No one plays adventure games anymore?

[Joccaren]

What do you mean major release? If it means that it is reviewed on The Escapist, then that's my whole point in making this thread. If you mean it has a proper developer and publisher putting out a retail release purchased by thousands of people, then there are plenty of recent examples.

He means games that are given multi-national coverage, have massive advertising campaigns, and are normally referred to as Triple A titles. Going by the classic adventure game definition, seeing as 'action-adventure' and I'd assume anything else cross adventure is not an adventure game, not many games made by big name studios that are advertised on TV, buses, radio and virtually every other media known to man actually come out with that style of play. To be fair, however, action adventure and such are all adventure games as they involve an adventure.

The description you give makes it sound like a story driven puzzle game as opposed to an adventure game, but I do see what you are getting at to an extent. I would still like to see that list of adventure games, one for each month, with a big Triple A release that we would all know about. These days, being bought by thousands is small scale. You want hundreds of thousands to millions for it to count as 'large'. Either that or a massive amount of advertising and a massive flop after that advertising. Whichever works best.

As to why they're not talked about as much as other games: They're not known of by as many people, except the older games to some. Many people could list at least 24 games that came out this year off the top of their head, let alone actually thinking about it. Here's a few: BF3, MW3, Batman Arkham City, Skyrim, Minecraft full release, GoW3, UC3, DN:F, Skyward Sword, Bullet Storm, DA2, Space Marine, AC Revelations, L.A Noir, Call of Juarez: The Cartel, Bastion, Dead Island, Golden Eye 007 remake for PS3 and Xbox, Halo: CE Anniversary edition, Hunted: The Demon's Forge, F3AR, Pokemon Black & White, Payday; The heist, Sonic Generations, Ratchet and Clank All 4 One, Saints Row the 3rd and Skylanders. That's... 28 I think, off the top of my head. I don't know about them from Escapist coverage, but from the signs in shopping centres, steam sales, TV adds, buses that I ride, the people that I know, Random add banners on websites and TV shows. I haven't played them all, I won't play them all, and I don't even know what some of them are about, but I can name them. Some of these are games that are shoved in people's faces by massive ad campaigns. These are games you can't help but know about. These are Triple A titles. Now, name your adventure titles. How many of them are Triple A. We'll find out.

 

[Lukeje]

Im sorry, but if you don't think the Legend Of Zelda is an adventure game, then your perception of what an adventure game is so distorted, you are probably playing The Sims. and ENJOYING it.

you said it yourself, my friend. your problem is your lack of awareness.

Please stop. You're making adventure game fans look bad. Is this some form of parody? Defending the adventure game genre in the same way that FPS fanboys defend their genre? Or are you actually being serious?

The reason that Zelda has an added qualifier is that the genre `adventure' is so damned broad.

 

[JesterRaiin]

Seriously, I joined this forum 2 weeks ago and haven't seen one mention of an adventure game. Every other genre has been mentioned - FPS, RPG, action, strategy, simulation. But no adventure.

Now, I'm not criticizing anyone for their choice of game (why would I?), but I would like to understand why it's so unpopular, for something that two decades ago was the most popular game genre.

It's not unpopular. I think it's rather about lack of topics regarding genre to discuss.

You see, most of other games are about personal, unique experience - each player does things a little differently. There aren't 2 exactly identical walkthroughs for any FPS or cRPG games.

Adventure games are more or less about finding and recreating right path. Modern adventure games are a little wider - you can skip some locations or events, you can miss some informations, but still - it's not that your gameplay will be completely different from let's say mine or your average Joe the Gamer.

And since the most important problem in the genre, i mean "help, i'm stuck", or "i can't solve this puzzle" is practically non existent... What's to discuss more ?

...just my 5 cents.

 

[Yopaz]

It's funny how you complain about that people don't understand adventure games yet you're unable to provide a definition for it yourself. Give us the list of 1 adventure game released for each month of 2011 since you claim there are so many.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

So, by your definition, what is an "adventure game"? You said you could name some.

If we knew what was covered in that genre, maybe we'd talk about it?

Not trying to be a smartarse here, just trying to understand your viewpoint.

I would say having a character-based story, with progress based on success in solving puzzles, and little or no reflex-based actions required from the player.

So Myst, Longest Journey, Syberia, Monkey Island, Sam & Max, Broken Sword, Gabriel Knight, Ceville, Jack Keane, Drawn etc.

