Robin Gravel's Blog

I have been programming video games since 1985, the first one I could not get a physical copy of was Ratchet & Clank for the Vita. I still need to go to ebay and buy a physical copy from Europe, because they got one.

 

The manual thing is a beef with me, my wife and her brother as well. I don't get it, why don't they at least put a digital version on the disc, if they want to preserve trees?

Agreed. I loved having a manual. Now, even with a physical copy of the game, you still get no manual.

The first game I remember being aware of not getting a manual for was one of the Guitar Hero sequels. The first one came with a pretty good manual, maybe the second one did too. After that it was like "Look, kid, it's Guitar Hero. If you don't know how to play it by now no manual's gonna help you."

 

I'd much rather have a manual I can refer to as I need it if I need it than have to spend half an hour playing though a tutorial level. It's one of the reasons I can't get into a lot of current games.

Oh god yes. Manuals are important. And not just for games.

 

If it's to be hip and cool and to "be online" and all that they failed in my opinion.

 

I do recall as early as 2004 that some things required an online connection to get the full instructions.

 

We have a rule in the house that all software is to have a full manual, either in .pdf, .txt, doc, or printed, or built in via .chm. Less ideally, but still acceptable is a web page capture saved to the program's offline installer folder. This also implies we have an installer that is fully functional offline and away from the web.

 

If something can't meet those basic requirements we don't use it. Almost all software up till about 2011 meets that.

Fortunately, Minecraft is the only digital game I bought and it's not included a digital manual or even no tutorial at all.

Agreed.

 

It's not just games either. Most software is this way now. Try navigating your way around newer versions of Photoshop, Cinema 4D, After Effects, or anything these days. New features will be introduced but if they're not readily apparent they can go unnoticed for years. The only thing that really does get noticed is when they take familiar items and rearrange them. It's like a game trying to figure out what was changed and what hasn't.

Apple II manuals were pretty well written, as is most of the documentation of that era.

 

I love the Apple II manuals published by Apple. Feels like there's an instructor right beside you. Information contained in them is suitable for a beginner and at the same time is a good reference for developers in most cases. They have register listings, monitor listings, example code, and well phrased lectures.

 

When I got my Apple II+ it came with something like 800 pages of information spread across 4 or 5 manuals. It was the Family System, and it had a comprehensive "getting-started" guide that took you step-by-step for wiring everything up.

 

These manuals not only had rote procedures, they also described how the product worked in layman's terms. And to a kid that was fantastic. It set the framework, the groundwork, for further self-paced learning.

 

Today you struggle with online documentation, getting consistent and reliable access to it. With no guarantees it'll be there in the future. Let alone a 30 year future! Not to mention it's overly simplistic and tells you how to push a button by way of cryptic hieroglyphs.

 

In fact not too long ago, Adobe killed the on-screen help files of Acrobat X through their Adobe Help Center. One day I went to reference it, look something up, you know, and POOF!! It said the product was no longer supported. And the documentation was gone!

 

So immediately I restored from a backup and captured the help files and archived them away. And turned off the update process so they remain in-place for the future.

 

I was fortunate to have an Apple II growing up. It was a machine that forced me to learn from the instant I unpacked the box. I learned I needed to get an RF modulator, or spend $$ on a monitor.

 

The documentation was beyond superb, 800 pages of goodness right out of the box. Reading these was like having an invisible instructor by my side that could answer any and all questions.

 

One of these books was the Apple DOS manual that taught me many computer concepts. The concepts presented in the opening chapters are invaluable and saved me hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years of using computers and conducting business. Well.. I was an impressionable youngster and the material well described.

 

I have great sentiments toward the II series because I learned all kinds of computer concepts with it. Especially in the areas of modeming, bbs'ing, telecommunications, and disk & database operations. The documentation was superb all around and having a II+ was like having your own computer lab right at home.

 

I'm already bitching that kids aren't getting same experience I did when I got my first II and II+ unit. And I even continued learning concepts well into the end-life of the //e! The lawn mowing and chore and errand money I spent as a child on the Apple equipment was some of the best education ever. A tip of the hat to the legendary documentation for sure!