[Legend]

Being a fan of the adventure genre and after having played quite a few titles, I have come to conclude that this genre still needs time to complete mature as almost every game title lacks some important element or the other making it less desirable to be recommended for replay value.

This thread is about the elements you want in your adventure games. These are the features that would make your time and money well spent.

If there are any game developers checking this thread out, I am pretty sure that the needs and wants of their target consumers (adventure gamers) would definitely help them realize their projects and be able to meet the demands of the adventure gaming community.

I am including a poll with quite a few options, in a way that everyone can be accommodated. Everyone is encouraged to vote for multiple elements, user-names are anonymous. I hope this thread will help us understand gaming preferences of the users of this forum and the adventure genre.

Looking forward to your comments and discussions!

[billy7777]

Yes... this poll is very helpful... my next adventure development will be third person (it seems that's what most people want)

It will be a nice change too. And something different to do.

[ozzie]

Hm. My dream adventure would be a game that takes me by surprise, comes out of nowhere and challenges my preconception about what an adventure game should be. It has to overwhelm me with its greatness that I may have a hard time to find words for it.

[booB]

2D is for indie developers and flash artists. 3D is where the high-budget innovation is.

[J.H]

Originally Posted by booB

2D is for indie developers and flash artists. 3D is where the high-budget innovation is.

The Whispered World?

No offence but that's a ridiculous comment imo.

[Ascovel]

It would be like Grim Fandango.

[Marduk]

I can't help but notice that puzzles are conspicuously missing from your list.

I know a lot of people don't see them as important, these days, but when an AG fails to challenge me I don't think much of it at all. That being said they have to be puzzles that would make some sense; no decorating a statue with makeshift armour because it made sense to the developer.

I've said this loads of times now but until it stops being true I imagine I'll continue; I want to play more adventure games like Discworld Noir; lots of puzzles, most of which are quite challenging and all of them are both make sense and are organic to the story.

[colpet]

Originally Posted by Marduk

I can't help but notice that puzzles are conspicuously missing from your list.

I know a lot of people don't see them as important, these days, but when an AG fails to challenge me I don't think much of it at all. That being said they have to be puzzles that would make some sense; no decorating a statue with makeshift armour because it made sense to the developer.

I've said this loads of times now but until it stops being true I imagine I'll continue; I want to play more adventure games like Discworld Noir; lots of puzzles, most of which are quite challenging and all of them are both make sense and are organic to the story.

The most important part of an Adventure for me is the puzzles.
My ideal adventure would be:
3D mouse control (like RealMyst)
1st person
No other characters
No dialogue
Lots of exploration
Challenging logical puzzles

[Fien]

Originally Posted by ozzie

Hm. My dream adventure would be a game that takes me by surprise, comes out of nowhere and totally changes my preconception about what an adventure game should be. It has to overwhelm me with its greatness that I may have a hard time to find words for it.

That's what The Last Express did for me when I first played it.

[gray pierce]

For me the ideal adventuregame would be the one where everything centers around the story. I'd really wanna be able to play as the bad guys as well as the good guys. Gives you much more immersion into the story and really fleshes out the villains, their goals their motivations, stuff like that.

Also what I really would wanna see one day is a "adventure" adventuregame (I'm talking Broken Sword, Gabriel Knight, Secret Files. The ones where you have to save the world from an ancient order/machiavellistic nemesis.) But then with a 3D first person pespective and direct controlled ! Kinda like taking the whole classic thing upside down.

[MattWBradbury]

I'm fine with puzzles, just as long as they don't seem utterly ridiculous or tacked on. Case in point: the reservoir drain puzzle in Still life (for those of you who don't know, it's one of those capacity puzzles that involves filling and emptying some container to get to a certain level). They aren't that hard, and they've been in numerous games. In Still Life, it is an unnecessary annoyance. Why would the reservoir operator need to complete a puzzle to drain a small pool of water? This puzzle itself is not a dumb one. In Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, this same puzzle was used. You had to get the right mixture of oxygen and fuel in order to get a machine working under the ocean - that was a good use of the puzzle.

Other games, like Myst, have massive complex puzzles, so the player doesn't feel like they are doing puzzles just because it's an adventure game. Game puzzles should be fun, entertaining, and relevant to the story in some way.

[Adventurer4Life]

This is an interesting question.... my answer IS NOT my fav type of adventure game.. in fact I sorta hate them... but I do think that with today's technology the opportunity exists now to make a frickn awesome FMV Live action style adventure like the Tex Murphy's and Gabriel Knight 2.

