Adventure gamer's nightmare

[Gregjazz]

Forgive me, not sure if there's a similar thread, but this should be interesting.

What are the things that you hate in adventure games? I've played lots of adventure games, and here are the things that annoy me. As a game developer, it is important to know the things to avoid.

- Mazes. I hate mazes unless there is some sort of puzzle (for example an inventory object that will point in a certain direction like the flag from Grim Fandango)

- Missing interactions. As soon as I run into one, the game just goes down a notch. Everybody should put in an "unhandled event" in their game just in case.

- Keyboard controls. Why can't you control the character with the mouse (like standard adventure games) in games like Monkey Island 4 and Grim Fandango? I don't see how programming it would be THAT much harder (besides a pathfinding system).

What are things you hate in adventure games?

[Gilbert]

I think there was a similar thread, but it's probably old and warn, who cares? So I like to have a new one.

It's interesting that I have slightly different views from you:

- Mazes. The maze in KQ5 was evil and crap, the one in Kyrandia was GREAT.

- Missing interactions. Maybe AQ1 should get more publicity . But IMO there should be a well balance instead, if there're too many interactions, it may cause distractions and even make the game annoying and too hard to finish.

- Keyboard controls. Depends, if there're no pathing finding algorithm, I prefer keyboard, mouse control is in general not really good for such things (See Mean Street 3 and 4).

But now, back to the topic, thing that I hate most in adventure games is:

[size=24]MATH PUZZLES!1![/size]

[shbaz]

There was a huge thread about this in talk & chat once, but I can't find it.

The most annoying thing to me is a way over-complicated puzzle that you can't get through the game without solving. I think those sort of things should be skippable, as I play them more for the story than a difficult challenge that will take me hours to interpret. I like puzzles.. just not extremely complicated ones.

[InCreator]

I don't remember exactly, but threads like this have existed for ages. But repeating is mother of wisdom.

- Pixel hunting puzzles

- Too much unhandled events!
Remembers me ancient AGI games where most interactions ended up with "What's a <insert word here>?" and Some LucasArts ones "I see nothing special."... even when there was really "special" thing I looked at!!!1!!
Appears in some AGS games too.

- stupid bugs consisting walk-behinds (spoils the feeling)

- Original GUIs/Roger (aargh!)

- Lazily overdone original GUIs/Roger (Framed, Ace Quest,etc)

- Taking long-discussed theory "Graphics doesn't matter in adventure games" too seriously...

Also avoid:

- Timed puzzles
- Too hard/long/much action/arcade sequences

edit: This thread also remembered me that absolutely every weak thing in adventure game can be repaired by having something else superb. Like graphics in Pleurghburg which was compensated by everything else being good, or not-existing walkcycle in Calsoon2 which was unnoticeable because of extremely great (funny!) voice acting and great music.

[Pesty]

Timed puzzles. I hate those damn things. Math puzzles are great and I cannot understand why someone smart like Gilbot would not like them.

[Privateer Puddin']

The whole keyboard controls bother me too.

[Gravity]

Message deleted.

[Ghormak]

Puzzles for the sake of puzzles.

"Why yes, I do have the key to the attic, but I won't give it to you unless you give me the Extravagant Microwave of Forgotten Horrors!"

[Nacho]

- Mazes. The maze in KQ5 was evil and crap, the one in Kyrandia was GREAT.

I agree... but well, if I remember well, the point in KQ5 was to turn back to the origin (oasis) when Graham felt thisty, wasn't it? But Kirandia was the cool... very logic and "moderate" as for difficulty.

[Gilbert]

Heh but I didn't mean the desert scenes (though that's evil too), I meaqn teh maze.

[Nacho]

ahhhh! I remember... a bunch of simillar bakcgrounds under the Mordack fortress... Sorry about the mistake... Yes, that one was tricky...

One quick question... It was possible to find LeChuck's ship in MI1 without the "sailor's head"?

[Robert Eric]

There isn't much I dislike about any adventure games.  As long as it has an easy to use interface then I'm happen.  I don't like having to click on one button on the bottom, then another, then click where I want to click.  That's why I like the Sierra interface.  Right click until you get to the interaction you want.  Actually, I DO hate being killed before I can save.  Adventure games should just put you back where you were before you got snuffed.  Saving is for saving your place now, then coming back later and loading it back up, not continuously saving for fear of doing something wrong and being killed.  Part of the fun of playing is to die and I don't want to be penalized for it.

