Version 1.0 - May 20, 2010
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We've all used them. Maybe you've even written one. With achievements, trophies, and 
hidden secrets, modern games almost demand the use of walkthroughs, FAQs, and 
guides.
What we don't see, however, is much writing about walkthroughs. How do we feel about 
them? Do they benefit the video games we buy?
The Bitmob community generously provided many insightful articles in response to 
our latest callout. We've collected the best passages in our Walkthrough to 
Walkthroughs. Be sure to click through to the full articles.

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Table of Contents
0 - Introduction
1 - How not to use a walkthrough
  1.1 - Playing Zelda blind
  1.2 - The history of a recovering FAQ addict
2 - The father of the FAQ
3 - How to write a walkthrough
4 - When walkthroughs succeed
5 - When walkthroughs fail
6 - Nintendo and the walkthrough
  6.1 - Dreams of the Nintendo Power Hotline
  6.2 - The great Nintendo RPG walkthrough mandate
  6.3 - Believe in the power of the Game Atlas
7 - Will wiki kill off the FAQ?
8 - Concluding remarks 
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( 1 ) How not to use a walkthough
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When getting stuck in a game, we need to ask ourselves: "Do I use a walkthrough?"
Sometimes we don't.
1.1 Playing Zelda Blind by Andrew Galbraith 
"After completing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the N64, I finally 
decided it was time to go back and beat the original, no matter how frustrated I 
got. As the later dungeons grew tougher and more confusing, I could feel the anger 
creeping through my muscles. But I pressed on.... To give up then and fully consult 
a FAQ seemed as insane as climbing Mount Everest only to fly the last hundred feet 
to the peak in a helicopter.
"That's why I don't use strategy guides. After all, gaming isn’t about the 
destination so much as it is about the journey. An unfinished game is always 
going to be there for me to beat when I'm ready."
1.2 The History of a Recovering FAQ Addict by Suriel Vazquez
"I used walkthroughs for the better part of a decade, and I consider it both a 
good and bad thing. For one, it allowed me to suck literally every ounce of 
entertainment from my games; I could buy one game every three or four months 
and be satiated. On the other hand, it rendered the challenge of almost every 
boss or puzzle null as long as there wasn't too much dexterity involved."
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( 2 ) The Father of the FAQ by Michael Rousseau
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"Chris MacDonald, aka Kao Megura, was a fan who willingly devoted hundreds of 
hours of his free time to make the gaming community a better place. During his 
all-too-short life, MacDonald wrote FAQs and move lists for a slew of popular
games; he almost single-handedly charted the course of the modern FAQ format. His 
most famous work, a Final Fantasy 7 FAQ, is still considered by many to be one of 
the best ever written. Many strategy writers today use that guide's skeleton, or 
structure, to help plan and organize their information in a logical, 
easily searchable way.
"Sadly, word came from MacDonald’s brother Charles on May 19th, 2004, that 
Chris MacDonald had passed away mere days after updating his legendary Final 
Fantasy 7 FAQ for the last time. To date, MacDonald’s family has never disclosed 
the actual time or cause of his death."
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( 3 ) How to Write a Walkthrough by Brandon Guerrie
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"Writing a walkthrough is time consuming. I was still in high school when I wrote 
a guide for Resident Evil 2. That was during the summer. I had nothing 
else to do. If you have a girlfriend, try to tell her you have a school project 
or something. If you're in college (like me), make sure you don’t blow off your 
homework. Beating the game is one thing, but writing a walkthrough can take just as 
long...if not longer. Your hygiene, social life, and eating habits will suffer."
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( 4 ) When walkthroughs succeed - Walkthroughs and Import Games by Janelle Hindman
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"The import FAQ writer's walkthrough doesn't have to be complete. In fact, it is 
often bare-bones, loosely formatted and contains only the information to help 
players get from point A to point B. Until the game comes out in English, this 
single lonely walkthrough might be the only one indexed on GameFAQs, after which 
its relevance diminishes rapidly. But for that time window between releases (or 
forever, if the game never makes the jump to English), it is an indispensable 
tool for the desperate masses."
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( 5 ) When walkthroughs fail - Suikoden Recruitment FAQs by Christian Higley
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"You failed at your only task, Suikoden Character Recruitment FAQ.  You didn't 
make any of these games easier nor did you protect me from spoilers. At your 
best, you listed characters alphabetically, which is just as useless. At the 
end of the day, I'm still inputting a CTRL+F document search for every new named 
character I meet. Half of my time spent 'playing' the game was wasted scouring 
FAQs."

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( 6 ) Nintendo and the walkthrough
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Nintendo has a long history of making sure gamers get through their games. Here's 
how they did it.
6.1 Dreams of the Nintendo Power Hotline by Ryan Finley

"I remember imagining what it would be like to work as a gameplay counselor.  
I pictured them sitting in cubicles wearing headsets, hammering away at NES 
controllers while they played the latest and greatest games. They must have 
been surrounded by binders covering everything from The Adventures of Lolo to 
Zanac."
6.2 The Great Nintendo RPG Walkthrough Mandate by Jeremy Signor
"Dragon Warrior, one of the first releases to include a walkthrough in a game 
manual, did not have the most obvious objectives. You were largely left to 
stumble through the game, hoping you’re going to the right place at the 
right time. Luckily for us, the instruction manual also served as a full 
walkthrough of the entire game, often with complete maps."
6.3 Believe in the Power of the Game Atlas by Bryan G. Schultheiss
"This was no ordinary book. No, the Game Atlas was what every strategy guide 
hoped to be when it grew up, what every gamer had ever dreamed of, and what 
every enemy -- from Ganon to the lowliest Octorock -- had feared worst.
"This holy grail led you along the path to greatness, step by cautious step. 
No longer were the lost hills to be feared; you now had a guided path 
through even the most daunting of mazes and challenges. The entire 
overworld was visible, and the entrances to the underworld levels no longer 
looked intimidating with their black, gaping maws. Now it appeared as though 
the dungeons themselves were scared, screaming in terror at the unstoppable 
threat about to breach their walls and steal their treasures."

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( 7 ) Will Wikis Kill off the FAQ? by Alex Martin
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"Almost every game and series gets its own wiki. Most of those are hosted by 
Wikia, the company started by Wikipedia Co-founder Jimmy Wales and Board of 
Trustees member Angela Beesley. Wikia works similarly to Wikipedia but allows 
gamers to read, edit, and create articles far more specific than anything 
Wikipedia will allow.
"This specificity means it's far easier to find relevant information in a wiki 
than a FAQ -- just put what you want in the search box. This is especially useful 
if you want a particular item or are wondering about a particular party member's 
strengths and weaknesses. Hitting CTRL+F may eventually get you somewhere in a 
walkthrough, but you'll have to work to find what you're looking for. And manually 
searching through a book? That's for losers."
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( 8 ) Concluding remarks
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I would like to thank all the Bitmob contributors for submitting their articles. 
Unbeknownst to any individual writer, they provided a fairly comprehensive look at 
walkthroughs, FAQS, and guides. 
Whether you love them or hate them, they're here to stay, although their formats 
will evolve with technology and the games they guide us through. We can debate 
their use by gamers forever, but we can't argue about the dedication and passion of
the FAQ and walkthrough writers themselves. I would like to thank them all for 
their tireless work in helping us beat the games we love.
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