No More Manuals: Desperate Struggle

[syntheticgerbil]

http://kotaku.com/5520261/ubisoft-does-away-with-tree+killing-instruction-manuals

So Ubisoft is going to print game manuals to go in the box. This has been inevitably coming for a long time here, but what really bugs me is that they have to spin this as if they are some kind of environmental savior and sort of make those of us who like manuals or books or whatever printed material feel bad.

"Ubisoft is often recognized for making great games, but it's a special privilege to be the industry leader at saving trees," said Laurent Detoc, president of Ubisoft North America. "Eco-friendly initiatives are important to the global community and introducing in-game digital manuals on Xbox 360 and PS3 is just the latest example of Ubisoft's ongoing commitment to being a more environmentally conscious company."

I feel kind of insulted that no company that decides to "go green" by not printing something they used to print can't just say the reason they are doing so: to save money.

Maybe I'm just bothered because I'm a hard copy nut and I love all the junk that used to come in old PC games. I also won't give in to my credit card company's continuous pressure to have me only receive e-statements, so that's the jerk I am. I know most other thumb forum members aren't like that.

I think what should really happen here is that Ubisoft should knock a buck or two off of their new games since we are all saving the environment here and are getting less for our money than we used to.

[Patters]

Ubisoft manuals, at least over here tend to be boring black and white affairs. No loss to be honest.

[syntheticgerbil]

Yeah, I mean that's the truth since most games you just have to run through some tutorial type stuff now instead of reading a pamphlet. I even remember the manual for the PS2 version of Rayman 2 (the special edtion version) being a copy and paste job for the regular Playstation version of Rayman 2, so it had more than a few errors since whoever decided to reprint the thing didn't seem to understand the game had been revamped and changed.

I just don't like Ubisoft's environmental spin on it and I think it should have to save their customers money as well.

[Lu]

I haven't read a game manual in a very long time, so I don't really mind. starshrugstar

By the way, how very cynical of you; manuals can't cost more than a few cents, can they?

Edit: Though I guess if you print 5 million, it can add up...

Edited April 19, 2010 by PiratePooAndHisBattleship

[miffy495]

Y'know, I wrote a thing about this back when the PSP Go came out, but never put it anywhere. I need to start a blog or some shit. The gist of it was that while I'm very similar to you in terms of loving having a physical copy of things I buy (I still buy CDs instead of downloading songs, buy DVDs instead of sign up for streaming services, etc) I've found that it's bothered me less and less in the case of video games. I attribute most of this to Steam getting me in gradually, but it's more than that. My hindsight rationalization of why this is specifically the case with video games is that, in most cases, they're single use things. I will listen to a CD three or four times in a day sometimes. It is a very rare and special video game that I will play through more than once. When my usages are limited on music and movies, I get very indignant. With games, by the time I hit a limit I probably won't care any more. Steam links it all to an account, so it's less of an issue there, but even something like PSN where you're limited to (I believe) 5 downloads doesn't matter that much to me. I was going on a trip, bought Assassin's Creed Bloodlines on PSN the night before. Downloaded it, beat it in a week, deleted it. I still have four more downloads. I don't know what the hell I'll use them for. The length of time it takes to complete a game, to me, makes all this digital stuff much less scary to me when put in the context of games.

...Of course, you may have been talking specifically about physical games with digital pack-ins, not the general trend towards non-physical gaming purchases. In that case, I'm totally with you. If I'm going to go out and buy your game in a box, the least you can do is give me a fucking slip of paper with some backstory. I miss the days of the old-timey Crimson Skies aviation magazine that came in the box.

[syntheticgerbil]

...Of course, you may have been talking specifically about physical games with digital pack-ins, not the general trend towards non-physical gaming purchases. In that case, I'm totally with you. If I'm going to go out and buy your game in a box, the least you can do is give me a fucking slip of paper with some backstory. I miss the days of the old-timey Crimson Skies aviation magazine that came in the box.

