You turn every knob, pull every switch, press the A button, the B button, the “just get me past this effing level” button, but nothing works. After exhausting what seems to be every possible solution with no success, your burning frustration finally sears a hole through your thick ego. You have no choice, it’s time to put down the controller and find help.
We’ve all done it. It’s free, easy, and available - no, not your buddy’s hot sister - the answer to your gaming woes. Detailed analyses of countless puzzles and boss fights live buried under thick layers of ASCII art, embedded deep within the centers of text formatted gaming tomes, also known as FAQs. When you find it, the solution generally slaps you in the face with its sheer obviousness (or contrived stupidity). Regardless, having taken a glimpse into the future, you return to your couch refreshed and prepared to kick ass.
But who writes these glistening beacons of knowledge? Who spends hours upon hours finding every unlockable, solving every puzzle, beating every side quest and crafting a lengthy .txt file for you to scour? They are the elite, yet often overlooked, FAQ writers, and we’ve gathered five of the best and most prolific to tell us a little about their craft. These are the cream of the crop. Combined, they’ve written hundreds of FAQs and walkthroughs for games ranging from mega-hits like GTA and FFXII to obscure NES titles.
Some have used their craft to launch careers, for others it’s a dedicated hobby, and some have even applied their writing toward learning English as a second language. Think you can challenge them with your gaming mastery? Show us how it’s done by submitting your own FAQs, hints, or cheats via theCheatplanet submission form, and maybe you’ll be our next featured writer. Until then, check out what our current top five had to say.