You mean "Point and Click" games like the later Zork games?

That's just another sub-genre of adventure (like Zelda is to Action-Adventure). You asked about adventure games, not a specific sub-genre.

Maybe edit your OP to denote the difference?

I'm not talking about a sub-genre. For example, Darkness Within 2 is NOT point and click, yet it is adventure. Same with Escape from Monkey Island and Stacking. While Zelda is neither point and click, nor adventure. I can give more examples if you wish.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

It's funny how you complain about that people don't understand adventure games yet you're unable to provide a definition for it yourself. Give us the list of 1 adventure game released for each month of 2011 since you claim there are so many.

I gave a definition on the last page: A story based game in which you play as a protagonist, with progress based on success in solving puzzles, and with little or no reflex-based actions required from the player.

2011 adventure game releases
Jan: Carol Reed: Blue Madonna
Feb: Stacking
Mar: Aspectus: Rinascimento Chronicles
Apr: The Next Big Thing
May: Last Half of Darkness: Society of the Serpent Moon
June: A New Beginning
Jul: Back To The Future: Episode 5
Aug: Hector Badge of Carnage: Episode 2
Sep: Relics
Oct: Book of Unwritten Tales
Nov: Jurassic Park: The Game
Dec: Dark Star: The Interactive Movie

 

[Skade]

Strangely, just like economy simulations (like Settlers, Anno, The Patrician and such), the genre is rather popular in germany.

There are at least two companies that almost exclusively make their money producing a number of adventure series (Deck 13 Interactive and Daedalic) - sadly, most of those are only available in german.

 

[Al-Bundy-da-G]

So, by your definition, what is an "adventure game"? You said you could name some.

If we knew what was covered in that genre, maybe we'd talk about it?

Not trying to be a smartarse here, just trying to understand your viewpoint.

I would say having a character-based story, with progress based on success in solving puzzles, and little or no reflex-based actions required from the player.

So Myst, Longest Journey, Syberia, Monkey Island, Sam & Max, Broken Sword, Gabriel Knight, Ceville, Jack Keane, Drawn etc.

So point and click is your definition of adventure games? The only one of those I played was Indiana Jones and the City of Atlantis and Monkey Island, and I had to use Google half of the time cause common sense seemed to be overrated to the designers. Not much adventure in those imo.

Something like Zelda, Elder Scrolls, Uncharted, Fallout, those are what I consider adventure games. In those you actually get to adventure instead of trying to figure out if you need that broomstick or the cane to poke the bear with. Adventure game aren't just point and click, RPG's have always been adventure game ever since D&D up to Skyrim. Anything with adventure in the genre name is an adventure game.

You may just be looking through rose tinted glasses. Think about it did you really enjoy randomly click at the screen trying to find screw for half a hour? Cause that's not puzzle solving. And once you did find it how long did it take you to figure out what purpose the screw served? Quite honestly I think point and click games died down for a reason.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

They were bred out of existence when the technology behind games started to allow for the possibility of both good stories and good gameplay at the same time, because while traditional adventure games often had above-average writing, they always had awful, boring gameplay. Now we have games like Psychonauts, Portal, Half-Life, Deus Ex, Shadow of the Colossus, and Bioshock in their place; games with great gameplay hand-in-hand with stories that rival or even surpass anything old adventure games could accomplish. I think our own Yahtzee says it all best in this little bit he did:

I don't agree that they surpass the old adventure games - Portal and Psychonauts are the only ones which I would say rival them, but by making the bulk of the gameplay jumping and hitting things, surely something is lost don't you think? And even if it wasn't, if the potential was there, as I think it probably can be, as Yahtzee says, they still need to take the huge step of not hiring chimps, which seems to be too difficult.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

So, by your definition, what is an "adventure game"? You said you could name some.

If we knew what was covered in that genre, maybe we'd talk about it?

Not trying to be a smartarse here, just trying to understand your viewpoint.

I would say having a character-based story, with progress based on success in solving puzzles, and little or no reflex-based actions required from the player.

So Myst, Longest Journey, Syberia, Monkey Island, Sam & Max, Broken Sword, Gabriel Knight, Ceville, Jack Keane, Drawn etc.

You mean "Point and Click" games like the later Zork games?

That's just another sub-genre of adventure (like Zelda is to Action-Adventure). You asked about adventure games, not a specific sub-genre.