It's more of the latter, besides the whole environmental spin, since I don't really have anything against digital releases. To me it seems weird that they would sell a boxed copy of a game with a printed cover and not bother to print a manual? It seems half assed. Why not just make the whole thing a digital release then so we don't have to use plastics as well?

Also I think the PSP Go sort of had the right idea, but made a lot of mis-steps. I think the main problem is they are pitting physical copies of the same game against the digital copy. Why are they the same price? The digital copy should always be a little bit cheaper. In fact, if the game starts dropping in price, you eventually get screwed on every game for the PSP if you are looking for a digital copy, since their prices rarely drop with the market value of the boxed release.

But I guess Sony also didn't bother feeding everyone some horse shit about the environment.

I also don't understand why hardly any major publisher has tried very hard to put anything worthwhile in the manual the last 10 years either. I just bought the Special Edition boxed release of Machinarium and even the walkthrough the came in addition to the artbook is fully illustrated and has design document type sketches all over the place. It really makes me miss this stuff.

[elmuerte]

The quality of manuals have gone downhill ever since they moved from large boxes to amaray cases.

[Kolzig]

...Of course, you may have been talking specifically about physical games with digital pack-ins, not the general trend towards non-physical gaming purchases. In that case, I'm totally with you. If I'm going to go out and buy your game in a box, the least you can do is give me a fucking slip of paper with some backstory. I miss the days of the old-timey Crimson Skies aviation magazine that came in the box.

All old flight sims and games like the original Alone in the Dark had really awesome extra stuff in the package and big manuals.

For really old games I have a certain special value for all the stuff the developers put in to the boxes as extra, but these days I don't care that much anymore. No developers or production companies care anymore to put extra money on extra stuff as they want to maximize the earnings from game development and sales. If they do put extra stuff sometimes, then it comes out as some Collector's edition that costs 50% more or so.

That's why Steam is very good, it's easy to buy games from there and you save shelf space at your home, but I agree with Miffy as I too miss the old times a lot when you really got a lot of stuff in addition to the game itself when you bougt the box and everything.

I think it was the end of the 90's when things started changing. After that the only manuals were in pdf form or some crummy A4 printout or few pages of black&white quick install guide.

The quality of manuals have gone downhill ever since they moved from large boxes to amaray cases.

This is true as in a small box there's not that much space to put the extra stuff in.

I do have to congratulate Telltale about the amazing extras they have brought with each series season boxes. Of course you do have to pay more to get the stuff if you want it, but I guess that's how the business works these days. You don't get anything for free.

[Roderick]

The sense of loss at having your game box filled with junk is appreciated, that's that's why big releases often have luxurious collector's editions that take care of that urge. As for all the rest, I will applaud every step towards gaming becoming a purely digital affair without any physical form at all consuming resources and living space. Same goes for books, which will inevitably become objets d'art whenever they're still in physical form.

Of course, it's a crime if that decrease in production cost does then not lead to a decrease of consumer price. If Ubisoft is so intent on doing the right thing, that should be included in the package.

[Murdoc]

I couldn't tell you where my warcraft, warcraft2, tides, and diablo disks are; but I know where my manuals are. I think that's a testimate to blizzards kick ass manuals back then.

Most manuals suck though so this isn't too much of a concern, but if a company went all out(like the classic games) then by all means print it; it can't be any worse of the environment then that shit they make for special editions.

[JonCole]

I agree with everyone else, as seems to be the trend.

All I can say is if you're not used to companies pinning "green" marketing on cost-cutting procedure yet, you will be. This is the standard - using cheap recyclables to justify lower build quality, cutting out any non-essential excess for the cause of "preserving natural resources", etc. But to swivel back from the overly cynical, at least they're right on some level, even if their primary motives may be a little less savory.

[Nevsky]

Sniff.

I can't remember the last time I read a manual.

[syntheticgerbil]

I do have to congratulate Telltale about the amazing extras they have brought with each series season boxes. Of course you do have to pay more to get the stuff if you want it, but I guess that's how the business works these days. You don't get anything for free.

