[bigjko]

I browsed over to Adventure Gamers, as I do everyday, and was very surprised to see the new preview picture.



They're nearly identical. And, IMO, pretty bland.

Got me thinking about that time the Broken Sword 4 screenshots were released. Pretty much everyone was disgusted with them. One group shouted "What?! Looks like Simon 3D" while others maintained a bit less exaggerated view on things claiming it was just plain bad, or non-existant, art direction.

This made me look through the screenshots of some recent adventure games and MY GOD! Each and every character looks like a copy of the next. A few games still stand out with a bit of original artistic direction, as far as characters go.

Where did all the colorful personas of the old games, like DOTT's Laverne, with her crazy yellow hair. Or Ben Throttle with his extreme shoulders and constantly closed eyes. Now all that is left is the bastard child of an actual human being. Lifeless and without style.

DISCLAIMER: Sorry for yet another nostalgic "I MISS THE GOOD OL' TIMES" trip..

[insane_cobra]

Of course they are and they have been for a long time. Not all, but most of them look incredibly bland.

I don't know if it's of any comfort (and it shouldn't be), but a great deal of games of other genres feature equally as undistinctive graphical styles. Save for a few unique looking titles, we're in a rut.

[MoriartyL]

90% of all graphics are crud- this isn't limited to adventures nor, do I think, is it limited to the present.

[saucyminx]

I kinda agree with bigjko. Plus, it seems that the adventuregames are churning more female protagonists recently. Not that it's a bad thing, but... *shrugs*

[Crapstorm]

The medium suffers from a severe lack of imagination more than anything. Art is the meaningful expression of imagination. What we're seeing here is imitation, not art. Cookie-cutter female protagonists have dominated the action/adventure genre for some years now (because the target market is mainly comprised of sexually-stunted manchildren, I presume), and the fembots have extended their domain into adventure games with projects like Syberia, The Longest Journey, etc.. It's a sad trend, but the undiscerning mass market gamers seem to like steering around the busty babes in lieu of using their wits.

[noknowncure]

Its the curse of Disney taking hold of adventure games. By the end of the millennium, every new Disney feature had the same female character. Sure they all looked different, but they were all sultry, sassy and could make it on their own. I hate sultry sassy female characters as much as I hate wise crackin', totally keraaazy animal sidekicks - which seem to dominate the current non-Pixar CGI movies.

What's that, she's actually better at her job than the male characters? Blimey, that was unexpected! She can be a tough cookie, but she's got a sensitive side that sometimes creeps out a little? Never saw that coming!

[Jackal]

Whoops, the front page is in trouble when BS4 bumps Tanita next.

I'm not sure art direction is the real culprit so much as direction, period. If you're going for realism, then you're not going to end up with Laverne-style goofiness. And games for many years now have favoured realism. Now, maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I actually think the trend is gradually sliding back to a more creative style (at least for adventures). Looking at the H-o-M, five of the ten games all have a distinctive visual style, and that doesn't include Tanita, Ankh, Jack Keane, Tony Tough, etc. So it seems to me we're getting a better mix nowadays than before. The front page thing was just luck of the draw.

As for the female protagonists, I dunno. I can't see a developer winning there. If it features a man, no one bats an eye, but if it's a young woman then it's somehow cliché. Would a game really benefit from starring an old, fat, ugly, male Asian? Now if ALL the characters in a game are young attractive women, then there's perhaps a problem.

[mpopp]

can we have people with mental disabilities?
Or would that be politically incorrect?
Maybe what is politically incorrect is that there are no individuals with mental disabilities in these games...
Having them in there doesnt mean your degrading them, your just representing them as people like us who deserve to be in adventure games eg. macho man, sassy lady.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

I think the true question is 'Are adventure games seriously lacking in originality and freshness?' .

[Stoofa]

Originally Posted by Crapstorm

The medium suffers from a severe lack of imagination more than anything. Art is the meaningful expression of imagination. What we're seeing here is imitation, not art. Cookie-cutter female protagonists have dominated the action/adventure genre for some years now (because the target market is mainly comprised of sexually-stunted manchildren, I presume), and the fembots have extended their domain into adventure games with projects like Syberia, The Longest Journey, etc.. It's a sad trend, but the undiscerning mass market gamers seem to like steering around the busty babes in lieu of using their wits.

Dominated? Really? There certainly have been many female protagonists in AGs lately but I would hardly say that they're dominating the industry. I don't understand your "in lieu of using their wits" comment, since arguably one could hardly play a decent AG without using one's wits, "busty babe" protagonist or not.

