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The memory of adventure gaming
i guess there are many arguably milestones in the memory of the genre; like which was the first 3D adventure that was followed?
which was the first CD/DVD adventure published?
what was the first casual approach?
which introduced the hotpot revealer first?
i know that The Neverhood was the first adventure to take this No-Dialoug approach.
which was the first 1st-3rd person mixed ag like The Lost Crown?
Personally Advie I think that there is a big difference between innovation and milestone. Diego said something very similar earlier and I very much agree with him.
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Personally Advie I think that there is a big difference between innovation and milestone. Diego said something very similar earlier and I very much agree with him.
yeah, but if its about phrasing it!. truly i am have been dragged off myself, but what i am thinking is of adventures that if-they-weren’t-made-there-wouldn’t-be ... whatever, that came after.
for instance if there wasnt no Myst there would not be .. you name it.
game that affected the scene, they cant be many of them, but i am sure there is bunch or a handful of them that were made
i agree with Diego but:
Maniac Mansion, revolutionized the genre with verb-object interface, further popularized by Monkey Island
King’s Quest 7 - introduction of the smart pointer
i think those two milestones are actually one that led to the other, and between them there was the Verbs-Coin.
Machinarium - no-voice adventure, but they remain exception rather than the rule.
i think Machinarium is a result of the Neverhood.
and so on..
this exactly what i am after here, and as i said i might have not phrased it right, plus giving wrong examples early on the thread.
To me, a milestone game is less a game that did something first, and more a game that did something best. These are games that stuck out for me as games that represented high marks of some particular point of adventure game history. Often, these games will be highly influential on what is to come.
Sometimes, their influence is subtle; in The Witness, there are some references to Infocom’s Trinity (including a poster from the game box). Other times, their influence is more overt (see the legion of Myst-clones that leapt into bargain bins in the 1990’s).
Trinity: An incredibly brilliant Infocom text adventure. Set a high mark for science fantasy/historical fiction games, and for 1980’s text adventures.
Gabriel Knight: The best Sierra game, and the best supernatural thriller adventure. Many games of the 2000’s/2010’s adventure Renaissance have clear GK influence, especially the Blackwell series (see below).
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis: Best use of multiple paths and multiple solutions. The best LucasArts game. (Grim Fandango and Full Throttle were the best LucasArts stories, though.)
Myst: At the time, I didn’t like it. But I have to admit that it was brilliantly new, and a lot better than I gave it credit for back then. Defined a genre.
Quest for Glory: Each entry had problems and shortcomings, but what earns this a spot in my memories is the way the series hung together as a whole, at least through four. This sets the bar for building continuity in an adventure game series like no other. The best genre-bending game.
Hadean Lands: What this game does to adventure game puzzles - making the puzzle out of smaller puzzles, then forcing the player to create an elaborate set of plans, then automating the steps so that you can focus on the big picture? - is absolutely unprecedented. The best recent text adventure, and the first (and only) one to do this kind of meta-puzzle so smoothly.
Savoir-Faire: Emily Short’s most underrated game, and a gem from the late 1990’s-early 2000’s text adventure rebirth period.
Tales from the Borderlands: People might say it was just an interactive cartoon with quicktime events. I agree! What makes TftB a milestone game, in my mind, is that it proved to me that, in spite of my preconceptions, an interactive cartoon with quicktime events could be really, really fun.
The Blackwell Series: A warm, humanistic series of supernatural detective games that exemplify the new rebirth of indie adventures.
Portal and Portal 2: Proved that an action puzzle game could bring in the storytelling and character development we expect from an adventure game in a satisfying way.
Spycraft: The Great Game: The adventure game that used FMV well, in a way that felt integral to the game. Lots of bad FMV adventures came out on a gazillion CD-ROMS, but this was the good one. (Gabriel Knight 2 had a lot in its favor - but not its use of FMV. Would it really have been a lesser game if all the castle backdrops had been hand-painted, and the characters drawn in GK1 style? Really?)
King’s Quest 7 - introduction of the smart pointer
KGB used a smart pointer 2 years before King’s Quest 7
KGB used a smart pointer 2 years before King’s Quest 7
But KGB was a pretty poor game, and nowhere near as popular as King’s Quest VII. That’s pretty much the point here.
It’s not about the game that did it first, but more about the game that made it stand out.
KGB would maybe be considered the Ur-example, but a milestone is imo the codifier.
The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka
But KGB was a pretty poor game, and nowhere near as popular as King’s Quest VII. That’s pretty much the point here.
It’s not about the game that did it first, but more about the game that made it stand out.
KGB would maybe be considered the Ur-example, but a milestone is imo the codifier.
Goblins 2-3 also used smart cursor, and I don’t know anyone who hasn’t played them back in the day. In fact it seems like many Sierra innovations (smart cursor, FMV, 3D) were borrowed from Coktel Vision after their acquisition. And Loom came out even earlier, although I’m not sure how popular it turned to be since nobody adapted the gameplay and all sequels were cancelled.
PC means personal computer
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