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are there rules for stories that suit Adventures?

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I’m not sure if the thread has gotten off track or not. I look at Advie’s original post and I think that Nancy Drew stories make for great adventure games. And, until recent corporate flare-ups have occurred, that has been true. I think you could take just about any Nancy Drew book and create a game from it.

There are three main characteristics: 1) The plot/problem to be solved, is relatively simple. 2) There is minimal character development. 3) The methodology for solving the problem/finding the solution/solving the crime is relatively straightforward.

Now take a classic piece of American literature, such as Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. I don’t see any way to pull an adventure game out of it. Other than the two main characters, Huck and Jim, desiring to escape their current situation, there is no plot. Or, if there is one, it is constantly evolving. And then there is the character development, which is ongoing throughout the book. And, to the last point above, there is no “real” resolution. So, in my opinion, that “story” would not be a good candidate for an adventure game.

Now if I could think of a story/book that would be a good candidate, it would be Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code. It has all the elements listed in the Nancy Drew example.

     

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garbo - 20 December 2017 02:58 PM

The way Advie used word “story” he seemed to have given attention to only some aspects of stories. That’s why i assumed he was talking about conflicts. Maybe he wasn’t and he just didn’t think about other aspects of stories

rtrooney - 20 December 2017 07:15 PM

I’m not sure if the thread has gotten off track or not. I look at Advie’s original post and I think that Nancy Drew stories make for great adventure games.

it doesn’t matter if the thread took a different road from the main track of it, Tim(rtrooney) knows it, sometimes you can not imagine how boring threads can turn very exciting when something like this happens, as long as it is not a totally different matter! which happens sometimes, but i would worry either admins knows how to get things back on the track or a one parallel to it Laughing

     
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I think this is the first time I have seen the words “Nancy Drew” and “exciting” used in the same conversation Grin

     
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Headycakesofdoom - 21 December 2017 09:50 AM

I think this is the first time I have seen the words “Nancy Drew” and “exciting” used in the same conversation Grin

you didnt know Zobraks? he loved ND Grin
and (many) people here do, so respect the minority HeadCandy Tongue Grin

     
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Advie - 21 December 2017 09:57 AM

HeadCandy

Grin

     
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dumbeur - 21 December 2017 10:37 AM
Advie - 21 December 2017 09:57 AM

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i know he wont take it anyway only as Sweet as i meant.  get outta it DUMBEuR Tongue

     
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I personally think Huck Finn would be perfect for an episodic narrative adventure game. The book is pretty much broken up into five parts with their own story arcs because the locations change which makes for five episodes of varying lengths. In the right hands, the irreverent humor, art work and voice overs could be spectacular (in the wrong hands, a sacrilege sure to offend everyone!). 

I don’t think there are any hard and fast rules for game stories any more. All of the traditional genres are being bent, blended and hybridized with some interesting results. If an integral aspect of a story is the potential for battle, the player fights it out in an RPG game (with the introduction of story mode in some games,this is not set in stone either) but, in an adventure game, the player could negotiate a truce, sneak around planting bombs to avoid the hand to hand or trick another tribe into taking out the enemy. The emotional impact is dependent on the skill of the writer because there’s more than one way to skin a cat.

This thread and Advie’s other thread, Are indies kinda resurrecting AG or killing it?, are so interconnected that it’s hard to stay within the scope of the original premise. Both are excellent topics for discussion. I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s comments immensely.

     
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Advie - 21 December 2017 11:29 AM
dumbeur - 21 December 2017 10:37 AM
Advie - 21 December 2017 09:57 AM

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i know he wont take it anyway only as Sweet as i meant.  get outta it DUMBEuR Tongue

He’ll like it with cherries on top. Wink

     
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Jofog - 21 December 2017 11:47 AM

This thread and Advie’s other thread, Are indies kinda resurrecting AG or killing it?, are so interconnected that it’s hard to stay within the scope of the original premise. Both are excellent topics for discussion. I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s comments immensely.

THANK YOU Jofog, it was actually posters responds at the other thread about how indies are supplying stories much quality better than any AA or even AAA adventures that lead me to think what could ever be missing out of an adventure game story that makes it bad and how AGs stories can be different to other genre’s story, so you are completely right!

