Instruction Manuals

I've found that as I've grown older, I've looked at instruction manuals less and less when I purchase games.

It used to be that you would find all the information you could ever need to know in the instruction manual. Nowadays, everything is laid out for you, even the controls which can often be found in the pause menu.

So I ask you GFFers, what's your stance on instruction manuals? Yay or Nay? I have found a few real good ones in the past few years (Katamari Damacy, pretty much any Nintendo game has wonderfully designed manuals), but for the most part I just shove the game in the system and move on. What about you guys?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I've yet to read any game booklets for my new games in detail. If I remember correctly, the last one I actually read was the one for Final Fantasy VII many years ago. I would read a bit from the booklet each time I summoned Knights of the Round since it would become dull at times.

Given any new game I purchase now, I don't tend to look at the booklet. I may just glance through it quickly since I prefer learning by actually playing the game.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Some games I can usually jump right into without much need for "instructions". Notabily, MGS3:Subsistence, GTA3: San Andreas, and Ace Combat 5 allowed me to get into the game quite quickly without having to fuss around too much. Since these games have had predecessors with similar control schemes, it helped quite a bit. I usually just glance at the book if there's a certain part I don't quite get.

Also for Katamari Damacy, it does a very good job in the game (yet simplistic and enjoyable) to train you how to use the katamari. So I thought the instruction booklet wasn't really required (besides to give that warning about the small percentage of people experiencing seizures due to video games LOL) unless you were VERY SLOW at picking things up, or weren't much of an avid gamer.

EDIT: God damn, I wanted Nay. ;_;

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I'll read through it sometimes because some instruction booklets include a bunch of background storyline. Kinda helps me better understand what's going on sometimes. Some games are more like a story than some hack-and-slash for example because I have a better idea of what is (or has been) going on, storywise. Diablo's a good example of that. Those random books you read in the dungeons only gave a little bit of an idea what was going on.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Well, they'll occasionally have good art or something fetching like their aforementioned design. I always liked the GTA (III and upward as far as I know) manuals and their dedication to theme. Good way of immersing anyone who bothered reading it into the game world before they even start playing.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I usually take a quick peek through them to check out any cool artwork if there's any, but I wouldn't say I use them.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

We Love Katamari's instruction booklet is awesome. Too bad nobody really bothers with them anymore.

Since I've paid for it, I usually take the time to glance through it. All 20-30 seconds of it, even if it's in japanese. I'll usually read my imported instruction booklets more, since you can partially understand what it's trying to tell you.

But no, most of the time I won't read them properly. For some reason I've always glanced at the instruction booklets before playing the game. I figured that hey, I've paid for the game, and the instruction booklet wouldn't of been made unless there was a purpose to it, so I'll give it a chance.

Some of them (like ICO, Disgaea and We Love Katamari) are really well done, too.

How ya doing, buddy?

I read through them when i am bored. I just like reading the story and character bios. I never read about the instructions. I can figure it out for myself. When i first start a game i don't think before i put the disc in 'Oh, must read the manual'

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I use them only for reference, I'm not reading them before playing a game. Sometimes in a rpg, i don't know how I have to do something like last time in Tales of Legandia. I wanted to know how I could run through an enemy, but I didn't know which button (or buttons) I had to press. So I looked it up in the manual.

Otherwise, I only skip through them and read the bios of the characters and that sort of stuff.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

A truer question would be "Who reads Instruction Manuals while on the John?" Everybody raise their hands.

I don't really USE them, but I like to look at them because they are sometimes pretty to look at. I remember really liking the Yoshi's Story one for some odd reason. There was also Super Monkey Ball 2, which was like 64 pages long or something.. quite massive.

How ya doing, buddy?

I catch on far too quickly to need instruction manuals, but I will say this:
Blizzard games (and many other PC game manuals) have outstanding work put inot them. I wonder why console games even bother with their small booklets. The StarCraft manual for instance has backstory, something most manuals look over.
And then there's Sierra, their manuals provide very good reference info, not just what you need to get started. It almost supplants the need for a strategy guide. I really miss those manuals, they add flavor and some great information that will help you whether you're one minute or 100 hours into the game.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I usually prefer to get my games new. And if I get them used, I want it to be complete, i.e. includes everything as if it were new, such as the manual(s). I do this even though I usually just dive right into games anyway without looking at the manual. If there occurs a moment where I have free time and am not playing, I'll probably look through the manual. For example, say a bunch of friends and I are playing a game, but it's not my turn or something. I may go through the manual to see what's up. I'll also go to the manual if I get stumped about something in the game, but a lot of the games I play do a good job of tutoring you early on in the game. For example, in freaking Tetris DS, I did not really use the hold queue or the hard drop for my first 20 or so online victories. Once I noticed it and went to the manual to see how it was done, I became unstoppable . Also, sometimes some good comes out of using GameFAQs walkthroughs for stuff... move lists for fighting games too. I probably needed paragraphs somewhere here. Fuck that.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

This is one trend that has not changed with time for me when it comes to games. When I buy a new game, the first thing I do after I leave the mall is sit down and pull the game out of the bag. Open it and start reading the manual. If I bought the guide with it, I will look in there for some additional information too. I keep all my manuals, and I do periodically read them again. RPG manuals tend to explain the functions behind the stats and what not. Things that are not covered in an in game tutorial.

