I've already more or less said it, but since we're all repeating ourselves here, I might just as well go for it.
The problem with adventure games is the interplay between story and gameplay. They used to be gameplay-focused (i.e. focused on exploration/discovery and intellectual challenges), but with exploration came the need for story, which was at first just icing on the cake, until it started becoming a much more prevalent element.
And then some people thought that the right thing to do was to put more and more emphasis on the story, and (though why it should be a consequence of the first part is beyond me) limiting exploration (less hotspots, fewer conversation options...) and dumbing down puzzles.
So now, many adventure games are interactive, but can't justify their interactivity. They're games, but not fun to play as such. You're free to explore, except that there's nothing much to explore. You have control over your character, but absolutely can't change the course of the story.
For many years, many developpers have been doing the same stuff that led nowhere, wallowing in self-satisfied mediocrity. But I think it's changing, and I see three main directions:
1) Making 'games' which are not games anymore, but instead solely focused on story-telling and artistic merits, the gameplay being only a way to enhance the story-telling. I think this is what
both Fahrenheit and Paradise are trying to do (and probably Dreamfall as well), though with different methods.
2) Returning to games that are actually fun to play as games. Kheops, with RTMI and Voyage, and TellTale are, I feel, going in that direction, and constantly improving.
3) Trying to make stories that are actually interactive. When I read that
'what makes the originality of Secrets of Da Vinci, apart from its plot, is the non-linear progression of the characters. As you progress in your quest, you have to choose between several branches, which means that each playthrough is different, and that several endings are possible', I do get interested.
Now, maybe you are not interested in those three directions. But at least I think people are now trying to do something with this genre.
So, instead of having yet another thread to bitch about stuff, what do you say we start discussing what we now want, what directions we'd like to see explored for adventure games?
