[After a brisk nap]

I believe there are two reasons why adventure games lost their position: 3D graphics and the Internet. Is it a coincidence that interest in adventures started to wane around the time of Quake and Tomb Raider, and also when Internet use exploded?

Up until very recently, the best 3D graphics were uglier than the best 2D graphics. However, it opens up completely new ways to move in the game. Other genres that feature more kinetic gameplay gained an advantage from this.

Since adventure developers were not able to integrate 3D movement as a gameplay element, adventure games remained (increasingly outdated) 2D games, or clumsy, ugly 3D games.

We are now at a point where 3D graphics are finally as pretty as 2D paintings and animations. It may not be a coincidence that adventures finally look set to overcome the 3D hurdle, with games like Dreamfall.

The Internet dealt two blows against adventures. First, it provided multiplayer options to games in the FPS, RTS and RPG (and many other) genres. No one has yet figured out how to make a successful multiplayer adventure game. Second, it made hints and walkthroughs easily available. And when they're available, people use them. Few people have the discipline to suffer frustration for day or weeks when the solution is just a click or two away. However, this reduced the gameplay time and value of adventure games enormously. At the same time it made them less enjoyable. It's more fun when you solve the puzzles yourself. Finally, it made services like "The Sierra Hotline" that offered hints for a fee outdated, and thus removed one source of revenue (the value of which I have no idea of) for adventure developers and publishers.

I don't have any good ideas for how to deal with the Internet. Maybe the oft-promoted idea of going away from traditional puzzles will ease the walkthrough problem. If we can find a way to include multi-player gaming as well, I think adventures might have a chance in the mainstream again.