Adventure Gamers - Forums

That’s an interesting video, thanks for sharing. Loved that fame way back in the day.

Played this on PS2 when it came out, and actually still own it on PSP. It had a really unique atmosphere and pacing—laid back on the surface, but with a strong undercurrent of panic. I enjoyed it, but recall wanting to enjoy it more (well, who wouldn’t want to enjoy anything more, but you know what I mean). Somewhat of a walking simulator, but *where* you walk and learning why and when to walk there is very important.

I meant it in the sense that I don’t recall there being many puzzles. You go around doing what you do until you die, and then rewind and try to do better, using the knowledge you obtained in your last try. If you’ve played the Nonary Games series, it’s kind of like that. It’s been a while, but that’s the impression I have.

chrissie - 25 March 2022 04:43 PM

Have you actually played the game Baron_Blubba?

Yes, when it came out in 2001. As I said, I don’t remember the game perfectly, just that I enjoyed it. Everything else is 21 year old impressions.

Ironically, this is actually the only adventure game I have ever played. Usually I just make stuff up about games I’ve never played. For all I know, A New Beginning could be an immaculate timeless classic and Day of the Tentacle could be the videogames equivalent of a toxically polluted creek behind a mad scientist’s laboratory.

PlanetX - 25 March 2022 04:48 PM

Man, I really dislike that adventure games with less puzzle challenge are inherently linked to a derisive term like Walking Simulator. Even it’s used neutrally by a given individual, the term often dismisses cool mechanics or interactions that are interesting for reasons other than raw challenge.

To prevent being misunderstood, I’m not saying Baron_Blubba did that. Their post is explicitly not dismissing anything. Mentioning it’s important to learn when and where to go (Although as a side note: there is more to Shadow of Destiny in particular, there’s choices that lead to multiple endings, inventory puzzles within the time mechanic, optional tasks you can miss via exploration that effect which ending you get, etc).

But that’s my general frustration that with using that label to describe easier or casual adventures. Not that it matters much, the term is here to stay for the foreseeable future lol.

I understand your point, but I reckon it always pays to distinguish the intention of the author for yourself.
In this case, I was just making a comparison and association. SoD/M is definitely not a walking simulator, but it also definitely had elements that reminded me of the genre.
To put it another way: No one would call the band Queen ‘thrash metal’, but they have several songs that are or have segments that are similar to elements of the thrash metal genre (ie. Metallica, Megadeth, etc).

I’m sure a large part of it depends on the crowd.
For example, there are branches of metal (the music genre) called metalcore and deathcore (stupid names, but I don’t make ‘em up). In certain circles of heavy metal fans, let’s say ‘old school true metal fans’ (stupid names, but I don’t make ‘em up) these words are descriptors that carry an intrinsic pejorative. Meanwhile, in certain circles of metalcore and deathcore fans, the ‘old school true heavy metal’ descriptor likewise carries an intrinsic pejorative.
My point is, walking simulators appeal to lots of people who probably will be turned off by the typical adventure game. Same thing with fans of hidden object games, another adjacent genre. At the same time, some adventure gamers don’t like walking sims and hidden object games. Admittedly, I’m one of them, albeit an open minded one.
Still, I don’t use walking sim as a pejorative, at least not in this case, just as an innocuous description of my experience with SoD.

PlanetX - 26 March 2022 04:12 PM

Baron_Blubba - 26 March 2022 03:10 PM

I understand your point, but I reckon it always pays to distinguish the intention of the author for yourself.
In this case, I was just making a comparison and association. SoD/M is definitely not a walking simulator, but it also definitely had elements that reminded me of the genre.
To put it another way: No one would call the band Queen ‘thrash metal’, but they have several songs that are or have segments that are similar to elements of the thrash metal genre (ie. Metallica, Megadeth, etc).

That’s fair and I think distinctions are good, descriptive clarity is good. I just wish something like casual adventure, adventure-lite, or whatever else had gained steam instead of something that’s still frequently used as an insult and carries that connotation.

Baron_Blubba - 26 March 2022 02:07 PM

Ironically, this is actually the only adventure game I have ever played. Usually I just make stuff up about games I’ve never played. For all I know, A New Beginning could be an immaculate timeless classic and Day of the Tentacle could be the videogames equivalent of a toxically polluted creek behind a mad scientist’s laboratory.

LOL

SyberiaWinx - 30 March 2022 06:49 PM

I wish you guys were having this discussion in the comments. ^^;  It’s exactly the kind of thing I’m trying to get going on my videos.

I wish you were posting your reviews of adventure games here instead of using this forum to get more views of your youtube videos.