I mean with modern special effects, BlueRay HD resolution, and current computering speeds... there exists the ability now to truly make interactive films, as they were originally hoped to be made when the (imo) failed fad of FMV adventures started up.

"My Dream adventure" would be a high quality production in full HD, with seamless special effects.. set in a science fiction setting, containing a serious story (not yet another stupid comedy). An adventure that is truly an interactive film.

A4L

[millenia]

The truly ideal game would of course have it all. First and most important is the story. After the basic story comes the characters and the atmosphere. Basically this is what I need. But to be ideal it certainly would have top notch voice acting, superb graphics, excellent music, beautiful cut scenes and some logical and fun puzzles.

I think I prefer 2d but it's a slight preferance, nothing wrong with 3d if it's implemented well. I like voice acting but I've also played a lot of those FF types of games where only the part of the dialogue is acted and that can be fine too. Not sure if I'd be up for completely texted game anymore - at least a new one. Beautiful graphics are always beautiful and can make a difference with excellent and perfect game but they won't fix a hollow game.

I really dislike action scenes, especially if they are excessive and unrelated to the plot. Puzzles can be fun but I don't really mind an interactive movie either if the story is worth "watching". Easy doesn't bother me unless you're being patronized, too hard on the other hand might push me away, or at least make me read a walkthru which might take some fun out of the experience. I'm all for different difficulty (and other) settings .

A few "perfect" games to me a Discworld Noir, Gabriel Knight 1, Day of the Tentacle and The Longest Journey. They are very well made in every aspect really. Noir perhaps has a bit less than perfect graphics but it's the greatest game of all time so usually that doesn't even need to be mentioned. On GK I disliked the couple of dying scenes but again they are hardly worth mentioning.

[Marduk]

Originally Posted by colpet

The most important part of an Adventure for me is the puzzles.
My ideal adventure would be:
3D mouse control (like RealMyst)
1st person
No other characters
No dialogue
Lots of exploration
Challenging logical puzzles

Very well, I shall list the qualities of my ideal adventure game.

(not in order of priority).
Well thought out, sensible puzzles.*
Puzzles that are organic to the story and make sense.*
Challenging logical puzzles.*
Top Voice-Acting.
Minimal back ground music.*
Graphically smooth, well-designed characters and environments.
Interesting and unique characters.*
Complex, twisting plot.*
Intriguing story.*

*Not available on the original poll.


(I suppose, thinking about it, I prefer 3rd person over 1st).

The characters and environment need only been graphically smooth to a certain degree; if it doesn't perform well on my machine then the developers put too much effort into that side of the game. I don't like anything with particularly dated graphics but if there's voice actors I find it don't really mind.

I think a poll generally needs a neutral and oppositional option for every choice to get a clear picture and there were so many qualities of an Adventure Game left out that, apparently, the [joined] most important is "Background music must support game’s theme".

I mean yeah, it probably should but I think that back ground music and ambient noise only serve to grate the players' nerves, given enough time. During openings, cut scenes and options menus it's hardly noticeable but when you get stuck it'll you to despair sooner or later.

[crabapple]

Originally Posted by colpet

The most important part of an Adventure for me is the puzzles.
My ideal adventure would be:
3D mouse control (like RealMyst)
1st person
No other characters
No dialogue
Lots of exploration
Challenging logical puzzles

Pretty much the same for me, though I'd like to see a game with a "follow cam" option like Uru had. I voted for both 1st and 3rd person because there was no option for "follow cam." I also voted for both 2D and 3D because I think some puzzles work better in 2D -- so the game could use 2D in close-ups, 3D for exploration. I don't want any restrictions on movement. If something looks climbable, I want to be able to climb it. I want my character to be able to jump to reach a ledge and to be able to crouch to crawl into a small cave -- to be able to explore the way a reasonably athletic person could in real life.

I don't mind other characters (even Myst and Riven had you interacting with other characters). But I'd rather interaction be very limited, as it was in Myst and Riven, and that there not be many other characters. What voice acting there is should be natural and believable -- No silly modern slang to "date" the game (I'm thinking of a certain "priestess" in Serenia in Myst IV who said "That is so not good." ARRGGHHH!!!)

Uru is very close to my "dream adventure." But I'd add a more conventional and convenient save option (so you could save and restore from anywhere), shorter load times, and the option to pick up objects if they are needed to solve a puzzle (as opposed to being required to kick them into position). I'd also like to have a "toolkit" so fans of the game could build their own mods and additions to the game and share them.

[Legend]

Originally Posted by Marduk

Very well, I shall list the qualities of my ideal adventure game.

