[thedigitalmonkey]

So I've read through the stickies on the death/future of adventure games, and I have my own theories on the whole thing, which I won't go into too much because they've pretty much been said before.

I am part of a small company with a little funding developing a game, which was always envisioned as an adventure, and although we are still in the early art stages, I am becoming more apprehensive about the viability of an adventure game in today's world.

And I have some questions for you all.

As we talk about whether AGs are dead and how we will revive them, I wonder why we want them back in the first place? I don't mean this sarcastically. There are still SOME being made, but what is it we want "back" and why? Are we talking about the industry returning to the golden age of the early 90's where adventure games were wildly popular?

Although punk rock (in a bastardized form) has made something of a come back, the elitists of the scene (who we might equate to hardcore adventure gamers) are certainly not going to tell you they want to see their music topping the charts again. The obscurity is part of the "cool."

So is the reason we want AGs to be popular again so that more of them will be produced, so there will be more for us to enjoy, and more likelihood of quality ones appearing?

Another issue. I always thought of myself as a big adventure game fan; I certainly was as a kid in the LucasArts days. But I am reailzing it may not be adventures, purely as a genre, that I love. For two reasons:

Recent adventure releases have excited me at first, but upon buying them I haven't put more than a few minutes into them simply because I think they suck. It's just opinion, and I don't want to argue to much about the merits of particular games, but Runaway was an example of something I thought I'd love that turned out to be terrible in my mind.

So I started looking back, and wondering if it's all about nostalgia? When I play Sam and Max or Day of the Tentacle again now, I still laugh, I still enjoy it, and as an adult continue to find it a great experience. I felt pretty sure that when Freelance Police came out (which of course, it didn't) I would be very much engaged by it. But maybe I wouldn't have been? Maybe it's simply a nostalgia factor.

No, I think...because i never played Monkey Island 2 as a child, for whatever reasons, and didn't until college...and I enjoyed every minute of it. But I remember thinking Space Quest IV was awesome as a kid too, and digging that up to play again, I think...wow...what a piece of crap.

Then there's a whole list of other newer adventure releases talked about this site that I simply wouldn't consider buying. Because the style and story don't appeal to me in the slightest.

So...part of the appeal, perhaps the gross aspect of the appeal of old adventure games, was the style and the stories. Quirky humor, funny conversations and happenings, good character arcs. And I have no interest in playing Siberia or something, even if the gameplay style and such are identical to Day of the Tentacle.

So I think, the point and click, puzzle solving aspect of an adventure game can't make it great on its own, even if done well. Its about the story, the characters, the world, the humor.

And then I started thinking about what just might be a new way of looking at the whole problem. In adventure games, and it's key that they are GAMES, plot, character development, world, dialogue, all come FIRST, and gameplay comes second.

What other genre is like this? None. Everywhere else, GAMEPLAY comes first, graphics are the close second, and then all that other stuff. Sure, stories and characters are greatly lacking in most modern games, and I'd love to see more, but they aren't essential.

Personally, I don't think Halo has much of a story, so it may not be a great example, but many people do. The multiplayer element adds hugely to its value, but we'll disregard that. The very first reason you play it is because you enjoy the game play. You may or may not be interested in what happens next story wise, but it's almost definitely secondary to the gratification that comes simply from playing it. But why do I find adventure games gratifying? Story, story, story. It's real nice, sure, to have a thinking challenge instead of a finger twitching challenge, but at the end of the day, why was it gratifying to solve the puzzles? Because I was rewarded with more story, and that's what motivated me to play- advancing the story, not simply the gameplay in itself. THe puzzles, (the gameplay) don't hold up on their own, even if they're perfectly designed.

Maybe not everyone agrees though. That's what I really want to know. Would you enjoy and keep playing an adventure game that say, had great, great puzzles, perfectly challenging in every way, but not much of a story?

So how do we make gameplay function first? I think the answer is, in this genre, it can't independent of story, and so, we have all the talk about adding action to games.

People I've shown the opening scenes and art for our project seem to find it, very, very funny. I talked to some people who are avid gamers, like good stories, but have never played any old adventure games. After trying to explain to them exactly what I wanted to do, the answer always came down to: "Oh. THen why don't you just make a movie?"

Good question. Here's the answer I came up with. I want the joy of interactivity, where you can actually talk to those funny characters, get responses, and explore the world they inhabit. But where will the game play come from? How will it work for today's gamers?

I asked the same friend finally, after explaining adventure games, wheter he thought it would work out for today's market, assuming it was of top notch production value, graphics, engine, etc. I said, "do you think people would be interested in a totally puzzle game, with no violence, timed sequences, reflex action, but a great story, style, characterization, etc.?"

He said, "Sure. There's already games like that."

Really?

"Yeah. Grand Theft Auto."

No, I don't think you're getting what I'm saying...(I explained some of the puzzles from Monkey Island.)

"Well GTA's the same thing. There's part's where you have to find something like a blue key to open a blue door."

Yeah, but it's pretty obvious that blue keys go in blue doors. YOu didn't have to think it out much.

"Well there's other puzzles too. Like you have to jump over a hill three times to advance."

Sigh. Conversation continued like this, and I spoke to a bunch of people, and consistent answers I got for what an adventure game would need to be a hit with this market were:

"Well, then it would have to be multiplayer some how. Even if it's not fighting with friends, that I could interact with other real people, maybe to collaborate to solve puzzles."

"It has to be up to date with what is a top seller. All the eye candy has to be on par, and I have to be able to navigate the world in real time 3D."

"It wouldn't be fun if what I do doesn't actually change the story, not just advance it. I'd need to be able to ahve different outcomes by doing different things."

"It needs some kind of score. Where I could get to the end but possibly not have accomplished everything. Where I could compare to my friends and see that I did it better than they did."

Not sure if I agree with most of this, but it's food for thought.

Tear me apart. Go!