Maybe edit your OP to denote the difference?

I'm not talking about a sub-genre. For example, Darkness Within 2 is NOT point and click, yet it is adventure. Same with Escape from Monkey Island and Stacking. While Zelda is neither point and click, nor adventure. I can give more examples if you wish.

Actually, Darkness Within 2 and Monkey Island are both "Point and Click Adventure" games. A sub-genre of adventure (like I said before).

Don't know what "Stacking" is, so I cannot speak to it.

Escape From Monkey Island doesn't even use a mouse - what is being pointed and clicked? And Darkness Within 2 has FPS controls, minus the shooting. I don't know where you get your information, because you obviously haven't played those games.

 

[jthwilliams]

Strangely, just like economy simulations (like Settlers, Anno, The Patrician and such), the genre is rather popular in germany.

There are at least two companies that almost exclusively make their money producing a number of adventure series (Deck 13 Interactive and Daedalic) - sadly, most of those are only available in german.

hmmm, maybe I need to learn German because I like the economy simulations as well. Though I find that the seattlers 5-7 have really gotten way from the core gameplay from the first 4. With Seattlers 2 being the best in the series

 

[Lukeje]

Actually, Darkness Within 2 and Monkey Island are both "Point and Click Adventure" games. A sub-genre of adventure (like I said before).

Don't know what "Stacking" is, so I cannot speak to it.

Escape from Monkey Island is a third-person adventure game. No pointing nor clicking involved.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

So, by your definition, what is an "adventure game"? You said you could name some.

If we knew what was covered in that genre, maybe we'd talk about it?

Not trying to be a smartarse here, just trying to understand your viewpoint.

I would say having a character-based story, with progress based on success in solving puzzles, and little or no reflex-based actions required from the player.

So Myst, Longest Journey, Syberia, Monkey Island, Sam & Max, Broken Sword, Gabriel Knight, Ceville, Jack Keane, Drawn etc.

So point and click is your definition of adventure games? The only one of those I played was Indiana Jones and the City of Atlantis and Monkey Island, and I had to use Google half of the time cause common sense seemed to be overrated to the designers. Not much adventure in those imo.

Something like Zelda, Elder Scrolls, Uncharted, Fallout, those are what I consider adventure games. In those you actually get to adventure instead of trying to figure out if you need that broomstick or the cane to poke the bear with. Adventure game aren't just point and click, RPG's have always been adventure game ever since D&D up to Skyrim. Anything with adventure in the genre name is an adventure game.

You may just be looking through rose tinted glasses. Think about it did you really enjoy randomly click at the screen trying to find screw for half a hour? Cause that's not puzzle solving. And once you did find it how long did it take you to figure out what purpose the screw served? Quite honestly I think point and click games died down for a reason.

..The reason being the gamers weren't intelligent enough to be bothered solving puzzles. There's a reason you couldn't enjoy Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, and it wasn't because of bad puzzle design.

As for what is "adventure" - the genre of a game refers to its style of gameplay. So in an RPG you are "role-playing" with your character, in a simulation you are simulating the growth of a city. Otherwise we'd call the Duke Nukem Forever a RPG, because what else are you doing if not playing the role of Duke?

 

[maninahat]

^ this, basically. Does anyone other than Telltale actually make them any more?

by adventure do you mean the "point and click" monkey island variety?

just like "platformers" they arnt exactally the most popular genre

Two rather ignorant comments, which was always to be expected given the negligible coverage of this type of game on The Escapist.

You won't get far with an attitude like that.

You asked if anyone plays adventure games anymore, and those comments demonstrate that they don't. And yes, TellTale have been onf of the only traditional point and click series popular enough to garner significant attention. I remember the Sherlock Holmes series, but they are bad enough to warrant obscurity. The vast majority of point and clicks fall under the radar. I don't know if you'd count the puzzle solvers like Prof. Layton, which has some overlap. When people have these "adventure game" discussions, they almost invariably are referring to point and click games, rather than Uncharted or Tomb Raider.

 

[jthwilliams]

Seriously, I joined this forum 2 weeks ago and haven't seen one mention of an adventure game. Every other genre has been mentioned - FPS, RPG, action, strategy, simulation. But no adventure.

Now, I'm not criticizing anyone for their choice of game (why would I?), but I would like to understand why it's so unpopular, for something that two decades ago was the most popular game genre.

