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Was the last decade too oppressed/disparaged?
Thinking about this some more, Advie may be right that the ‘00s are underrated. You guys are missing one half of the equation - the number of bad games. There may have not been a huge number of great games in that era, but there also were not many poor games in comparison with today.
That’s probably true, but I like a decade with many bad games and a bunch of great ones better than a decade with fewer bad games but also very few classics. It’s easy enough not to play the bad ones ; as a matter of fact I haven’t played any of the ones you mention, and I can’t think of a really bad AG I’ve played in a few years.
In any case I don’t think the 2000’s were bad per se, it’s just that this current decade feels much more refreshing and hopeful.
But that list is just an indication of this forum’s taste, right? A group of old fans yearning for the glory days.
The same old fans that insist the current period, with all its innovations, is more interesting than the 2000s ? That’s not very coherent.
Unjustifiably criticised?
i ve seen this but needed a word, one word. this subject or the meaning of the word ‘hehe’ in Arabic is so rich; has different… hmmm words.
I think underrated or maligned are the words you’re looking for Advie.
Whilst agreeing with maligned as a possibility I think looked down on, derided or sneered at suit equally well but the one all encompassing word that truly suits, or so I believe from what Advie has been describing (and here we’re all trying to find a word to help Advie and nothing else), is disparage(d).
Life is what it is.
The same old fans that insist the current period, with all its innovations, is more interesting than the 2000s ? That’s not very coherent.
One point that works against Advie’s argument is that a lot of the enthusiasm for adventure in the current period is from revisiting old territory from before 2000. Veteran designers on Kickstarter, pixel art, new entries in old series like Tex Murphy and King’s Quest. That’s not an evolution - that’s a resurrection.
I wanted to loosen the definition of adventure and see where the argument took me. By broadening the definition, the last decade does start to look a little rosier than that top 10 list portrays. Shenmue, Ico and Portal are not classical adventures but they take heavy inspiration from the genre.
Plenty. I will have to confine myself to those I’ve played, but here are some from the last few years:
Stranded
The Revenge of Johnny Bonasera
The Hunting God
Murder in Tehran’s Alleys
Franz Kafka Videogame
Monumental
Lost Horizon 2
Black Island
Bayou Island
Sandra and Woo in the Cursed Adventure
Preston Sterling and the Legend of Excalibur
Detective Hayseed: Hollywood
I’ve played Stranded. Awful. https://adventuregamers.com/forums/viewthread/4315. And Franz Kafka, which I kind of liked but it’s forgettable and very short. I’ll have to take your word for the rest. But let’s not kid ourselves: the 2000s saw lots of really bad ones too. Like Adventure at the Chateau d’Or (don’t get me started on this one), Mystery of the Druids (those awful puzzles!), Jazz and Faust (boring, boring, boring), Simon the Sorcerer 3D, Paris 1313, Timeline, Rome: Caesar’s Will, and many others.
Butter my buns and call me a biscuit! - Agent A
I wanted to loosen the definition of adventure and see where the argument took me.
It took you to a different genre.
By broadening the definition, the last decade does start to look a little rosier than that top 10 list portrays.
Why would you, or anybody else for that matter, want to make the last decade look a little rosier than it actually was? Why? I just don’t get it. And your broadened definition should of course also apply to the current decade.
Like many others here, I was active on several adventure forums in those days. Starting around 2000, after spending years in Usenet groups. I clearly remember people complaining about the lack of interesting adventures.
Butter my buns and call me a biscuit! - Agent A
One point that works against Advie’s argument is that a lot of the enthusiasm for adventure in the current period is from revisiting old territory from before 2000.
Again, general gaming sites/forums, who can’t be suspected of harbouring nostalgic old-timers, seem to invalidate this because lately AGs are getting pretty good coverage and reviews. Which was oh so not the case in the 2000s.
In my case my two latest favorite games are The Witness and The Talos Principle, which are absolutely not revisitation of old territory (unless you counsider exploration and puzzles to be old territory, of course).
So I believe the enthusiasm comes mainly from the diversification and increase in quality of the offer. The fact that part of the new offer(like the Wadget Eye games) tickles the nostalgic fiber is just the cherry on top.
I am saddened by how old gamers whom i guess witnessed at least full 3 decades and still cant establish out how easy it is the last decade was very good:-
but let me let you look at it from another perspective, the legendary/above average/average Devs that i collect here, that filled the world with Adventures instead of the No-more two Devs, their names themselves are a proof of quality. Mostly!
