4 ms·

How is this any different then old-school CRPG's and needing to make your own map using graph paper of dungeons? I remember NEEDING to do this in Pools of Radi

How is this any different then old-school CRPG's and needing to make your own map using graph paper of dungeons? I remember NEEDING to do this in Pools of Radiance (IIRC), just to get around the dungeon, and make sure I found everything on the level. For those that don't remember the game, you moved one square at a time in a N,E,S,W direction. one move = one square on the graph paper. No helpful pointer arrows like on Skyrim. You had to take notes, and map out the levels. It was far too easy to spend hours in a dungeon never finding the the door to get to the treasure/clue/quest item. So some of these guides would be no different then sharing those maps with friends. Of course I had no friends at the time. ;-)

1123581321 6y ago
It’s not, and I would say that the aggregation of those text guides happened at a special time because it became so much easier to share game knowledge while the guides themselves retained a DIY paper feel.
Natsu 6y ago
One thing a lot of modern games have changed is that they take the notes for you. I really like when the game has a bestiary and drop tables and museums/collections built into the game so you don't have to alt-tab to the wiki all the time.
danbolt 6y ago
I’ve been playing the Nintendo Switch port of Phantasy Star lately, and there are some parts of the game where it’s not 100% intuitive where to go or what to do next (eg: hidden passages that look like walls in first-person view, asking an NPC the same question multiple times until they give a different response, etc.). I really like the game’s charm and character, but there are elements that likely are more meant for a child playing over her summer vacation in the 1980s rather than an adult millennial in 2020. Being able to quickly look up the next step has been a huge boon to enjoying it for me. I’m thankful for those GameFAQs writers putting the time in!

1123581321 6y ago

It’s not, and I would say that the aggregation of those text guides happened at a special time because it became so much easier to share game knowledge while the guides themselves retained a DIY paper feel.

Natsu 6y ago

One thing a lot of modern games have changed is that they take the notes for you. I really like when the game has a bestiary and drop tables and museums/collections built into the game so you don't have to alt-tab to the wiki all the time.

danbolt 6y ago

I’ve been playing the Nintendo Switch port of Phantasy Star lately, and there are some parts of the game where it’s not 100% intuitive where to go or what to do next (eg: hidden passages that look like walls in first-person view, asking an NPC the same question multiple times until they give a different response, etc.). I really like the game’s charm and character, but there are elements that likely are more meant for a child playing over her summer vacation in the 1980s rather than an adult millennial in 2020. Being able to quickly look up the next step has been a huge boon to enjoying it for me. I’m thankful for those GameFAQs writers putting the time in!