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Does anybody else feel very protective of 'true' adventure games?
- Jan 9, 2013 9:19 pm GMTWords I think and things I say:@JessMcDonell
So I just came across this forum hoping to find like-minded classic adventure game fans and within the second post I jumped into I saw references to Assassin's Creed. Immediately my brain goes nuts saying that isn't an adventure game and I wish we could have our little point-and-click proper adventure haven of what these games used to be. I realise so many things are hybridized now but it's sad that adventure games seem to be losing their identity to 'action-adventures'.
/Rant
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- Jan 10, 2013 7:05 am GMTI completely agree. I'm not "old" (nor will I ever admit being old when it does occur) but my first magical gaming experiences were games like Full Throttle, that Tentacle game.... oh! Secret of Monkey Island... even games like Under a Killing Moon. Oh! Sam and Max Hit the Road! I'm literally writing a stream of consciousness and all of these wonderful memories are bubbling up. Perhaps it's whatever you played as a child that you hold in such high regard.... maybe that's why the "point and click" games have somewhat fallen by the wayside. I love a good book, and one thing that is REQUIRED in a point and click is good writing... since the writing is the star of the show rather than blockbuster-movie-esque explosions and car chases (see Resident Evil 6... which I DID like, but it's apples and oranges). You definitely aren't the only one out there that is nostalgic over these games.... although I DO think people nowadays that never played them WOULD appreciate them if the same humor and wit that is in, lets say, the old Sam and Max games, shines through. I hope this is the case because forums like PSN and Xbox Live Arcade are PERFECT venues for such low-cost (in modern relative terms) games.
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- Jan 12, 2013 4:53 pm GMT
It really is to be expected,I pointed that out in one of the earlier threads in this forum about "your favourite adventure games this gen"when I saw games like Assassins Creed,Batman,Resident Evil,God of War and even Super Mario Galaxy being mentioned in there,but itīs not surprising considering the adventure genre hasnīt been exactly mainstream since the mid to late 90īs,and for those audiences only recent titles like The Walking Dead(and to some extent,Double Fineīs upcoming adventure game,mostly because of the kickstarter buzz) are mentioned because almost everything else is fairly niche these days.
Wich is a damn shame because the genre is among my favourites and many of my all time greats are adventure games.
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- Jan 12, 2013 5:57 pm GMTSorry, I couldn't help but agree with the points you are making here. I hope it is appropriate to tell you about an online adventure game I have been making. It is kind of in the style of Secret of Monkey Island and King's Quest type games. I would love for you guys to beta test it. The link is http://www.seabreezecomputers.com/paxamore/
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- Jan 12, 2013 7:41 pm GMTWords I think and things I say:@JessMcDonell
I just wish this genre had a more niche-d term, I suppose. Adventure has become too generalized and corrupted into the mainstream every-other-AAA-game sphere. Survival Horror, for example, is at least defined. Though I suppose even that is being broken down from it's classic classification by publishers who are desperate to provide mass appeal.
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- Jan 13, 2013 12:12 am GMT
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I feel that many people confuse Adventure and Action games.
something like Assassins Creed to me is more of an action game but I can see it as an action-adventure.
when I think of adventure game I think of things like Syberia and The Longest Journey as "true" or traditional adventure games.
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- Jan 14, 2013 3:01 pm GMT[QUOTE="tempertress"]
So I just came across this forum hoping to find like-minded classic adventure game fans and within the second post I jumped into I saw references to Assassin's Creed. Immediately my brain goes nuts saying that isn't an adventure game and I wish we could have our little point-and-click proper adventure haven of what these games used to be. I realise so many things are hybridized now but it's sad that adventure games seem to be losing their identity to 'action-adventures'.
/Rant
[/QUOTE] AC is an action-adventure games. There is no action adventure forum, where else would AC go?- Please wait. Quick reply will be available shortly.
- Jan 14, 2013 6:07 pm GMTWords I think and things I say:@JessMcDonell[QUOTE="FreddyJeffery"] AC is an action-adventure games. There is no action adventure forum, where else would AC go?[/QUOTE] Actually, there is: http://au.gamespot.com/forums/board/2000006/actionadventure-games-discussion-forum
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- Jan 16, 2013 5:29 pm GMT
Adventure is a very broad term.
But i guess when i think of adventure i think of a long story driven game with many gameplay mechanics. But i guess point and click springs from Telltale Games and the old to mind. If anyone says pure adventure game to me (if that exists), i'll immediately think of Secret of Monkey Island, Dreamfall and more recently the Walking Dead.
