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Old 11-25-2007, 03:48 PM   #21
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Well, I like games with a concept and story that holds together but still shows ambiguity.

Excellent examples of recent are: Dreamfall, BS4, Culpa Innata, Portal and all of Dave Gilbert's creations.
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Old 11-25-2007, 06:26 PM   #22
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A good adventure game, to me, gives me the feeling of participating in an exciting story. I don't particularly like games that aims at giving me the opportunity to change the story/have multiple story branches - storys are often best when they are tight and linear IMO.

Thus, every part of the game should seamlessly blend together, and by that provide me with that feeling of participation. The story, the characters, the game world, the dialog, the music, the puzzles - I think it's the sum of most of the parts that makes for a good adventure game (well, sometimes it's even more than that). A few examples:

Story: The story should be compelling. E.g. by carrying some depth, or maybe just charm my socks off. Dreamfall, Still Life (except for the ending) and the first Sam & Max springs to my mind. The latter didn't have a deep story, but it surely was very charming.

Characters: It's the same pattern with the characters; I want to feel their personality, their joys and their sorrows. Or they could just make me laugh, or simply charm me into a big smile. In short; They should be memorable. Games like ICO, Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Beyond Good & Evil, Sam & Max and Broken Sword nailed that pretty well.

The game world: An exciting game world can really suck the player into the game, so that's important. So is variation. I don't want to see the same corridors etc. during the hole game.

Puzzles: Variation is the main key. A game with only one or two types of puzzles is often borring. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis had very good puzzles IMO. Furthermore I really like "mini games" that feel "puzzly" and blends well into the story - done right, it can add a lot to the hole gameplay/puzzle experience.

So, do any adventure games have it all? Well, they don't come in bundles (and to be honest I haven't played a ton of adventure games, so I certainly can't name them all), but I think a game like Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis pretty much nailed it.

Last edited by Jannik; 11-26-2007 at 05:44 AM.
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Old 11-25-2007, 06:39 PM   #23
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The games worlds are what I love about adventuregames (this has probably already been mentioned). What you explore in the gameplay is a story and its characters. Most other genres don't have that very often.
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Old 11-26-2007, 10:35 AM   #24
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Thanks for all the great feedback so far. Please keep it coming if you can spare a few moments.

One common theme at the moment seems to be the exploration of the game world. I know from personal experience that finding a new area to explore is just as interesting as solving the puzzles. I remember watching my sons play Beneath a Steel Sky when they were young and they just explored as far as they could before interacting with characters and solving puzzles.

This actually brings up another question - if you see too many screenshots in advance of playing a game, does it spoil your enjoyment when the "new" area you've just entered has been seen around the net for months previously?
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Old 11-26-2007, 12:01 PM   #25
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I love the genre because it, in a way, feels more complex then then the others.

One example is how they feel more like books, then movies, which most other genre seems to wanna be more like these days.

One other is how it doesn't have to center around killing stuff, as most other games does (in one way or another).
I personally think this is a very primitive, and in most cases, lazy way of designing games.

I also like brain puzzles and to be sucked into another world, and another character.
I don't really care much for exploring new locations. I highly prefer a small rich world, then a watered-down, big one.
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Old 11-26-2007, 12:48 PM   #26
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For adventure games, I don't think seeing screen shots is that bad. For other games, I don't like to look at them to be honest. They spoil the game for me. Then again, I haven't really "looked forward" to many adventure games because I normally play them after they're out. Only recently have I started into the world of "Look at this new adventure game coming soon!" so...

I'd say you release enough shots to get people excited, but don't go crazy. 10 is probably a fine number, and it doesn't always have to be a different location. Oh and ABOVE ALL don't release screens/info too early. Nothing kills a game like saying "Oh I'm working on this awesome project" and then delaying it for 3 years... Then people stop caring.
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Old 11-26-2007, 01:32 PM   #27
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I hate games like Myst, they seem so empty to me. I like a good story with good voice acting, i like games that are light on puzzles like Dreamfall (if they have a bril story) But I dont mind puzzles like-the-ones-in-TLJ not too complex. Monkey Island 3 also had the perfect blend of everything I love in adventure games.
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Old 11-27-2007, 04:26 AM   #28
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Quote:
This actually brings up another question - if you see too many screenshots in advance of playing a game, does it spoil your enjoyment when the "new" area you've just entered has been seen around the net for months previously?
No, in fact, it often just whets my appetite.
Sort of like looking through a travel magazine, I think about going there 'in (1st) person' and seeing the scenery for myself .
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Old 11-27-2007, 05:16 AM   #29
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For me its about the exploration, searching for clues, solving puzzles that are solvable by clues given in the game (not just a random puzzle chucked in) and a brilliant storyline that keeps me glued to my seat. I like to be able to fully explore a room for example, open all the cupboards drawers etc. Also I like a game that lasts ages...there is nothing worse than completing an adventure in a few hours...I am finding now that a lot of games are just too short! And if the end of the game is left open ended I want a second game to follow quickly!!
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Old 11-27-2007, 10:20 AM   #30
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I usually check out screen shots when I'm intrigued with a game's concept--but I don't go through entire galleries, since my intention is just to ensure that I like the style of the graphics. It sort of reminds me of trying to lure a feral cat out of your garage and into the alley by using bits of tuna--some cats fill up on tuna and are sick of it before you can get them into the alley. Not that AGers are feral cats that live in your garage. Hmm.
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Old 11-27-2007, 11:36 AM   #31
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Oh yeah, there were a second question

