Question about the manual and the notes inside it? (full game spoilers)

[Sammun Mak]

So, what was the nature of the person who had the manual before you did?

1) It seems like this person is not a native of this world, because he also has to work out how to translate the language as given by the last page as well as an earlier one where he indicates what the circle does to swap vowel and consonant sounds. If that's the case, it's pretty weird that he takes all his notes in this other "language".

2) Where did he get the hint for the windmill, and where did he learn the sequence for the "prize/treasure" on the early UI page?

Given the "cyclical" nature of the plot, I wonder if he's meant to be a previous ruin seeker or something, but that's more of an in-game concept than one I would expect to exist in the manual itself.

[Perseus]

There's a hint on page 1.

I'm pretty sure the person is supposed to be Andrew Shouldice.

[Melbac]

I see the manual as a hommage to the booklets that came with NES or SNES games. And those games often wandered around. Frome one household to the next. And often cheats or hints were written manually in the booklet.
Who knows, maybe your cousin had read a solution in a game-magazine and wrote down the hints to major puzzels...

[admiral1018]

My theory is that it was rented by the kid (most likely) whose character is the heir. This was a common thing in the late 80s and early 90s when you'd get a video game at a local video store and find someone else's notes in the manual. You "replacing" the heir in this game (if you choose that path) is you overwriting that kid's save file with your own and effectively erasing their adventure, only to have that cycle repeat when someone rents the game after you.

[Wolfenrath]

Originally posted by Perseus:

There's a hint on page 1.

I'm pretty sure the person is supposed to be Andrew Shouldice.

I am under that impression too, especially since the save folder also bears his name.

[Perseus]

Originally posted by Wolfenrath:

Originally posted by Perseus:

There's a hint on page 1.

I'm pretty sure the person is supposed to be Andrew Shouldice.

I am under that impression too, especially since the save folder also bears his name.

I don't think it's a very good clue if so, since save folders having dev/studio names is a thing common to a lot of games.

[Wrecked911]

Originally posted by Wolfenrath:

Originally posted by Perseus:

There's a hint on page 1.

I'm pretty sure the person is supposed to be Andrew Shouldice.

I am under that impression too, especially since the save folder also bears his name.

During an interview with NoClip https://youtu.be/A5A7uoJAOvY?t=884 he showed the papers he scanned in order to make the manual look more authentically used. The handwriting is his handwriting, but the idea behind it is it's supposed to be "from a previous owner of the game" and not explicitly him. Hearkens back to the days of video and game rental stores where the owner's manual is full of footnotes from previous renters.