This month you can travel to the Lands of Dream, a version of hell populated by ball people, or simply stay seated at a computer console. You could take on the role of a goat herder trying to prevent his charges from being sacrificed, a police inspector seeking a serial killer, or a famous adventurer […]
Just as gamers come in all different shapes, sizes, interests and abilities, so do developers and the games they create. From a gritty, graphic novel-style detective mystery to a lighthearted audio-only text romp through King Arthur’s England, no two games more clearly demonstrate just how different interactive storytelling experiences can be than and . Neither game […]
It is with heavy heart that I must share the news of the recent passing of a dear friend and Adventure Gamers colleague, Astrid Beulink, after a lengthy battle with cancer that she fought courageously until the far-too-early end. Her name may not be instantly familiar to many of you, and to some she may […]
Story and puzzles used to be inseparable in adventure games, like spaghetti and meatballs, bacon and eggs, peanut butter and jelly. But lately, more and more games have been abandoning puzzles altogether in favour of strictly (or at least largely) narrative-driven experiences. Popularized by the likes of , , and , these puzzle-free story games […]
2014 was a year of big changes for Dave Grossman. Over the summer he left Telltale Games after a decade as the company’s design director, having contributed to every series from and to and . He also became a dad to a baby boy named Max (named after a relative, not everyone’s favorite lagomorph). “‘Why’ […]
With both AdventureX and the holidays chewing into our available time this year, we didn’t get to all of the games on our plate this month. But for those with massive Christmas bills to pay off and/or no games under the tree, fear not, as there are still a number of fine freeware adventures to […]
What do you give the adventure gamer that already has everything that isn't nailed down? We considered offering two front teeth for all, but decided that would be too messy and probably very unsanitary. A white Christmas is too impractical, outside of a group field trip to the North Pole. (The Arctic is still white, […]
AdventureX 2014 wasn’t all just game demonstrations. Over the course of the two days there were a variety of presentations on all-things-genre-related. Talks covered periods from the past 20 years of a well-known Spanish studio to the future of games up to 2050. Those thinking of starting their own games could get tips from those […]
Now in its fourth year, the annual convention celebrating all-things-adventure gaming took up a new venue. From the London campus of the University of East Anglia, it moved across town to the Keyworth Centre of London South Bank University. Appropriately assisted by the Games Cultures course director, Siobhan Thomas, a huge area (including a vast […]
Whether first-person or third, adventure gamers are used to traditional perspectives, but some of the most devious puzzling can be accomplished by turning those perspectives on their heads – in some cases rather literally. Such is the case with and , the two latest puzzle-platformers in our ongoing cross-genre series. From navigating fragmented environments to […]
