Did everyone know that AGS stands for...

[Igor Hardy]

I think he meant "thong". As in the sexy resource of generic point and click adventures.

To be fair, having a look through the games page, you cant really argue with the guy. the trick is to not download the generic ones 

The trick is to not download the ones with too many katakana and hiragana in the titles.

[Ponch]

the trick is to not download the generic ones 

But then how will anyone discover all my games?

[Baron]

That was a pretty generic review, in my opinion.  I've seen all those words before, and the Latin alphabet is so 2500 years ago: does the author have no imagination?  The syntax is mediocre at best, and his obsequious fawning over grammatical convention is nothing short of pedestrian.  Does the world really need another white-bread-and-bologna-sandwich game review blog?

[LRH]

I think pretty much every game I've made (with the exception of Cryptic) was a generic point and click adventure game. Still, I'm proud of them. I know what I'm trying to do with them. Plus, they're free. They actually cost me money. Errrr back on topic. As was said, "generic" doesn't have to be a bad word, but it did feel a little smarmy in context.   

[Stee]

the trick is to not download the generic ones 

But then how will anyone discover all my games?

I've played most of your Barn Runner Games 

[Ponch]

I've played most of your Barn Runner Games 

Ah ha! So you do play mediocre games! The truth is finally out! 

And as far as Wired calling our little corner of the web a throng of mediocrity, I'd argue that this place is more like a school for aspiring game makers. Thanks to the database, you can watch some real talent develop over time. Pick any of our current forum superstars and watch how they grow from those first awkward but earnest games to the later, more polished games that are the result of applying the lessons learned from their early struggles. We've got quite a course catalog here for newbies to study and find inspiration (and tips on what pitfalls to avoid) when they start to make their own games.

Mediocrity? Wired can suck it.  8)

[auriond]

I'd argue that this place is more like a school for aspiring game makers.

I had to come out of lurking to add my agreement to this.

Just yesterday, I got a message out of the blue from someone who had played The Marionette, asking "what made you start making games?" I had to say that ultimately, the AGS community did.

The Wired guy completely misunderstood what AGS is all about. I don't see AGS as being here to provide stellar games. A game company/development team/publisher does that. I suppose in some ways AGS does a little bit of all that (except the company bit). But the main point of AGS is to provide aspiring game makers with a tool, and support for that tool. The community grew out of that. And the game database? That's the result of a popular tool.

So I'd say if that guy insists on calling AGS games "generic", let him. I for one am very proud of the so-called "generic" games that we produce. It's a sign that adventure games are flourishing. People are making games. And it's because of AGS.

[LimpingFish]

To add to what I've already said, a substantial selection of the database could be classed as "generic" examples of the genre; they largely stick to established templates and well-worn (or even over-used) tropes - both creatively and mechanically.

Something I'm guilty of myself.

This isn't to say they are "bad" games, as such, or even badly made games.

As people have pointed out, it's the qualitative use of "generic" that seems to be the problem here. And the implication, by linking directly to the site, that the program and it's community, as a whole, are ultimately uninteresting.