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Why Adventure Games Suck (1989)

grumpygamer.com

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Re: Why Adventure Games Suck (1989)

#2

Post by the_af »

Interesting and amusing read. Of course Ron Gilbert is a well-known authority on Adventure Games, but the original Old Man Murray article is even better (and funnier). In case anyone hasn't read it yet: "Who Killed Adventure Games?" http://www.oldmanmurray.com/features/77.html

(As an amusing aside, point-and-click adventure games were considered to be for "clever" gamers in 90s Spain and Latin America; gamers who mocked action games as simplistic. But there was nothing "clever" or "cerebral" about most adventure games; they were mostly arbitrary and nonsensical. And fun, of course!)

Before I read the Old Man Murray article I was already frustrated with (some) adventure games, even though I absolutely loved the Space Quest series (the original, 16 colors and text input!), and of course Interactive Fiction (aka text adventures). IF games in particular had something of a rennaissance some years (or decades?) ago and they evolved into something way more complex and with better UX than what we remember from the old Zork days.

Re: Why Adventure Games Suck (1989)

#4

Post by dudul »

I'm gonna react to the 2004 date instead of the original 1989 publication date.

Runaway was released in 2001, Myst in 1993 and the sequel in 1997, Lucasfilm Indiana Jone in 1992 (a game of such quality that fans demanded a movie based on it), Broken Sword 1996, etc.

These are just the few I bothered looking up. There has been a good amount of adventure game masterpieces between 1989 and 2004. Lots of bad ones, but also a fair count of great ones. There have been rough times for adventure games, but they were not dead between 1989 and 2004.

Re: Why Adventure Games Suck (1989)

#6

Post by tibbon »

There did seem to be a huge gap for many years in the existence of good adventure games. I have fond memories of many ones from yesteryear, but then it largely felt that anything that was out was pretty boring or just trying to copy them.

And last week I started playing Disco Elysium, and it's everything I ever wanted from something like an adventure/rpg and more.

Re: Why Adventure Games Suck (1989)

#7

Post by egypturnash »

"If I could have my way, I'd design games that were meant to be played in four to five hours. The games would be of the same scope that I currently design, I'd just remove the silly time-wasting puzzles and take the player for an intense ride. The experience they would leave with would be much more entertaining and a lot less frustrating. The games would still be challenging, but not at the expense of the players patience."

looks at her unfinished copy of Thimbleweed Park (Ron Gilbert et al, 2014)

hahaha sure Ron, sure you would

Re: Why Adventure Games Suck (1989)

#8

Post by jordanpg »

lordleft wrote: post #5

I so desperately want to like adventure games. I love the visual styles, I love the storytelling opportunities, but the idea of being defeated by an opaque puzzle infuriates me.

Indeed, this is the only genre of video game I really care for.

And yet even as I keep buying and playing the games, I am always disappointed.

I don't know what the future of adventure games looks like, but it definitely does not involve inane inventory "puzzles."

Re: Why Adventure Games Suck (1989)

#9

Post by the_af »

egypturnash wrote: post #7

"If I could have my way, I'd design games that were meant to be played in four to five hours. The games would be of the same scope that I currently design, I'd just remove the silly time-wasting puzzles and take the player for an intense ride. The experience they would leave with would be much more entertaining and a lot less frustrating. The games would still be challenging, but not at the expense of the players pat…

I couldn't go past the first few scenes of Thimbleweed Park either. I think I would have loved it when I was a teenager, but the point-and-click genre is just not for me anymore. (Also, and I know this is heresy, I couldn't finish the much lauded Psychonauts back then either). I think I simply had more patience for this kind of games when I was younger.

I'm more willing to give experimental Interactive Fiction a go though. Some real gems there.

edit: also, and this is stretching the "adventure" definition, I absolutely loved "The Return of the Obra Dinn" by Papers Please author Lukas Pope. I loved that game. At this point I'll play anything made by Pope, that's how much I trust the guy.

Re: Why Adventure Games Suck (1989)

#10

Post by soneca »

the_af wrote: post #2

Interesting and amusing read. Of course Ron Gilbert is a well-known authority on Adventure Games, but the original Old Man Murray article is even better (and funnier). In case anyone hasn't read it yet: "Who Killed Adventure Games?" http://www.oldmanmurray.com/features/77.html (As an amusing aside, point-and-click adventure games were considered to be for "clever" gamers in 90s Spain and Latin America; gamers who moc…

Interesting thing about life in the 90s without internet is that we were able to consume something without being part of any larger culture around it.

I loved and played a lot of adventure games. All LucasArts' and a few others. I never even heard of this cultural trace of adventure gamers thinking of themselves as more clever and looking down to action games players.

For me it just something easier to play because it didn't depend on reflex or accuracy (I was never good those types of games) and I liked the story. I am the type who loves cutscenes up to today. In any game.

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