I was speaking idiomatically.

For me, the instruction manual is pointless. The only purpose to these manuals is to inform the player of gameplay and items. But, most games either have a tutorial or a slowly rising difficulty, making the gameplay portion of a manual unnecessary. The purpose of items is usually revealed when they show up in the game, so that portion of a manual is pointless as well.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Kaiten

I catch on far too quickly to need instruction manuals, but I will say this:
Blizzard games (and many other PC game manuals) have outstanding work put inot them.

I definitely agree. I've seen lots of outstanding manuals from PC gaming companies, Maxis being one of them. I love how they design their manuals to not read like a textbook. They're often filled with funny quips and even non-gaming information related to the game to boot. In the SimAnt manual, for instance, there's a whole section dedicated to the real ants. More companies should do stuff like these.

In regards to the topic question, yes, I always read the manuals when I buy games. It's sad that nobody ever reads them nowadays, and they spend their time asking questions in forums when the answer can be found right in the manual. : /

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I agree with others that Blizzard makes great manuals.

In general, I usually read the manuals for all the games I buy. Though it's sad that a lot of manuals are only 10-something pages, and missing a ton of info. For these manuals, I'd usually just take a glance at the controls. For example, I thought the GRAW manual was garbage.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

With the plethora of good PC manuals, what's the best manual ever made?
I'd think that Caesar III is definately up there. It gives sound advice, reference, backstory and flavor. It seems most console games just like to tell you how to play and only show a few of the items/abilities that you can get. Of course the way they design games these days, you'd think they make a crappy manual on purpose and then make a game with many secrets so you have to buy a strategy guide to 100% the thing.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Hmm, from all the games I have, I think the best is definitely Sid Meier's Gettysburg. Firaxis put in a lot of hard work with this manual. It's filled to the brim with strategies and tactics from the real war that can help you out in the game as well. It contains detailed information about every single button/mode/menu in the game, as well as the history, etc. In fact, it seems to be a trend with Firaxis, as Alpha Centauri has a very good manual as well.

Any of Maxis' manuals are excellent.

I think FFX-2 was was only made to sell stategy guides. There's no bloody way you can see the perfect ending without one.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I read them ritualistically, not for the content, but to see how much effort went into making it. Most days, I just expect that the new games I buy always have some kind of easy first stage or tutorial-esque sequence which eliminates the need for the manual, barring for future reference. Character bios are also an incentive to look through.

Some clever manuals include:
-Warioware series (all of them, due to FREE stickers and psychadelic layouts)
-Katamari Series (Pretty)
-GTA: LCS (Newspaper Format)

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Like others here I mostly just read manuals for any background story or good lookin artwork. Although every now and then I'll refer to the manual to look up what a certain unit or ability does, so yes, I guess I do kind of use manuals (but certainly not straight out of the box unless install takes forever). Having that established, I agree with others that Blizzard makes great manuals, gotta love the story and lore sections they put into their manuals. Worst manual goes to Battlefield 2, for a brochure-like thin manual with nothing but boring text about how to play a shooter (WASD keys for movement, Left mouse to fire, wow shocking liek I never know that before...), completely devoid of any story or artwork.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I used to read them like they were the freaking Bible or something before I played a game, but now I just barely get to the end of them. I'm usually just more excited about actually playing the game than reading how to play the game. I do make sure to read any kind of backstory or prologue, though.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I've never really paid much attention to instruction manuals except to keep them in pristine condition in case I have to sell the game later. For example, I've had Albert Odyssey~Legend of Eldean for close to six years now and I haven't really touch the book. I already know how to play the game so there's no need to get my fingerprints all over the book.

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When I buy used games, it's very important for me that the instruction manual isn't missing, even if it's just for the sake of completeness. Before playing a game, I always sit down and at least leaf through the booklet. Sometimes you can learn more about the story or the character's history, so I guess reading an instruction manual won't hurt.

FELIPE NO

I love game manuals. I ALWAYS at least read or thumb through a manual before starting the game. its like a ritual I do everytime I buy a new game.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I no longer read the things if I'm stuck. This probably explains why they used to be in full color and eventually came in black and white; no one cared.

I do recall buying the gem of a game, Donkey Kong Country, and being impressed by the first full-color instruction booklet that I had seen in years.

Jam it back in, in the dark.