Comments on: Manual Override

By: John.B

John.B — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:44:54 +0000

Just keep out of my head for my next blog!

By: Lorna

Lorna — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 08:26:29 +0000

Well, Jake nicked my half formed idea a while back for Text Adventure maps…

By: John.B

John.B — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:25:30 +0000

Aaaannndddd bang goes that draft for a blog post I had on my PC. Great minds think alike but this is just spooky.

By: MarkuzR

MarkuzR — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:28:22 +0000

“We got another copy from Game on the way home, Jake :)”

Yeah, so there’s MY reason for not reading the manual… there was only one, and you nicked it for yourself while you cast me aside with no manual even if I’d wanted one. Thanks for the reminder Jake ;)

Tiq… stop dissin’ my girl or I’ll lock the lube away when you’re over and make you sleep in “The Barbie Room”. Nuff said.

By: Power Up

Power Up — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:37:43 +0000

I used to read the manuals long ago, but a lot of games give a tutorial at the beginning anyway. Sometimes if there’s something I can’t work out, I check the manual. I certainly read all of the Oblivion booklet before wading in. Occasionally consulting it for details on spells.

By: Lorna

Lorna — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:42:48 +0000

Lol, Rook, you tell ‘em :D

We got another copy from Game on the way home, Jake :) Now finding it addictive.

By: Jake

Jake — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:42:00 +0000

I read manuals at lunch times (after purchasing said game) or on the bus on the way home so I am primed and ready when I get to it.

The copy of Burnout you borrowed off me had no manual – I now realise the hardship I must have caused you :p

By: The Rook

The Rook — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:27:55 +0000

Right, my turn. I read the manual before I play any game. I have to, I can’t play the game until I’ve read it (my OCD symptom). I also read the in-game How To Play guide on XBLA games before playing.

Usually manuals are read on the bus going home, but sometimes the roads are empty and I get home before finishing the manual. This is the reason I have not played Resi 5 yet, I didn’t finish reading the manual on the bus. I could have read it at home, but playing something else beats reading.

I remember reading the manual for FF VII and thinking I needed a degree or something. It was more than just attack and defence stats. Took ages to read.

And you don’t get manuals with pirate copies of games, so people who don’t read manuals support piracy. You bad, bad people. :D

By: waxc3

waxc3 — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:28:14 +0000

i read the manual for every game i play. typically i read it in bed the day i start playing the game.
i have noticed EA manuals have been shrinking down majorly in an effort to probably save money.

i have a 6 inch tall stack of manuals from the intellivision and atari 2600 games. i collected them for a long time…

By: Tiq

Tiq — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:01:36 +0000

Real gamers don’t need to read manuals.

I swear, you’re all a bunch of noobs. =p

By: Lorna

Lorna — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:59:45 +0000

Thanks Kirsten :)

And I should hope so about the defiance, though I think I’ve just about given up with my dad reading anything approaching a manual, nightmare that he is! :)

By: Loz

Loz — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:57:23 +0000

awesome bloggage! i loooovee reading the manual! its especially great when my mates are playing, get stuck, and i pop out with the most fantastical answer from behind the manual! genius!

By: Lorna

Lorna — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:53:54 +0000

I’m with you all the way on that one Ben. I hate the ‘manual on the disc thing’ as I like to have it handy when I’m playing, especially for games like Pharaoh, Colonization, and the management type games in general. For me it’s all part of the ‘feely game’ thing which is why I’m not racing headlong into the digital download cause.

When I worked in a Reprographics department, I used to print out my budget game manuals and then fastback bind them with lovely card backs and acetate covers. In between working of course ;p

And I miss the days of huge PC game boxes…damned environment.

By: Kirsten

Kirsten — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:52:30 +0000

Pharaoh definitely required a manual read! Of course all games do though, but especially Pharaoh. I like your photo, Lorna. I wouldn’t defy that look you’re giving us :)

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:49:27 +0000

Ahhh Pharaoh, now that was an awesome sim type game /memories.

Will always remember the behemoth that was the Civ manuals back in the days of shoe box style boxes, you could knock a Rhino out with it! 200+pages of full on info, pull out science chart, that’s how PC games should be.

None of the manual as a .pdf on the disc bollocks. I may not read them all the time, but I at least want to see them clipped into my box when I buy a new game.

By: Van-Fu

Van-Fu — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:56:47 +0000

Manuals, manuals, manuals. In all fairness, the quality of manuals range from incredibly usefull to incredibly useless. The GTA IV manual was awful and it made more sense to just check out the controller options in the game proper. Blue Dragon’s manual was superb and I am glad I read through that before the game started.

I don’t usually go for the manual if I am playing an EA game, because their presentation skills are so top-notch that they usually have little tutorial videos for everything that you can do in the game.

So yes, I don’t always read the manual, but what I will do is memorise EVERY single button for a game, which usually is enough to know what to do to have a great grounding in the game.

By: Lorna

Lorna — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:44:43 +0000

If you want fed at the weekend you will, young man!

By: Tiq

Tiq — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:24:53 +0000

Fail @ MarkuzR =p

Also… I WON’T READ THE MANUALS AND NOTHING YOU SAY WILL MAKE ME, SO THERE!!!

By: MarkuzR

MarkuzR — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:17:11 +0000

But but but… in my defense, the reason I didn’t think there was anything untoward about Oblivion not having a fast travel feature… is because Morrowind didn’t have the option either, so I wasn’t expecting one :) Yes… I concede… the manual did in fact glimmer in the darkness along with that “choir of angels” noise when that page was turned and the fast travel function was mentioned… but I LOVE wading around the countryside in Oblivion… it’s why they made it pretty!!

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:55:23 +0000

I do read the manual, usually, unless it’s for an instalment of a game I’ve played before (namely Oblivion after Morrowind). But I do like when a manual is put together with a bit of imagination – y’know, like a tourist guide for GTA games and that kind of thing?

Nice picture at the end! :D