This week, Ubisoft announced that it intends to stop including instruction manuals in its games for environmental concerns and cost reductions. There are all kinds of possibilities with this new format. Ubisoft, get this right so other publishers will follow suit. I'll even give you some free ideas. Use them; I won't even try to take credit.
First, visual flair.
The instruction manuals of old were often the only content gamers had to flesh out the more primitive 8-bit versions of heroes to bring them to life. As graphics improved and more accurate representations of characters begun appearing in games, the need to do that has faded.
However, that doesn't mean we don't still want it! A full-screen, hi-def manual would be a great place to show off some of the concept art and supporting artwork that comes out of game creation. Normally reserved for an unlockable gallery that no-one every looks at, the freedom from paper should make for some great looking instruction manuals that encourage players to read by rewarding them with cool images.
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