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After reading the latest Just Adventure State of Adventure Gaming, I was more than a little surprised by Computer Games Magazine's recent interview with Tim Schafer and some of his comments. In this piece I will set the record straight on adventure games altogether with an understandable emphasis on text adventure games. Sorry, Tim.










The question Computer Games Magazine asked "What do you think killed adventure games?" My question is -- Where did they get the idea adventure games were dead? We have to assume they are journalists so why did they even ask such an inaccurate, unqualified question? Is there some sort of hidden agenda here?

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There was a time, not too long ago, when it did appear that adventure games might be on the way out. Then came the astonishing - not to mention, mind-boggling - success of Myst. Single-handed, this beautiful but mediocre game revived the adventure industry.








Of course, that was fueled by greed. Everyone wanted "the next Myst" and no one pulled it off. Nonetheless, it gave a boost to the genre, and while the momentum may be slowing down, the genre is far from dead.








Therefore, I think that tolling funeral bells for adventure games is premature. In the future, there may be less product, but my belief is: as long as a market exists, there will be a supply. It may come through broadband downloads of independent products and small releases from European software houses, but as long as enough people want them, there will be adventure games. Graphics or no graphics. 'Nuff said.

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I just finished reading the article concerning Tim Schafer's interview, and there were things about it that quite bothered me, not much in the quotes, as the opinions presented there were heavily debated, from all aspects, but more at the actual commentary attached to them. I supplied my own comments, keeping with the "spirit" of the editorial, and the level of journalistic used in it.










"Far be it from me to question the opinions of Tim Schafer, whose last game in 1998 was the now classic Grim Fandango (which, supposedly, never lived up to Lucas Arts sales expectations), so I’ll leave that choice in your hands."











Here we have a class A lesson at poorly disguised demagogy.

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But for now, unfortunately, creating a hybrid game is a very risky business.

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Last year when we handed out the first annual Adventure Gamers Underground Awards, we talked about how excited we were that the strength of the field led to so much lengthy debate to settle on our nominees and our eventual winners. We certainly couldn't have foreseen how much stronger the field would be this year—a fact which will become even more evident as we reveal the winners for 2004 in the coming pages.









To avoid repeating such exhaustion, though, we changed our methods this year. Last time we attempted to settle the awards by lengthy, subjective debates, and vowed never again to put ourselves through that. This year, the five members of the Underground staff each cast their votes for winner, plus first and second runners up. Using a 3-2-1 scoring system, we arrived at our winners (and were fortunate enough to avoid ties). I think you'll find the results to be quite interesting.









Of course we want to thank all of the dedicated Underground designers out there who continue to devote their time to creating free adventures simply for a love of the genre. We salute you and hope to see the quality of Underground adventures continue to grow in 2005. Now, take some time to refresh yourself on who the nominees are, and then let's begin handing out the awards!

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The third installment of Beiddie Rafól's The Cold Hotspot: A critique of the state of adventure games, is now available! This time Beiddie looks at adventure game marketing. "Marketing is the worst problem of the adventure genre, above outdated design and technology."

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What is your take on Tim Schafer's "Graphics Killed the Adventure Game" statement?






Let me answer your question with another question. What is your take on Robert Theobald’s “The millennium bug will have as big an impact on the global economies as the oil shocks of the 1970s” statement? I really think it’s counterproductive to talk about whether adventure games are dead or not and if they are what killed them. It is as redundant and outdated as talking about whether the millennium bug will cause havoc and mass hysteria. Anyway, you asked so I’ll answer. Adventures faced extinction during the end of the 90s, beginning of 2000. And for those who would like to know what almost killed the adventure genre…well here are in my opinion some of the most serious attempts to murder the genre back at that time:








- Grim Fandango
- Phantasmagoria 2
- King’s Quest 8
- Simon the Sorcerer 3D
- A bazillion Myst-clones produced by that time
- Monkey Island 4
- The guys who fooled Ken Williams into selling Sierra to them







The fact that Sierra and Lucasarts stopped producing adventures was a major blow for the genre. I mean, imagine if today Valve, ID Software and Rockstar Games announced that they would not create shooters anymore, wouldn’t that be a major blow for FPS games? It certainly would, even though it’s easier to create a good FPS than it is to create a good adventure game. If you are an FPS designer, you can come up with a new gun that can pick up objects and throw them at other people, and you’ll have FPS geeks screaming like little girls and worshiping you as the mega-developer of all times. Now compare that to …say…Le Serpent Rouge puzzle from GK3…. and tell me which one is the most difficult to come up with.







Coming back to the adventure genre…well the genre managed to survive each and every blow it received, it’s been recovering for a while and now it’s taking nice healthy walks in the park. Soon we expect the genre to start running again. Let’s see some of the developers working on adventures right now…Autumn Moon Entertainment, Telltale Games, Wicked Studios, Revistronic, House of Tales, Frogwares, Deck 13, Pendulo Studios, White Birds Productions, Microids …those are only some I could remember right now. Compare that with the developers working on adventures in 2000 and you’ll see what I mean. The genre never died and never will, so people… just move on.









You wanna know something that is actually dead? Creativity in the gaming industry. That’s dead with a capital D. Go in a games store and look at the titles there, it should be enough. Half of the titles feature on their box some tough-looking guys pointing a gun at you and the other half consists of licenses and RPGs. If someone would make a statement about “Graphics killing creativity in games”… now that would be something really interesting, up-to-date and exciting to read/comment upon

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Although getting a good name is important, it’s also got to fit the style of character. A strong and bold name wouldn’t necessarily fit a character who’s really just an ordinary guy thrust into a series of events outside of his control. Yes, he may rise to the challenge and become a hero, but choosing a name that fits his initial nature can emphasise just how far he’s come in his journey through the story.

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No 1920s moustache-twirling Hollywood villain ever sat down and wrung his hands in glee with the intention of turning adventure games into endless chains of boring courier quests. The glut of Use Key To Open Door came about unconsciously, quite naturally, through the gradual simplification of the adventure game interface.

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It's a phrase that is almost instinctive to say: "They should listen to the fans!". But should developers really do that? Or more accurately, should they listen to those few fans who spend far too much time discussing games on internet forums? At a certain point during the life of a game or franchise, some vocal devotees will inevitably begin to feel ownership of their subject of fandom. But when game developers appear to ignore their wishes, this should not be seen as a bad sign. It probably means they know what they're doing.

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I am writing this to all of you who have a yearning desire to transform your somewhat normal and impressionable “better half” into an extreme adventure gamer such as yourself with a few, simple steps! You may ask why I would go to such lengths to do such a generous task. Well my friends, I am a crossover. I am an adventure gamer's girlfriend turned adventure gamer herself. Woah Bela! That'a a hella lot to take in all at once! So let us begin back at the beginning of my story. So I started dating this guy who I thought was really nice, and good looking and then I suddenly found out he was a key player in the “adventure gaming industry.” Now for someone like me, this pretty much sounded like he was a key player in the “nerdy, weirdo, lives in my parents basement” industry. Now stick with me, please don't be insulted, trust me: my ways have changed! But this guy was pretty hot, so I decided to stick with him anyways.

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