Are Adventure Games Really Dead?

[el Chi]

What with the talk about Grim Fandango in the "What Games Should People Play But They Might Not Know About" thread, there was also talk about LucasArts' cancellation of Sam & Max 2. This game was very near completion, going well and was highly anticipated yet LucasArts pulled the plug on it.
Their reasons were that they didn't believe it was financially viable to release an adventure game at this time.
I'm not an economics student, but this makes no sense - LucasArts as a company is stupidly rich. They could secede from the States, start anew as their own nation and survive on exports of StarWars games alone so surely they could take a slight financial gamble with Sam&Max?
It looks like they put the final nail in the adventure game's coffin. For that, they're going to have to do something pretty spectacular to redeem themselves. And by spectacular, I don't mean another bloody Star Wars game. But that's just me.

Anyway, I was wondering what other people's opinions were? Are LucasArts right in saying that it's a genre that's lost to posterity? Or do you think there's life in it yet?

 

[Edcrab]

I personally believe that adventure games could keep on going until the Sun goes supernova and kills us all in eight minutes.

It's Lucas Arts' attitude and theirs alone that killed Sam and Max 2: did they really think no one would buy it? There's a highly popular first game and a damn cartoon series to it's name for the love of God!

I don't think the genre is dead, I just think LA was scrabbling around for excuses.

 

[westie]

I don't think there is enough good adventure games.

 

[el Chi]

I personally believe that adventure games could keep on going until the Sun goes supernova and kills us all in eight minutes.

It's Lucas Arts' attitude and theirs alone that killed Sam and Max 2: did they really think no one would buy it? There's a highly popular first game and a damn cartoon series to it's name for the love of God!

I don't think the genre is dead, I just think LA was scrabbling around for excuses.

Yeah, their decision baffles me beyond anything... Even if they thought no-one would buy it why didn't they put the game itself up for sale? I'm sure another publisher would've picked it up. Then, even if the game does badly, LA made money out of it.

 

[StardogChampion]

If new adventure games were good, peopple would still play them. It really is that simple. I don't class Syberia as a good game.

I hear BASS 2 is being made which should be interesting.

 

[CrazyHarij]

If they'd give a neat try resurrecting the genre, I'd buy 10 copies of the game.

 

[Hazar]

They're still some of the best game's I've ever played.

I want more ;(

 

[Murray]

Lucas Arts adventure games were awesome, mabye even the best games ever made! I can't believe they cancelled Sam & Max 2 only to make more StarWars games witch we definetly have enough of!

 

[blahblahblah]

The adventure genre is dead until a company like Blizzard goes and rescues the genre.

 

[tvharti]

What with the talk about Grim Fandango in the "What Games Should People Play But They Might Not Know About" thread, there was also talk about LucasArts' cancellation of Sam & Max 2. This game was very near completion, going well and was highly anticipated yet LucasArts pulled the plug on it.
Their reasons were that they didn't believe it was financially viable to release an adventure game at this time.
I'm not an economics student, but this makes no sense - LucasArts as a company is stupidly rich. They could secede from the States, start anew as their own nation and survive on exports of StarWars games alone so surely they could take a slight financial gamble with Sam&Max?
It looks like they put the final nail in the adventure game's coffin. For that, they're going to have to do something pretty spectacular to redeem themselves. And by spectacular, I don't mean another bloody Star Wars game. But that's just me.

Anyway, I was wondering what other people's opinions were? Are LucasArts right in saying that it's a genre that's lost to posterity? Or do you think there's life in it yet?

Sam&Max was great - so was Maniac Mansion, DOTT and the first 2 Monkey Island games.

I have been playing games for more than 10 years now but such great adventures have become rare, better said they do not really exist anymore... Personally, I didn't like Runaway or Syberia the last real adventure that gave me some joy was Gabriel Knight 3.

I think nowadays most people are more into fast-paced action games which are easy to handle and in which you do not have to "think" so much for getting the story forward and finishing the game. People willing to get sucked into a story (without any real action going on) by solving solving puzzles are in the minority - and thats what - of course - developers and publishers recognised.

Yes, classical adventures do have (a lot of) fans but having new ideas and getting them into a satisfying experience is not as easy as it may seem.

