Castle Paradox

msw188 · Joined: 02 Jul 2003 Posts: 1041

I was going to put this in the review section, but I think it more rightly belongs here. I was reading JSH's review of Battleblazes's Link fangame (I can't remember what it's called at the moment). He provided a disclaimer for his gameplay section (I think it was the gameplay section) and his sixth item was something like:

[paraphrasing] A game should explain any abnormal features without a manual.

Is this a general feeling here? I must say I heartily disagree. What's the manual for, if not to explain aspects of the game that might not be familiar to the player? If a game comes with a manual, you're probably supposed to read it. Why should a game reiterate that which is already explained (hopefully in a more clear manner, since it does not need to try to tailor to the games world) in the manual?

Thoughts?

Aethereal · Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2004 3:52 pm Post subject:

I never, ever read manuals, so I'm with JSH on this one. Manuals are way too confusing usually. The only well-written manuals I have ever seen are those for NES games.
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*Worthy* · **Critical Thinker** Joined: 11 Aug 2003 Posts: 186

It depends. If it is something basic, it should be explained in the game as well as the manual, so people don't have to look up every single thing to play the game.

However, if there is a complex aspect to the game, I don't think it needs to be fully spelled out in the game. If the player really wants to know and understand something, he/she can either look in the manual or try to figure it out, but I don't think it should be part of the game to explain everything.

People don't make & print manuals to waste ink...they do have a purpose.

~Worthy
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TMC · Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2004 4:18 am Post subject:

In the case of OHR games, theres little I hate more than reading manuals. I'd prefer a nice tutorial or training mode any day, or at least a short description.

And I've read manuals for professional games from cover to cover even when I didn't want to know anything, just out of interest. It's some strange obsession.
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msw188 · Joined: 02 Jul 2003 Posts: 1041

(To Mad Cacti)
What makes you hate reading OHR manuals so much? Are they just poorly written? I have a pretty long manual for my game, split into two .txt files so that the simple stuff is on one (for people who don't know what an RPG is, basically) and the more detailed stuff for my game in particular in another. What kept you reading with professional game manuals?

PS: I actually always used to read game manuals as well, and I couldn't tell you what kept me reading, so "I don't know" is a perfectly valid answer to my last question. I like the old NES ones best too.

PPS: Oh, and I just wanted to thank you for the square root script.

TMC · Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2004 5:13 pm Post subject:

Yes, they're poorly written, often don't make sense/are incomplete, so that I don't actually know what I wanted to when I've finished reading them. Oft they're quite long and repeat the same thing over and over without making it very clear.
A good example is the manual to Janken Janken + (which wasn't even originally readable without errors due to embedded pictures)
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*Worthy* · **Critical Thinker** Joined: 11 Aug 2003 Posts: 186

True, but they can still be worth a check. Usually, I open the manual for an OHR game and if the screen is filled with text with no organization, I don't read it. But some manuals are terse and well organized, so I don't mind reading them.

~Worthy
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RPGCreations · **E Pluribus Unum** Joined: 18 May 2003 Posts: 345

Personally I read (and keep) all my game manuals. Some of them are pretty thin (Perfect Dark comes to mind), but others are very useful (Soul Calibur 2 has a great manual).

Personally I am taking great care with Sword of Jade's manual, as it should be nearly enjoyable as the actual game itself. It is certainly.. unique.

Also, a lot of recent games have small manuals because the features and content of the game changes so much, which was the case with Perfect Dark. The manuals have to go to print before the game is actually done.

Edit: Another case in point, the Halo 2 manual has to be finalized by the end of August. The game doesn't come out until November.
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junahu · Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2004 7:35 am Post subject:

Rinku · Joined: 02 Feb 2003 Posts: 690

i think that manuals are very important but i agree that games shouldn't exist where the manual is mandatory; a game should have self-explaining help areas. all gameplay aspects of the game, no matter how complex and new, should be explained in the game, and you should be able to learn it without a manual. the manual should just be for more details about the game, for installation instructions, for background story and character descriptions, and for fun stuff like that.
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