Instruction Book

I don't know if this has been posted before but, I miss the days when games would come with a in depth instruction book. I still have my books from Second age and Renn, and it really made it feel like the developer put in the extra time and effort for quality. For those who do not remember or never got to see these old school instruction manuals that old games would come with, it would have a complete list of monsters, towns, dungeons, maps, and some times basic items etc.

What are your thoughts?

 

I don't think LB ever made a game without a manual. The $125 level gets a printed manual, so I think there will be a digital version for everyone who pledged less than that.

 

You see less of this in modern games because it feeds the community better to let players and fansites fill this in.

 

I likewise very much enjoyed the style and content of the <i>Book of Lore</i> from Ultima V, as well as the books from the other games, particularly the <i>Book of Mystic Wisdom</i> from Ultima IV. I thought the style of the drawings very much captured the world and brought it to life.

 

I think you don't see a lot of manuals anymore because the games are so simple they don't need to be explained. The exception would be Japanese games that tutor the player all the way to the end of the game.

The games that have digital in game manuals are usually awkward and clumsy. Civs Revolution for example.


I imagine this games manual will be created mostly by fans as it's figured out. The lack of information is part of what built such a strong game community in UO. UO stratics was the go-to place for finding information.