Controversy has erupted all around the adventure gaming world and all because of the link in the last post:

Response by Howard Sherman of Malinche Entertainment

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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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Response by Scorpia - Computer Gaming World critic

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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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Don’t Bring a Naked Man to a Funeral - Letter to the Editor from Moonbuzz

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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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The Wonderful World of Hybrids

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

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2004 AG Underground Awards

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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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