Gamers reading manuals
Poll started by INtense! with 1,948 votes and 73 comments. Browse the poll archive.
(583 votes)I read before I install
(687 votes)I read after I install
(678 votes)I never read no matter how hard it is to install, I just keep trying and demand answers on forums
Post a comment
Hot Polls
Your aims in 2012
24,422 votes
How long have you been modding?
23,225 votes
I prefer my mods to be...
13,660 votes
What do think about free to play games?
12,502 votes
You want to design games in the future as...
10,174 votes
Do you own a smartphone?
9,591 votes
How do you set your resolution for PC gaming?
7,567 votes
What version of Mac OS X do you use?
7,222 votes
Who needs a manual to help them install?
My thoughts too. If a game can't be installed easily it already failed. Mods are something else, there it's fine if this happens.
well i dont read them never and i'll never going to do that! and i'm also dont want a answer why! I just try every option and than go back to the store abd buy a new game! if you mean the game manaul i'll learn when i play!
Yeah. If you can't figure it out just use the forums.
I usually read the manuals WHILE im installing, just to pass the time and savor the anticipation of sinking my teeth into a new game :D
If this poll is in reference to installing hardware, then nope, never read it :P
Same here ^^
I get the feeling it's to install mods, not games...
i just read them to pass the time while sitting in the train :P at home i dont need it anymore just to fix the bill in the cd-hull ;D
same here too! I only read it for the descriptions of the units and their abilities. If the manual does not have, then i won't read it.
and alas, good game manuals with extra story info / concept art / decent unit/building listings (like the original Age of Empires or Starcraft manuals) have pretty much gone the way of the dodo...
unfortunately true!
hahahaahaha! well of course I can read it if i have problems, but I mostly use manuals to check out some part of the game lore xD
I always read the manual,no matter what,and I hate it when games don't come with a manual. I would prefer it like it used to be, when you had a BIG manual, like with the earlier C&C games and Civ 3, I like big manuals.
the third option is soooo true lol
i usually find myself shouting at the program if it's not installing
I never read it. I will look at the pictures if they are good though :P
Where's the "manuals and forums are for twats" option? ;P
Why would you read a manual???
If it dosent work you go on a Rage Attack and destroy your compuer with the keyboard......Doh
I mean Computer.
Do you mean like this kid?
Reading it "During" Install.
If I think I need to read the manual because of some new game-element(s) I'm reading while it installs.
But nowerdays there are usually tutorials in the game...
I don't see any reason in even having manuals anymore. Installation should guide you step by step, and if you have trouble, the only way a manual can help is by directing you to their support, which Google can also do.
And as far as using a manual for the game itself, I really hate when games do this. You should not need a manual to tell you how to play the game, and you should NEVER need a manual to tell you the story of the game. Any developer who doesn't include an opening cinematic of some sorts (even text would work) and some sort of tutorial option is just plain idiotic.
why not have manuals? Because then when people review Fallout 3 for PC & say it's silly there's no way to quick switch between weapons via the keyboard, you can say "RTFM!".
besides, you don't SAVE any $$ if you don't get a manual+packaging, why not have it? You can also avoid those completely retarded training levels. Only for people who RTFM though, anyone else can say "how do I fire? I don't know!"
Well, a manual costs paper, ink, metal and the process of writing and printing it.
And considering that the rest of the items are a plastic box, a plastic disc and a paper cover disc, in the long run, you'd get a non-neglectable fee.
On the other hand, the effort put into the game to be competent enough without a manual might cost a lot more...
The Half-Life series has done well, the games only include a small sheet of paper, the rest is learned in-game.
(Ok, Since the HL series are FPS games they don't need to use so many keys, but still, no Gravity Gun instructions.)
But I have to say, I agree on that some people don't have general computer knowledge and might need the manuals.
Why do these polls keep posting three options where two are reasonable answers and the third is rediculously extreme? I can almost never click on an answer in these polls that wouldn't be a lie. The idea when making polls is to cover all possible situations (or at least all reasonable ones).
Sometimes I read before and sometimes I read after.
I don't read the maunuals that much but when i do I read them after I install the game
I just read them to keep me occupied while installing. It also gives a bit of a quick-start, as I already have a basic grasp of the controls, story, weapons etc.
I read the manual just as I leave the shop. I love reading or looking at it.
what the **** is a manual?
Me myself only read the manual as a past-time during installation. Except if there's some nice material in it(story notes, extra info, etc), then I'll probably read it some time later if I can't finish it before completion...
I've never seen myself needing the manual though.
Agreed, same here.
I just read it to pass time when i'm bored
"If you need instructions, check out the enclosed instructions book!"
i never read the manual... it doesnt have ctrl+f
manuals are for noobs!
I only read them as a sort of picture book (if there is any) or to see some of the descriptions or explanations of a few key features the game includes IE: Weaponry :D (both games and mods).
Reading a manual to install is garbage (Some mods I might make exceptions like UT3 :P).
i would like to see the "I read while installing" option.....
But that would make life too easy :D
i never read the manual, NEVER!
I installed XP for the first time recently, manual? yea right
i usually just hope it works and then re-try
I had to Google what "manual" was.
I read a definition, looked at images, and I can respectively say that killing trees to tell people how to do something that is common sense is just unethical.
But in all seriousness, I admit that if all else fails, a good read usually points out something that your computer monitor did not display.
I almost didn't read.
I read on my way home from the video game store and during the installation. Some manuals, like the Tiberian Sun one, is so good that I read it once a year or something.
i just don't read them or ask help, installing isn't exactly hard lol
i will not read the manual for an fps. however if i have never played a genre of game before or i dont play many of them, then i may glance at the manual during instalation.
some games have awfull menu systems and dont let you see all the controls from the ingame menu. so occasionally i will whack out a manual just to find that elusive button.
It depends. RTS I'll usually read the manual, because that way you tend to get to know all the useful keyboard shortcuts for things like waypoints, group control and so on.
FPS, never to my memory.
Im like most people here. I start the install process, then read the manual to pass the time.
I never read manuals, until I'm stuck on something for more than 15 minutes.
i actualy read during the installation, cuz i mean its not hard to install u install every game the same: put disk in, enter code, select where u want to install, sometimes select what u want to install(TFD), then i installs. there no problem there