I will give a list of the devs of that decade:-
-1.Those came out at this Period.
-2.Those Prospered at adventure gaming (even they were established before 2000)
-3.Those were already active with adventure gaming, and gave some noticeable efforts thru the decade with new adventures.
-Kheops Studio
-Frogwares
-City Interactive
-Revolution
-Got Game Entertainment
-Microids
-Deck 13
-Cryo
-Daedalic
-Wadjet Eye
-House of Tales
-Autumn Moon
-Future Games
-King Art
-Amanita Design
-Crystal Shard
-Big Finish
-Chunsoft
-Cyan
-Deep Silver
-Funcom
-Kalypso Media
-Shadow Tor Studios
-Pendulo
-UbiSoft
-Telltale Games
-Centauri Production
-Her Interactive
-Micro Application
-Wizarbox
-Trecision
———————
-Jonathan Boakes
-Francisco Gonzalez
-Jakub Dvorský
-Michael B. Clark
-Matthias Kempke
-Ben Croshaw
-Dan Marshall/Ben Ward
-Alasdair Beckett
Disparaged seems to be a good word to describe many opinions of the games of the last decade.
I came into gaming way after the ‘classics’ from Lucas Art & Sierra so very ignorant of them although I’ve played a few since. Broken Sword 1 set me on my way followed by a compilation of the Monkey Island series 1 -3 in the early 2000’s. Apart from that if I hadn’t enjoyed the assortment of games from a variety of developers/publishers throughout that decade, many included in Advie’s list, I would not be the ardent AG fan I am today!
In my mind many of the games from the last decade, although perhaps not classics are very underrated & judged too much against games produced earlier.
Do you judge every book, play etc you read/watch on the ‘classic’ works of Charles Dickens, Shakespeare etc etc? 
r.
Do you judge every book, play etc you read/watch on the ‘classic’ works of Charles Dickens, Shakespeare etc etc?
thanks, Chrissie, that sums up a big share of the reasons for the conflict at the thread.
r.
Do you judge every book, play etc you read/watch on the ‘classic’ works of Charles Dickens, Shakespeare etc etc?thanks, Chrissie, that sums up a big share of the reasons for the conflict at the thread.
yes there are always perceived notions
This is a major concept in marketing and consumer behavior too
If i go i am picking a game Branded as Sokal game i expect some thing from his work
If he fails then its disappointment, and it mostly fails if level of quality isnt close to past work (same reason why Advie criticize Dreamfallchapters)
Now we live in over stimulated society and everyone is trying to capture your interest, time, money, how you are not going to judge something without past references?
Even if it wont be direct comparison, it will be comparison based on your notion of perceived quality…always
Again, general gaming sites/forums, who can’t be suspected of harbouring nostalgic old-timers, seem to invalidate this because lately AGs are getting pretty good coverage and reviews. Which was oh so not the case in the 2000s.
In my case my two latest favorite games are The Witness and The Talos Principle, which are absolutely not revisitation of old territory (unless you counsider exploration and puzzles to be old territory, of course).
So I believe the enthusiasm comes mainly from the diversification and increase in quality of the offer. The fact that part of the new offer(like the Wadget Eye games) tickles the nostalgic fiber is just the cherry on top.
Do think the enthusiasm people felt for The Witness and The Talos Principle was greater than the enthusiasm people felt over rock star Tim Schafer starting a Kickstarter to bring back LucasArts style adventure games? Also, were people more excited for The Witness because of the gameplay or because of the designer (which would indicate more enthusiasm for indie games than new adventure IP)? So many questions!
My impression is that the hype for retro styled crowd-pleasers like Broken Age and Thimbleweed Park exceeded their reception somewhat, and the opposite was true for innovators like The Witness. Also, look at last year - Gorogoa, The Sexy Brutale, Stories Untold and Orwell got great receptions and all were innovators.
So you were right in your first post. The genre was alive and well in the 2000s, but mainly from about 2005 on.
I agree. Early 2000 were dark years but the rest of the decade had some really great games.
The fact that fewer decent games were released does not mean there were no masterpieces made in the same time frame, which I think was Advies point. 
NP: A Link Between Worlds, Beneath a Steel Sky and Vampyr
Do you judge every book, play etc you read/watch on the ‘classic’ works of Charles Dickens, Shakespeare etc etc?
I will if those books, plays, etc try to emulate the classics. Which the games in this period invariably did.
If they innovate, then I won’t.
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