Live data from Hacker News

Why Adventure Games Suck (1989)

grumpygamer.com

31–40 of 108 posts

Re: Why Adventure Games Suck (1989)

#31
post #23

I haven’t seen a good analysis of it yet, but has anyone seen a list of “Guidelines for creating a good/entertaining ‘Troll’ Game” (e.g. IWTBTG, most Mario Maker levels, etc.)? It seems like such a guide would almost be an inversion of some of the principles in this guide: in troll games, you tend to learn only by dying; the puzzles always require things you forgot in the previous room, and you can’t go back, so you…

The IWBTG maker has a rarely updated blog in which he talks about game design in stuff he has played or made which I enjoy. Maybe check this out? This post seems relevant.

https://kayin.moe/?p=2653

Re: Why Adventure Games Suck (1989)

#32
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 t…

Obra Dinn was SO GOOD, I made pages of notes in a notebook and had a great time. Not sure it really qualifies as an "adventure" though. I finished Psychonauts. Once. I have tried to replay it and I just cannot, there is so much of it and I really do not want to slog through the tutorial area just so I can re-experience the Milkman Conspiracy. Thimbleweed might have been better if I'd played it on the "light" version;…

You might be interested in watching this speedrunner go through Psychonauts while the entire dev team watches. I found it entertaining and much more fun than trying to play it myself. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsDc1YVxHA0

Re: Why Adventure Games Suck (1989)

#33
Sierra adventure games were my favorite single-player games from my childhood. I understand why a lot of people don't like them, e.g. many of the puzzles have nonsensical solutions, it's possible to get stuck because you didn't get an item in an area that you can't return to, etc. And the games haven't really aged well. But for the time they were my favorite.

Re: Why Adventure Games Suck (1989)

#34

Tangential question, does anyone have any tips for someone who has lost all interest in video games? I used to like them as a teenager and whenever I pick up a game now (I'm in my early 40's) I am just completely bored. Part of it I think is because it requires some form of mental engagement after a day's hard work?

Prioritize games without grinding or fluff. Short games or skill based. Start with games that can be finished in an day or afternoon: Mirror's Edge 1, Braid, Machinarium, Hotline Miami 1...

And if you do not enjoy games anymore, that's fine. Plenty of things to do in the world.

Re: Why Adventure Games Suck (1989)

#35
Adventure games are still not dead! Amanita Designs is making some of the finest games around - in particular, their masterpiece Machinarium. Anyone who even has a passing interest in adventure/point and click games owes themselves the pleasure of playing it. Sublime music and art, a lovely wordless story, interesting setting and characters, and well-designed puzzles.

Re: Why Adventure Games Suck (1989)

#36

Tangential question, does anyone have any tips for someone who has lost all interest in video games? I used to like them as a teenager and whenever I pick up a game now (I'm in my early 40's) I am just completely bored. Part of it I think is because it requires some form of mental engagement after a day's hard work?

Same. My reasons:

1. I understand software better and can see that my in-game actions are mostly changing variables, or values in a database.

2. Games are 'balanced' and therefore limit the upside for a potential great strategy I might come up with.

3. Nothing new under the sun: How many more pseudo-scifi research trees or weapon mechanisms or unit capabilities am I supposed to learn in my lifetime?

4. They don't make them like they used to. Older games had a hardcore element to them, were often quite difficult and unforgiving (a result of less market pressure and less polish). Instead of online guides and pro streamers showing how they are played, the games had a mystery about them; we often didn't even have a manual for a game we copied.

4. Less need to prove myself in competition with my peers through games and play (which is aparently a fundamental thing for children)

5. Less magic: The first game that had real voice actors, the first real 3D game seem to have had a greater impact than today's incremental improvements.

6. Limited time and energy. I find it tough to spend the prime energy of a day for a game.

7. Computer work makes me want to get away from computers eventually.

I do watch streamers and youtube videos of the games of the 90ies occasionally and find entertainment and closure (through experiencing games I never got to play).

Re: Why Adventure Games Suck (1989)

#38
I finished Grim Fandango because it is a wonderful, beautiful, heart-breaking game. Still dear to my heart. But let me be honest, I looked up most of the solutions. I don't have a sense for the weird solutions to a good chunk of the problems. Often I don't even know what is the problem.

I purchased the HD remake of the game on Steam in 2015 to experience it once again. Just followed the solutions. It was much like watching a movie (a very good one).

I remember I once played a Broken Sword game (I believe it was The Sleeping Dragon) and that was an exception in that it was super easy to solve. Disappointingly easy :-)

Re: Why Adventure Games Suck (1989)

#39
post #9

"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 t…

Yeah, I think adventure games were given a free pass in the 2000's when the narratology vs ludology debate was going on, being automatically labelled as narrative games. There is/was also a very vocal crowd for insane puzzles that drove out regular or casual players to other pastures.

Nowadays I either play a game for the dopamine rush (street fighter), the zen like thing (the witness/the talos principle) or the story (Virginia, sea of solitude).

Took me a while to realize that stories in classic adventure games were what I really liked, not the puzzles.

Re: Why Adventure Games Suck (1989)

#40
I played through "A Short Hike" this week (because it was free on the Epic store.) Easily the most enjoyable indie adventure experience I've had: a unique but intuitive flying mechanic, simple "quests", and a short (<5 hour) overall gameplay time.
Post reply on HN