Quote:
Originally Posted by BagginsKQ
(Quoting an unreferenced source) "Examples of the (puzzle-adventure) genre include Schizm, Atlantis: The Lost Tales, Riddle of the Sphinx, Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure, and Myst, which pioneered this game style."
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Which of these games have you solving puzzles
outside of the gameworld on screens designed to look like pieces of paper?
Further response, also applicable to intervening posts concerning definition of adventure game:
An adventure game has a player-character progressing through a gameworld, overcoming obstacles designed into the gameworld, primarily through puzzle-solving gameplay. This progress naturally entails the revealing of a story that, at minimum, gives meaning to the gameworld and the character's motivations, objectives and activities, etc. (as it does in related, gameworld-oriented genres). The "amount" of narrative, NPC interaction, dialog and other forms of exposition can and do vary widely within the genre (as they do in related, gameworld-oriented genres) -- and, really, vary along a spectrum, precluding the neat division of the genre into subgenres based on such things. (Although I could accept a subdivision based on puzzle type, but see my next thought.)
I think it's important to remember that while games are divided into genres based on gameplay -- whether it's combat, platforming, puzzle-solving, role-playing -- most gameworld-oriented games are anywhere from slightly to hugely hybrid: shooters often have puzzles, adventures can have minigames, Sam and Max (the best ones!) have driving games, etc.
My personal gaming preference is, the more hybrid the better. I guess that's why I welcomed the transition of KQ8 into a different genre of gameplay (as I did with Indy). I really think I see the game along the same lines on which Roberta designed it, but she doesn't seem to acknowledge that the adventure genre had
already influenced, evolved, spun off into, and hybridized with related genres.
At the same time, I'm sympathetic with folks who regarded KQ as an adventure game in a stricter sense (and they are entitled to so regard, for themselves, without giving a flying fuck what Roberta thought or said) and were disappointed when it changed. That has happened to me, too, under different circumstances, and it really sucks.