Although does an interactive story mean an adventure game? Is Dragon's Lair an adventure game? I don't know, its interesting to see where the line is.
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- Jan 20, 2013 4:39 am GMT
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[QUOTE="Ilovegames1992"]Adventure is a very broad term.
But i guess when i think of adventure i think of a long story driven game with many gameplay mechanics. But i guess point and click springs from Telltale Games and the old to mind. If anyone says pure adventure game to me (if that exists), i'll immediately think of Secret of Monkey Island, Dreamfall and more recently the Walking Dead.
Although does an interactive story mean an adventure game? Is Dragon's Lair an adventure game? I don't know, its interesting to see where the line is.
[/QUOTE] are you applying the dictionary definition of "adventure" to the gaming genre of adventure games which never was that "broad" a term and has more recently become confused with action games by many people.- Please wait. Quick reply will be available shortly.
- Jan 20, 2013 4:51 am GMT
[QUOTE="iowastate"][QUOTE="Ilovegames1992"]
Adventure is a very broad term.
But i guess when i think of adventure i think of a long story driven game with many gameplay mechanics. But i guess point and click springs from Telltale Games and the old to mind. If anyone says pure adventure game to me (if that exists), i'll immediately think of Secret of Monkey Island, Dreamfall and more recently the Walking Dead.
Although does an interactive story mean an adventure game? Is Dragon's Lair an adventure game? I don't know, its interesting to see where the line is.
[/QUOTE] are you applying the dictionary definition of "adventure" to the gaming genre of adventure games which never was that "broad" a term and has more recently become confused with action games by many people.[/QUOTE]
Yes.
As i say though when i think of adventure games i go straight to point and clicks for some reason.
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- Jan 21, 2013 10:20 am GMT
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A very good reason - that is pretty much what a "true" adventure game has always been.
the open world games that many people have recently begun to refer to as action-adventure are really Action games pure and simple.
and adventure game is something on the order of Sherlock Holmes versus Jack the Ripper.
which is more involved and has a larger world than many of them we were used to back in the day but still follows the point and click find and search forumla where you have to look all over and get things discovered and puzzles solved in the correct order to solve the quests and win the game.
While many if not most of the recent games are too easy - the same can not be said of Adventure games - most of them are quite challenging.
even with a walkthrough you can not easily work your way through many adventure games which is why many of us like them so much
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- Jan 21, 2013 10:55 pm GMTI have a fondness for good old point'n'click adventures, and am really pleased that people still make them, as they allow you to game at a much more relaxed pace. I recently picked up both the TellTale and Daedelic game bundles in the Steam sales and have been enjoying them immensely. But like everything else gaming evolves. Since when has point'n'click been the definition of 'adventure'? If you limit your expectations to nostalgia for what came before, then by definition the only 'true' adventure is the text adventure. If you don't agree, then just type 'EXIT' and leave. Or 'KILL TROLL'
I remember the naysayers when point'n'click adventure games moved into realtime 3D character graphics instead of bitmaps and sprites, and then into direct control of characters using joysticks or cursor keys. Think Grim Fandango and Broken Sword 3. Many argued that they weren't 'true' adventures at the time, but these are now held up as classics of the genre. (I personally feel these were awkward transition games, and really wished Grim Fandango in particular was an old skool pointyclicky game as the character control was really awful.)
It's only natural as gaming technology has developed for genres to develop accordingly, and as fully realtime 3D generated environments and user camera control became the norm, then elements of action games, like timing, platforming and even combat crept into adventures. Though obviously what has happened more is that action games have developed more adventure elements. (Actually, more than anything, I'd love to see a proper visual remake of Grim Fandango in a realtime 3D generated world with full third person camera control. How great would that be and how much justice would that do to the excellent story, design, script, characters and music?)
I would ask, how would you define something like Dear Esther? It's certainly not an action game, but as there is no pointyclickyness, is it therefore not an adventure? Hmmmm....
