How Tunic’s Cool In-Game Manual Was Made

One of the isometric action-adventure game Tunic’s best links to the past is its manual, an in-game manual that gradually fills up as you explore. Inspired by the beautiful manuals that came with games from years ago, Tunic’s collection of information adds sophisticated illustrations, maps, and tips to help you along your journey.

According to Tunic lead developer Andrew Shouldice, the game’s manual was designed to capture the physical feel you’d find in the booklet that came with classic 8-bit games. “It’s more enjoyable to flip through something that feels like a real object,” Shouldice explained in an article PS blog post“We put extra effort into replicating the artifacts of the old printing process, and there are even visible staples in the middle of the book.”

To capture the somewhat frayed feel of the brochure after years of flipping through it, Shouldice created a real-life version of the booklet, which was then folded, torn, taped and stained. Due to some real combat damage on the prototype, each page was scanned individually and used as a canvas for detailed illustrations explaining Tunic’s more complex mechanics.

In case you missed it, Tunic will be available on Nintendo Switch, PS5, and PS4 on September 27. It scored a 9/10 in GameSpot’s Tunic review, with Richard Wakeling writing that it “returns to 8-bit and 16-bit by presenting a vibrant and colorful world while also offering an extremely difficult challenge.”