Why Adventure Games are in a Coma

this, it isn’t good. Adventure games also offer something that FPS just haven’t done well: create character. Roger Wilco, the bumbling janitor from the Space Quest series, Larry Laffer, that lovable lecherous loser from Leisure Suit Larry series, are just two of the industries icons. At least they used to be icons. And what about Ben from Full Throttle or Bernard from Day of the Tentacle? These were characters to be played; the player got to hear their thoughts and control their actions. FPSs usually inject the player into a role but the player never gets to hear what that character might be thinking (Duke Nukem aside). What was Gordon Freemen thinking just after the experiment went critical? There’s an attempt to involve the player more deeply in the story, but like Choose Your Own Adventure stories, the player character never gets developed. This isn’t to say that Half-Life isn’t enjoyable. I still play it. I just don’t get the same level of satisfaction I get when I help Freddy Pharkus cure flatulent horses.

The biggest reason that adventure games are near to flatline is the Internet. Before computers people used to play outside with their friends. Now they play with their friends via the Internet. And these "friends" may never be seen or even heard. People want to connect with other people, even on this "virtual" level. They want the convenience of never having to leave home to visit with friends. Gone are the days of solo play. It seems all games have to be multiplayer, either off the shelf or provided by a patch. Consoles have been almost exclusively solo play, with the ability to add more controllers for multiplayer games. Consoles at least brought people together in the same room. Of course, with the Dreamcast’s modem the tides are changing. Gamers are connected by wires and electrical impulses, and actual physical contact is relegated to game tournaments hosted by LAN services and gaming expos. Adventure games are great for solo play, but as every adventure game manual suggests, "play with a friend". The many winter afternoons spent in group playing sessions trying to figure out the secret combination of words to finish Larry II will never be forgotten. Not only did we have to figure out what Larry would most likely do, but also what the programmer and designer were thinking. I’ll admit that sometimes it was frustrating, but all the more rewarding when I cracked the problem.

Criticism often leveled at adventure games is that there is no point in playing again once the game is finished. Baloney! I’ve played through Day of the Tentacle multiple times to enjoy the writing and humour. And it’s amazing how much is forgotten when playing through a game years after completing it. I encountered this recently playing The Pandora Directive: A Tex Murphy Mystery. I played through the first section relying on my memory to make progress. Then I got stumped. So stumped I went back through my game file and looked at my notes. Same goes for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, even if it’s not a "pure" adventure game.

But the root cause for adventure game’s extended sleep is that companies have jumped on the "me too" bandwagon. And it’s worked. People want the intense action of a FPS or 3D strategy game and the companies are churning them out while attempting to meld genres enough to reach the mass market, the Holy Grail of gaming. The aim seems to be toward the visceral instead of the thoughtful. Or maybe it’s because the adventure designers just haven’t been able to utilize 3D graphics successfully in a game (with a few exceptions). But I’m oddly optimistic. RPGs on the PC were assumed dead, then along came Diablo. The body will twitch once again when Escape from Monkey Island is released later this year. It remains to be seen if it will be the spark needed to bring adventure gaming back to the masses, at least here in North America. Europe is still the place to find adventure.

Addendum:

There exists groups of dedicated gamers who write and produce their own adventure games available on the Internet for download. Some are solid games in their own right, while others are rudimentary, but the spirit is still the same. Plus there’s a new company out there that is now specializing in adventure games. Of course, I can’t remember the name nor can I find the article about them I was reading. When I find it I’ll update you.

- Omni

"Sometimes I make sense, other times I don’t."