The Specialty of Adventure Games

Started by Umbrella Terms, Mon 31/07/2017 04:31:36

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Umbrella Terms

    After playing through Thimbleweed Park, I started thinking about what makes adventure games special. I thought about it for a while and I settled on their puzzles and how they strengthen the game as a whole. It was strange as most of my experience with adventure games is with a walkthrough, which kinds of defeats the purpose of having puzzles. After analyzing the game and how its puzzle design makes it that you can solve it on your own(for the most part), it really made me appreciate the puzzles in adventure games. I go more in-depth in a video I made on youtube: (Spoilers)UT:Thimbleweed Park and the Specialty of Adventure Games(Spoilers for Thimbleweed Park!)
    Outside of that, I was wondering what other people think makes adventure games unique from other genres. Is it how they play, their design, their stories and characters, or something else?

horusr

They are hard to prototype.
I mean, there is a extra credits episode talks about how can we test the game idea. For example they say mario is just a platform a mario and a dig, if it is fun game is ok.

But for adventure game they day, you cant use this formula. They are what they are

NickyNyce

You might actually love adventure games more if you stay away from the walkthroughs. The "AHA" feeling you get when finally figuring out a puzzle with logic and patience is one of the most gratifying experiences in adventure games. Puzzles are meant to stump you. By skipping them you're actually missing out on that great feeling. If you skip puzzles or give up too easily, that's like having God mode in a shooter game.

For me, puzzles are the biggest thing I look forward to. The reward for completing a puzzle is getting to see new cutscenes, characters, backgrounds and having the story unfold. Adventure games are great and unique because instead of skill you're using your wits to progress.

Danvzare

Adventure games that are done well, tell the story through the puzzles. So you can learn about the characters, motivations, and the story as a whole, while figuring out the puzzles. Rather than just when you've solved them.

Adventure games done poorly, reveal a bit more story after you complete a puzzle. And only use the puzzles as small delays between story segments.

In the latter, the puzzles serve nothing more than a roadblock. And unfortunately most people see adventure games in that light, and it could be one of the reasons why Telltale Games don't have any proper puzzles in their games anymore.
But the former is what has always in my opinion, been what makes adventure games so great. That and the feeling you get when you manage to solve a particularly difficult puzzle.

Click'd

Quote from: NickyNyce on Mon 31/07/2017 11:38:20
You might actually love adventure games more if you stay away from the walkthroughs. The "AHA" feeling you get when finally figuring out a puzzle with logic and patience is one of the most gratifying experiences in adventure games. Puzzles are meant to stump you. By skipping them you're actually missing out on that great feeling. If you skip puzzles or give up too easily, that's like having God mode in a shooter game.

For me, puzzles are the biggest thing I look forward to. The reward for completing a puzzle is getting to see new cutscenes, characters, backgrounds and having the story unfold. Adventure games are great and unique because instead of skill you're using your wits to progress.
I feel really dumb when I don't get a puzzle, and I give up.

Umbrella Terms

Quote from: NickyNyce on Mon 31/07/2017 11:38:20
You might actually love adventure games more if you stay away from the walkthroughs. The "AHA" feeling you get when finally figuring out a puzzle with logic and patience is one of the most gratifying experiences in adventure games. Puzzles are meant to stump you. By skipping them you're actually missing out on that great feeling. If you skip puzzles or give up too easily, that's like having God mode in a shooter game.

For me, puzzles are the biggest thing I look forward to. The reward for completing a puzzle is getting to see new cutscenes, characters, backgrounds and having the story unfold. Adventure games are great and unique because instead of skill you're using your wits to progress.

That's why I've been trying to start to rely less on walkthroughs, but habits are hard to break. I think I resort to walkthroughs so much is due to the fact that even when puzzles teach you about the world and characters, they leave you with no standing on how to tackle the problem(at least for most I've played). I think steps that some designers miss is giving you clear goals, some potential starting points/logic, and actively pushing the player to the solution. By actively pushing the player to the solution, I don't mean give the solution, but to think of potential ideas the player think would work, and when trying that out, it shows why it's wrong and pushes them toward the actual solution. I think this could help minimize the risk of 'developer's logic'. It could even make puzzles that would even be regarded as 'moon logic' work as they've been given the potential logic that the player most likely comes up with first and then tells them why it doesn't work, pushing them towards whatever wacky answer they designed.

Umbrella Terms

Quote from: Danvzare on Mon 31/07/2017 12:44:13
Adventure games that are done well, tell the story through the puzzles. So you can learn about the characters, motivations, and the story as a whole, while figuring out the puzzles. Rather than just when you've solved them.

Adventure games done poorly, reveal a bit more story after you complete a puzzle. And only use the puzzles as small delays between story segments.

In the latter, the puzzles serve nothing more than a roadblock. And unfortunately most people see adventure games in that light, and it could be one of the reasons why Telltale Games don't have any proper puzzles in their games anymore.
But the former is what has always in my opinion, been what makes adventure games so great. That and the feeling you get when you manage to solve a particularly difficult puzzle.

I completely agree! To add on to what good adventure games do, I'd also add that the puzzles which direct you toward what aspect of the story(world, characters, events) help you solve it really go the extra mile. I think something that would help keep people from looking up the answer is that when they fail, they "progress". That they get feedback why their actions didn't solve the puzzle, perhaps learning more about the aspect of the story that would help them. The only thing about that is that it requires the designer to predict the most likely actions a player will do first, which is hard to do without testing. Another answer to that could be multiple solutions to a puzzle, but then there is the problem of signposting for each solution, potentially mixing up the solutions and helping nobody.

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