I don't really mind many screenshots. Because of my bad memory, I'll probably have forgotten most stuff about them after just a little while anyway. Unless there are screenshots which reveals something about the story that I wouldn't have guessed, or something really odd, or unexpected, which might stick to your memory.
If I, for example, saw a screenshot of the
Spoiler:
Underground tunnel
in the end of MI2, I would probably be waiting and wondering the entire game when and why that would happen (maybe not the greatest example, but the first thing that popped into my mind, I guess you get the point).

Last edited by fajerkaos; 11-27-2007 at 11:39 AM. Reason: Maybe silly, but added a spoiler-thingie
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Old 11-27-2007, 12:13 PM   #32
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atmosphere. adventure games are far more successful in creating a strong atmosphere than any other genre of computer game that i've played.

atmosphere is the combination of a lot of things, but i think one of the most important is the artwork. adventure games just seem to have the best artists.

i'm currently playing nibiru (now that it has a starforce-free release), and the voice-acting is abysmal, but i'm sticking with it because the artwork is beautiful enough to overcome this.
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Old 11-27-2007, 01:25 PM   #33
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This is true not just of adventures, but of all games... but what I love in adventures is when they transport me to a place that is new and inspiring, to meet characters that are charming, funny and touching. It is something that many of the classics manage still - I played Monkey Island for the first time a couple years ago and loved it - while more recent offerings just don't seem as inspired.

I want something honest that doesn't try to be hip or clever.

The response you want from a game preview is not: "Hey, that could be alright" but "Wow! I always wanted to be that character or visit that place (even if I never knew it till now)! I must have it."

Games that do this (and yes I'm including non-adventures): Assassin's Creed, Brutal Legend, Okami, Shadow of the Colossus, Monkey Island, Phoenix Wright, Grim Fandango, Gabriel Knight. These are characters and places worth inhabiting.

I refer everyone to Tim Schafer's Greater Mech-suit Theory.

"Finally the game that satisfies the player's desire to be a mentally insane ostrich."
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Old 11-29-2007, 12:07 AM   #34
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Once again, many thanks for more excellent thoughts.

My feeling is that there is a strong picture to be built from everything that's been said, which actually confirms and builds on many of my own thoughts, feelings and ideas.

It will all go into the grand melting pot of my mind for future reference.
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Old 11-29-2007, 08:12 AM   #35
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Speaking in the most abstract terms, a good adventure game is one that provides the player with a constant supply of interesting things to discover.

Come to think of it, that's probably true of all games. In RPGs, the discovery things are new quests, enemies and items. In shooters, it's new weapons and tactical environments. In arcade/casual games, it's new levels, combos or special powers.
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Old 11-29-2007, 11:37 AM   #36
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Hmm, what is it about adventure games? Besides the fact that I've been playing them since I was 8?

It's the story. I'm a story junkie. Books, movies, TV, and games, the medium doesn't matter so long as the story is good. Adventure games, if they're really good, can have a story that is deeper than almost any of those other mediums (with the exception of some TV shows and some complex novels.) But more than just having a good story, it's a different form of storytelling. I appreciate the slow unfolding of story, the discovery that works often like a good mystery. I like my games long, with oodles of different locations, characters, objects, goals, and tasks. And sometimes, it's only at the end that all of those things really come together in a coherent story, but you had fun along the way.

