Nothing for me to add to the conversation--I think some people may be interested in this semi-recent article in Mygamer.com:
Days of High Adventure which has the byline of "The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of the Adventure Game."
To snag your interest, a snippet from a question asked of
Sam and Max: Season One, game designer Brendan Ferguson:
Quote:
Why do you think adventure games have been driven to near extinction in the mass market by more action-oriented titles in recent years?
Brendan: I think there are a few reasons action games have tended to be more successful in recent years. Many adventure games give you activities that are not inherently very entertaining. Fetch me a something-or-other, flip these levers, and so on. These seem more like chores than something I would pay money to do.
Action games tend to have much better pacing, giving the player a constant stream of challenges and rewards. In a well-designed action game, I can continually improve my skill without ever hitting a wall. Most adventure games, however, are designed such that you will almost certainly hit a point where you simply don't know how to proceed.
While these weaknesses in adventure games have long been present, they once drew large numbers of players simply because they were the only place one could get the experience of visiting another world and being involved in a story.
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