Telltale Games

BagginsKQ · 09/04/2011, 06:56 am

Anyone willing to make a list if non-traditional adventure games? By this I mean games whose style varied from say the classic Sierra style to feel very different. Different style of puzzles, strange hybrid moments, etc.

I'll start;

Inca & Inca II
Strange adventure that combined space simulator, rail shooters, maze shooter moments with classic adventure game inventory puzzles.

Beyond Zork
Another Zork adventure but incorporated an RPG element to the game. At the start you could even choose your own stats.

Quest for Glory 1-4
Another set of adventure games that incorporated RPG elements into adventure games. The fifth game switched genres into Action/RPG genre. It only maintained a few adventure elements.

Goblins series and Woodruff and the Schnibble
Perhaps what happens when lemmings, humans, or the Lost Vikings is crossed with the adventure game genre. Each character has unique skills suited to solving certain puzzles in each area.

King's Quest: Mask of Eternity
Roberta turns KQ into 3D and incorporates RPG and platforming elements.

Heart of China
This Dynamix game has sections of adventure game with other sections of simulators such as tank simulator.

Mean Streets
The first Tex Murphy game. Much of the game involved a speeder simulator flying around post apocalyptic California.

Loom
One of the earliest adventure games to get rid of inventory, in place puzzles were solved with the novel approach of musical staff.

Dune
Strange game that started out as an adventure game the first half of the game, last half turned into a strategy game.

Myst
A game that did away with inventory puzzles instead the worlds were explored by solving puzzles scattered around the world and by reading books also scattered around. The game was so popular it inspired many clones.

Azriel's Tear
An early true-3D adventure game. It incorporated some RPG and combat sequences. The player plays as an explorer in a rad suit, exploring an underground city filled with dinosaurs and templar knights. While solving Myst-style puzzles. There may have been inventory puzzles as well but it's been so long since I played it.

MusicallyInspired · 09/04/2011, 09:35 am

This should be in the General Forum, shouldn't it?

thom-22 · 09/04/2011, 11:09 am

What the hell is a "traditional" adventure game? I have no idea what you mean by that, and I probably wouldn't agree with you if I did.

Seriously though, I think of some of the games you've listed, eg. Mask of Eternity, more as hybrids than as "non-traditional" anything. Or as genre-X games with genre-Y elements. I said somewhere around here a few days ago, that far more games are like this than is often acknowledged, and it's not necessarily a new thing -- even "classics" like Indy and Full Throttle had combat sequences, Space Quest had mini-games, Telltale's best Sam & Max series had driving games, etc.

Moreover, the term non-traditional implies that something differs from some established norm. I prefer to look at games like Loom and Myst as offering innovations that contributed to the genre, rather than deviations from some tradition that never really was.

I just don't see the dichotomies that you seem to see. I think the parameters of graphic adventures vary along spectrums with no clear-cut dividing lines. It's like, either every adventure game is traditional or every adventure game except the first one is non-traditional.

**puzzlebox** · 09/04/2011, 11:12 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by MusicallyInspired

This should be in the General Forum, shouldn't it?

Yep, moved.

Baggins, it's likely that more people will see it here anyway.

Scnew · 09/04/2011, 11:20 am

I'd say LA Noire fits this description.

BagginsKQ · 09/04/2011, 01:18 pm

I don't think there is a tradition actually. Though many people argue there is...

As such some don't consider Myst adventure games at all for example.

MusicallyInspired · 09/04/2011, 01:25 pm

Some people consider RPG's adventure games. They're still clearly wrong.

BagginsKQ · 09/04/2011, 01:30 pm

RPG and Adventure games are cousins that evolved out o the same base genre...

Basically it's great apes vs. humans.

Whereas Myst did evolve out of adventure game genre, rather than RPG.

WarpSpeed · 09/04/2011, 04:37 pm

Let's see, if I had to define a traditional adventure game, it would be:

1. You play as a pre-defined character. You don't get to choose certain skills for that character. The character is the same no matter how many times you play the game.

2. The character has an inventory, maybe limited, maybe unlimited.

3. You interact with pre-defined scenes. Inventory items are placed in areas defined by the game designer, and they are always in the same place if you play multiple times.