My favorite AG of all time was The Longest Journey, which wowed me because I had been playing games for a long time already, and then that one seemed to have everything I'd ever loved about AG all together. The puzzles were challenging, but not impossible. The dialogue was extremely well-written and the plot well-paced. The world was original and exciting. And constantly changing. You constantly have different things to do, different places and people to talk to. I get bored of games in which I'm always in the same general area, with the same locations and the same people, or alternately (Syberia *cough*) when the locations keep changing, but the goals/tasks are the same.

The first AG to really blow my mind was the first Gabriel Knight. I had been playing Sierra games for a while at that point, but I hadn't seen anything with that depth of plot, character, and what felt like an adult mindset (to a 14 year old). Probably still in my top 5 games ever.

I'm not big on puzzles for the sake of puzzles. I like to have to constantly think, but not pull out my hair. Phoenix Wright games are great at that. Just enough challenge to require you to think about things, but not so much that you ever really get stuck and put down the game. How many times has a puzzle made you put down a game and never go back? I must be losing my patience, because it's happening to me more and more.

Umm, I think this got long, and became something of a personal manifesto. I have a bad habit of doing that when it comes to AG's.
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Old 11-29-2007, 02:02 PM   #37
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Well... I'd have to say there are a lot of things I love about adventure games. Sometimes they depend on my mood, and the time of year. I can't play Sam and Max during the winter, though during the summer it's a riot.

I really enjoy a good story, or at least something that makes me laugh, due to something really ridiculous or witty. (Ridiculous: Guybrush dropping a sword down his pants in The Curse of Monkey Island. Wit: Guybrush then proceeding to wince.) For a good story I usually look for the occult (ghosts, witchcraft), a really intriquing mystery (And Then There Were None was simply great because I loved the story, Keepsake is interesting due to the emptiness), or some sorta sci-fi (The Dig).

Voice acting is another big one. The Curse of Monkey Island had amazing voice acting, and that really made it even more of a great game. Some games don't have good voice acting though, and that's just annoying.

Simplicity or obviousness is another thing I like. If a game has something that hints to what you should do, it's a lot more fun. Some games did this great, and others not so well. Having to go to the UHS to solve a puzzle can be very annoying.

Then there's exploration. I feel this is a must for most games, adventure or not. And Then There Were None was great in the sense that the place was so large, but also small enough to make you feel like you were on an island. Games like Day of the Tentacle worked well in that they put lots to explore in a small space, making it feel like you actually were in a very cramped mansion.

And finally are graphics. Now now, I'm not gonna say that ultra-realism is important. I'm actually talking about graphics that fit the game. When you're playing an old-fashioned adventure-noir, you expect it to be... well... in black and white. If you're playing a surreal adventure of ghosts and ghouls, outlandish colors and some good shades of purple are in order. Then again, if you're going "back, to the mansion!" in Day of the Tentacle, you should have a bunch of different colors that make it bright and cartoon-y.

Replay value and length are interesting things. On one hand, a game can be short if you want to play it again and again. On the other, it's great to have a really long involved game. I think the best would be a game that makes you want to play it again and again, but is long enough that you notice different things each time around. An interesting idea I had to improve this is something to randomize the plot, that make even the story different each time. I remember some Scooby-Doo games which did this, and those games I could just keep playing.

Well, I'd say "that's my two cents" but it's actually more around two dollars...

EDIT: And in response to the second question: I like screenshots as long as they don't spoil an important scene, like the revealing of who the villain is, or that (insert name) dies.

Last edited by ShadeJackrabbit; 11-29-2007 at 02:24 PM.
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Old 11-29-2007, 11:41 PM   #38
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Thanks again guys. More excellently cool stuff.
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Old 11-30-2007, 06:14 AM   #39
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I do like a variety of environments to explore, especially if they're places that I'd personally like to visit--like Machu Picchu, Easter Island, and so forth. My five year old daughter often comes into the study when I am playing a new game, and her question is always "Where are you?", rather than who am I, or what am I doing. I generally play AGs as a reward for making a deadline, or a carrot for working toward a deadline--the good ones test my intelligence and my creativity in a way that makes me feel refreshed when I return to my work. For that reason (and others that I won't go into, as they aren't especially germane to the topic) I like puzzles that are organic--which is to say, obstacles that are reasonable to the situation, rather than artificial, which is an opinion that I think has been stated several times in this thread, as well as others. I think there is a lot to love about the adventure game, not the least of which is its many permutations--a dish for every palate.
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Old 11-30-2007, 07:57 PM   #40
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Story and original game worlds. There is so much potential in video game as a ways to deliver story. Where are all the creative possibilities you can find midway in the fantasy-scifi spectrum? Why does it have to be swords'n'elfs , lasers'n'robots or real-life scenarios?
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