It's all about the money - Lucasarts would have had the choices:
1) release the game - it's good -> fans are happy
2) release the game - if it sucks -> fans are disappointed but at least they can make money with it (maybe not much but better than nothing)
3) cancel the game -> fans are disappointed, loss of money (may not be that bad for Lucasarts)

I personally believe that Lucasarts wasn't sure itself that it created a good game - so for keeping the reputation high by not releasing a crap game they kind of save their own asses. Of course people will be disappointed as well but it might not have such a big impact, which would inevitably be the result of releasing a mediocre game.

I guess we have to spend our time with action-adventures like Deus ex 1, Gothic 2 or even Splinter Cell, which have both good/strong stories on one side and action on the other side - just something for everybody ...

thoughts?

 

[KagePrototype]

Games like Broken Sword 3 show that the Adventure genre still has plenty of life in it. It's just LucasArts don't see that.

 

[el Chi]

I personally believe that Lucasarts wasn't sure itself that it created a good game - so for keeping the reputation high by not releasing a crap game they kind of save their own asses. Of course people will be disappointed as well but it might not have such a big impact, which would inevitably be the result of releasing a mediocre game.

I dunno, by all accounts it was going extremely well and looking very good indeed. The E3 trailer looked great and was very funny, but then it's supposed to be enticing. Even so...#

Personally I didn't think too much of Broken Sword 3 - it was quite good and it was nice to play an adventure game after so long. However I didn't think it was all that. Although I recently spent quite some time trying to track down Grim Fandango in shops and I really really wasn't disappointed on playing it through again. I remembered most of the puzzles too... <Blushes>

 

[tvharti]

I dunno, by all accounts it was going extremely well and looking very good indeed. The E3 trailer looked great and was very funny, but then it's supposed to be enticing. Even so...#

Personally I didn't think too much of Broken Sword 3 - it was quite good and it was nice to play an adventure game after so long. However I didn't think it was all that. Although I recently spent quite some time trying to track down Grim Fandango in shops and I really really wasn't disappointed on playing it through again. I remembered most of the puzzles too... <Blushes>

Yep, I saw the E3 trailer too - I agree it was great. But of course a trailer reveals nothing of the actual gameplay and there was not very much info that surfaced about the whole game.

Sure - I would have liked to play it, but hey I just started to play D.O.T.T. - hope it helps

 

[<RJMC>]

I hav played few adventure games and for that I want more

but I cant find good adventures games

especially syberia

 

[Prince of China]

Is Prince of Persia considered an adventure game? Or is it more of an action adventure genre? I was really thinking of Myst when you said 'adventure'.

 

[ShadowFox]

The adventure genre is more alive than the space action/sim genre.

 

[The Dark Elf]

Adventure games should make a come back. I miss the old classics. Thank god for emulators.

 

[Edcrab]

You know, it's occured to me that I'd have bought Sam & Max 2 even if it was re-realisation of the original (a bit like Doom 3, but truer to its roots). I mean, Sam & Max. In 3D.

*sobs* I just don't want to talk about it...

That's the thing though; taste. I have always loathed The Sims, and that won't change. I have always disliked turn-based games, and that won't change. I have always adored adventure games, from Day of the Tentacle to Beneath a Steel Sky... and that won't change, damn you LucasArts!

 

[DarkStar]

Yes, sadly adventure games are dead. Especially the kind I like, 2D ones.

 

[Sparta]

Well apparently it might not be over for Sam And Max : Freelance Police. The lose their license on the Sam and Max franchise next year (If i'm right) so another publisher/developer could easily buy the license and try to finish the game.

But in reality, the chances of that, are 1 to 1,000,000 or thereabouts.

 

[Sea Dragon]

I liked Syberia, and The Longest Journey - these games give me hope for adventure gaming. The ending to the first Syberia was great. No, I'm not a hard core adventure gamer, but I thought they were touching, reasonably challenging (told you I'm not hard core), and a lot of fun. It's nice that we're not going after an "ancient artifact", or "the secret to life" or some damn thing.. just an old man's dreams, wanting to see the mammoths (which may or may not exist) before he dies.

RJMC... you can find Syberia on eBay... that's where I got mine. I'm playing through the second right now.

 

[el Chi]

Well apparently it might not be over for Sam And Max : Freelance Police. The lose their license on the Sam and Max franchise next year (If i'm right) so another publisher/developer could easily buy the license and try to finish the game.

But in reality, the chances of that, are 1 to 1,000,000 or thereabouts.

That'd be spafftastic, but like you say - very unlikely. It's a shame because a publisher could make a lot of money out of a game like that.
I really hope they didn't cancel it 'cause it was rubbish. The idea that it's rubbish is too much to handle, and it gives me an extra reason to hate LucasArts. How much can they whore out the same f*cking franchise!?