4. There is some ultimate goal to the game, though you may not know what it is when you start playing. There is some way to "win."

5. Puzzles require logical thought to solve, not good reflexes.

I think that sums it up pretty well. Note that there are some very old games people consider adventure games that depart from one or more of the above, and that would make them "nontraditional" in that aspect. Maniac Mansion let you choose multiple characters with different skills, for example. I also remember an old text adventure that used the same scenes, but randomized certain things at the beginning, so that one way of solving a problem the first time you played wouldn't necessarily work the next time you played.

Molokov · 09/04/2011, 07:07 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarpSpeed

5. Puzzles require logical thought to solve, not good reflexes.

This pretty much determines the games I like to play

I'm good with my brain power, not so good with my fingers and thumbs...

Hence, adventure games, and puzzle games (ones that don't have stupid time limits) are my favourites.

Your list is a good summary, WarpSpeed, although there are some adventure games where you have a choice of protagonist/skill set (e.g Maniac Mansion), but if you choose the *wrong* character(s)/skill set and can't complete the game (as was the case in MM) then that ain't all that grand

Anakin Skywalker · 09/05/2011, 02:07 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by MusicallyInspired

Some people consider RPG's adventure games. They're still clearly wrong.

I think MODERN RPGs (Think Baldur's Gate) took a lot from the adventure genre. Wide worlds, character and puzzle based, story driven, etc. Old RPGs, from the '80s and '90s, are clearly a different breed altogether, but I think the modern (post '98 or so) RPG took a lot of the driving elements of adventure games and rolled them into the modern "RPG" genre.

*Icedhope* · 09/05/2011, 02:15 am

Normality is a good one...It's a fun game but it's sort of...well out there with it's First Person Perspective.

MusicallyInspired · 09/05/2011, 07:16 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anakin Skywalker

I think MODERN RPGs (Think Baldur's Gate) took a lot from the adventure genre. Wide worlds, character and puzzle based, story driven, etc. Old RPGs, from the '80s and '90s, are clearly a different breed altogether, but I think the modern (post '98 or so) RPG took a lot of the driving elements of adventure games and rolled them into the modern "RPG" genre.

That doesn't make them adventures.

BagginsKQ · 09/05/2011, 09:33 am

I remember playing one adventure game Sanetarium. That was kinda weird, in that the game was played from a isometric bird's eye viewpoint. Graphically it looked like Balder's Gate or Diablo kinda.

But it wasn't an RPG. It was all about conversations, exploration, and inventory puzzlers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvurouOwbt4

Another weird one is Jane Jenson's hybrid puzzle/adventure game "BeTrapped" in which Jane combined the the Mystery adventure genre, with Minesweeper. Basically creating a game with conversation style puzzles, inventory puzzles, and using 'minesweeper' style gameplay to find and disable traps in each room of the mansion. Again the game uses a kind of bird's eye isometric view. Once you clear the traps out of the room, you can then interrogate characters, find hidden items, and solve inventory style puzzles.

Giant Tope · 09/05/2011, 06:05 pm

I'm gonna pop in and say Machinarium. Absolutely stunning artistically, yet uses a unorthodox method of story telling showing the story rather than just flat out telling it. The story is simple, yet very sweet. The puzzles are fairly diverse, ranging from simple to decently challenging logic puzzles without there being too much of a gap between the two.

I dunno. I just like it.

Jon NA · 09/06/2011, 10:01 am

The Clue! (Der Clou!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Clue!
--------------------------------------
And its sequel
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/adventure/sting/index.html
===============================
An unbelievingly underrrated burgulary simulator.
I'm gonna quote wikipedia to explain it's uniqueness:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

The Clue! is mixture of many video game genres. It can be described as role-playing adventure game with tactical/strategy elements and puzzles in the form of burglaries.

Give it a shot!

Ignatius · 09/06/2011, 12:33 pm

Neverhood?

Clay, puzzles, no inventory, almost no dialogue, first and third person view.

Great game.

LuigiHann · 09/06/2011, 12:48 pm

Portal

DAISHI · 09/06/2011, 05:16 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by BagginsKQ

I remember playing one adventure game Sanetarium. That was kinda weird, in that the game was played from a isometric bird's eye viewpoint. Graphically it looked like Balder's Gate or Diablo kinda.

