Are You a Fan of Using Guides and WalkThroughs?
stargrace 
I have to admit, I’m a little undecided when it comes to whether or not I want to use a guide or a walkthrough. On one hand I do love exploring a world on my own and I think games have come a long way to allowing me to do this without having to resort to guides and walkthroughs. Adding locations to the mini map, and allowing for better directions in the quest text all allow me to remain submersed in whatever world I happen to be playing in. Then there are the ‘harder’ things. For example, crafting in EQ1. How many people have tried to craft from scratch without resorting to a single guide. Where would you even start and how would you even know where to begin. There’s little to no indication in-game of where a player would go if they were sitting in their home city and wanted to pick up a craft. For these types of games I feel that guides and walkthroughs enhance the experience. Sure I may not be 100% involved in my game when I have to resort to using a browser to look up recipes – but I don’t really seem to notice it.
There is also something to be said for the communities involved in creating these guides and walkthroughs. After all, it’s a forum players use to bond with one another. It gives you a platform to ask questions (typically) to others who may have come across the same sort of issues. You know that the people posting on these guides are perhaps players just like you who enjoy the games at the base core.
There are numerous guides and walkthroughs available for every game imaginable; like this CardsChat legal poker guide. You can find them for games ranging from Farmville to Street Fighter. One thing I’ve noticed is that there are a lot more guides published online these days then there are in paper. I own a few guides for games like Little Big Planet, and really liked being able to follow them.
So how do you decide whether or not you want to know everything there is to know about a game, and when you want to simply wander along your own path? Is there some deciding factor for you as a player? Are some guides ok where others are not?
Let me know your thoughts in comments!
Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself. I’ll see you in Norrath.