How do you define adventure game? I'm actually not too sure tbh, I would classify most open RPGs as adventure myself. =/

I'm pretty sure he means "Point and Click Adventure", but thought those were the over-arching genre definers - to which they are not. They are a sub-genre (and much like my beloved SRPGs, a niche one at that).

point and click is a distinction from text-based both of which could be considered sub-genres of the adventure genre, but .... action/adventure is a hybred used by lazy reviewers who decided there weren't enough adventure games anymore to give them their own catagory. That might not be fair, but it is a hybred not a sub genre.

If combat or reflex based gameplay is a central part of the game, it simply isn't an adventure game.

Here before you tell me I wrong:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphic_adventure_game
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action-adventure_game
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure_game
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Text_based_adventure_game

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

And yes, TellTale have been onf of the only traditional point and click series popular enough to garner significant attention.

Telltale haven't put out any point and click games for many years. Their last one was probably Sam & Max about 5 years ago.

WHy do you say most fall under the radar? They don't get articles on The Escapist, (which is the point of this whole thread) but they still sell a lot (especially in Germany) and are popular enough to still get dozens of releases out every year, presumably without financial loss.

 

[maninahat]

snip

..The reason being the gamers weren't intelligent enough to be bothered solving puzzles. There's a reason you couldn't enjoy Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, and it wasn't because of bad puzzle design.

As for what is "adventure" - the genre of a game refers to its style of gameplay. So in an RPG you are "role-playing" with your character, in a simulation you are simulating the growth of a city. Otherwise we'd call the Duke Nukem Forever a RPG, because what else are you doing if not playing the role of Duke?

Yeah, that's right. Everyone is an idiot. Only a fool would not realise that the best way to retreive an object in Sam and Max is to place a fish shaped magnet into the severed hand of Jesse James, attached to a broken golf ball retreiver. And how better than to stop a deadly dominoo trap in Grm Fandango, than to make a giant demon vomit fast freezing liquid all over the track. These puzzles do not have any trace of logic. Often they only make the slightest sense in hindsight. I remember in Monkey Island 2, an instance where you have to turn off a water valve. What item would you use for that? Oh, a wild monkey. Oh, I see "monkey wrench". Things like that only make sense after the fact. And even then it doesn't (who would think to rub a valve with a monkey?)

The new Tell Tale Sam and Max games are easy for a reason - the puzzles make sense, the solutions make sense, and it is possible for people to use their brain in solving the solution - instead of resorting to rubbing every object with the contents of your inventory.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

Escape From Monkey Island doesn't even use a mouse - what is being pointed and clicked? And Darkness Within 2 has FPS controls, minus the shooting. I don't know where you get your information, because you obviously haven't played those games.

It's been defined as a first person point and click on every site I've visited so far.

You're right about Escape (though the earlier entries are all point and click) but it's been defined as being essentially a point and click in design (puzzles, etc) - just with awful controls added on.

Why define the method of control at all? How is that important? When we talk about RPGs we don't call them "drag and hold RPGs" or "push and release RPGs" when it requires that action to swing the sword. Do we?

The fact EFMI was called a point&click in most places proves that we don't care what the control is - an adventure is an adventure. I think "point&click" has come to replace the term "adventure" because people have been confusing action games like Zelda and Tomb Raider for adventures.

 

[Soxafloppin]

I pretty much only play action/adventure game, I don't like FPS, or any shooter for that matter really. I like racing games now and again Adventure games make up the bulk of my gaming diet.

 

[maninahat]

And yes, TellTale have been onf of the only traditional point and click series popular enough to garner significant attention.

Telltale haven't put out any point and click games for many years. Their last one was probably Sam & Max about 5 years ago.

WHy do you say most fall under the radar? They don't get articles on The Escapist, (which is the point of this whole thread) but they still sell a lot (especially in Germany) and are popular enough to still get dozens of releases out every year, presumably without financial loss.

Did you miss their Back to the Future and Monkey Island games?

Only smaller companies tend to bother with point and click these days. They are cheap to make, so they don't need a massive fan base to make a return. Which is just as well, as the fan base is probably smaller still than that of the hidden object games (which also pump out dozens of titles per year).

Tell Tale was also one of those companies. They made it big by plundering nostalgia titles or movies, thus allowing them to easily take on entire franchises and their associated fan bases.