Do you ever take notes while playing video games?

[Nirvana]

I was sitting in a three hour lecture today and we were going over material that I already knew how to do, but if you leave early, you don't get attendance points. Because of this, I decided to write about 2 pages worth of Marvel vs Capcom 3 team ideas, with the pros and cons of each team, combos and resets, and other ideas. I spent about an hour on it, and it got me thinking

Do any of you guys take notes when it comes to video games? Originally I was thinking about those notes sections at the end of game manuals, but I wouldn't want to just write in a manual like that. Anyway, I actually do have a notebook I've dedicated just to video games. I typically like to record where I was last at in an RPG, especially if a new game comes out and I know I won't be able to come back to it for awhile. Other things I record are combos in fighting games and strategies with certain characters. I actually record a lot of things in video games that have a lot of detail o_O Like in Diablo II I had to keep track of all of my items and how many gems and stuff I had.

It may seem unnecessary, but it helps me keep things organized and able to pick up video games I haven't played in awhile at ease.

[swlovinist]

I have a tradition with a good friend of mine to beat a game every time we get together(he lives out of state). We use notes sometimes as ways to itemize combos, patterns and equipment sometimes.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

I do it only for certain puzzles, like that sliding puzzle in Resident Evil 4. I hate sliding puzzles.

[JSoup]

All the time. I've actually taken to working on FAQs during classes that I already know the subject matter for.

[Nz17]

Do you mean optional notes, like forming strategies, writing what you've done in the game, equipment you've collected, or other such things, or notes for games that practically require note taking?

Because if we are talking that latter category, I can say that while requiring notes is an outmoded game design methodology, there are still some classic games where I have done that. I know of others who have mapped NES games like Blaster Master and The Legend of Zelda, but the only serious, large note-making endeavor that I've undertaken is with Star Control 2 (The Ur Quan Masters).

Now in this day and age of the information superhighway, you can find an ungainly amount of information about games. But that is not the joy of The Ur Quan Masters. To get that sense of being a star ship captain and exploring the unknown, I kept a log of all the important information needed in that game. You will get nowhere in UQM if you do not.

Things to be tracked include information like star system coordinates, types of stars likely to contain rich deposits of lucrative elements, locations of enemies throughout the galaxy, who is allied with whom, who are enemies with whom and why, and comments and hints gained from conversations with alien races.

Star Control 2 / The Ur Quan Masters is so enormous that I can guarantee the odds of playing an identical run-through as someone else are very small indeed. Well worth a play-through, either with the 3DO or PC original, or with the enhanced free modern version.

[Aussie2B]

Of course. Classic games need maps or notes sometimes, and it's lame to always look stuff up online (not that I don't sometimes, but I do want the satisfaction of doing the work myself now and then). I think the most recent for me was mapping out the final palace in Zelda 2 and making some notes about the locations of potions and fairies.

[mobiusclimber]

I have in the past, back before there WAS a gamefaqs (or, more likely, before I had access to the internet to know it existed). I will probably go back to it when I decide to start tackling the Wizardry games that I keep meaning to get to but don't.

[Steven]

I love logging my gaming experiences and such. It's always helpful to look back on, and as the years go by and by, it becomes even cooler. Sometimes I'll mini-journal my life too, so when I look back on June 2007, I was playing Game X and involved with Y in real life. Pretty gnarly stuff -- esp. if you're into archiving like I am.

Even wrote an article about it: http://www.rvgfanatic.com/7443/78601.html









that's from June 2006, ah the memories of that sweet summer

[Edmond Dantes]

I normally don't take notes, but sometimes, if its something I can't be effed to remember, or something I think it would be good to know if I start a new game in the future, then I will take notes.

The most recent example was writing down the codec frequencies for the early Metal Gear games, mostly so that in the future I wouldn't have to mess with tap codes or finding box images that Konami conveniently did not include...