Yes! It's at least nice it's available even if it's for a small fee. I'm a sucker for the little Telltale goodies packages.

All I can say is if you're not used to companies pinning "green" marketing on cost-cutting procedure yet, you will be. This is the standard - using cheap recyclables to justify lower build quality, cutting out any non-essential excess for the cause of "preserving natural resources", etc. But to swivel back from the overly cynical, at least they're right on some level, even if their primary motives may be a little less savory.

I probably won't ever be used to it even though it's already been happening a lot the past couple of years. Soda and water bottles use less plastic. Every bill would be better as an e-statement. Everyone uses recycled paper where they didn't before. Glass is becoming taboo. This is all good, for sure, but again my problem is none of these cost saving measures trickle down to the consumer.

I guess on the bright side, for those that like to buy complete games with the box and manual have one less thing to worry about.

If Ubisoft is so intent on doing the right thing, that should be included in the package.

Yeah that actually sounds like a great idea. They could knock a buck off their $59.99 game to $58.99 and then put a sticker saying why and maybe a small blurb on the back about their steps to help the environment. Basically what they said in the press release. Couldn't hurt? It'd make them look better.

[Forbin]

Manuals (like box art) used to be more important to establish a game's character. When art assets were only a few blocky pixels, they needed to give people a greater perspective to guide their imaginations.

I'm happy to buy everything through Steam, and if something deserves the extra kit I'll grab the special edition.

I have no desire to support Ubisoft anyways though, 'cause they're trying to kill PC gaming.

[Rueler]

Isn't the main point of a game manual to instruct people how to play the game? Even if I am unsure of how to do something in a game, I never think of looking in the manual, I just type in "how do I 'X thing' in 'X game'?"

It seems like most people are disappointed that their games don't come with cool art instead of the fact that they are losing the instructions on how to play. You guys just might have to fork over more money for the special editions of games that seem to usually include extra art.

[Rawru]

The timing of this is really hilarious for me.. I just dug up my old EverQuest CD the other day, because I really had a strange need to play the original tutorial that came with it...

The installation includes a pdf of the manual, which I decided to reread, if not for just the cute system requirements page. I ended up finding 7+ pages of 'lore' stuff that was super fun to reread. It made me wish I had a physical copy really badly.

The whole thing reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend on digital books... She didnt like the idea of them because she enjoys the whole 'sensation' of flipping pages or whatever. I was saying I'd rather not have a whole bookcase full of stuff I read once or twice but didnt care about enough to read again, but instead have maybe just a shelf of really high quality versions of the ones I loved...

Getting rid of the mass production of this sorta stuff makes me hope that when it is physically produced it could potentially be keepsake-like. Or maybe just the Collectors Editions of junk would come down in price / be full of better stuff.. (wishful thinking to the max)?

[Joflar]

I wish more companies would put goodies online to offset the loss of in-box swag. I got really excited for Zeno Clash after reading the comic they posted to hype the game, and being able to download the soundtracks to Bioshock and Henry Hatsworth was pretty sweet. I will also ashamedly admit to enjoying the Dead Space motion comic.

[Forbin]

Isn't the main point of a game manual to instruct people how to play the game? Even if I am unsure of how to do something in a game, I never think of looking in the manual, I just type in "how do I 'X thing' in 'X game'?"

It seems like most people are disappointed that their games don't come with cool art instead of the fact that they are losing the instructions on how to play. You guys just might have to fork over more money for the special editions of games that seem to usually include extra art.

A combination of game design being more streamlined and the internet providing all answers has pretty-much eliminated this need. Also if the developers really have their crap together, they just package instructions into the game.

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[Chuckpebble]

The whole "Green" PR spin frankly sickens me, however, I'm not averse to the potential alternatives for manuals.

Since the PS3 and 360 are the ones getting this, I'm guessing that their solution will be an in game manual available while paused. These could be really sweet with interactive demonstrations done in engine and stuff.

