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12-07-2011, 03:40 PM
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http://www.1up.com/media/03/9/2/9/lg/097.jpg The Science of Strategy Guides
Frank Glaser and Will Murray of Future Press on the trials of writing book-based game guides in an online world.
By: 1UP Staff December 7, 2011
As gaming grows annually, and draws into its fold new gamers, new fans, and new people hungry for knowledge, so too does the need for things like FAQs, cheat sites, video strategy sites, and community message boards. And although many gamers turn to the Internet for all their strategy-specific needs, there is still a large audience who craves the sturdy feel of the time-tested tome known simply as the printed 'strategy guide.' Like a bible for a gamer deeply invested in his gaming experience, sometimes nothing less will do than a thick volume filled with lavish artwork, bound in a hardcover, with an entire game's secrets at your fingertips. Often, people just don't want to have to sit in front of a computer, checking item recipes, locations, boss tactics, or map layouts. Gamers may want to reference the guide while on the bus, or during lunch, when a PC isn't handy.
While the printed guide isn't going away any time soon, the industry has had to make adjustments. Instead of receding in the wake of the Internet's dominance, most strategy guide makers --Prima and Brady being the behemoths of the industry-- have actually increased the quality of their guides, frequently offering regular softcover versions as well as 'limited edition' hardcover guides, containing premium maps, interviews, artwork and other incentives to get gamers to part with an extra $20-40 per guide. But there is a lesser-known entity quietly producing some of the highest quality guides in the English-speaking market. Their name is Future Press, which was founded in 1998, and is based in Hamburg, Germany. Staffed by a core team of 15 people, they translate their guides into 5 languages, have racked up a formidable catalogue of 50 guides thus far, of which 7 have been officially published in North America.
More... (http://www.1up.com/features/the-science-of-strategy-guides)
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http://www.1up.com/media/03/9/2/9/lg/097.jpg The Science of Strategy Guides
Frank Glaser and Will Murray of Future Press on the trials of writing book-based game guides in an online world.
By: 1UP Staff December 7, 2011
As gaming grows annually, and draws into its fold new gamers, new fans, and new people hungry for knowledge, so too does the need for things like FAQs, cheat sites, video strategy sites, and community message boards. And although many gamers turn to the Internet for all their strategy-specific needs, there is still a large audience who craves the sturdy feel of the time-tested tome known simply as the printed 'strategy guide.' Like a bible for a gamer deeply invested in his gaming experience, sometimes nothing less will do than a thick volume filled with lavish artwork, bound in a hardcover, with an entire game's secrets at your fingertips. Often, people just don't want to have to sit in front of a computer, checking item recipes, locations, boss tactics, or map layouts. Gamers may want to reference the guide while on the bus, or during lunch, when a PC isn't handy.
While the printed guide isn't going away any time soon, the industry has had to make adjustments. Instead of receding in the wake of the Internet's dominance, most strategy guide makers --Prima and Brady being the behemoths of the industry-- have actually increased the quality of their guides, frequently offering regular softcover versions as well as 'limited edition' hardcover guides, containing premium maps, interviews, artwork and other incentives to get gamers to part with an extra $20-40 per guide. But there is a lesser-known entity quietly producing some of the highest quality guides in the English-speaking market. Their name is Future Press, which was founded in 1998, and is based in Hamburg, Germany. Staffed by a core team of 15 people, they translate their guides into 5 languages, have racked up a formidable catalogue of 50 guides thus far, of which 7 have been officially published in North America.
More... (http://www.1up.com/features/the-science-of-strategy-guides)