[Simo Sakari Aaltonen]

All the adventure game cancellations we've seen recently have been perpetrated by American or Canadian companies, correct?

Just trying to figure out if there's method to this madness.

[Ninja Dodo]

Yes. Americans and Canadians are silly.



...

[Simo Sakari Aaltonen]

Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of how directly this phenomenon is linked to current American economics in general.

Good theory, though.

[Marek]

Being succesful in Europe is very important to the worldwide sales of an adventure game. TLJ1, Runaway and Syberia all sold at least half a million copies, most of them in Europe. Funcom not only reached out to gamers while marketing The Longest Journey, but also managed to get covered in newspapers and on TV. Runaway sold 100,000 units in Spain in just one weekend thanks to a big newspaper campaign. Dreamfall scored a $225000 government subsidy. These games are amazingly succesful, and I think their European roots have a lot to do with it. TLJ1, Runaway and Syberia were all very well localized and marketed in Europe.

By the way, it's a myth that Full Throttle, Sam & Max: Freelance Police, Uru Live and even to some extent Project Jane-J were cancelled because they're adventure games. Not true. Full Throttle: Hell on Wheels suffered from serious production issues that caused it to crash. Despite what the Sam & Max cancellation press release says, the "current marketplace realities" are no different from the "marketplace realities" one or two years ago. What did change were the realities at LucasArts' internal studio. LucasArts doesn't exactly have the wind in its sails -- it operated without a president for half a year and recently fired 29 employees. Freelance Police was one of the victims of LucasArts' struggles. And yes, most of the sales of Sam & Max 2 might have been made through LucasArts' European partner. We all know how Uru Live wasn't coming together very well, and I think a bad marketing strategy also contributed to its demise -- again, genre didn't have much to do with it. Finally, although I think financial reasons were the prime reason for Project Jane-J getting put "on hold", it should be noted that there were also some production-related issues that don't relate to the "current marketplace" or crap like that. I really don't want things to get into a negative spiral. It's easy to say "this game was cancelled so we should probably give up too".

It's frustrating that so many publishers told me how closely they're monitoring the success of Larry: MCL. I mean that's fine if it sells truckloads, but if it tanks I fear that everyone will blame the game's genre orientation and fail to consider the game itself. Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude has a very different concept from the other Larry games. It has a different protagonist, a different team working on it (sans series creator Al Lowe) and it has a different style of humor. Of course, I'm looking forward to seeing what High Voltage has done with the license, but their design decisions have a big risk of alienating old-time Larry fans. VU Games really wants you to know that this is a "sex game". You know, it's "just like American Pie!!!" and all that. Maybe that's is a brilliant marketing move. Maybe everyone who bought Xtreme Beach Volleyball will rush out and buy Leisure Suit Larry. Maybe it will go horribly wrong, like some games I hesitate to mention in fear of insulting High Voltage. But the point is, Larry is getting marketed to exactly those people who don't care that it's an adventure game. They only care that it has got hot ch1ckz. Conclusion: publishers should stop looking at Leisure Suit Larry for clues. They won't get them there.

Am I the only one who thinks that more adventure games could be as financially succesful as TLJ, Runaway and Syberia?

God what a rant. I need a smoke. Except I don't smoke.

[Simo Sakari Aaltonen]

You're definitely not alone.

Adventure games just need a proper champion (it's now clear that "The Adventure Company" will never be that). It's long been established that Europe is a more adventure-friendly market than U.S.A., and that is why my personal belief is that the future champion of quality adventure games will emerge in Europe, not America. This is not a negative prospect at all.

...



"Is there any way we can link these cancellations to George W. Bush?"

[DomStLeger]

The big question I have is just how well did BS3 do? I get the distinct impression it tanked in the US. How well did it do in Europe?

[Mattsius]

Originally Posted by DomStLeger

The big question I have is just how well did BS3 do? I get the distinct impression it tanked in the US. How well did it do in Europe?

That's a good question. Do you have any info on this, Marek?

Originally Posted by Marek

Am I the only one who thinks that more adventure games could be as financially succesful as TLJ, Runaway and Syberia?

No, you're not. I'm sure that there will be more successful AG titles in the future also. It's all about the proper marketing and of course the goodness of the game. Dreamfall, for example, will be at least as successful as its predecessor if you ask me.

[Jake]

Originally Posted by Marek

awesomeness

You rule.

[remixor]

Originally Posted by Jake

You rule.

Seconded.

[Jake]

Arent you supposed to be playing some sort of game today?

[remixor]

Originally Posted by Jake

Arent you supposed to be playing some sort of game today?

Shh.

[fov]

It's frustrating that so many publishers told me how closely they're monitoring the success of Larry: MCL. I mean that's fine if it sells truckloads, but if it tanks I fear that everyone will blame the game's genre orientation and fail to consider the game itself.

Especially frustrating since there's been no indication that the game actually *is* an adventure game...

-emily

[Jake]

Or that its good... aside from the early hopes of Evan. Lets just say I'm waiting for a confirmation from JA before I believe a word of it!

[RumRogerz]

Well the way i think of it; europeans are very artistic people. Why, most of the greatest artists of our time were european
Even now they prove to be at the top in latest music, fasion, automobiles and the like.
So it makes sence that they stick to adventure games. They have a passion for telling stories, and offering gorgeous art and story to acomplish it. They are more driven towards poetic justice, rather than killing zombies and blasting ships all day.

It's either that, or they don't have computers as fast as ours (to play crazy shoot em' up games)

[ConcreteRancor]

Unfortunately, I've missed out on LSL games up to this point. (I was still a bit too young for the humor when the last one came out.) But from what I've heard about most of the series, they were actual adventure games, whereas I really think that MCL looks like a glorified version of romp.com's "Booty Call" flash games.