[Wormmaster]

I hate:

- Math Puzzles (Is it maths today?! AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!)

- Timed puzzles (OH NO OH NO OH NO!!!! I HAVE TO FIND A KEY FROM ONE OF 236 LOCKERS IN 5 SECONDS!!! AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!)

- Games where you can DIE!!! (DAMN IT!!! I played this game 3 hours and I didn't save and I died!!! Now I have to start from the beginning...)

- Roger   (HE'S GAY!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!)



Keyboard controlling is okay...
As Mazes and Original GUIs, too...

[Esseb]

I hate puzzles for the sake of puzzles like Ghormak does.

I also absolutely despise solving puzzles without knowing why. I may gather from the stuff in my inventory and various hints from conversations with NPCs, but just why am I trying to get this person a chocolate covered apple so he can give me a key? What the heck is they key even for? In professional adventure games the few times this happens it's due to my stupidity, but in a lot of adventure games I've solved puzzles not knowing why untill I had done them.

In other words I just hate stupid puzzles. "Give me A and I'll give you B" puzzles should die a horrible death.

[Peter Thomas]

Some "puzzles for the sake of puzzles" are funny. Like the ones in Cirque de Zale. None of them were 'useless' as such, but some were just plain strange, I loved the game because of it. But on the whole, yes, they suck

Other big no-no's:

1 - Pixel Hunting. This has been mentioned, but this pisses me off more than anything. A game should be about intellect and logic (sometimes chance), not about how many times you can click the mouse in a 15x15 pixel radius.

2 - Non-fitting music/sound effects. I dislike having a silent scene, and then a loud crash just coming out of nowhere. You either have noise or silence. you can never get both of them to work effectively unless you're using super-ultra realistic mp3's with amazingly-deluxe graphics.

3 - slow walk cycles. The only game I've ever appreciated for its stupidly slow walk cycle was Snail Quest. And that was crap. Every other game that suffers from this condition should rot in hell.

4 - Bad Humour. If a situation is going to be funny, it will be funny no matter what you do. You shouldn't have to sit down and FIGURE OUT how to make something funny. The more you do, the less humourous it becomes.

5 - Prince Charles.     Oh...wait...he's not in Ags, is he...

[Haddas]

I hate: "That doesn't work" "I can't do that" and "I don't think that would work" etc. BE CREATIVE. PLAY FREDDY PHARKAS, and see what happens when you do things with inventory items that shouldn't go together!!! MATH puzzles. Buggy walkcycles. Very slow walkspeed. 100's of typeos and horrible Bg's. (blue sky, green ground, pink house type of thing)

[Queen Kara]

I second alot of what people have already stated ( math puzzles...mazes...ect. Unless they are easy I don't want to have to find a way to bypass them or look for a saved game state just so that I won't have to deal with those puzzles. )
Actually I hate nearly all puzzles anyway because I am that bad at gaming. ( I love "give me A and I'll give you B" puzzles since they're usually pretty easy )

.....I don't like gross things like urination or feces being in games , I don't consider it funny and I don't want to have anything to do with it. Homophobia content / "jokes" and describing things as being gay is a big peeve too. Other than things like that I can still like your game.
I'm sorry if I upset anybody by bringing up more serious points about what some people put in their games.

[ElectricMonk]

I'm sorry if I upset anybody by bringing up more serious points about what some people put in their games.

Not at all, but the use of "serious" issues for me depends very much on the overall mood of the game.
For example, I thought some of the stuff, especially the racism issues, in "Frank the Farmhand" was a bit strong for my tastes. Fitting for a serious dark game, certainly, but a bit out of place in this one.
Especially

Spoiler

Ben being the constant victim of racist hatred, even going so far as to have his life threatened, didn't mesh well with the main character playing the cruel indigestion joke on him.

[close]

[Queen Kara]

I haven't played that game yet but yeah I would be upset with racism in a game too.
In any thing dealing with racism , even if it's to show why racism is wrong , it's hard for me to watch ...read...play , whatever that type of story or movie , ect.

[Pumaman]

I hate:
- Roger   (HE'S GAY!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!)

Excuse me, but please don't question Roger's sexuality. He's all man.