- Feb 3, 2011
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I agree it would be best to put together guides that have the same format. The idea of one guide per class for people to use as a jumping off point is great. D2 has so much choice for a newcomer it can be paralyzing. And I think it could be helpful to pin down more precisely how far ranging the class guides are so that the authors have some guard rails to help focus their writing. I play around with GIS some and an important part of cartography is how best to convey your information to the viewer. Some basic principles, translated to D2:
I think we've figured out some of these already.
And others are currently somewhat up in the air.
- The Audience: Who is your guide for?
- The Purpose: What is the ultimate goal of the guide?
- Granularity: How detailed does the information need to be?
- Significance: How and why is this guide meaningful or useful to the viewer?
I think we've figured out some of these already.
- Who? Complete newcomers.
- Why? The purpose of the guides is to give them a build that *will* get them through hell.
And others are currently somewhat up in the air.
3. Detail? Do we include breakpoints? Number heavy stuff like ilvl, qlvl, alvl, arealvl, etc? How do we negotiate gearing without talking about crafting Blood gloves/helm/belt/rings for melee, Caster belt/amulets for casters, Hit Power gloves for a bowzon? When to gamble for weapons for a physical build? Which weapons? Shopping for gear like a wand for White? Itemization is such a can of worms for the beginner. I think this will be the most difficult aspect of figuring out what to delegate to the Absolute Beginners Guide, what information is exclusive to the class guide, and what information is so important is should be included in both.
4. Impact? Figuring out how to make the guide arresting for the average googler. I think we pretty much have it, back to the original intent of the guide: A Foolproof Path Through Hell. And then how to make it meaningful/useful? Clear design like that D3 guide Max posted. They see the title of the guide, they click, and they are immediately drawn into it and keep reading by its ease of use, and lack of a barrier between our intentions and what they actually see in reality.
I don't know if I have the knowledge to write an entire class guide, but I think I could give contributions to certain areas. As well as help out with the Absolute Beginners Guide.
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