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Now here's the thing. You buy your game, you get it home, you open the box, take out the disc/cartridge, fire it up....what next?
One of two things happens:
(1) You spend the next hour or so reading through a 42 page manual, occaisionally taking a break to look at the options screen, and two hours later you've made your first couple of forays into the game and start to get somewhere. Then back to the manual to check the finer details because you keep getting beaten/shot/eaten/exploded/thumped/squished etc...
(2) You go straight into the game because you can't be bothered with lumpy manuals and get beaten/shot/eaten/exploded/thumped/squished etc...
So, why not get rid of manuals alltogether? Why not, as Squaresoft have done once or twice on consoles and a lot of PC developers have done in PC games, have the manuals online, as an integral part of the gameplay? Instead of 2 pages of button configurations, why not have this built into the learning curve of the software? More training levels (as in Unreal Tournament) or more guidance on the finer points of the game (as in Final Fantasy VIII) or more online advise (as in Metal Gear Solid) that is actually built into the game itself means that we can dispense with the costly addition of paper manuals included with games, and also that we can start playing as soon as the disc/cartridge comes out of the box.
This could bring the price of packaging and hence the overall cost of producing a game down, which is good for us as gamers and good for them as developers.
So, in the future, less paper and more playing. Please.
One of two things happens:
(1) You spend the next hour or so reading through a 42 page manual, occaisionally taking a break to look at the options screen, and two hours later you've made your first couple of forays into the game and start to get somewhere. Then back to the manual to check the finer details because you keep getting beaten/shot/eaten/exploded/thumped/squished etc...
(2) You go straight into the game because you can't be bothered with lumpy manuals and get beaten/shot/eaten/exploded/thumped/squished etc...
So, why not get rid of manuals alltogether? Why not, as Squaresoft have done once or twice on consoles and a lot of PC developers have done in PC games, have the manuals online, as an integral part of the gameplay? Instead of 2 pages of button configurations, why not have this built into the learning curve of the software? More training levels (as in Unreal Tournament) or more guidance on the finer points of the game (as in Final Fantasy VIII) or more online advise (as in Metal Gear Solid) that is actually built into the game itself means that we can dispense with the costly addition of paper manuals included with games, and also that we can start playing as soon as the disc/cartridge comes out of the box.
This could bring the price of packaging and hence the overall cost of producing a game down, which is good for us as gamers and good for them as developers.
So, in the future, less paper and more playing. Please.
They are designed to tell you all the controls and gameplay options, though it has it in 10 other languages!
1) I dont think I have ever read the instruction manuel of a game, a gamer should be able to work out through trial and error what the buttons do.
2) most games nowadays have an onscreen tutorial.
so it makes it very easy to not read th manual.
3) sssssssseeeeeecccccccccrrrrreeeeeettttt oooooooffffff mmmmmmaaaaaaaannnnnnaaaaaa
2) most games nowadays have an onscreen tutorial.
so it makes it very easy to not read th manual.
3) sssssssseeeeeecccccccccrrrrreeeeeettttt oooooooffffff mmmmmmaaaaaaaannnnnnaaaaaa
Now here's the thing. You buy your game, you get it home, you open the box, take out the disc/cartridge, fire it up....what next?
One of two things happens:
(1) You spend the next hour or so reading through a 42 page manual, occaisionally taking a break to look at the options screen, and two hours later you've made your first couple of forays into the game and start to get somewhere. Then back to the manual to check the finer details because you keep getting beaten/shot/eaten/exploded/thumped/squished etc...
(2) You go straight into the game because you can't be bothered with lumpy manuals and get beaten/shot/eaten/exploded/thumped/squished etc...
So, why not get rid of manuals alltogether? Why not, as Squaresoft have done once or twice on consoles and a lot of PC developers have done in PC games, have the manuals online, as an integral part of the gameplay? Instead of 2 pages of button configurations, why not have this built into the learning curve of the software? More training levels (as in Unreal Tournament) or more guidance on the finer points of the game (as in Final Fantasy VIII) or more online advise (as in Metal Gear Solid) that is actually built into the game itself means that we can dispense with the costly addition of paper manuals included with games, and also that we can start playing as soon as the disc/cartridge comes out of the box.
This could bring the price of packaging and hence the overall cost of producing a game down, which is good for us as gamers and good for them as developers.
So, in the future, less paper and more playing. Please.
One of two things happens:
(1) You spend the next hour or so reading through a 42 page manual, occaisionally taking a break to look at the options screen, and two hours later you've made your first couple of forays into the game and start to get somewhere. Then back to the manual to check the finer details because you keep getting beaten/shot/eaten/exploded/thumped/squished etc...
(2) You go straight into the game because you can't be bothered with lumpy manuals and get beaten/shot/eaten/exploded/thumped/squished etc...
So, why not get rid of manuals alltogether? Why not, as Squaresoft have done once or twice on consoles and a lot of PC developers have done in PC games, have the manuals online, as an integral part of the gameplay? Instead of 2 pages of button configurations, why not have this built into the learning curve of the software? More training levels (as in Unreal Tournament) or more guidance on the finer points of the game (as in Final Fantasy VIII) or more online advise (as in Metal Gear Solid) that is actually built into the game itself means that we can dispense with the costly addition of paper manuals included with games, and also that we can start playing as soon as the disc/cartridge comes out of the box.
This could bring the price of packaging and hence the overall cost of producing a game down, which is good for us as gamers and good for them as developers.
So, in the future, less paper and more playing. Please.