 

[Burn]

There dead, Monkey Island 4 killed them.

 

[el Chi]

There dead, Monkey Island 4 killed them.

Monkey 4 was good - not as good as Grim, but still good. I reckon there's still life in the genre if someone'd give 'em more of a chance.
Perhaps some greedy space oriented company headed by a tw*t with a beard?

 

[Burn]

Monkey Island 4 was spit in the gutter compaired to the other 3, and the ending was so retarded.

 

[el Chi]

Monkey Island 4 was spit in the gutter compaired to the other 3, and the ending was so retarded.

I think that's a bit harsh...

D'you mean the ending with

Spoiler

the huge monkey robot fights

? I've fogottern how the story exactly ends...

 

[kernkraft]

I never really got into the whole adventure game but

I am working on my own 3d engine right now and the first game I plan to build with it will be a FPA2 (First Person Action & Adventure) (that 2 is supposed to be in superscript). So that's sort of an adventure game.

This is my idea:
Basically, it's an adventure game that plays like an fps but is also very realistic (you don't have 10 guns in your inventory and 300 bullets for each). A little bit like Trespasser, you actually see your body (shoulders, hands, feet, etc.) and you can manipulate using the mouse and keyboard. There will be as much fighting as shooting (no rpg shit though aka turn-based). It won't be all action, it'll be a lot of story-telling, scripted events and moments to make the world as real as possible. I was disapointed in Doom 3 because it wasn't enough like this.

 

[destrukt]

yeh, I love pretty much all of the adventur games based on the SCUMM engine. Especially monkey island.

but yeh, 4 was terrible, but i bought it anyway :<

there are rumours of monkey island 5. in 4 when u first talk to the voodoo lady, she mentiosn that she has a 5 game contract or something.

 

[outpost]

;( DOTT and Sam and Max are up on my list of best games ever. Even beating such games as GTA3 and Doom 3. Hell, look at my avatar.

 

[brink's]

Last week me and my freind played Full Throttle and almost beat it( its not very long). He told me that Lucas Arts cancelled the second one
Too bad, I would have liked to played it.

 

[Seppo]

I like adventure games, and if the reviews were good, I would buy

 

[outpost]

I like adventure games, and if the reviews were good, I would buy

Have you ever played Sam and Max? If you haven't......GET IT NOW!

 

[Asus]

/me reinstalls his Sam&Max:Hit the Road, Day of the Tentacle, The Dig, Kyrandia, Monkey Island Series and Space Quest/Kings Quest Series games

Ahh those were the days!

 

[outpost]

/me reinstalls his Sam&Max:Hit the Road, Day of the Tentacle, The Dig, Kyrandia, Monkey Island Series and Space Quest/Kings Quest Series games

Ahh those were the days!

I've been trying to get my hands on a copy of The Dig but I just can't find it any where.

 

[Asus]

Sam & Max requires 1.5MB of free Memory.

 

[Seppo]

Nope, I haven't played Sam & Max, but Broken Sword 2 and The Longest Journey were fantastic. I've played through BS2 at least a million times.

 

[The Dark Elf]

/me wishes he could get hold of Loom.. now that was a great adventure. I miss it

Some silly loophole in the law has screwed Loom from being legally sold ever again, Lucasarts sold the rights, then the other company went bust, leaving the rights floating in the void. Lucasarts have made available the CD version available, but to use it you need the floppy version, which you can't buy legally anymore, unless someone sells a copy.

Or something weird like that

 

[Sparta]

I TOTALLY wanna make an action/adventure game mod for Half-Life 2, it'd be awesome considering there are going to be so FEW mods that have NOTHING to do with guns.

Actually i can't think of any HL2 mod that have nothing to do with guns

 

[outpost]

Sam & Max requires 1.5MB of free Memory.

Thats the version with out the voices. The voices are really good for the game.

 

[tvharti]

/me wishes he could get hold of Loom.. now that was a great adventure. I miss it

Some silly loophole in the law has screwed Loom from being legally sold ever again, Lucasarts sold the rights, then the other company went bust, leaving the rights floating in the void. Lucasarts have made available the CD version available, but to use it you need the floppy version, which you can't buy legally anymore, unless someone sells a copy.

Or something weird like that

yep, Loom was great ...

Lucasarts once made a 10-adventures-box including Loom, maybe this is still being sold somewhere