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Several manuals
Several manuals

An instruction manual, in the context of computer and video games, is a booklet that instructs the player on how to play the game, gives descriptions of the controls and their effects, and shows a general outline of the concepts and goals of the game. A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. It is also common for manuals to contain a brief summary of the storyline of the game, especially in games with complex storylines, such as role playing games. A computer role-playing game ( CRPG) is a broad Video game genre originally developed for personal computers and other home computers Manuals can be large, such as the Civilization II manual which runs hundreds of pages, or small, such as the single sheet of double-sided A5 paper included with Half-Life 2. Sid Meier's Civilization II, aka Civ II, is a Turn-based strategy Computer game designed by Brian Reynolds A series Paper in the A series format has a 1\sqrt{2} aspect ratio although this is rounded to the nearest millimetre Half-Life 2 is a Science fiction First-person shooter computer game and the sequel to the highly acclaimed Half-Life

Contents

Personal computers

Computer games typically have larger manuals because some genres native to personal computers such as simulators or strategy games require a more in-depth explanation of the interface and game mechanics. Furthermore, instruction manuals for personal computer games tend to include installation instructions to assist a user in installing the game, but those instructions could also appear in a separate piece of paper or in a different leaflet. As some of these manuals are so large as to be cumbersome when searching for a specific section, some games include a quick reference card (usually a list of keyboard commands) on a separate sheet of paper or in the back cover of the manual.

A common use for printed manuals until the CD-ROM became the main medium for games was to use it as a copy protection device: some games required the player to find the "word x in the yth paragraph of the zth page" or to input a code found in the borders of a certain page. CD-ROM (an initialism of "Compact Disc Read-Only Memory " is a pre-pressed Compact Disc that contains data accessible to but not writable Copy protection, also known as content protection, copy prevention, or copy restriction, is a technology for preventing the unauthorised reproduction These mechanisms were highly unpopular, as they only affected legitimate purchasers; pirates would simply use a crack or have the codes printed on a single sheet to bypass the mechanism. The Copyright infringement of Software (also known as software piracy) refers to several practices which involve the unauthorized copying of computer Software cracking is the modification of Software to remove protection methods Copy prevention, trial/demo version serial number hardware key CD check While this practice has fallen out of use in recent years, CD-keys serve a similar purpose and are occasionally printed somewhere in or on the manual.

Other manuals go much farther than being simple guides: some games based on historical or well developed fictional stories often include extensive information about the settings, like WWI combat simulator Flying Corps, where every campaign was thoroughly described with historical information. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Flying Corps is a 1996 World War I Flight simulator developed by Rowan Software and published by Empire Interactive. In some genres, this led to the aforementioned large manuals traditional with computer games.

Decline of printed manuals

The trend in recent years is towards smaller manuals - sometimes just a single instruction sheet - for a number of reasons. Console games are no longer sold in large cardboard boxes; instead, since the early 2000s, DVD cases have been used (as today's major consoles use DVDs), which leave no room for a large manual. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is Printing is also expensive, and game publishers can save money by including a PDF of the manual on the disk (computer games) or in-game help (both computer and console games). A video game publisher is a company that publishes Video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a Video game developer As more "spare" buttons become available on controllers, screen resolution and an obstacle course to teach movement and target practice to teach shooting and introduce different types of weapons; in real-time strategy games, they are one or more missions that teach not only the issuing of basic commands (build, upgrade, move, harvest resources, attack) but also the uses of basic units. An obstacle course is a series of challenging physical obstacles an individual or team must navigate usually while being timed Target practice refers to any exercise in which Projectiles are fired at a specified target usually to improve the aim of the person or persons firing the Weapon. A goal or objective consists of a projected state of affairs which a Person or a System plans or intends to achieve or bring about — a personal or

Missing manuals

While their use in computer games post-2000 is scarce, console games and older computer games are expected to have them. Games acquired in second hand markets often miss the manuals, after being kept, lost or discarded by their previous owners. As occasionally the manuals are part of the game experience, owners of games missing manuals try to find replacements in other second-hand stores or with other players or collectors. Alternatively, sites like replacementdocs provide a large repository of fan-made and official PDF manuals to download. replacementdocs was founded in 2002 by Sleepy in an attempt to provide a universal repository for video game documentation to be stored in a graphical format Those range from simple page scans (which is impractical in longer manuals, due to larger file size and the inability to search text) to OCR-scanned and carefully assembled manuals to remain as close to the original manuals as possible. Optical character recognition, usually abbreviated to OCR, is the Mechanical or electronic translation of Images of handwritten typewritten

MMORPG manuals

MMORPGs in particular continue to be packaged with a comprehensive and high-quality manual. A massively multiplayer online role-playing game ( MMORPG) is a genre of Computer role-playing games (CRPGs in which a large number of players interact with World of Warcraft and Guild Wars include instruction manuals that are 150 to 200 pages; they explain everything from in-game lore to detailed overviews of the different character classes. World of Warcraft (commonly acronymed as WoW) is a Massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG In general, MMORPGs have a larger variety of features in which the player can focus on while playing than normal games and often take much longer to complete. The detailed instruction booklets that accompany the games help answer any questions that players may have in order to make public relations and technical support easier once the game is released. These manuals also invite potential players to explore an aspect of the game that was previously unknown to them. More than any other genre, the community and longevity of an MMO are important to the developers because they often charge a monthly fee for playing the game, and comprehensive instruction manuals can only add to the game's appeal.

Notable manuals

See also

Video game Packaging refers to the physical storage of the contents of a computer or Video game, both for safekeeping and shop display User assistance is a general term for guided assistance to a user of a Software product replacementdocs was founded in 2002 by Sleepy in an attempt to provide a universal repository for video game documentation to be stored in a graphical format
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