All There in the Manual: Difference between revisions

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== Comic Books ==
== Comic Books ==
* [[The DCU]]'s super-hero espionage comic ''[[Checkmate]]'' has a supplemental website whose address, www.gideonii.com, was hinted at within the story. {{spoiler|Username CARL DRAPER, password wilhelmina; subject to change.}} It's [[Literary Agent Hypothesis|ostensibly the diary]] of a minor character within the story, written in the first person, with entries detailing various elements of the series in greater depth and hinting at future plot events.
* [[The DCU]]'s super-hero espionage comic ''[[Checkmate]]'' has a supplemental website whose address, www.gideonii.com, was hinted at within the story. {{spoiler|Username CARL DRAPER, password wilhelmina; subject to change.}} It's [[Literary Agent Hypothesis|ostensibly the diary]] of a minor character within the story, written in the first person, with entries detailing various elements of the series in greater depth and hinting at future plot events.
* ''[[Legion of Super-Heroes (Comic Book)|Legion of Super-Heroes]]'' v.4 had a role-playing sourcebook that included various pieces of info and backstory not in the comic itself. It's particularly notable because Volume 4 was set five years after the previous series and featured a radically different status quo, with many unexplained situations and characters which had histories the audience knew nothing of.
* ''[[Legion of Super-Heroes (comics)|Legion of Super-Heroes]]'' v.4 had a role-playing sourcebook that included various pieces of info and backstory not in the comic itself. It's particularly notable because Volume 4 was set five years after the previous series and featured a radically different status quo, with many unexplained situations and characters which had histories the audience knew nothing of.
* Very few of the characters in ''[[Fables]]'' get their origins explained in much detail (or at all). This is fine for say [[Meaningful Name|Bigby Wolf]] or Snow White but some of them are very obscure and Frau Totenkinder's name can't be found in an actual fable because [[Word of God]] says she's every ''unnamed'' witch in [[Fairy Tales]]. So the background before they come to earth is all their in the manuals, the dozens and dozens of not internally consistent manuals.
* Very few of the characters in ''[[Fables]]'' get their origins explained in much detail (or at all). This is fine for say [[Meaningful Name|Bigby Wolf]] or Snow White but some of them are very obscure and Frau Totenkinder's name can't be found in an actual fable because [[Word of God]] says she's every ''unnamed'' witch in [[Fairy Tales]]. So the background before they come to earth is all their in the manuals, the dozens and dozens of not internally consistent manuals.
** This is actually extensively played with in the course of the story. All Fables that join Fabletown are granted a General Amnesty - meaning that their pasts are essentially 'forgiven' and thus, never need to be spoken of, ever again. As for Totenkinder herself, there is an in-universe theory that mundane recognition grants power - neo-revolutionary Goldilocks, for example, does not seem to be capable of dying because of how incredibly popular and enduring her story is. Totenkinder has stated she doesn't think much of this theory and has gone to great lengths to keep stories featuring her as low-key as possible, and yet she seems to display the same ability, dying again and again but always coming back. The one story she appears in that simply 'won't go away' - heavily implied to be Hansel and Gretel's story, in which she meets her end burned to death in her own oven - her name is never mentioned. 'Totenkinder', which literally means 'Child Killer', is very likely not remotely her real name.
** This is actually extensively played with in the course of the story. All Fables that join Fabletown are granted a General Amnesty - meaning that their pasts are essentially 'forgiven' and thus, never need to be spoken of, ever again. As for Totenkinder herself, there is an in-universe theory that mundane recognition grants power - neo-revolutionary Goldilocks, for example, does not seem to be capable of dying because of how incredibly popular and enduring her story is. Totenkinder has stated she doesn't think much of this theory and has gone to great lengths to keep stories featuring her as low-key as possible, and yet she seems to display the same ability, dying again and again but always coming back. The one story she appears in that simply 'won't go away' - heavily implied to be Hansel and Gretel's story, in which she meets her end burned to death in her own oven - her name is never mentioned. 'Totenkinder', which literally means 'Child Killer', is very likely not remotely her real name.
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** There are also manga prequels to the original series as well. These fill in some of the details behind the game's plot. For example, the prequel manga for ''[[Mega Man 9]]'' notes why older robots don't have to worry about the expiration date imposition, show the Robot Masters from the first game attempt to stop the rampage of the latest set, and even explains why Mega Man doesn't have a chargeable Mega Buster after five consecutive games with one. As a [[Continuity Nod]], said explanation was given by Dr. Cossack, who was blackmailed by Wily in the fourth game but working for Dr. Light from the fifth game onward.
** There are also manga prequels to the original series as well. These fill in some of the details behind the game's plot. For example, the prequel manga for ''[[Mega Man 9]]'' notes why older robots don't have to worry about the expiration date imposition, show the Robot Masters from the first game attempt to stop the rampage of the latest set, and even explains why Mega Man doesn't have a chargeable Mega Buster after five consecutive games with one. As a [[Continuity Nod]], said explanation was given by Dr. Cossack, who was blackmailed by Wily in the fourth game but working for Dr. Light from the fifth game onward.
** And in 2012, the ''Robot Master Field Guide'' is going to be released, featuring detailed bios on every single RM to date as well as the series' main characters, in an attempt to compile as much supplementary material as possible in ''one'' manual.