[Squinky]

Funny, I distinctly remember complaining about this very subject when we were seeing said games at E3.

[Scoville]

Originally Posted by mpopp

can we have people with mental disabilities?
Or would that be politically incorrect?
Maybe what is politically incorrect is that there are no individuals with mental disabilities in these games...
Having them in there doesnt mean your degrading them, your just representing them as people like us who deserve to be in adventure games eg. macho man, sassy lady.

That could make for an incredible game. Imagine if the gameplay simulated you having a mental disability by distorting your perceptions of the world. Perhaps the game would revolve almost entirely around conversations, but because of your handicap you can't understand most complex things that people say to you. The game could emulate this by changing what the characters are really saying into some simplified or garballed speak. You then would have to try and decifer these nonsensical conversations by using the context and other clues (like facial expressions and gestures) to progress through the game.

Granted, no one would ever make a game like this, but it could be fun.

[mpopp]

i think you're on to something.

[jacog]

I was juuuust commenting in another thread about an ancient text adventure, with some direct control added, called Asylum.

You play an adventure gamer who has lost his ability to distinguish between reality and your adventure games, and thus gets locked up in a mental Asylym, from which you have to escape.

They made the entire place into a ludicrously large array of corridors. And you have to get really creative about mapping out the place since the layout makes no logical sense at all. Their way of warping your reality a bit.

[Jazhara7]

Originally Posted by Scoville

That could make for an incredible game. Imagine if the gameplay simulated you having a mental disability by distorting your perceptions of the world. Perhaps the game would revolve almost entirely around conversations, but because of your handicap you can't understand most complex things that people say to you. The game could emulate this by changing what the characters are really saying into some simplified or garballed speak. You then would have to try and decifer these nonsensical conversations by using the context and other clues (like facial expressions and gestures) to progress through the game.

Granted, no one would ever make a game like this, but it could be fun.

It sounds a really great idea. However, you have to do it right, because in many places this is considered a sensitive topic, and a professional game designer might be put-off by the possibly bad reaction of the public (let's face it, there's always some people that dislike something about a game. Even if their arguments are actually unfounded, they are heard by other people that don't know anything about the same thing, and so it repeats to infinity.) - Do I see a prospective project for an ambitious amateur team?



@jacog: Say, do you know the adventure game "Sanatorium"?


-

[MoriartyL]

Originally Posted by Scoville

That could make for an incredible game. Imagine if the gameplay simulated you having a mental disability by distorting your perceptions of the world. Perhaps the game would revolve almost entirely around conversations, but because of your handicap you can't understand most complex things that people say to you. The game could emulate this by changing what the characters are really saying into some simplified or garballed speak. You then would have to try and decifer these nonsensical conversations by using the context and other clues (like facial expressions and gestures) to progress through the game.

Granted, no one would ever make a game like this, but it could be fun.

Brilliant.

[bysmitty]

I personally think it is an issue with developers not being able to take chances and budget constraints rather than having a lack of art direction. It is hard enough to find a publisher to pick up an adventure game, let alone one with a lot of uncertainty about if it will "gel" or not. Games like Grim Fandango had magical characters and visuals but Grim also had a comparatively large budget and was a risky endeavor for those putting up that money. I agree that most contemporary adventure game characters leave a lot to be desired visually and personality-wise but that is the problem, not the solution.

...bysmitty

[mpopp]

yay, i started itm with help from scoville, so back off ya hear!!

[Terramax]

I was thinking the same when I saw those two pictures. This is why I like fantasy and comedy AGs as they tend to be more adventurous (no pun intended), original in art and narrative.

[BWiegele]

I'm not so sure games suffer from a lack of creativity or artistic direction so much as it's a much safer route to take to make a game that's instantly identifiable to as many people as possible. Not just in adventure games but in all game genres if you look through screen shots and trailers for upcoming game they're pushing "hollywood" mentality of big explosions and grand visuals over anything "stylized."

As a general rule, people aren't that creative and they cannot relate to something that becomes too abstract from their own life. This pushes games in a direction to become "realistic" to the point of being bland. People can instantly identify with a girl holding a gun but it's a bit tougher sell when it's a girl who has a pig for an uncle...

But, things do move in cycles and the games industry is no exception. Give it a bit of time and we'll see a revival of "stylized" art, then everyone can tire of it and want "real" again.

-Bryan