Repeated Play Throughs Causing Burn Out!

After doing some reading online, the majority of the advice about writing game walkthroughs was to start them on the first play through.   But really, how does that make sense?  I mean if you don't know the material that you are trying to write about,  then how can you explain it to someone else?   On the other hand,  I am beginning to understand. 

While you do need to know the game inside and out, playing it over and over will burn you out on it quickly.   A perfect example of this is the game I started re-playing (and mentioned in my previous post) in order to write my first walkthrough:  "Uncharted:  Drake's Fortune.   I have now played and beat the main story on both easy and normal mode, and am now in the process of going back (on easy mode again this time) in order to find the few treasures Thai I missed the first time.

While I find that I did enjoy the game overall,  it now is actually getting to be boring as I have played it through 3 times now, and am going through again for what I have missed.  I also have some missing trophies that I was trying to get.   But now I am thinking that I should re-read the advice for writing good walkthroughs and try a different game for a while.

Have any of you ever written a walkthrough? (Or tried to) ?  Did you find yourself totally bored and burned out on the game before you were through?  Feel free to talk about your experience in the comments. 

The Makings of a Walkthrough Writer

After having given considerable thought to my growing love of gaming,  and video games in general,  I started giving a lot of thought to the possibilities that it could offer.  With a little thought,  it doesn't take long to realize that the possibilities for the topic of gaming are actually quite mind boggling.   You can write walkthroughs,  reviews,  previews, articles,  guides.... heck even blogs like this one, and many others available on the web.  There are also the options of video playthroughs , walkthroughs and guides.  My path down this long and winding road actually began with thoughts of writing game walkthroughs and guides.

Like most gamers,  I have occasionally used online game walkthroughs and guides for help if (and when) I wold get stuck.  This is what actually put the idea of writing walkthroughs into my head in the first place.  While I have played video games for years, it never occurred to me that walkthroughs were a hot commodity until recently.

One thing I have learned from figuring out that they are and that I might try my hand at writing one, though, is that you play a game differently with the mindset that you are going to write about it than you would if you were just playing it.  Suddenly you notice things without actually trying to find them.  Battles and fights become easier to win.  Games that were previously difficult seemed much easier to play and figure out than before.

The process of writing a walkthrough is a long and time consuming one.  There is also a bit of a learning curve in creating a well crafted walkthrough.   Since I have never written one,  I decided to drag out some of my older game classics in order to learn to write one and do it well.  I also thought that I would start this blog to document the process,  and to discuss games and the gaming world.   At the moment, I am working back through "Uncharted:  Drake's Fortune" and will attempt a walkthrough for it once I have finished the playthrough.