Look, my father had a small theatre in Milan. I was the Video Editor, blog Editor, but the Website was registered under my father's wife name.
He passed away some year ago. His wife doesn't want me to help preserve the site, all the material I worked on, is disappearing with the websites.
I have archived everything. I was the Chief Editor. And I am seeing my father work of a lifetime disappearing under my eyes.
Don't make sense anymore is what you'd call objective?
A website is physical in its nature. Ultimately it needs a server. So there is not much difference from a printed version.
The sense of freedom is what guides us. You can objectively say there is no difference in this day and age between a physical, printed manual, and a website version.
Both can disappear in a fire, or for different reasons. This is objectively true.
It is your meaning of sense which is subjective.
Does freedom to preserve makes sense a physical objective in your life?
It does to me. Subjectively and objectively.
In Plato Age, only your sense are what truly matter, physical is the destruction of the senses.
Times have changed. It is about 2300 years that have changed.
Nothing impedes development cycles more than their own minds.
If something doesn't exist in your mind, it is not there.
Even if it is in front of your eyes.
I have enough problems preserving my reality already.
Devs are not my concern.
It's not because I'm being Evil.
I simply don't have enough G-ram.
Okay, I'm not going to unpack all of this because there is just too much that in my opinion doesn't pertain at all to the discussion I was responding to. What I will respond to I will put in bold in the quote.
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Don't make sense anymore is what you'd call objective?" No, the reasoning I put before my conclusion that it doesn't make sense is what I call objective. You can say "
devs are not my concern" but that doesn't matter in this discussion. That's your experience, your opinion. The question was why manuals are not a thing any more, and whether they still make sense to ship with video games, correct? That's at least how I interpreted the discussion, and that's what I responded to.
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A website is physical in its nature. Ultimately it needs a server." No. We can argue semantics here all days (please don't, it's my field of expertise and I don't want to go into it more than I have to
), but even though everything could eventually be traced back to being "physical" (which could make anyone go "technically, I'm correct"), we make a distinction between digital and physical media for a reason. It's communication, and if you don't understand the difference between those two I'd suggest brushing up on it online so the discussion is made easier. It isn't meant in a snarky way, but if this is the level you want to have this discussion on we're so far removed from the actual statement we're debating I don't wish to partake any longer.
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Nothing impedes development cycles more than their own minds." Yes, you are correct, and still this is nonsense in regard to what is being discussed. I said Devs create a cycle, with reasoning behind it. You can say that devs can expand their way of thinking, work only for charity, deliver every game and install it at each player's home personally, with a nice bow-tie wrapped around our pc screen, and you'd be right, and still it's nonsense and just derails this discussion.
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In Plato Age, only your sense are what truly matter, physical is the destruction of the senses." Well, I guess we have to disagree on how we interpret Plato here but this is not at all how I read his cave allegory. I literally had a course on Plato in regard to arts and literature over the last half year, but we perceived it in class basically the opposite, with Plato stating that we cannot perceive the true essence of what is, and that art will only ever be a pale imitation of a 'true form' we cannot perceive. But, again, we can discuss this all day long, but hardly furthers our discussion on video game manuals. And personally, I think these incoherent statements (sorry, but that's how I perceive them) only keep derailing the discussion.
"You can objectively say there is no difference in this day and age between a physical, printed manual, and a website version. Both can disappear in a fire, or for different reasons. This is objectively true. It is your meaning of sense which is subjective." Absolutely true. 100% agree, that is if I understand you correctly. It is indeed all about how we perceive things, and all things are perishable, even if they exist online. So? Now what? Again, this bring us back at all to why we should or should not have physical game manuals. And, again, you argued many times for why there should be physical game manuals, and your reasoning has, in my opinion, been flawed at best. I, and others, have given arguments to counter your reasoning to answer 'why' there are (almost) no physical game manuals any more. And the arguments given are sound, and the arguments against those arguments have proved to not be based in reality (that is, the business reality in which developers operate).
Should you have any more arguments on why physical manuals should exist (other than those you have posted, which just seem to fall back to personal preference, which I get, I love me a good physical copy of a rulebook), I'd be interested in reading them. More of this vague, personal interpretation of senses as reasoning on why a games company should print a manual, I will not engage with.
Good luck with your father's and your project. Genuinely sounds like there is some hurt there, and wish you all the best in dealing with that. It can be hard to see legacies disappear, but ultimately I believe it is your memory of those things that are more important than the physical/digital versions of what you are trying to hold on to. I get the sense of loss there, I truly do, and wish you nothing but good feelings.