[Tempest]

Normally no since these days because of the internet I don't have to puzzle over things like I used to. But back in the day I used to make notes all the time, it was the only way you could beat those old RPGs like Bards Tale, Ultima, and Wizardry. Bards Tale in particular was bad about asking for a phrase or word that you found in some random spot in the dungeon four weeks ago. This is not a feature I miss in modern games...

Tempest

[Eternal Champion]

20+ years ago I remember that the last castle in Zelda II was a puzzle - kept repeating or something to that effect. I remember making a map of it.

[NE146]

Not today.. but back in the day I had to make maps for Phantasy Star 1 on the SMS

I also mapped out the overworld in Zelda 1.. then Nintendo Power came out with a full blown color map.

[Animaniac]

Only when a tough puzzle came up.

[Zing]

There is really no reason to take notes for anything from the PS2 generation on. Modern games are very easy, and most have in-game maps and such.

The most modern game for which I found myself taking notes was Wind Waker. I made a map and kept track of the islands I had visited, items, townsfolk hints, etc. I don't think I would have enjoyed the game as much if I hadn't kept notes. I also made extensive notes when in my most recent play-through of Final Fantasy VII.

I currently have a notebook which I use to keep notes for my NES gaming. I think it is critical for that generation of games if you don't plan on referencing the internet. I am a strictly anti-faq guy, so I go bareback and have to make my own notes. Most recent games are Mega Man, Dragon Warrior, and Crystalis. Of course, I also write down any passwords.

[kupomogli]

I have rarely ever taken notes, even on dungeon crawlers back then. The only notes I've really ever taken was whenever writing passwords on papers and then sticking them in the NES boxes.

I've beaten games like the original Phantasy Star without mapping out the areas. In Wizardry 5 though I got to the point where I was fighting enemies casting last level spells, etc, and then I couldn't find where to go, eventually quit the game, but up to that point I was going off memory of each area and really having no problem.

There are some games now days that I don't really take notes. I do look at stuff like skills and such in the Diablo 2 guide or Sacred 2 skills on the SacredWiki to devise strategies on how I'd like to build my characters. While not writing anything down, I remember the character builds.

In a sense while I don't take written notes, you could say I take mental notes because I figure out what I'm going to do and then I make sure to remember it.

[Nirvana]

There is really no reason to take notes for anything from the PS2 generation on. Modern games are very easy, and most have in-game maps and such.

I guess in terms of walkthroughs, this make be true. Although a good example where note-taking is something like Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. I was semi "poor" in the game, so I had to swap my good items between characters at points, and it got to the point where I did it between so many characters I had to keep note of who has what.

[Phantar]

As someone who started out playing games like "bard's tale" or "ultima IV", i've gotten used to taking notes and never really stopped for some game types. So i'm still taking notes occasionally, even for games that have their own questlogs now (like Red Dead redemption for example).

[Mr Smith]

Yes, ever since Championship Manager 99/00 I have been jotting down tactics, potential signings etc.

[calthaer]

Not notes, but I used to make maps. I used to make maps on huge easel pads of drawing paper. I might have some of them, somewhere. I recall making maps of these NES games:

-Willow
-Wizards & Warriors 3
-Crystalis

and of Metroid II: The Return of Samus for the original GB (never actually played Metroid itself; I should do that sometime).

In addition, I used to use graph paper to map Bard's Tale / Bard's Tale II levels. BT3 kind of abrogated the need for that, being one of the first games with an automap system and all.

[Melf]

Back when Alien vs. Predator came out on the Jaguar, I made complete maps on graph paper for every level and air duct, complete with exit names, item locations - the works.

Nowadays, I still take the occasional note for a game that doesn't have a FAQ or walkthrough. For my Surging Aura review, I wrote down each charm, its cast time, etc. and took about 2 pages of notes overall. I did the same for Pier Solar and other recently released RPGs.

GameFaqs and the internet are great, but not every game has been covered, and not all that have are complete.