Sacred Symbols+, Episode 220 | We Miss You, Strategy Guides
Added 2022-08-30 16:00:08 +0000 UTCIf you grew up in the '80s and '90s, and even into the early aughts, print strategy guides were a staple of our hobby. They lined the walls and counters of your local games store, had a space in Toys 'R' Us, were promoted in ads, and were even pimped by the hardware manufacturers and developers themselves, most notably Nintendo. Brady, Prima, and even smaller labels like Versus released thousands of print guides, but these days, it's pretty much a dead end. The Internet -- first GameFAQs, then video -- killed the need for them. Yet, there are those of us who still have a fire burning for them (it's how I got my start in the industry, after all). To celebrate print guides -- their vibrant past, irrelevant present, and hopefully-vibrant future -- I invited a strategy guide master to the show. His name is Phil Summers, he's the designer, author, and artist behind Hand-Drawn Game Guides, and he's one of the only people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting who loves the craft as much as I do. Please enjoy as we gush.
Comments
That's a lot!
Colin Moriarty
2022-09-04 15:15:54 +0000 UTCI grew up in the era of Strategy guides where they started getting expensive. The last one I bought was for Skyrim and it was $45 I believe.
Quinnton from Seattle
2022-09-03 01:49:50 +0000 UTCYes!
Colin Moriarty
2022-09-02 16:00:35 +0000 UTCAwesome. =)
Colin Moriarty
2022-09-02 16:00:26 +0000 UTCIt's definitely lost, yes.
Colin Moriarty
2022-09-02 16:00:20 +0000 UTCLOL. He's got his own Patreon going!
Colin Moriarty
2022-09-02 16:00:07 +0000 UTCGreat episode. I'm still a fan of guides. Just pre ordered 2 hard cover Elden Ring guides. Happy to see there still out there.
Ryan Butcher
2022-09-02 14:52:33 +0000 UTCWhat a great topic and episode. During lockdown here in the UK, I went on a quest to buy the strategy guides for some of my favourite games, some of which are quite rare now. I was really pleased to get the strategy guide for The Orange Box
Kurt Lewin
2022-09-02 14:22:25 +0000 UTCI absolutely loved this episode. There's nothing that can replace the feeling of having your crisp new strategy guide alongside a game you've been excited to play. Just flipping through the pages and looking at the art and maps was one of my favorite things to do as a kid. I use a lot of video guides on YouTube now but there was a magic to strategy guides that has mostly been lost.
Dylan O'Brien
2022-09-01 12:55:50 +0000 UTCIdea after listening to the episode. Have him print the last batch and sell exclusively to Last Stand Pateron members
Joshua Linkous
2022-08-31 23:48:15 +0000 UTCRight?! Get out of his way!
Colin Moriarty
2022-08-31 17:37:30 +0000 UTCThank you. <3
Colin Moriarty
2022-08-31 17:37:24 +0000 UTCIndeed.
Colin Moriarty
2022-08-31 17:37:17 +0000 UTCSo good!
Colin Moriarty
2022-08-31 17:37:12 +0000 UTCI understand video guides in that it's what's expected today, it's where the money is, and they are sometimes far more practical than written guides. However, I find the written guide -- nine out of 10 times -- to be the way to go.
Colin Moriarty
2022-08-31 17:37:06 +0000 UTCIt's fun, man. Super nostalgic.
Colin Moriarty
2022-08-31 17:36:36 +0000 UTCThank you! Good to know.
Colin Moriarty
2022-08-31 17:36:28 +0000 UTCIt's a shame that these companies don't see the talent manifested before them. Phil doesn't need me to shine, but I am doing what I can with one company in particular to get him in front of them, a team I think he would be right at home working with.
Colin Moriarty
2022-08-31 17:36:21 +0000 UTCYes indeed.
Colin Moriarty
2022-08-31 17:35:44 +0000 UTCAh damn if only they let this man shine. HIs guides are impeccable.
There’s No I in LLC
2022-08-31 02:39:44 +0000 UTCAwesome interview. Had some difficulty envisioning exactly what a hand drawn guide would even look like, so I checked it out and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. These are so fun. Would have loved to have had a physical copy for my art book collection. Looking forward to whatever he does next. Great get Colin. These interviews with creators like Sandeep and his Vita Book are some of my favorites.
XnXblkout
2022-08-31 00:09:08 +0000 UTCI remember reading the Paper Mario: Thousand-Year Door GameFaqs guide right before YouTube came out. It’s very nostalgic, but YouTube makes everything much easier.