(not in order of priority).
Well thought out, sensible puzzles.*
Puzzles that are organic to the story and make sense.*
Challenging logical puzzles.*
Top Voice-Acting.
Minimal back ground music.*
Graphically smooth, well-designed characters and environments.
Interesting and unique characters.*
Complex, twisting plot.*
Intriguing story.*

*Not available on the original poll.

I am sorry for being unable to provide one or more of the elements you mentioned. Although I had a few similar elements outlined on the rough draft but the forum poll only limits the options/choices to a maximum of 15.

I apologize.

[3rdFloor]

Woo a poll! I love polls!

Okay, sorry. Well, on the technical side of things, I like adventures that are 2.5D with smooth animation and immersive music, like Syberia, Still Life, and Chronicles of Mystery. For puzzles and story, anything Jane Jensen created correspond to my dream adventure game. You know, stories that suck you in and won't let you go until the end.

[AndreaDraco83]

Originally Posted by DeadWolf

For puzzles and story, anything Jane Jensen created correspond to my dream adventure game. You know, stories that suck you in and won't let you go until the end.

I second that. Is Jane involved? Than that's my 'dream' game

[Marduk]

Originally Posted by Legend

I am sorry for being unable to provide one or more of the elements you mentioned. Although I had a few similar elements outlined on the rough draft but the forum poll only limits the options/choices to a maximum of 15.

I apologize.

sorry, i didnt know that. i guess i went a little overboard.

[UPtimist]

I'm in between in almost all of them. It's always not a matter of the outside but the inside that counts to me. Of course I'd like for a game to have as good music and graphics and so on, but if the game has an incredible story and great gameplay (puzzles etc.) it doesn't really matter if the rest isn't so good (unless it's so bad it hurts, of course).

Now, I'd really like a game like GK3 with an innovative 3D environment instead of always insisting on the basic point'n'click "'cause that's the way it should be done and everything else is always bad, blah blah...". Smoothing out some few rough edges and of course updating to modern graphics, GK3 would have(/has) an ideal interface for an AG in my opinion. It allows for a free exploration of the environment instead of restricting to some pre-determined angles. It makes for a much more vivid gameplay and is greatly more immersifying. And everything doesn't have to be done the same way, like in 2,5D games for example. I guess you could do that in a sort of 1st person (kind of a fps-)way, but that would be too clunky for an adventure game, not to mention too slow.

Now, this certainly isn't something for an indie developer, or a low-budget company, it would probably cost quite a lot, but I don't see any type of other interface coming very close.

Other than that, important to me is music that is mainly calm, isn't repetitive (so there isn't a 1-minute loop going on all the time, loud and in every room, aside from one point where it's the same theme with a very small change) and most importantly isn't everywhere. Like, if you're outside, in my opinion it's good to just have the outside ambience. The music should mainly create the mood, at some rare points create tension and never gain the main focus (because that just points that the game isn't so interesting). Like, if you're trapped in a room and you have to find a way out, with no one else there, a continuous music can really take away from the feeling, as when there's no one else to listen to (and when it should be just you and your thoughts (for the character)) you don't really have much else to do but listen to the music and then it doesn't really feel authentic again.

Again, I suggest referring to GK3. Yes, it's really got it all right.

Characters are more important in AGs than in other games. There just shouldn't be characters there who are obviously there just as helpers for you. Everyone should be someone, they should have their own agenda (be it just to sell apples, or to gain world dominance) and their own personality. Like in GK3

I personally always love a good conspiracy-story, but you can obviously do great otherwise too. I'm not personally really a fan of stuff with objectives like "survive (the whole game)" or something, where you're pretty much alone, and there's not really such a plot. I find it much more appealing when there's others who expand the story, it changes and evolves as you go on in the game and find out new things (maybe even change the course of the game). You know, that the story is because of something others have done, in a way, stuff happens in spite of you (like the real world) rather than everything revolving around you and stuff happening because you triggered them to happen (unlike in reality).

I really find this one hard to explain

Also, I like to take things calm, think, explore & stuff, so no sudden death scenes or like timed sequences etc.

Obviously puzzles that make sense, have something to do with what you're doing and that aren't always basically the same puzzle over and over again (and not overboard with the inventory).

Voice acting is important, but I'd always like subtitles too. The voice acting can always get unclear, something else can take away one's attention or then the music might overpower so you can't even hear what they're saying. So in that sense, the voice acting obviously should be as good as possible, but in my opinion just as long as there's the subtitles in one way or another, you can put your last money to improve something else, if you have to make the choice.