But it wasn't an RPG. It was all about conversations, exploration, and inventory puzzlers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvurouOwbt4

Another weird one is Jane Jenson's hybrid puzzle/adventure game "BeTrapped" in which Jane combined the the Mystery adventure genre, with Minesweeper. Basically creating a game with conversation style puzzles, inventory puzzles, and using 'minesweeper' style gameplay to find and disable traps in each room of the mansion. Again the game uses a kind of bird's eye isometric view. Once you clear the traps out of the room, you can then interrogate characters, find hidden items, and solve inventory style puzzles.

Sanitarium is FANTASTIC!

BagginsKQ · 09/07/2011, 08:33 am

Hmm I'm seem to remember Shannara game was kind of interesting style, the interface was sort like a dungeon crawler RPG, but I don't remember it having any combat, it was virtually all inventory or conversation puzzles.

Otherwise generally straightforward First Person Adventure Game.

09/04/2011, 06:56 am	#1
BagginsKQ Yes, Fact, it is KQ8... Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 1,099	List of non-traditional adventure games. Anyone willing to make a list if non-traditional adventure games? By this I mean games whose style varied from say the classic Sierra style to feel very different. Different style of puzzles, strange hybrid moments, etc. I'll start; Inca & Inca II Strange adventure that combined space simulator, rail shooters, maze shooter moments with classic adventure game inventory puzzles. Beyond Zork Another Zork adventure but incorporated an RPG element to the game. At the start you could even choose your own stats. Quest for Glory 1-4 Another set of adventure games that incorporated RPG elements into adventure games. The fifth game switched genres into Action/RPG genre. It only maintained a few adventure elements. Goblins series and Woodruff and the Schnibble Perhaps what happens when lemmings, humans, or the Lost Vikings is crossed with the adventure game genre. Each character has unique skills suited to solving certain puzzles in each area. King's Quest: Mask of Eternity Roberta turns KQ into 3D and incorporates RPG and platforming elements. Heart of China This Dynamix game has sections of adventure game with other sections of simulators such as tank simulator. Mean Streets The first Tex Murphy game. Much of the game involved a speeder simulator flying around post apocalyptic California. Loom One of the earliest adventure games to get rid of inventory, in place puzzles were solved with the novel approach of musical staff. Dune Strange game that started out as an adventure game the first half of the game, last half turned into a strategy game. Myst A game that did away with inventory puzzles instead the worlds were explored by solving puzzles scattered around the world and by reading books also scattered around. The game was so popular it inspired many clones. Azriel's Tear An early true-3D adventure game. It incorporated some RPG and combat sequences. The player plays as an explorer in a rad suit, exploring an underground city filled with dinosaurs and templar knights. While solving Myst-style puzzles. There may have been inventory puzzles as well but it's been so long since I played it. Last edited by BagginsKQ; 09/04/2011 at 06:59 am.

09/05/2011, 02:15 am	#12
Icedhope 007 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: IL Posts: 3,292	Normality is a good one...It's a fun game but it's sort of...well out there with it's First Person Perspective. __________________ Good things come to those who wait, bad things come to those who hate, girlfriends come to those who date, children come to those who mate. ~ Haggis "My opinons are my own and reflect myself and not TTG also I don't work for them...they just gave me mod powers." "Requiescat in pace my father and nephew" Now Playing: ~~MGS3~~ - ~~Portable Ops~~ - Peace Walker - Metal Gear - Solid Snake - Metal Gear Solid - MGS2 - MGS4

09/05/2011, 09:33 am	#14
BagginsKQ Yes, Fact, it is KQ8... Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 1,099	I remember playing one adventure game Sanetarium. That was kinda weird, in that the game was played from a isometric bird's eye viewpoint. Graphically it looked like Balder's Gate or Diablo kinda. But it wasn't an RPG. It was all about conversations, exploration, and inventory puzzlers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvurouOwbt4 Another weird one is Jane Jenson's hybrid puzzle/adventure game "BeTrapped" in which Jane combined the the Mystery adventure genre, with Minesweeper. Basically creating a game with conversation style puzzles, inventory puzzles, and using 'minesweeper' style gameplay to find and disable traps in each room of the mansion. Again the game uses a kind of bird's eye isometric view. Once you clear the traps out of the room, you can then interrogate characters, find hidden items, and solve inventory style puzzles. Last edited by BagginsKQ; 09/05/2011 at 10:16 am.

