FAQ Writing - The Bad… and the Ugly

Writing a FAQ takes a long, long, long time

There is a reason why the demographic is mainly students. To get a better idea of the amount of time it takes, imagine playing a game for two minutes, pausing and writing everything you just did. Then rinse and repeat until the stage or area is complete. You are effectively doubling your play time, and that's just for a straightforward action / adventure title; imagine documenting enemy, weapon and item lists for an 80 hour RPG. This doesn’t even take into account if you are writing away from your computer - some people have no choice but to write everything down on paper and transcribe it later. (No wonder my Shenmue guide took two sodding months.)

It's dangerously addictive

Once you get your first piece of work accepted, it's a slippery slope into obsession. Seeing your name on your favourite website is hugely rewarding and you crave for a taste of more, especially if you have enough gaming know-how to keep you going for years. School grades can suffer reducing your actual game playing time and social contact with real people. You might even purchase games with the sole intention of writing for them. (Yes, I was the only person who bought Worms Blast.) FAQ writing is a drug, ASCII sugar-coated.

The e-mails

By putting your e-mail address in the guide, you are effectively opening up your own private gaming hotline. It should serve as a means of asking useful questions or to provide help that not otherwise covered, but 95% of e-mails consist questions answered at least a dozen times in the guide, or are barely legible to begin with. Not to mention the increases in spam due to your e-mail being plastered all over the internet.

It’s largely thankless

Unless you write a walkthrough that cures cancer, it is rare you'll get a thank you e-mail or receive much acclaim for your work. However as mentioned earlier, many writers write for their own personal enjoyment. Just don’t expect to become the internet's number one hero by telling people where all those hidden packages are. Chances are you'll be under more scrutiny than praise - trolls feed off typos and incorrect stats.