Guide's Do they really ruin the gaming experience?

LewisD wrote: Ah, y'see back when I were a lad and stuck on Broken sword 1&2, I used the terribly expensive "Hint line" that was advertised at the back of the manual.
I got a right hiding from my dad when the bill came in.

I've done the same for a few games. I got stuck in a dungeon in Link's Awakening for one. I called up about Pokémon Blue, and had an amusing chat with the guy on the other end of the phone. He called me sad for playing Pokemon at the age of 20, I called him sad for knowing the solution to my problem, implying that he had played the game previous. We both took it in good jest.

Me and a mate always said it would be a cool job to have, chatting away to some folk who were stuck, and helping them finish a game.

As for guides, I have a few. Mainly for RPGs. The latest I bought was the Oblivion guide, and it helped me immensely. The Piggyback guides are really well done, but I've always had a soft spot for Prima guides. Their Majora's Mask guide is really good.

Andrew Mills wrote:As someone who specializes in writing and recording semi-professional video game guides, it's quite interesting to see peoples opinions on the subject. Personally, I think they can be an excellent accompaniment when produced correctly. Piggyback do a small number of very nice guides which are designed to work with the game and not just guide you through it.

Out of plain curiosity would anyone here who do buy guides, would you ever consider buying a well produced DVD guide instead of a paper-based one if it contained a wealth of extras along with it? I only ask as it was something I've seriously considered looking into, but I wasn't too sure of whether there was a real market for such a product out there. Obviously they'd have to be official (seeing as the 'fair use' policy wouldn't go as far as full motion video), so the overall quality would be of the highest order.

All thoughts on the topic would be greatly appreciated.

It's an interesting concept, Andrew. Hmmm. I like the idea of being able to use actual game footage to explain or illustrate a particular moment, move or secrets, etc in the game. I suppose with the right amount of interactivity and official help from the developer in terms of supporting materials (e.g. high-quality renders, maps, secrets, etc) it could be viable. The problem is that having a book next to you is just so damn convenient! Why not have both? The next stage in game guide evolution - comes with a DVD!

Cal wrote:Why not have both? The next stage in game guide evolution - comes with a DVD!

Funnily enough, Piggyback have done just that with their last 2 PES guides, but they didn't seem to put as much effort into the dvds as they did the actual paper guide. They'd certainly be easier to sit and thus sell - physically - alongside their boxed game counterparts (being the same size as 360 and Wii and nearly the same as PS3). So you could have the DVD guide right beside the game on the same shelf. No need for a large guide rotating device thingymebob.

The only REAL stinger, is the cost of an official license. I'd have to do some homework on it, but I'd dread to think how much I'd need to pay upfront for such a privilege... :shock:

Hulohot wrote:I think I used guides for Broken Sword 1 and 2. I was young you see. Didnt cripple my enjoyment at all. Without the guides I might have never finished them, and Broken Sword wouldnt have become one of my favourite series.

I had to find and use a guide to get passed the goat in the castle but even with the guide it took me weeks to figure out exactly how to do it.

A friend of a friend used to use walkthroughs on point-and-click games (eg. Broken Sword 2), which almost completely defeats the point of them.

Idiot.

KKLEIN wrote:Unless you're stuck, I don't bother. You spend more time "looking down there" than "up there".

This.

I find sometimes for Pokemon I like to know so I can see where to catch Pokemno and stuff that it is useful.

Also GTA once I have completed the main missions I'll use a guide often so I can find everything and make the most of the game.

I don't buy a guide at the time of buying a game. That would ruin it.

I don't actually buy guides at all.

But i have read some that my mates have, and, as long as you don't use it to ruin the story for yourself, they're actually alright. Some do enhance gameplay, in games like GTA and multiplayer parts of games, discussing tactics.

Guide's Do they really ruin the gaming experience?

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