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There has been lots of talk as to what people think is the best AGS games, but I'm wondering what people consider to be the most interesting/innovative... those that push the boundaries of what an adventure game can be, those that introduce new ways of interacting with the world or approaching the game.... those that step boldly where no adventure game has before... and succeed (somewhat). The games don't have to terribly polished and indeed can significantly flawed - I'm not asking for nice graphics, good voice acting, great music or hours of game time.

I'm new to AGS and am keen to start developing my own games and am looking for games to inspire me and open up different ways of thinking about the genre. I've played through all of the 5 Days a Stranger games (which I enjoyed for their rational approach to puzzles and sense of immersion), Pleurghburg (which I found terribly flawed in terms of puzzles but still very interesting, especially the final scene with all its possibilities) and Nelly Cootalot (which was very cute and enjoyable but very much a traditional adventure game and as such not what excites me).

I'm particularly interested in:
- Clever and new ways to interact with the characters/environment
- Different approaches to linear/nonlinear story telling
- Games that move away from traditional accepted norms to more intuitive/believable interactions with the game world.
- Games that provide Interesting and significant choices that the player has to make.
- Games that have artistic merit: not so much visual merit but games that make you think or games that have a strong emotional impact... I'm getting less interested in pure escapism.

I hope to create games that offer new experiences rather than just recreate the feel of the past greats, but I would like to learn as much as I can from the community and past efforts first.

So what games should I (and other like minded developers) look at?
Also, what excites you? (This probably deserves its own post so be brief).

Josh.

I'm not sure why everyone considers high-res to necesarily involve longer production times or larger talent. A very simple way to quickly create animated characters is to use vector graphics. Here is an example...

The image is 'high-res' (definitely not pixel-graphics), but it was very quick to create. I think this kind of thing would be a good entry point for many animators and also a good method for those without a lot of time - creating good pixel art requires a lot of skill. The penguin is also a very simple example - a combination of hand drawn and vector can be effective too (I don't have any examples though).
Also, in terms of fast but effective high-res animation production Nelly Cootalot is a great example - look at Nelly, only her very basic arms move when she walks and yet it is an effective walking animation. Talking character's heads often move from side to side (very easily done with vector graphics) and only the mouth needs to be redrawn.
So, I believe low-res is not the only option for those without much time or just starting out.

P.S - I am very new to animation and am certainly not in any position of authority on the subject. I just find it interesting that high-res actually seems easier to me. This is my first character animation- I actually created it in Powerpoint then copied it over to Photoshop... yes I realise it's not the best way but it was an easy way to start out.

I agree with Andail, it entirely depends on the style of game you're making. In 'serious' (as apposed to comical or silly)  games I would personally recommend not allowing anything to be picked up which is not either an item that the character would rationally carry around in his situation or immediatly useful. It is also important then to make the game area quickly negotiable (Nelly Cootalot is a good example) or to make sure all abnormal puzzle items are close to their intended puzzle (long backtracking is not fun as stated above). I also like Ultra Magnus's idea of 'red herrings' - lots of items that all tell you that they 'might' be useful at some point - so that puzzle items aren't completely obvious.
Another (much rarer) method  is to let the player pick up any object but to somehow limit the amount of objects that can be held and create many useless objects. This forces the player to only pick up things that they themselves would think to be useful (Many RPG's use this system).
I personally think serious games should attempt at a 'role playing' feeling -the player should be acting out what they think the character would do in the current circumstances (obviously not to the point of playing stupidity...). The player shouldn't be 'gaming' so much as acting out the character. Nonsensical actions (such as carrying a bar of soap from your bathroom to work) should be strongly discouraged or disallowed.