** And in 2012, the ''Robot Master Field Guide'' is going to be released, featuring detailed bios on every single RM to date as well as the series' main characters, in an attempt to compile as much supplementary material as possible in ''one'' manual.
* ''[[Breath of Fire IV]]'', and to a lesser extent, ''[[Breath of Fire Dragon Quarter]]'', also have this occurring. Seems to be a common curse of Capcom games (along with [[Dub Name Change|random name-changes of characters]]).
* ''[[Breath of Fire IV]]'', and to a lesser extent, ''[[Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter]]'', also have this occurring. Seems to be a common curse of Capcom games (along with [[Dub Name Change|random name-changes of characters]]).
** In ''IV'' in particular, there are certain bits about the game's plot and storyline that only ever were covered in the official artbook; some have been incorporated into the (presently-ongoing) manga adaptation, some haven't. Of course, ''all'' of this plus the two phone-game side-stories are [[No Export for You|not available outside of Japan and China]], so we in the BoF fandom tend to be ''really'' grateful for Scanlation...
** In ''IV'' in particular, there are certain bits about the game's plot and storyline that only ever were covered in the official artbook; some have been incorporated into the (presently-ongoing) manga adaptation, some haven't. Of course, ''all'' of this plus the two phone-game side-stories are [[No Export for You|not available outside of Japan and China]], so we in the BoF fandom tend to be ''really'' grateful for Scanlation...
* ''[[Betrayal at Krondor]]'' tosses the readers a huge bone concerning one of the main characters and clears up viewer confusion concerning Gorath, who has a beard despite being an elf. Apparently the beardedness is explained by him being half-human on his mother's side (which, unfortunately, is just as impossible in Midkemia canon) - something that is not remarked or even hinted at in the game or the novelisation and should have had huge repercussions for him, if true.
* ''[[Betrayal at Krondor]]'' tosses the readers a huge bone concerning one of the main characters and clears up viewer confusion concerning Gorath, who has a beard despite being an elf. Apparently the beardedness is explained by him being half-human on his mother's side (which, unfortunately, is just as impossible in Midkemia canon) - something that is not remarked or even hinted at in the game or the novelisation and should have had huge repercussions for him, if true.
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* The notorious 1985 flop ''The Great Space Race'' for the ZX Spectrum came with the back-story for every character in a series of comic strips (which actually looked like first-drafts drawn with marker pen) in the manual. This kind of thing was common in the 8-bit era as memory and cassette/disk space was limited and traditional media was often used to provide background and atmosphere for game worlds.
* The notorious 1985 flop ''The Great Space Race'' for the ZX Spectrum came with the back-story for every character in a series of comic strips (which actually looked like first-drafts drawn with marker pen) in the manual. This kind of thing was common in the 8-bit era as memory and cassette/disk space was limited and traditional media was often used to provide background and atmosphere for game worlds.
* ''[[Golden Sun]]'''s instruction booklet came with notes on everyone's relationships to one another, and a map of the continent you would be exploring. A similar cheat sheet came with ''The Lost Age'', which in addition to helping you keep tabs of your adventure, helped newcomers who hadn't played the first game catch up on what was going on.
* ''[[Golden Sun]]'''s instruction booklet came with notes on everyone's relationships to one another, and a map of the continent you would be exploring. A similar cheat sheet came with ''The Lost Age'', which in addition to helping you keep tabs of your adventure, helped newcomers who hadn't played the first game catch up on what was going on.
** However, ''[[Golden Sun Dark Dawn|Dark Dawn]]'' is by far the biggest offender in the series. In addition to the map and the character relationship charts (the printed one blows the secret of Matthew's ancestry; a version that only leaked to the internet blows the plot-relevant secret of {{spoiler|[[Luke, I Am Your Father|Amiti's]]}}), the game itself has an in-game encyclopedia, which is filled with new information whenever words in red text show up. The encyclopedia entries provide a lot of information the NPC chatter and cutscenes do not, and without them, you're going to have a hard time making ''any'' sense of the plot, and likely miss several key points and quite a bit of foreshadowing and world-building.
** However, ''[[Golden Sun: Dark Dawn|Dark Dawn]]'' is by far the biggest offender in the series. In addition to the map and the character relationship charts (the printed one blows the secret of Matthew's ancestry; a version that only leaked to the internet blows the plot-relevant secret of {{spoiler|[[Luke, I Am Your Father|Amiti's]]}}), the game itself has an in-game encyclopedia, which is filled with new information whenever words in red text show up. The encyclopedia entries provide a lot of information the NPC chatter and cutscenes do not, and without them, you're going to have a hard time making ''any'' sense of the plot, and likely miss several key points and quite a bit of foreshadowing and world-building.
* Much of the [[Backstory]] of the [[Rance]] world is described in [[Alice Soft]]'s magazine, the Hanihon. Information of past Demon Kings, the Eternal Heroes, how the current nations were formed, and so on are all there. Much of the information is translated on [http://sites.google.com/site/bbshut/home/rance-data this website].
* Much of the [[Backstory]] of the [[Rance]] world is described in [[AliceSoft]]'s magazine, the Hanihon. Information of past Demon Kings, the Eternal Heroes, how the current nations were formed, and so on are all there. Much of the information is translated on [http://sites.google.com/site/bbshut/home/rance-data this website].


== Web Comics ==
== Web Comics ==
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