Remember when video game manuals were awesome?
- Thread starter BurnOutBrighter
- Start date
Some of the game manuals from 1st party titles and some of the bigger games do have nice full color manuals, sure they weren't really like the ones that came out back then but i think thats because most games these days usually have an intro level thats teaches u the controls and catches u up the games plot and backstory.
What manual? I opened the box in my car after leaving GameStop (please don't hate me), expecting to gain some knowledge. I found the piece of paper and it told me to look in-game for my knowledge. I was very disappointed but I appreciate their attempts on saving mother earth..tellmeimaninja said:
Arcanum was my favorite manual and I lost it. 
I have even considered going on ebay and trying to track down a manual/new copy just to get the manual again. A lot of the manuals on the SNES were good. Hell, I still read through some of them. Somehow my manual for Sim City on SNES seems haunted as it shows up constantly even though I put it away. That was actually the manual I thought of when I saw this thread because of it. The reason I keep it is because sometimes it is more fun to look at the manual than actually go back and revisit a title.
Age of Empires 2 also had a good manual. I have alot of old manuals that I don't even have the games for anymore. I personally hate the in-game tutorial stuff as most of the time it is explaining what the buttons do which even the crappiest of manuals already tell you. I think manuals are good tools to get the story going strong right out of the gate. The problem is even a game with a good manual usually has some sort of "introductory hold your hand sequence" attached to it just in case you didn't read the manual.
I have even considered going on ebay and trying to track down a manual/new copy just to get the manual again. A lot of the manuals on the SNES were good. Hell, I still read through some of them. Somehow my manual for Sim City on SNES seems haunted as it shows up constantly even though I put it away. That was actually the manual I thought of when I saw this thread because of it. The reason I keep it is because sometimes it is more fun to look at the manual than actually go back and revisit a title.Age of Empires 2 also had a good manual. I have alot of old manuals that I don't even have the games for anymore. I personally hate the in-game tutorial stuff as most of the time it is explaining what the buttons do which even the crappiest of manuals already tell you. I think manuals are good tools to get the story going strong right out of the gate. The problem is even a game with a good manual usually has some sort of "introductory hold your hand sequence" attached to it just in case you didn't read the manual.
I can't speak to PCs, but I do remember when console games had awesome manuals. Made great bathroom reading.
Nowadays you're lucky if you get more than a pamphlet. Some games (particularly japanese games, it seems) still can have nice big manuals, but mostly not.
Nowadays you're lucky if you get more than a pamphlet. Some games (particularly japanese games, it seems) still can have nice big manuals, but mostly not.
You can find the manual for Arcanum (the text, anyway--looks like the images weren't scanned) here [http://www.terra-arcanum.com/downloads/]. Enjoy.Savagezion said:Arcanum was my favorite manual and I lost it.
I loved the NES and SNES manuals. Alot of the time, they were alot like brief prequels in some respects.
I remember when they were actual manuals, not just brief cards mentioning tutorials ingame. I liked the original F-Zero manual as it explained everything and had a comic in it
I completely agree, I miss the old cardboard boxes PC games used to come in and the manuals were half the fun of buying a game.
Starcraft had a wonderfully large and illustrated manual which I've often used as an example of a good manual.
Starcraft had a wonderfully large and illustrated manual which I've often used as an example of a good manual.
You could learn to play D&D from the Baldur's Gate manuals. The manual for the second game was 192 pages of pure information and entertaining wit, with two of the settings famous character: Volo and Elminster, often arguing between the lines and offering advice about various things. Flip to any page and you've got a good chance something's been scrawled in the margins somewhere. Shows the developers and the writers actually cared!
I also remember the original Starcraft manual, although not nearly as thick as Baldur's Gate, was like a short novella onto itself with half the booklet telling the origins of the various races. Interesting reading actually!
Just don't get that anymore.
I also remember the original Starcraft manual, although not nearly as thick as Baldur's Gate, was like a short novella onto itself with half the booklet telling the origins of the various races. Interesting reading actually!
Just don't get that anymore.
The one I remember most fondly was the instruction manual for Mechwarrior 2 for the PC. I had the original DOS version, and it was designed like a pilot's handbook that might have been handed out to a greenhorn clan mech pilot. It had pictures, interesting descriptions, hand-written notes in the margins, and was totally awesome.
Then there was the one for Wing Commander Prophecy. Had a detailed description of the game's backstory, presented as a series of e-mails and news postings sent to the game's main character. It was pretty cool.
And let us not forget the manual to the original Starcraft, which combined detailed backstories for all three races, all the technical whatnot, and page after page of concept art. Sweet.
But, now that virtually every game has a tutorial, we don't really need manuals anymore. It's kind of sad, but I'd say we're better off.
Then there was the one for Wing Commander Prophecy. Had a detailed description of the game's backstory, presented as a series of e-mails and news postings sent to the game's main character. It was pretty cool.
And let us not forget the manual to the original Starcraft, which combined detailed backstories for all three races, all the technical whatnot, and page after page of concept art. Sweet.
But, now that virtually every game has a tutorial, we don't really need manuals anymore. It's kind of sad, but I'd say we're better off.
I assume Valve wanted the story told in-game, hence no manual. As for the single card showing the controls, if you're a newbie, its useful. If you know how to remap the controls, then you don't need to pay it any heed anyway.DismantleRepair said:
I miss the manuals the size of a Warhammer rule books, and they were just as witty and entertaining as them too. Still, better graphics and larger games means less time spent on fun extras.
I have to say, although I miss the extras, I'd prefer to have a better game at the end of the day. It's what you bought the package for in the first place anyway, and it's what you'll spend the most time on.
I have to say, although I miss the extras, I'd prefer to have a better game at the end of the day. It's what you bought the package for in the first place anyway, and it's what you'll spend the most time on.