245: Bad MotherFAQers

[Dooly95]

Bad MotherFAQers indeed.

I also would like to add support to the comment before; of how Youtube and such are bringing in a 'new' phase of FAQing. They say that a picture paints a thousand words.

I, myself have a few fair visits to GameFAQs, but most games I play are games that do not require the assistance of a FAQ (I'm a simple gamer at heart, or mayhaps I'm stubborn).

 

[SenseOfTumour]

Yeah, GameFAQs is a testament to the fact that the internet can in fact be a force for good and not just a tidal wave of porn and hate.

There's so much good work there, offered for free, and only created to help other people.

I did start a FAQ ages ago, but never got more than about half way.

Kudos to anyone with the willpower to finish one, and sit there playing thru a game they're already done with , with notepad open and pausing every few seconds to write up what they've discovered.

 

[Yureina]

I wrote a number of Final Fantasy walkthroughs myself in my day. Though... I did things a little differently. Yeah, I went through the gameplay and gave strategies - I even bothered to every so often even suggest what weapons to buy. But actually I spent most of the text just making fun of the characters and the hackneyed plots. Needless to say, they were absolutely worthless when it came to being guides. (Also whenever I didn't feel like playing the games, I simply copied over whatever GameFAQs said.)

You know, I think I actually read and used some of yours. FFX? ;P

Hey, at least those remarks kept things more interesting for me to read, because in most cases I felt the same way about the characters as you did. AKA, that they were annoying and, with only 1-2 exceptions, pretty emo or stupid.

 

[Optimystic]

The age of the FAQ is dying, at least for mainstream titles - though Gamefaqs would rather not admit it. Nowadays, my gaming secrets come from the power of the Wiki.

Take a game like Mass Effect 2. No one FAQ author could sit down, write the detailed Paragon/Renegade walkthroughs, point out all the various areas in the original that are flagged to carry over to the sequel, copy the entire codex, then turn around and test every single gun, power and squadmate in the game for dps/utility/effectiveness. Complete with screenshots, videos, and commentary.

Im working on a FAQ for one of my old (and favorite) games; Magic carpet 2. An interesting way to kill time and deconstruct the game by analysing pretty much everything i find.

I played that game too back in the day, and guess what: It was designed by Peter Molyneux.

You whippersnappers. Long before Lionhead, Fable, and even Black & White, there was an ambitious studio called Bullfrog that brought us gems like the aforementioned MC, and a couple of strategy games you may have heard of called Dungeon Keeper, Populous and Syndicate. Please look it up.