Adventure Games - do they still have a place in today's gaming world?

[Scorpid]

If modern adventure gaming market is dead, then double fine better find and thank whatever billionaire gave them 3.3 million over the course of a month.

 

[EmptyOptimist]

Hard question. You have to ask what makes a game genre relevant. Personally, I play games for the experience. If I play a racing game I want to feel that I'm driving. If I play a shooter I want to feel that I'm in some sort of armed conflict and so on.

In that vein, Adventure Games are about going to places, meeting characters and getting involved in the story. If the places/characters are interesting the game is potentially -keep that in mind- good. With Tim Shaffer, those two elements are 100% guaranteed.

But interesting places/characters are just part of the equation, you also need to have game mechanics that complete the experience. This is where the challenge for adventure games lies. The point-and-click mechanic is quite limited; last time around, towards the end, designers were pulling their hairs out trying to come up with something new within those confines. Adventure games are inherently puzley; how many memorable puzzles can you possibly come up with?

I get the feeling that, as much as I enjoyed those games back in the day, their time is done. Double Fine Adventure (of which I'm a supporter) will function a lot on nostalgia, and probably will not revive the genre.

I see where you're coming from, but my opinion differs on one point - I agree that the story and writing is vital to make an adventure game successful (arguably more than any other genre) I think the logic and puzzle aspect of the games is also important in the genre's success.

I used to pull my hair out when an adventure game would throw nonsensical puzzle at me, using an item that has no bearing or connectivity with the puzzle in question. To paraphrase Yahtzee, if it's just a rub every object in your inventory against the puzzle/person - this does not make a good adventure game.

There needs to be an association, even if remote. I like Monkey Island as a classic example

Spoiler

use the q-tip on the giant monkey head, or the rubber chicken in the voodoo recipe.

Quality.

 

[Stukov Wolfwood]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u84QVZ99BoA

if someone has noy seen it yet.

 

[EmptyOptimist]

are you familiar with Iphone games?

almost all of those are puzzle games and angry birds is one of the most successful games ever and is a puzzle game.

so puzzle games are far from struggling to remain relevant and are dominating the "casual" game market

This thread isn't about puzzle games, but adventure (point-and-click) games - a genre that was massive in the 90's which usually involved the player collecting items from throughout the game which were then used in specific scenarios to progress the story. The most popular of their time were the ____ Quest games (Police, Space, King's), Monkey Island, Leisure Suit Larry, etc.

Casual games, or puzzle games are definitely popular, but they fit into the "lack of attention span" concept I mentioned earlier - games that logic is in low demand to be able to play.