GameFAQs
Free guides revolution
The website founded in 1995 that democratised game help through user-submitted FAQs, replacing expensive hint lines with free community-written guides.
GameFAQs is a website founded in 1995 by Jeff “CJayC” Veasey that revolutionised how players got help with games. By hosting free user-submitted guides, it replaced expensive telephone hint lines and strategy guides with comprehensive community-written walkthroughs.
Who wrote them, and why
⚠ This entry credits an anonymous community. The writers were individuals with names and counts.
Edge went looking for them in 2006. The site began as an archive in 1995 and was “later renamed GameFAQs.com. It wasn’t the first site of its kind, but it was the first to go mainstream. Founded by Jeff ‘CjayC’ Veasey, and originally hosting 100 articles, the site now holds information on over 50,000 titles” — and “all of them written by devoted gamers for little or no monetary reward.”
That last clause is the whole economic story. It is the point at which hint lines charging 36p to 48p a minute stop working.
Alex Eagleson, “a university student in his 20s”, had “written a total of 53 unique walkthroughs, ranging from RPGs like Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion to platformers such as New Super Mario Bros.” His reasons: “There’s a definite appeal to both helping frustrated gamers, and exposing your work to such a wide audience.”
Andrew Schultz wrote only about older games, and described the work as preservation:
Technology may be obsolete, but the good games that ran on obsolete technology never will be. I enjoy being able to write for a game and know I’m the first person to [document it].
He also gives the craft answer: “I like puzzling things out. The people that do this work the best are able to pick apart whole worlds.”
And the payment was reputation. One writer’s own summary of what covering Metroid, Zelda and “minor games like Startropics and Mario’s Picross” had earned him: it made him “the most famous Daniel Engel on Google”.
Fast facts
- Founded: 1995
- Founder: Jeff Veasey (CJayC)
- Content: User-submitted FAQs
- Format: Plain text guides
- Impact: Killed hint line industry
Before GameFAQs
| Method | Cost |
|---|---|
| Hint lines | £0.50/min |
| Strategy guides | £10-20 |
| Magazines | Limited coverage |
| Playground | Unreliable |
The Revolution
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Pay per minute | Free forever |
| Limited games | Every game |
| Commercial | Community |
| Professional | Fan passion |
FAQ Culture
User guides followed conventions:
| Element | Purpose |
|---|---|
| ASCII headers | Visual identity |
| Version history | Track updates |
| Table of contents | Navigation |
| Credits | Thank contributors |
| Legal notice | Protect work |
Content Quality
| Strength | Weakness |
|---|---|
| Comprehensive | Variable writing |
| Free | Some errors |
| Multiple guides | Duplicated effort |
| Passionate authors | Amateur formatting |
Community contribution
Writers contributed for:
- Pride in helping others
- Community recognition
- Love of specific games
- Personal documentation
Impact on Gaming
| Effect | Result |
|---|---|
| Hint lines died | No more premium rates |
| Game design | Assume guides exist |
| Player expectations | Help always available |
| Community building | Shared knowledge |
Legacy
GameFAQs proved that community knowledge sharing could outcompete commercial alternatives. Its model influenced wikis, forums, and modern game help resources.