Manuals - what do you do with them ?

shabbyroad

As part of something I'm doing in work I'm trying to find out what gamers do with the manuals they get with console games.
(PC-Mac games are a different beast since .pdf manuals, online help, readme's and web support are possible).

Do you look at the controller information and get into the game asap ?
Do you later go back to the manual to get clued in about the more detailed aspects of the game ?

What would you think of a game that gave you a quick-start guide (probably controller information only) but the actual manual resided in software ? Would you read the manual 'offline' so to speak ? If a typical forty-or-fifty-odd page manual was replaced with a quick-start booklet what sort of money would you expect to see knocked off the retail price ? (let's say based on a €50 retail price)

Curious to find out what people do and what their expectations are. I'm possibly in a position to influence something like this.

Tusky

I like manuals and usually read them.... for example bad fur day by RARE on the N64 had a hilarious manual ... They are especially important for RPG's for monster listings etc

Ryo Hazuki

Dont even look at them, unless Ive nothing better to do.

El Marco

I usually don't touch them until I get into the game and when I'm bored one day I normaly open it up, to read story elements and bits about weapons.

Unknown

Usually I glance over the manual before I start playing the game. Once I have finished my first or second session with the game I always check back on the manual to see if I have missed out on something.

Sarky

I hate the trend of putting PC manuals in .pdf format. I like reading manuals, and I prefer something solid with pages to flick through...

amp

I make little hats out of them and pretend I'm a pirate.

sci0x

I read the manual on the way home from buying the game to find out all about the game before I start playing.

Webmonkey

I read the manual after finishing the game to see how to control the game, and what to do etc etc

tman

wipe meh ass of course
thats about all they're usually good for...

rpg's & flight sims are the only games that really need a manual imo, games are always more fun if you just dive straight in.

Thorbar

I perfer in game training missions, but a manual is handy for RPGs or for flicking through during load/save times.

Wolf

I usually end up spilling cjeap cider over them and then cursing alot. But I have to say if they made them soft copies only I would die a little inside.

Anyone remember the CIV manual?

KdjaCL

Play the game blindly then when i get stuck i read the manual and realise i can fly or somfin.

But most of the time i dont read them ,its all in the game anyway.


kdjac

Retr0gamer

Since I live a good bit away from dublin I always read the manual on the train or bus back. It's like a quick fix before you get to play it. I always read manuals now ever since I went through the whole of FFVII without knowing I could equip the acessories.

mooman_00

I read them before ever playing the game, cover to cover then i pack them away in their original box in case i ever need them again.

Imo i wouldn't like to see them go....

Retr0gamer

I'd much prefer a manual than a .pdf file. If mauals went then it would be as big a tragedy as when PC games stopped coming in huge boxes with loads of posters and t-shirts and started to come in horrible DVD cases.

My favourite manuals have to be the earthworm jim 2 manual and the beautiful hardbacked Lunar: Eternal Blue manual which has a nice ribbon to keep your place in it and loads of interviews with the creators.

Raz

IMO hardcopy manuals are essential to the whole "getting immersed in a game" feeling.
Like others here I read the Manual on the way home. I like to get a feel for the game before I get to play it. I only read so much so as not to spoil anything. I don't read about units available or heros such as in the Warcraft 3 manual. (I still don't know what kind of units the night elfs have!)
When I buy a game without a manual I feel especially ripped off (unless it's one of those budget buy titles)
I like to read the story/history in the game before I start to play. I gives a better idea of what you're aiming for in the game.

I think the manual should be split in 2.

The technical how to play ie. controller uses and H.U.D description.

[list=2]The story/history aspect with info onthe characters and units in the game.[/list=2]

If I were to buy a game without a manual I'd expect it to cost no more than €25 to €30. (As it is I think games are hugely overpriced) I wouldn't pay more because, obviously, you don't get the manual and it also feels like you're not buying the full package. It feels like the manufacturer has skimped on the making of the game and doesn't deserve the money I'd be paying.

My 2 cent

Rnger

Originally posted by shabbyroad
Do you look at the controller information and get into the game asap ?

I usaully glance at this to see if theres some kind of button combination i missed or something like that later on. When playing that new tomb raider(awful, awful game btw) I had to briedly refer to it to make sure I knew the right button at the start, and not plumet to the ground. Again.

Do you later go back to the manual to get clued in about the more detailed aspects of the game ?

Always, I have a ton of manuals sitting beside my bed for some very light reading, all of which have already been read back-to-back.

What would you think of a game that gave you a quick-start guide (probably controller information only) but the actual manual resided in software ?

I dont like games that explain everything before you use it. I much prefer being thrown out in the deepend and having to figure it out on my own. Maybe thats just me.

Would you read the manual 'offline' so to speak ?

I would read at some stage. I wouldn't like it as much as a solid good ol' regular manual, and I would probably only bother once.

If a typical forty-or-fifty-odd page manual was replaced with a quick-start booklet what sort of money would you expect to see knocked off the retail price ? (let's say based on a €50 retail price)

I would expect nothing to be knocked off, its not would I'd like, but thats what i think would happen. If HL2 had a tiny manual(i think the orignal didnt have much of a manual either), I would still expect the 50-60 euro tag.

Jim

i usually read them after i play the game a bit. then i build them into forts.

BKtje

I read em at some stage (either on way home or as some late night reading after my first days gameplay) then i store em in a special box . never know when the manuals may become valuable