Manual Writing [Archive] - Team17 Forum

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Paul.Power
19 Nov 2007, 18:32
I appreciate that writing computer game manuals is a dying art, but it's also an area I'd really enjoy working in, and something I could bring a new approach to. So as an open question aimed primarily at Team17's manual writers, how did you get into the industry? Most jobs I see seem to be aimed at the "big jobs" in creating a computer game: design, programming, art, sound/music and QA. I rarely see adverts for the documentation side of things, though, so I'm not sure how I would go about applying.

Plasma
20 Nov 2007, 00:01
I had presumed it would be done by a person whose already emplyed in the company for a different job, rather than making it a separate job on its own.
And, I don't mean to be offensive, but I don't think you're cut out (http://www.realvg.org/display.php?type=articles&id=177) for being a manual writer...

Paul.Power
20 Nov 2007, 18:22
And, I don't mean to be offensive, but I don't think you're cut out (http://www.realvg.org/display.php?type=articles&id=177) for being a manual writer...
In fact, for many subjects and products, it’s an advantage for the writer to come to the project knowing very little. That way, the discovery process, complete with mistakes and false trails, is fresh in the mind, and you’ll know the pitfalls that your reader will face.And I'd say the guy who wrote some of the best manuals even knows a fair bit about that.

farazparsa
21 Nov 2007, 03:32
Back in the golden age, it went something like this:
Presequites for manual writer:
Be alive.
Be able to write.
Own a pen.
Have a very, VERY, VERY bare idea of the game's theme.
Be already contributing something else to the company. (Mailmen and janitors included)

SupSuper
23 Nov 2007, 22:43
These days it's like this:
Toss up a two-bit installation / starting guide
...
Profit!

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