Redefine the adventure
Author
Hi folks!
I''ve been thinking about adventures for some time now and wonder: What is an adventure? If I asked you for some adventure titles you would probably say: Maniac Mansion and Indy Jones. And everybody would think of the Indy Jones movies. And I think we all agree that Indy Jones is THE adventure.
Now, when I take a look at the adventure games, there seems to be a lack of one major thing: action. I''m not talking about shooting and blowing up, but more the jump''n''run thingy.
Because, if you think of Indy Jones, there was always a lot of adventure AND a lot of action.
So, here''s today''s question: How much action should there be in an adventure game BEFORE it turns into some Tomb Raider clone?
Indy Jones is THE adventure? Pfft, no way. Sanitarium is THE adventure. The next best would be Obsidian. Myst of course is also very important in the history of adventure games, and other examples would be Riven, Lighthouse, Woodruff and the Schnibble, Rhea, those Space Quest and Leisure Suit Larry ones, Phantasmagoria, etc.
Adventure games are the primary genre of games I play, and one reason I play them is to avoid run-and-jump challenges because I have lousy hand-eye coordination and things that require fast reflexes and timing make a game unplesantly difficult for me.
Edited by - sunandshadow on July 26, 2001 2:35:11 AM
Adventure games are the primary genre of games I play, and one reason I play them is to avoid run-and-jump challenges because I have lousy hand-eye coordination and things that require fast reflexes and timing make a game unplesantly difficult for me.
Edited by - sunandshadow on July 26, 2001 2:35:11 AM
Oh. Well, this being a game design forum I assumed you were talking about adventure games. Did you want to talk about sidescrollers, or fpses, or actual adventure movies (which are a different animal entirely from adventure games)?
If we were going to talk about movies/tv I would say McGyver was a slightly better example than Indiana Jones, although not by much.
Edited by - sunandshadow on July 26, 2001 2:40:47 AM
If we were going to talk about movies/tv I would say McGyver was a slightly better example than Indiana Jones, although not by much.
Edited by - sunandshadow on July 26, 2001 2:40:47 AM
Personally I frickin'' HATE action sequences in my games.
Warning: Story mode! I remember trying to play Freddy Pharkas Frontier Pharmacist on my 286 and there were some action sequences in that that were strictly impossible on that ol'' 286/12. Fortunately, my brother got a 386DX/40 and a *gasp* Pro Audio Spectrum 16 so it worked out in the end. The moral of this story is that if you DO include action sequences, please make damn sure they are playable on mid-range hardware.
The main reason I play adventure games is for 2 reasons:
- Clever puzzles.
- Clever humor.
When they start throwing action stuff in my games I don''t really work my mind. Of course, they''re are ''action puzzles'' which can be just plain frustrating at times, especially if you didn''t save beforehand and your characters faces an untimely demise.
Oh yea, and Monkey Island 2 is my favorite adventure of all time. =]
o/~ Leg bone attached to the head bone, o/~
Warning: Story mode! I remember trying to play Freddy Pharkas Frontier Pharmacist on my 286 and there were some action sequences in that that were strictly impossible on that ol'' 286/12. Fortunately, my brother got a 386DX/40 and a *gasp* Pro Audio Spectrum 16 so it worked out in the end. The moral of this story is that if you DO include action sequences, please make damn sure they are playable on mid-range hardware.
The main reason I play adventure games is for 2 reasons:
- Clever puzzles.
- Clever humor.
When they start throwing action stuff in my games I don''t really work my mind. Of course, they''re are ''action puzzles'' which can be just plain frustrating at times, especially if you didn''t save beforehand and your characters faces an untimely demise.
Oh yea, and Monkey Island 2 is my favorite adventure of all time. =]
o/~ Leg bone attached to the head bone, o/~
One point about with adventures with action elements. In the "making of Head Over Heels" in Edge (a UK magazine) that I recently read, they found that when making it.. playtesters got annoyed and misled if there wasn''t a proper seperation of physical tasks - and mental tasks.
Ie. They would solve the mental task, but because the physical aspect was hard, they would miss a jump and think that they hadn''t solved the puzzle (the mental aspecct).
Ie. They would solve the mental task, but because the physical aspect was hard, they would miss a jump and think that they hadn''t solved the puzzle (the mental aspecct).
So they seperated the tasks as much as possible, if it was a difficult mental task, then they only incorporated easy physical elements to achieving it. And with hard physical tasks, they only used "easy" mental challenges.
(Ketchaval)
(Ketchaval)
Author
I had the idea to implement more physical puzzles than the usual 2 or 3 tasks you would normally see in an adventure...
Those tasks would either be the only way to solve the puzzle or an alternative.
Those tasks would either be the only way to solve the puzzle or an alternative.
OutCast is THE adventure game IMO.
Adventure is a very broad genre, it includes discovering, action, puzzle solving...
-* So many things to do, so little time to spend. *-
Adventure is a very broad genre, it includes discovering, action, puzzle solving...
-* So many things to do, so little time to spend. *-
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