Brandon Soto
2022-08-30 20:01:54 +0000 UTCwent and flipped through the zelda and metroid guides after listening. that art is absolutely incredible!! the zelda guide specifically is how i always imagined that game would look if graphics had been invented in 1986 haha
Jacob
2022-08-30 18:38:50 +0000 UTCI love guides! started getting into guides in the late PS4 years and now get guides if a game I really love has one. You guys mentioned how video guides are wack and I 100% agree, you are basically just mimicking the video and that is just no good. This episode made me think about how little the Game Help feature on PS5 is being used and it is very sad. I think that could be a great video game guide if used correctly. Elden Ring is a perfect example that could have used it right. Those cards pop up when you are in certain areas of the game you are playing so it would have been cool if you are in Limgrave for example, and the Game Help card you see is little hints of everything you can do in Limgrave. Those cards can do both, text, image, and video. A feature that I am very interested in, but so far have not seen a game that implements it correctly. Great episode Colin and Phil! Keep up the great work!
Jeff Caseres
2022-08-30 18:25:56 +0000 UTCI moved a few years ago, and once I got settled in my new place I started going through some random boxes I had stored up. One of those boxes contained a few old strategy guides of mine (Ocarina of Time, Resident Evil 4, Wind Waker, Snake Eater, and a few more) and I just sat down and looked through them for a good hour. The nostalgia.
Jordan Fugate
2022-08-30 18:13:40 +0000 UTCI would totally buy physical game guides if available. I still regret losing my ocarina of time, majora’s mask and wind waker guides. This was a great episode and I really hope both you (Colin) and Phil get your ideas off the ground. I would 100% support!
Dakota Brown
2022-08-30 18:06:36 +0000 UTCGreat episode! Me and Phil grew up in the same small town and are still very good friends. Was super excited when he told me Colin contacted him. He’s always been really talented and I’ve been looking forward to the episode. Count me as one of the people excited all the money he was about to make in our WhatsApp chats. Haha. We were all pissed that day when he told us it was shut down.
Scott Elias
2022-08-30 18:00:46 +0000 UTCThis man’s work is top notch! Best guest yet! If you haven't checked out his game reflections on the handdrawngameguides site they are absolutely amazing. One small illustration and a blurb about each game he's played this year. Not only is he tremendously gifted, he's got incredible taste in games.
Lil' Jazzy
2022-08-30 17:50:32 +0000 UTCYeah, it's fucked. And it pisses me off, too. I always want someone else to fight them, but not me, so I guess I'm the problem too.
Colin Moriarty
2022-08-30 17:34:43 +0000 UTCI wish I could afford to do that! We don't have the money to fund that at Lillymo.
Colin Moriarty
2022-08-30 17:34:27 +0000 UTCYeah, it's nonsense.
Colin Moriarty
2022-08-30 17:34:12 +0000 UTCI am already working on making those connections.
Colin Moriarty
2022-08-30 17:33:57 +0000 UTCI can totally relate, dude. I did the same sort of shit.
Colin Moriarty
2022-08-30 17:33:53 +0000 UTCThanks for listening.
Colin Moriarty
2022-08-30 17:33:38 +0000 UTCLike you said, "to me.." not everyone plays games for the same reasons.
Bambi_Cobblestone
2022-08-30 17:31:28 +0000 UTCGreat episode. I hate the legal aspect of being bullied into complying with a cease & desist. My lawyer has a similar conversation with me over some memes… that we would win, but it would cost a lot of money in the process.
Kenneth Koepnick
2022-08-30 17:12:39 +0000 UTCYou should commission him to make official Lillymo game guides!
Guns vs Kittens
2022-08-30 17:03:46 +0000 UTCSide note, that Zelda history book is sold at Walmart. They definitely know about that book
Tanner Lange
2022-08-30 17:01:17 +0000 UTCI think there is a real opportunity for him to reach out to indie devs and work hand in hand with them.
Bambi_Cobblestone
2022-08-30 16:31:07 +0000 UTCI'm not really a collector of old games, but I'll buy some old games from my childhood that were impactful to me even if I can't currently play them, and I always try to get the strategy guide for them. I just bought a copy of Super Mario RPG and the strategy guide for it and it's such a nostalgia trip just reading through it. Same with Star Ocean 2. I use to bring some to school and just read them in any down time. Gamefaqs guides were almost as enjoyable, I once printed off a couple hundred pages of a gamefaqs guide for Star Ocean 2 and basically wasted an entire ink cartridge which led to much reduced computer privileges for a while. Love this episode subject!
HORSE the Patron
2022-08-30 16:30:37 +0000 UTCI always considered strategy guides cheating.. to me it defeats the purpose of playing the game
drivebyjoe
2022-08-30 16:13:14 +0000 UTCA very welcome and important topic. The gaming industry let print guides disappear without even a conversation about it. Thank you.
Andres
2022-08-30 16:07:54 +0000 UTC