 

     
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Advie, I could see how one question raises the other. It is a logical progression.

For me, the most basic definition of an adventure game is a game with a story. This is the definition of whoever wrote the .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address):

An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving. The genre’s focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media, literature and film, encompassing a wide variety of literary genres. Many adventure games (text and graphic) are designed for a single player, since this emphasis on story and character makes multi-player design difficult.

That’s pretty broad. I realize that with the adventure game being around for a lot of years, maybe close to 40, that some traditions that dictate game play have been established. But with all of the experimentation with indie titles and cross pollination of genres, are there really any rules now? I would be interested in reading other gamers’ definition of what constitutes an adventure game. That would help narrow the field of acceptable stories.

     
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Jofog - 21 December 2017 11:47 AM

The emotional impact is dependent on the skill of the writer because there’s more than one way to skin a cat

This right here is my issue
Writer cannot pen the feelin of environmental storytelling of Bioshock, Halflife etc
Nor any writer can pen the intensity of games/Rites in Pyre and how they result in overall narrative
Mechanics thats why i said reign supreme, as games are all about interactivity first and sub sets within it

For more easy explanation, there are Metro books and games
In games you fight like true survivalist to save your outpost , or go salvaging stuff for survival, when you will go through ordeal through gameplay , you will realize importance of games/genre VS just writing it or voiced conversation
It doesnt end there, you also come back and realize that your only currency to survive and buy stuff back in real world metro economy is effin bullets
That was wtf moment for me and novel cannot replicate that, because in my playthrough, action and approach define that, and it pays you back as other narrative device (thats bullets as currency), so your actiony actions define narrative nor other way around nor it can as effectively without watering down the impact
Gaming impact

 

     
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nomadsoul, I do understand what you’re saying. I’ve never played Bioshock but my sons and a couple of friends have with the same emotionally charged reaction as you which they weren’t shy about discussing. There is no way to remake Bioshock as a adventure clone. But if you set aside the game mechanics and techniques used for telling the story, you could make an adventure game using that basic story. It would be a completely different game which might never live up to the original but, if done right, could carry as much emotional impact as the original. The basic story in Bioshock is compelling in particular the moral dilemma of choosing to save or harvest the Little Sisters. You’re looking at the total game experience and rightfully so. A good game pulls the player in and creates emotional involvement and commitment that rival real life.

The only example I can think of right now where this worked extremely well is William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as compared to Stephen Sondheim/Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story. The fact of the matter is that the story wasn’t new when Shakespeare wrote his play but updating it as a modern musical about New York street gangs was a new take. It was the basic story of young love disavowed by family and friend and the dire consequences that follow. That story can be told in a lot of different ways and that is my whole point. It is the skill of the story teller that makes all the difference.

     
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Advie - 21 December 2017 09:57 AM
Headycakesofdoom - 21 December 2017 09:50 AM

I think this is the first time I have seen the words “Nancy Drew” and “exciting” used in the same conversation Grin

you didnt know Zobraks? he loved ND Grin
and (many) people here do, so respect the minority HeadCandy Tongue Grin

I don’t recall that I ever used “Nancy Drew” and “exciting” in the same sentence. What I did say is that the written stories, i.e., books, could be easily translated into an adventure game environment. Which they have been. The three points I mentioned make the books “excellent” candidates for “translation.” To me the games range from mediocre to pretty darn good. I’ve lost count, but I think there are around thirty games that have been produced to date. So, until recently, Her Entertainment was doing something right.

And just to clarify, not all Nancy Drew books were adapted to games. And, conversely, not all Nancy Drew games were derived from Nancy Drew books.

     

For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.

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Advie - 21 December 2017 09:57 AM
Headycakesofdoom - 21 December 2017 09:50 AM

I think this is the first time I have seen the words “Nancy Drew” and “exciting” used in the same conversation Grin

you didnt know Zobraks? he loved ND Grin
and (many) people here do, so respect the minority HeadCandy Tongue Grin

Sierra teams Lucasarts inside the virus. A situate dependence forgives Sierra. When will Lucasarts team a leaf? Sierra devastates Lucasarts beneath the courage. The saga toasts Sierra near a propaganda.

     
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i very hardly understand what pointing at HeadyCakes, hope its all alright

     

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