The other thought I have is, why not make the game disc some sort of hybrid that can be put in a computer. You can then mount a partition on the disc and download a PDF manual to your computer. Of course that could easily just be a file on the devs website as well. This is already what I do when I score a used game with no packaging. http://www.replacementdocs.com/

I'd actually like all of my games to be a box and a disc if I could go to a website and download a PDF manual. I could then easily reference them on my laptop or web enabled handheld device.

[syntheticgerbil]

Since the PS3 and 360 are the ones getting this, I'm guessing that their solution will be an in game manual available while paused. These could be really sweet with interactive demonstrations done in engine and stuff.

Haha, I'm completely for that if they want to go as far as a Nobynoby Boy style manual instead, that was a lot of fun.

I don't necessarily think the usual game hints I'm seeing now in current games where it tells you to press a certain button early on (even sometimes being unskippable) is the way to go. But maybe it's because I always tend to read the manual before starting a game. Even the epilepsy info and where it tells you how to insert the cartridge into the system (kidding!).

Brutal Legend's in game notebook was a pretty good reference most of the time, but a lot of times early on I actually had no clue what I was doing or how to do certain simple tasks. The manual actually didn't really enlighten me on any of these sorts of things (like getting serpents, running, or unlocking Legends (which I would think should be important and obvious foremost!)) and instead spent pages profiling and describing all of the possible troops to the multiplayer armies.

[Hermie]

I too am hoping for more bonus content instead of the traditional manual. Because let's be honest, the manuals as of late have been pretty crappy black and white leaflets, so it would be welcome if they included something else cool. Like when you right click TF2 in steam and click View Game Manual. ^^

[Forbin]

If retailers were smart, they'd start re-branding guides as manuals. Also, they may not ever feel the digital distribution squeeze in places like middle America where the internet is composed of strings and tin-cans, but they may have to start making the effort to bundle it themselves to justify your purchase in person.

[AndrewArmstrong]

I enjoy reading the background in the books - Fallout's manual is a testimonial to doing it all in character too (lots of others are the same, got a pile of them on my bookshelf).

The issue remains that the in game help systems suuuuccckkkk. I was surprised that BioShock 2, for a First Person Shooter, had more in game help then the manual (better then the original was) and it kept adding things too.

In fact, it went a wee bit too far and had more descriptions in the biographies then you ever found out in game (So that's who that person was?!)

Mass Effect and Dragon Age (despite terrible layouts) did the background thing well too. I like optional text, and especially like real functional help in games, which most don't offer.

This has been a happening trend though. For instance: Valve is terrible at documentation after the original Half-Life games (which had fitting game story bits too, sigh) - the "manual" for Half Life 2 onwards was a pathetic list of controls (no explanation of the 7 year war for YOU!), and the Orange Box doesn't have anything for TF2, and good luck finding a Left 4 Dead manual (Versus as a zombie for the first time is friggin' impossible)...rather large assumptions are made all told that the players both know the FPS genre, know the controls and know how to do things, and no tutorials/hazard courses to boot. Portal just about pulls it off since the entire game basically is a tutorial for a much less hectic puzzle game. A big letdown - and this is one of the prime examples of a (otherwise) brilliant Video game company. Now Ubisoft are doing it, you've got to wonder...

Little rant there, but if manuals go, the documentation in game MUST compensate. A PDF manual isn't the same either, you usually can't look at that and play a game (especially if it crashes or goes wonky alt-tabbing) - and it doesn't help console players at all!

[syntheticgerbil]

Little rant there, but if manuals go, the documentation in game MUST compensate. A PDF manual isn't the same either, you usually can't look at that and play a game (especially if it crashes or goes wonky alt-tabbing) - and it doesn't help console players at all!

I wonder also if Ubisoft does not include manuals with the epilepsy warnings and the generic "how to start the game" type stuff, will they face possibly legal trouble?

The reason Nintendo prints out that obnoxious warning booklet in everything they release and makes screens you have to press a button to skip was because of legal trouble from parents with epileptic kids looking to grab some money.