You can put tons of info in the game… you can fit entire encyclopedias into the game and make it accessible from within the game when it is needed!
Not putting info in the game when it would be useful and perfectly feasible to do so is not smart game design - it's just lazy.
And since you mention old complex games here's an example: Civilization 2 - it had all the information you needed inside the game, easily accessible, well organized with links and everything… it had more information than its fat manual had… So you never even needed to read that manual because all that information and more was easily accessible from within the game… was it 'dumbed down'?
Not having a manual doesn't automatically mean 'dumbed down' or 'destroy all written language'. It means 'put the information inside the game' and 'employ elementary usability rules when designing your interface'.
I shouldn't of said dumbed down. You honed in on that like a hawk searching for it's next meal. I meant games that are easy to understand and sometimes hard to master.
Now as far as having a "civopedia" in the games…well sure why not. Do that in every game. I'm all for it. Why not have both though?
Let's be fair though. You keep saying lazy design, but a lot of these more complex games out there don't have the resources or time to put into it. They're being made by indies. AAA publishers normally don't touch any kind of game that would require an extensive manual (keyword in that sentence is normally. I know there are a few like Civilization, but not many).
Armageddon Empires being a prime example of a great game that requires you to read the manual before you play or you will be hopelessly lost. Does that make it a bad game or is the ONE GUY who is making it lazy?
Tycho from Penny Arcade didn't think so. Yes, the UI could be a lot better and he could of included everything you need to know right in the game, but it sure as hell isn't lazy design. The guy went through hell to get the AI just perfect and everything else about the game as well. Even released some free mini-expansion packs. I'll take a better AI over a civopedia any day.
The main point is being lost in all this discussion about better game design. The manual was part of the experience. Hell, even the cluebooks that were sold were part of the experience. Did anyone buy Ultima VII's cluebook or the bard's tale? They unfolded like novels, but that is lost now and will never be found again.
For you that's a good thing. For me, well like I said life goes on.
CRPGaddict has
an interesting blog about the old cluebooks.
Some of them were quite well done, though. I remember having the clue book for The Bard's Tale, and it was basically a novel, providing hints and solutions in the context of a larger story about a party of adventurers seeking to defeat Mangar.
I do understand the point you're trying to make, but unfortunately you can't understand mine. I think we'll just leave it at that because no one really makes manuals as artistic as they used to.
Anyways, see the 'lost an eighth' blog I mentioned early if you want to know more of my opinion on this matter. He says it better than I do.