Taylor Melton Lee-Ann Breuch Intro to Technical Writing 9/25/14 Manual Analysis: Nintendo 64 The document that I chose for this analysis is an instruction manual on how to connect a Nintendo 64 device into the television set. The Nintendo 64 was a major playing device in the virtual gaming universe. The Nintendo 64 was the most popular gaming system internationally during the 1990s. It was an import from Japan by the Nintendo Company that produced a lot of child-friendly entertainment. The Nintendo 64 was a medium-sized gaming device with a large control deck (known as the box ) that was introduced in the late 1980s and grew in popularity in the mid-tolate 1990s. The control box was dark (almost black) with numerous buttons and contained a small entrance that the user injected and ejected the hand-sized game in and out of. The Nintendo 64 gaming system also came with a cord with three heads, each head having a different color: yellow, red and white. These cords would be used to connect the Nintendo 64 into the television to play on. This cord was called the Stereo AV Cable (more commonly referred to as the AV
cord). The AV cord, on its tail, had a big, gray outlet, called the MULTI OLIT Connector, which would be connected to the main Nintendo box. Now, with the Connector plugged into the Nintendo box and the three yellow, red and white points are plugged into the television, the system, at this point, was now hooked up. At the time of its release, the Nintendo 64 box was considered an easy and safe gaming device that most game-loving children had at the time. The Nintendo 64 began to lose its popularity in the early 2000s due to competition from Play Station and the X-Box. However, at the time of its release, it was one of the most successful and advanced gaming systems for children. The instructions and were simple enough for older children and teenagers This instruction manual relates to technical writing because it is a set of instructions. Technical writers simply explain things and their job is to translate a technology from a scientific language to a language that is more understandable to the general public, and this need will still be in demand, The need for technical documentation (no matter what the form) will continue (Lippincott). For the specific Nintendo 64 system, the targeted audience was gamers, older children and teenagers because these groups made the largest demographics in the gaming world. The message of this document is to this audience and any user of the Nintendo 64. The message is how to take this, at the time, new device and how to use it properly. It was basically an answer to a call because it answered possible questions such as how do I get the game on the TV? How do I know which of these wires are which on this cable? What is a cable? What does a control deck look like? How do the wires hook into the TV? We learned that technical writing is an answer to a need since technology is always advancing in industries, Technical knowledge diffusion is widely associated with technical writing in industrial societies (Crabbe). This set of instructions is answering questions for gamers, who are new to this device, or also to newcomers
who don t have much experience is gaming devices or technology is general. There are people who know what an AV cable is, but may not know what it looks like. Because Nintendo was popular with older children and teenagers who played Pokémon, Mario Brothers, and Zelda at the time, there were humanistic and ethical concerns that had to be addressed. Gaming systems, television sets and plug-ins can be dangerous. Many children are actually told by their parents not to mess with cords unless there is parental help there to assist them. Because Nintendo was mostly used by younger people, instruction manuals came with an age limit and a caution warning. It warned that children, under the age of twelve, were under hazard risk. It also contains a large list of safety warnings such as electric shock, seizures, motion sickness, eye and muscle twitching, altered vision, etc. It warns parents to take their children to the doctor if they notice their children have any of the mentioned symptoms. The instructions also instruct users on how to stay safe and healthy during their gaming sessions, such as to take 10-15 minute breaks every hour, stop playing if the user s hands and wrists begin to hurt, not to use the Nintendo 64 during a lightning storm, and to only use the AC adapter that game with the user s specific Nintendo box. It also goes as far as to let the user know that some television sets can be damaged by gaming stationary images. All these warning and cautions provided in the instruction manuals really demonstrate how seriously Nintendo took its technology and how much they understood just how damaging and hazardous it could be. It also demonstrates how seriously Nintendo took its audience and their safety. As far as ethics and humanism goes, Nintendo made sure they check-mark off to better ensure their users would be safe during their gaming sessions. In the article on the Challenger disaster, it is obvious that the safety of the astronauts by the management was not taken into consideration, The answer to this question lies in a complex set of factors, the most
