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ahoodedfigure

I guess it's sunk cost. No need to torture myself over what are effectively phantasms.

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Older Games with Cool Manuals or Extras

As much as I understand why comprehensive or entertaining manuals are rare now, I still miss them.  
 
For information on Infocom's Feelies:  
http://infocom.elsewhere.org/gallery/  
 
And for information on a company that collects and sells classic Feelies, as well as manufactures NEW versions for games:  
http://www.feelies.org/

List items

  • My number one favorite manual. Plenty of information, both historical and mythical, as well as detailed descriptions of saints and weapon stats, and a great design essay in the back. Can't overstate my love for this manual.

  • Nice rules descriptions, plenty of Pip Boy, plenty of atmosphere.

  • Or so I've been told.

  • Infocom loved putting a bunch of crazy junk in their game boxes, called "feelies." Wikipedia says this particular one had: "A pamphlet entitled You're ready to move! from the fictional bank Fillmore Fiduciary Trust, a flier advertising the fictional magazine Popular Paranoia, a welcome letter from the player's new employer, Happitec Corporation, a Fillmore "Better Beezer" credit card application form (each sheet of the triplicate carbon copy form had different instructions and questions), and a very skinny pencil (similar to those provided at banks)."

  • I realize this isn't very Zork, let alone Infocom, but it came with a really neat manual that helped get you in the mood.

  • It's great when any mechanics-heavy game is willing to talk about its basic system in detail. Both KOTOR manuals were top-notch.

4 Comments

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Yummylee

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Edited By Yummylee

I haven't played any of these games :'(.  
 
EDIT; WAAAAAAAIT!!??!!....I have played KOTOR, but it was apart of the ''best of star wars'' set so it's manual is still a mystery to me =P
 
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ahoodedfigure

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Edited By ahoodedfigure
@Abyssfull: Yeah, and I remember Baldur's Gate and maybe Icewind Dale having nice manuals, but I got it as part of a huge package with no manuals.  Maybe there are PDFs, I haven't checked, but I guess that wouldn't qualify.
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ChernobylCow

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Edited By ChernobylCow
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Yeah, all of the Bioware games for a while had excellent manuals.  Here I'll insert some pics.  Notice that Icewind Dale and Neverwinter Nights have are spiral bound, sick!  Arcanum's manual is interesting because they person who wrote its content went to great length's to make it all sound like one of those 1912 advertisements for Dr. Brock's Cure-All Tonic Juice very "old-timey".  Too bad Arcanum's gameplay is garbage, every time I try to revisit it I am always disappointed : (
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ahoodedfigure

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@ChernobylCow: Maybe you should do a post on this, you seem to have a good gob of information on it.  We bought the big Atari multi-pack for all those Bioware games, so we never got the hefty manuals.  
 
I've pretty much heard every possible opinion about Arcanum; I guess the setting goes a long way for some people to forget about the mechanics, but from what I've heard the combat is total balls, and some people who played female main characters said that the female role is limited in a way that feels less like an attempt at historical adherence (in a fantasy game!!) and more just not fun to play.