I'm not interested in the Gold, but I'll do the survey anyway. My answers might come off as indecisive or uninformative, in which case I apologize.
1. This question is optional, but about how old are you? 23
2. How familiar are you with MMORPG? Very familiar.
a. What kinds of MMO’s do you play? Generally adventure, since that's the most common, though I like to try all manner of different types.
b. In MMO’s, do you usually solo or join a party? I prefer soloing.
c. How often do you play? For the forseeable future, I'm not playing any more MMOs as I've simply grown tired of them, but I have a little under a decade under my belt of trying different ones.
3. What are your own feelings about written instructions as a whole for MMORPG in comparison to in-game tutorials? How important are they? Documentation, however useless, is always important in worst-case scenarios. No one should ever assume that written instructions are unnecessary.
a. Have you ever read the instructions for any games, whether at the beginning, for a question, or for a particular quest? I generally do if the situation does not feel intuitive, or if it's my first time going through.
4. Do you think others should read the instructions? Would it help someone who may not be as familiar with the game? Yes to both questions. While simply telling a person to 'go read the manual' for every question they have is rude, it might help them avoid having to ask the question in the first place.
5. For “usual” company-made written “official” tutorials (the ones with that usually have art in the background, colorful art-y texts, and pictures and art in general), do you find those instructions easier to read than an average manual telling you how to (for example) install an alarm clock? I'm indifferent when there's art that's just there for show, though it can admittedly be distracting. Of course, that argument can also be reversed, in that a reader might not feel engaged or interested with plain text. If there are visuals such as screenshots of the interface/environment and whatnot, I believe those to be very beneficial.
a. If it is, why is MMORPG textual instructions more attractive to you or more easily read? (thoughts at least) Visual cues help with a person's memory, generally speaking. The more information provided (without being unnecessarily elaborate, therefore leading to information overload), the better off a person is.
6. How reliable do you find fan-written instructions? It varies greatly depending on the ability, or abilities, of the writer(s). Projects undertaken by multiple people with some manner of quality assurance are often quite reliable, whereas something done by anyone (singular or multiple) with no QA are probably terrible.
a. Do you use them yourself when playing? Sometimes, if I'm doing something long winded or complex.
b. If so, do you frequent forums or fan-made instructional sites more often? I would say so, yes.
c. Are instructions on fan-made sites or on forums more helpful/accurate? Generally speaking, yes, I like to think so.
7. Do you prefer instructions written by the company or instructions? I assume you mean 'company or fans.' I like both equally, though, fans will often go above and beyond I find. Whether it is meaningful or beneficial just depends on the situation.
8. How important are written instructions to the overall gaming experience? Very important. Again, there should always be something to fall back on, just in case.
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