09/05/2011, 06:05 pm	#15
Giant Tope bashful little whaleshark Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Portland Posts: 2,171	I'm gonna pop in and say Machinarium. Absolutely stunning artistically, yet uses a unorthodox method of story telling showing the story rather than just flat out telling it. The story is simple, yet very sweet. The puzzles are fairly diverse, ranging from simple to decently challenging logic puzzles without there being too much of a gap between the two. I dunno. I just like it. __________________ I am a dinosaur. BUT! i am hiding.

09/06/2011, 12:48 pm	#18
LuigiHann Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 2,660	Portal __________________ "I think it's the idea that counts, not the actual method. As long as you set out to cause a horrible death through insects eating the person, you're good." - apenpaap

09/04/2011, 11:09 am	#3
thom-22 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 490	What the hell is a "traditional" adventure game? I have no idea what you mean by that, and I probably wouldn't agree with you if I did. Seriously though, I think of some of the games you've listed, eg. Mask of Eternity, more as hybrids than as "non-traditional" anything. Or as genre-X games with genre-Y elements. I said somewhere around here a few days ago, that far more games are like this than is often acknowledged, and it's not necessarily a new thing -- even "classics" like Indy and Full Throttle had combat sequences, Space Quest had mini-games, Telltale's best Sam & Max series had driving games, etc. Moreover, the term non-traditional implies that something differs from some established norm. I prefer to look at games like Loom and Myst as offering innovations that contributed to the genre, rather than deviations from some tradition that never really was. I just don't see the dichotomies that you seem to see. I think the parameters of graphic adventures vary along spectrums with no clear-cut dividing lines. It's like, either every adventure game is traditional or every adventure game except the first one is non-traditional.

09/04/2011, 11:20 am	#5
Scnew Fighter of the Night Man Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 954	I'd say LA Noire fits this description.

09/04/2011, 01:18 pm	#6
BagginsKQ Yes, Fact, it is KQ8... Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 1,099	I don't think there is a tradition actually. Though many people argue there is... As such some don't consider Myst adventure games at all for example.

09/04/2011, 01:30 pm	#8
BagginsKQ Yes, Fact, it is KQ8... Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 1,099	RPG and Adventure games are cousins that evolved out o the same base genre... Basically it's great apes vs. humans. Whereas Myst did evolve out of adventure game genre, rather than RPG.

09/04/2011, 04:37 pm	#9
WarpSpeed Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 808	Let's see, if I had to define a traditional adventure game, it would be: 1. You play as a pre-defined character. You don't get to choose certain skills for that character. The character is the same no matter how many times you play the game. 2. The character has an inventory, maybe limited, maybe unlimited. 3. You interact with pre-defined scenes. Inventory items are placed in areas defined by the game designer, and they are always in the same place if you play multiple times. 4. There is some ultimate goal to the game, though you may not know what it is when you start playing. There is some way to "win." 5. Puzzles require logical thought to solve, not good reflexes. I think that sums it up pretty well. Note that there are some very old games people consider adventure games that depart from one or more of the above, and that would make them "nontraditional" in that aspect. Maniac Mansion let you choose multiple characters with different skills, for example. I also remember an old text adventure that used the same scenes, but randomized certain things at the beginning, so that one way of solving a problem the first time you played wouldn't necessarily work the next time you played.

09/06/2011, 12:33 pm	#17
Ignatius Reilly Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Argentina Posts: 486	Neverhood? Clay, puzzles, no inventory, almost no dialogue, first and third person view. Great game.

09/07/2011, 08:33 am	#20
BagginsKQ Yes, Fact, it is KQ8... Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 1,099	Hmm I'm seem to remember Shannara game was kind of interesting style, the interface was sort like a dungeon crawler RPG, but I don't remember it having any combat, it was virtually all inventory or conversation puzzles. Otherwise generally straightforward First Person Adventure Game.

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