case i was the licence holder of the game and that i could not have a refund because licences are not transferable.

I presume by not transferable he meant could not be re-sold , but if the disc is faulty they would be unable to re-sell it anyway.

A young lad next to me said to staff if this game dont work can i bring it back and they said no. His dad took the unopened game of his son and said give his his money back !

The store did not have to give you a refund, but they did have to give you a replacement disc if the disc was faulty. If the game just didn't work on your computer due to low specs, then you would be out of luck.


Going to the original thread. I remember reading the Guild Wars 1 booklet for hours, as the game took hours to install on my measly (at the time) system. I am happy from a 'save the world eco' point of view, as most people don't care about them, but they will be missed.

 

[DXCHASE]

I thought they were already lol, it shifted from game instruction booklets to full on art books/lore books. Id rather have those.

 

[Frindis]

It's our own fault. We thrive in this digital age where everything is handed to us like breadcrumbs. Newspapers are read digitally, books more and more through different digital formats. We have our eyes more glued to the phones, than the person on the other side of the table. Games (I meant to say manuals) have become dumbed down with their mindbogglingly horrid tutorials and hints/tips throughout the game, to the point that you turn them off because they are just an annoyance. The manuals our forefathers made rolls in the grave, silently weeping off the cobwebs in memory of the love, the strive, and the stride it took to build the foundation that we all know as part of the early video game history.

To survive in this new digital Neanderthal age where the apex predators are the greedy investors, shareholders, political shady corners, and islands with giant rocks with holes in them, the majority of the developers have had to sell their memories of dusty manuals in the attics and all is left is a tiny ember of flame, with just enough spark so we can have this conversation until it is all forgotten, like the history that once was, but now is lost.

 

[Zloth]

Games have become dumbed down with their mindbogglingly horrid tutorials and hints/tips throughout the game, to the point that you turn them off because they are just an annoyance.

(looks over his shoulder) Who you talkin' to?? I sure don't ever do that!

I think manuals are a lot more rare now because, in olden days, tutorials were just too hard to do. There's still PLENTY of complex games out there! (Actually, probably even more of them if you include mods.) Hearts of Iron 4, for instance, is plenty complex and doesn't even have a manual.