Gameplay tutorial - which do you prefer?

[BadLittleSeed]

Ah, the halcyon days of actual instruction booklets in game cases... trying to keep them out of the hands of younger siblings, bemoaning your lament if they got something spilled on them (omg get the paper towels), got ripped (where's the TAPE?!) or went missing (did the DOG eat it?). Never mind if you wanted to rent a game and it didn't come with a manual at all!

Granted, most games included a quick instruction screen or even an integrated tutorial in the beginning. My question is, given the wonderful age of information that we live in, would you rather have the in-game tutorial or a digital manual at hand? Or both, if one was so inclined?

 

[Poryg]

Depending on a game. In strategy games I prefer digital manual, in rpgs I prefer in-game tutorial.

 

[Tw0Face]

I prefer ingame tutorials. You can always do a digital one as well to sum things up but basically, a game should always explain itself ingame.

Greetings,
Tw0Face

 

[TheoAllen]

I prefer in-game manuals. As in, in-game help menu to explain things, a tooltip in a certain function, or even tip when in loading screen

 

[MushroomCake28]

In-game, unless it's a strategy game.

 

[sapphireLight]

I prefer in-game tutorials. I like them best when they are short, clear, and organically incorporated into the game.

 

[Finnuval]

For gameplay easyness in-game, for nostalgia : old Skool manual

 

[Siaakra]

I prefer both, a quick organic one at the start to get me started and a more in-depth one that I'm able to reference as needed.

 

[Milennin]

For RPG Maker games, I want all the information ingame, but having a reference graphic sheet or brief .txt file can help.