Especially that whole sperm-conversation thing.

[D.C.]

To be fair only one U.S. company has cancelled an adventure and only one Canadian company has put a game on indefinate hold. It's just that these and Dreamfall are pretty much the only adventure games in development that are shaping up to be high quality games that would almost certainly become classics.

[Simo Sakari Aaltonen]

To be more accurate, Dreamcatcher (the Canadian company) pulled Jane's funding, leading Jane to separate herself from involvement with that company (as discussed in the JA+ forums). So Dreamcatcher didn't put the game on hold, they ceased funding and now it's no longer "their" game. To say that they put it on hold implies they could continue development on it at some later date, but they can't since it's no longer theirs to continue. Jane could continue the project at some later date, but it would not be with Dreamcatcher. At least, this is how I understand it, and hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

And I was counting Full Throttle 2 among the cancellations, even if it wasn't going to be a "pure" adventure.

[D.C.]

Ah, really? I haven't been following the threads in the Just Adventure + forum. Well atleast Jane Jensen has the rights to the game (right?) and she doesn't have to wait for The Adventure Company to get her game made.

[James]

With the greatest of respect to my American contemporaries, the greater proportion of sales appears to be in Europe. This would indicate to me a different demographic of players in Europe than in the US. It'd be interesting to see the relative strengths of PC to console sales in both US and Europe, and the age basis for the markets.

On a publisher basis, it would appear that the US publishers would be more reluctant to follow through on a big adventure game development, where as those centric to Europe are more likely to do so - THQ (BS3), per example. The Runaway figures are an excellent example of what happens when a game is well marketed. The adventure game is exceptionally well suited to marketing, due to its high narrative content, making marketing similar to a film. This should have been the approach for BS3. Indeed, witness the Freelance Police trailer, complete with "the voice over guy", to my ear the same one from lord knows how many films.

I believe now that games need cross platform development to sustain themselves. Doom3, Deus Ex: IW, Thief: DS, are all going to be on X-Box. Look at the cross platform success of Prince of Persia and Splinter Cell. There is no reason why, technology aside, games should not be produced to the widest audience possible. Direct character control, using the keyboard or what have you, facilitates this, perhaps a reason for the move away from point n click. This would lend games as old as Grim Fandango to a console release (can't see the point now, but hey!). BS3 showed that direct character control need not diminish the adventure game as we have come to know it, indeed it might enhance it (witness the comparison between the "action" moments in BS2 and 3, one stilted and urbane, the other tense and intense.)

The cancellations, as Marek (he does indeed own(z)) was correct to point out, were the result of a number of factors beyond the fact of the games being adventures. However, this is still a contributing factor. A high quality adventure game is going to have a harder time attracting the attention of a major publisher, than that of a high quality FPS, action-adventure, or even RPG.

The locus classicus of the adventure game, being the likes of The Longest Journey, have a limited and niche appeal - us. The conundrum for the likes of Revolution and Funcom is the balance between the loyal fanbase, who'll hopefully break the game even, who they must support, and the casual player, who they are hoping to entice to play the game. The adventure game is in itself an accessable genre. Everyone who uses a PC knows how to point and click. My father, who uses a computer to check emails and pay bills, was able to open up BS1 and play it for a period. Therein, we can deduce that any given office worker can play an adventure game. The question is - will they want to?

Because, unlike FPS, RPGs et al, the older player may be a little more discerning. The likes of The Longest Journey succeeded because it was aimed at a more mature audience. From the ghostly blue genitalia in the opening FMV, to the wealth of cursing throughout the game, it treated the player like an adult. This was also seen, albeit in a cyberpunk setting, in Blade Runner, which allowed the player to develop relationships as they saw fit, and as some might argue, to an unsavoury extent.

The likes of Sam N Max, while with a wild, witty, and fantastic sense of humour, looks like a kid's game. To the casual gamer, or indeed, the generic PC owner, there is little to distinguish it from Mario. This can only be done in terms of marketing. BS3 could bear similarity to Tomb Raider, if incorrectly marketed. For Deus Ex, read Doom. For Monkey Island, read kids TV.

There is a wealth of (potential) players out there, which adventure developers and their publishers have not, or perhaps cannot tap into. Mature and developed marketing of games, coupled with the development of more mature and sophisticated content, will hopefully facilitate this. The nature of the adventure game is, despite some views, very "pick up and play". The player gets out what they put in, but requires little more interaction than surfing the internet (abominable phrase, apologies). If the genre continues in its current fashion, we'll get a new game every few years, and a pile of pre-rendered tosh every few months. The former will not go beyond the existing niche market, and the latter may unfortuanately be bought by the increasingly desperate niche.

Games are becoming more mass media - witness the last James Bond game, featuring real voices, and characters modelled from the films. This is a trend that should be followed. Harrison Ford should be got for the Indiana Jones games. Star Wars characters should be accuratedly voiced (note the Jedi Knight games as an exception). The Lord of the Rings games (those by EA) attempted to blur the lines between game and film, and while not altogether successful (due to the limits of consoles) it was a noble attempt. Adventure games should be doing the same. Characters should be voiced by celebrities. How many copies of Omnikron: The Nomad Soul sold off the back of David Bowie being a character (not many I grant you, but the idea was a good one). What is to stop a company outsourcing a lead character's voice to a decent actor? That is good marketing, that is brand recognition, and that is one way in which the genre can advance.

[Simo Sakari Aaltonen]

Randy's article at JA+ read, "It is though [sic] possible that development on Gray Matter may eventually be resurrected with another company under the right circumstances ..." So Dreamcatcher can't own the rights. The right circumstances will apparently be if Booby Trap proves enough of a success.