important seem to be managers and engineers (Windsor). The engineers tried to warn them, but the profit was more important. Nintendo took their time to gather all the possible safety and health risks, and let the users know these risks and what to do if they happened. The management never let the astronauts know about the O-Ring malfunction dangers because launching the Challenger on-time was more important to them. The users of Nintendo 64 had a chance to say no to use the gaming device based on the risk factors involved while the Challenger victims do not know, and thus had no say. This document was written by the gaming company, Nintendo, to help out gamers and new gamers of all ages in a visual and literary way. An important way that makes this manual technical writing is how it is formatted and styled. It is half-visual and half-written. It is organized by headings and subheadings with pictures and illustrations. The visual aspects of the manual show the Nintendo 64 box, the AV cord, and a TV. Although all three are separate from each other, since there is nothing connecting the three together, there are arrows visible to instruct the user on how to connect all three devices together. Above the pictures of the Nintendo box, AV cord, and TV are subheadings that does not tell the user what to do, but simply identifies the objects on the page. For example, at the end of the AV cord, on the left side, above it says MULTI OLIT Connector and on the TV it says Back of TV. The subheading words also identify the Nintendo box Control Deck, the Stereo AV Cable (the AV Cord), the color of each of the three heads on the AV Cable (identified as yellow, red and white with words and colors) and the sections on the TV in which these heads fit into, which are the Video IN Jack, Audio IN Jack (right) and Audio IN Jack (left). What connects all these illustrations and headings is the arrows which show the user where to insert certain parts. For example, between the MULTI OLIT Connector and the Control Desk, there is a large black arrow which
nonverbally tells the user that they are supposed to connect the Connector to the Control Desk. Overall, the format is the heading and the style is concise. The style is concise because it is actually very simple. It is just a few illustrations with words and arrows. The cautions and risks pages are bullet points, which is also concise. There are no complex images or long paragraphs. The simple structure actually reflexes the general, target audience that the Nintendo is aimed at. Younger people are more adaptable to more simple forms of writing. They also don t want to waste their time looking at long paragraphs and complex images. They don t want to spend two hours reading a long, boring instruction manual. They want to see a few easy illustrations, easy subheadings, and some bullet points. It is just faster, easier, and more convenient for the average gamer, older child and teenager. This is especially after they just got home from school and the last thing they want to do is read some more. They just want to play their new Sonic the Hedgehog game. The target audience has a lot to do with certain writing styles and they play a big part in whether it is concise, formal, or ornate. Because technology was such a major part of the Nintendo 64 and gaming in general, technology is the subject of this document. Virtual gaming has become the main source of gaming in the modern era, and this is all possible because of modern technology. If we didn t have the technology we have now, virtual gaming would not be possible. Technology has become possible and popular due to the internet and computers. Virtual games are created and designed by computers. Also, half of virtual games are played on the television and half on the computer. Both computers and the television are considered the main technology devices of this modern era. So this actually makes virtual gaming very important to technology. The money and dedication that virtual gaming companies receive is very important to technology.
There was a time when the only game that people could play were physical games such as Marco Polo, or Tag, board games, card games, and other classic games. Now, because of virtual gaming, we can race cars without actually damaging cars, we can go on fantasy adventures without leaving our homes, and we can sword fight and hunt. Technology has changed how we play games. In this specific document, the advanced technology is reflected because it presents numerous devices (the television, the control desk, etc.), that you would not have been able to see or identify before. The fact that the manual contains the new technology and how to use it makes it very persuasive that it reflects technology. It is virtual gaming, and virtual gaming is considered advanced technology. In conclusion, this document is technical writing because it talks about the subject matter, meaning it takes a technology and explains how to use it. At the end of the day, explaining how to use or make something in a formatted concise, ornate, or formal style is technical writing. This document shows a specific product and explains how to use it, while also explaining the risks and possible hazards that come along with it. The Nintendo 64 virtual gaming device was the best and most advance gaming system of its time and is a successful story of technical writing where the message was clear, the risks were known, the user demographic was distinct, and instruction manual went hand-in-hand with the technology it was written for.
Bibliography 1. Crabbe, Stephen. Constructing a Contextual History of English Language. Trans-kom, 40-59, Seite 59, 2012. Print 2. Lippincott, Rick. We Explain Things. Associate Fellow, April 2014. Print 3. Windsor, D.A Communication Failures Contributing to the Challenger Accident: An Example for Technical Communicators. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION,VOL.3, NO 3, September, 1988. Print