this post was submitted on 04 May 2025
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I'm interested in your take on what Blue Prince and Dark Souls are echoing, if I'm reading this right.
I think they're saying if you fire up some old NES games without the manual, you'll only learn from trial and error, and it's going to be hard as hell. (Even with the manual, they were not as forgiving back then)
Hence, people designing challenging games without instructions thinking THAT'S what the old timers must like!
Oh yeah, that makes sense.
Honestly, I do enjoy that though.
Yes, and that's why Dark Souls is fun. Lol
Is there a database of scans of old video game manuals somewhere? Seems like something that would be great to add to stuff like RetroArch etc., along side the automatic download of box art and such.
Edit: @nocturne posted one downthread: https://www.gamesdatabase.org/all_manuals
yeah i have this on emulationstation
We do!!! Blue Prince is fantastic
Dark Souls is largely inspired by Miyazaki consuming western media without being able to fully understand it. He had to try to fill in the gaps himself. I assume that's what they meant.
A good example of this is Tunic, where the manual is not understandable at first, but you can figure out as you play. These games create very interactive world building where you're supposed to pay attention and piece things together yourself instead of being handed the solution.