On a related note, what really gets my goat is the rise of the casual adventure-lite genre - the hidden object game. Just awful awful AWFUL!Edited on Jan 21, 2013 11:05 pm GMT Edited 5 total times.I have a fondness for good old point'n'click adventures, and am really pleased that people still make them, as they allow you to game at a much more relaxed pace. I recently picked up both the TellTale and Daedelic game bundles in the Steam sales and have been enjoying them immensely. But like everything else gaming evolves. Since when has point'n'click been the definition of 'adventure'? If you limit your expectations to nostalgia for what came before, then by definition the only 'true' adventure is the text adventure. If you don't agree, then just type 'EXIT' and leave. Or 'KILL TROLL' ;) I remember the naysayers when point'n'click adventure games moved into realtime 3D character graphics instead of bitmaps and sprites, and then into direct control of characters using joysticks or cursor keys. Think Grim Fandango and Broken Sword 3. Many argued that they weren't 'true' adventures at the time, but these are now held up as classics of the genre. (I personally feel these were awkward transition games, and really wished Grim Fandango in particular was an old skool pointyclicky game as the character control was really awful.) It's only natural as gaming technology has developed for genres to develop accordingly, and as fully realtime 3D generated environments and user camera control became the norm, then elements of action games, like timing, platforming and even combat crept into adventures. Though obviously what has happened more is that action games have developed more adventure elements. (Actually, more than anything, I'd love to see a proper visual remake of Grim Fandango in a realtime 3D generated world with full third person camera control. How great would that be and how much justice would that do to the excellent story, design, script, characters and music?) I would ask, how would you define something like Dear Esther? It's certainly not an action game, but as there is no pointyclickyness, is it therefore not an adventure? Hmmmm.... On a related note, what really gets my goat is the rise of the casual adventure-lite genre - the hidden object game. Just awful awful AWFUL!- Please wait. Quick reply will be available shortly.
- Jan 22, 2013 4:01 am GMT
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I would define Dear Esther as a graphic novel.
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Correct. There are some games around which are labeled as adventure but are not. I mean AC isnt' really an adventure game, is it. Some RPGs can be counted as adventures though. ( like Fallout NV for example) there are a lot of exploring and you can combine stuff to make new usefull items but rarely any puzzles or guessing and things. A real adventure game for me is the point&clicks.
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- Jan 26, 2013 12:16 pm GMT
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Quite correct - tempertress pointed this out early on regarding the blurring of lines between adventure and action games.
People have recently started to confuse action and adventure genres and a role playing game with a lot of action packed adventuring quests is often referred to as action-adventure rather than simply an action game an RPG or in the case of Fallout3 it could also be an FPS RPG for scrabble or WWF.
Oblivion or Skyrim could also be called action-adventure RPGs but by no means FPS RPGs - FPS only applies to bows in frames per second in real life archery.
I know this because I not only have a marksman medal I also took archery
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- Feb 3, 2013 5:02 pm GMT
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Adventure games are a pretty broad genre... covering everything from text adventures, to point & click graphic adventures, to visual novel games, to interactive movies, to 3D sandbox adventure games... not to mention the hybrids that combine several of these sub-genres (such as The Walking Dead and Zero Escape from last year).
However, I agree action-adventure games should not be included, since it's a genre that has strayed way too far from adventure games... so much so that action-adventures are probably closer to RPG's than they are to adventure games... not to mention the action-adventure genre itself being even more broad than adventure games. Besides, action-adventure games already have their own forum, so there's no need to mention them here.
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- Feb 3, 2013 5:07 pm GMT
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[QUOTE="iowastate"]
I would define Dear Esther as a graphic novel.
[/QUOTE] Dear Esther is probably best classified as a visual novel, which is considered a sub-genre of adventure games... Though just barely, since visual novels usually revolve around choices, which Dear Esther appears to lack.
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- Feb 4, 2013 8:39 pm GMT
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this is why I avoided the genre of visual noval - the majority of them use the Renpy format and have at least a few decisions that will have some impact on the outcome.
Dear Esther is simply watching the story unfold and doesn't really have a genre.
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- Feb 6, 2013 5:21 pm GMT
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[QUOTE="iowastate"]
this is why I avoided the genre of visual noval - the majority of them use the Renpy format and have at least a few decisions that will have some impact on the outcome.
Dear Esther is simply watching the story unfold and doesn't really have a genre.
[/QUOTE] There are actually a few visual novels that similarly lack any decisions, most notably Higurashi: When They Cry. However, these non-interactive visual novels are usually classified as "linear novels" or "kinetic novels", so I think that's the kind of visual novel sub-genre that Dear Esther more or less falls into...
However, considering how interactive visual novels, despite revolving around moral decisions which have a big impact on the narrative (far more so than any other video game genre), are still debated over whether they qualify as 'video games'... I doubt many would be willing to accept these linear "kinetic novels" as video games at all.
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