[Dara100]

Having played hundreds of adventure games, I can usually solve a puzzle pretty quickly. There are only about ten diifferent types used in adventure games and I find it "cheating" for a game to resort to them. The trickier ones requiring putting together items to accomplish a goal usually take a little longer eg "Tunguska" if they're plausable, or the ridiculous mustache one in "GK" that required a walkthrough peek. Maybe that's why I prefer the intricate solutions in games like the Myst series which require learning a number system or thinking things through thoroughly. They are the ones that really challenge me.

To answer the question, I'll work at a solution until it becomes clear that I haven't got enough info and am not likely to get it or that the game is not playing fair. At the point of frustration I'll look at a walkthrough and usually it's because the puzzle was dopey. The Myst solutions I'll work out until I finally get it sooner or later. They never cheat and it's very satisfying.

[LostQuixote]

I only give up if I think a game is poorly designed/programmed or if the puzzle seems illogical and I cant get it. If I'm struggling and its spoiling my enjoyment of an otherwise good game then I'll consult UHS, but it bugs me like hell when I do it. It just depends I guess, sometimes ive been stuck on a game for weeks and a walkthrough reveals ive just missed a pixel or something that stupid and in that situation i think id rather just get on and play the game.
The best games are ones like myst, or Schizm, which Im currently playing, where there's good solid logic behind the puzzles, which might take forever but u can just work at it and work at it and eventually you'll get the answer.
I still think theres no feeling like completing an advenutre game just using your own brain.

[Fantasysci5]

Lady Kestrel!!! OMG, I LOVE the calendar!!! The Myst and the Scenery ones were my favorite. And I'd never even heard of that site. *goes to explore* Don't worry, I'm not leaving.

[crabapple]

Originally Posted by Lady Kestrel

Thanks, Fantasysci5! I do draw some of the components, but the majority are rubber stamped images that I hand color. The backgrounds are often done on the computer.

If you're interested, the rest of the images are HERE.

Thanks, LadyK. I like the Myst one best -- the elevator control next to the tree.

[Brimstone]

Ouch! What's really creepy is I can relate to most of those.

[seanparkerfilms]

It depends on how good the game is and how willing I am to wander around until I figure it out, though I've gotten through VERY few adventure games without a hint or two here and there. For something like The Longest Journey (which I found utterly great due to pacing, writing, and characters), I only consulted a hint guide a few times, whereas for something such as Syberia (slow-moving character even when running, HUGE expanses of tons of screens with nothing to do in them resulting in a mostly empty vast world, and fairly contrived plot developments, making it overall boring to me), I have no problem with looking up hints the moment I get stuck on something. I don't have as much patience as I used to (and I'm not that great at a lot of adventure game puzzles), but if I find a game really, really engrossing, I don't mind wandering around for a while until I figure out the solutions on my own.

[deepdish]

I'm pretty good with getting through without walkthroughs, especially through the point-and-clickers.

But the game that made me resort to a walkthrough the quickest was Evidence: The Last Ritual. What an unnecessarily and absurdly difficult game. WITH the walkthrough, it still took me a couple days to get through it all. Without giving away the ending, I have to say, the final sequence and ending was NOT worth everything I had to go through to get to that point. Blegh.

I also used a walkthrough when I was writing on Laveau's tomb in GK1. There, I said it.

[Lady Kestrel]

Originally Posted by crabapple

Thanks, LadyK. I like the Myst one best -- the elevator control next to the tree.

It took me a long time adjust the timing and then to realize

Spoiler:

I had to go below ground level.

[Austintatious]

I normally give up on at least one convoluted, illogical puzzle in many adventure games. And it's never fun, and certainly not as satisfying to read some text on GameFaqs or what have you.

One game that I am vehemently opposed to cheating on, though, is Professor Layton and the Curious Village. The puzzles are fantastic, always challenging yet logical. And the story gets really interesting about halfway in.

Plus, there are in-game hints, which are quite vague, so there is little to no guilt involved there.

[therabidfrog]

I agree with Dara100. If there's some kind of complex single puzzle (like math related, a cipher, ect) I prefer that because I at least know what it is I'm supposed to be doing, and it gives me a lot of satisfaction to solve something like that.

What I hate is puzzles like:

Spoiler:

Having to stack a bunch of crap on a pile of garbage to make it look like a man with a gun in order to sneak into the back of a theater while using a monkey puppet.

Like in the Longest Journey. There's absolutely no logic behind that, and zero reason as why I should think something like that up.

[noknowncure]

This has made me consider the way I play Adventure Games and how it's changed over time.

When I was a kid, we didn't have a PC for a while, but my friend did. We'd play lots of AGs, so it was a collective experience - having two minds to think about the same puzzle was a big help.

It also meant that I was sometimes away from the game for fairly long periods. Even though this was the case, I'd still think through problems and consider potential answers - sometimes time away from a game gives you a new perspective once you return.

Now that I've had a PC for a long time, the way I play AGs has changed. I'm free to play the game continually. I'm not compelled to leave and think things over - like I was as a kid - so I sometimes become frustrated when solutions aren't immediately obvious.

Empty game worlds can often try my patience - when there's a single interactive element to an entire screen I must subconciously stop putting in the effort to solve the puzzles.

The traditional 'Try everything with everything else' option also feels a lot less like boring work when there are individualised replies to every combination. If you go too far down the: "That doesn't work" road, I begin to lose interest.

I think it's the absence of little touches such as these that can sometimes make current adventure games feel unsatisfying.

[therabidfrog]

So true. I played through all of Shadow of Destiny with two other friends, and now it feels less fun since I've begun playing it again.

On an irritating note I was playing Scratches. Got through most of the first day, but got stuck. So to my dismay I had to peek at a walkthrough. Turns out I just wasn't make a few phone calls. No big so I didn't feel bad about looking it up since I had done my part.

Well the game locks up so I find a patch and apply it. Turns out the patch kills your save game so with that and Rhiannon I have two uninstalled games in a week. Though I'll probably go back and just redo the first day since it wont take too long.

[Krystal]

I use the walkthroughs only when I'm totally stuck, you know that moment that no matter what you do or think can't move in the game and let you try days and days the same scene. When I reach that point I look for help, but like the UHS system, that way I only check the thing that have me stuck and don't spoil the rest of the game. That way I resolve the issue with as less help as needed.

[Mohlin]

Originally Posted by therabidfrog

The point is who would even think of that on there own? Are there a lot of hardcore survivalists playing adventure games?

.....

Take Rhiannon

Spoiler:

I solve an interesting cipher in act 2, and then suddenly I"m supposed to be collecting a bunch of branches and knocking over stones because a picture tilted sideways?

I had just the same problem, and looked in the WT, adnd my reaction was "I have to do THAT?!". I would never had thought of it, I don't think you got any clues to that.

I always use a WT if I know how to solve the problem, but I don't have the exact information. Mostly that is combinations of some kind, where there is no clue whatsoever (like finding a piece of paper with some numbers on them or so). I can't be bothered with trying and trying.

[therabidfrog]

Exactly. There was absolutely no clues on what to do next. It was like Scratches. It's like they expected you to just retry every item on top of every surface in between clues or puzzles so you could see what could be picked up at any given moment.

[freepuke]

Hmm that belongs to how strong the game impacts me. I have games where I look into walktrough after 5 minutes and there are games I finish myself without problems.

I think I'am more patient with games when they have a great story and the puzzles aren't THAT hard to beat.