(Not) Playing the Game
Part 1

By Randy Sluganski

The Adventure Begins

For far too long, the few have spoken for the many. There is not one magazine that actively supports the adventure gamer, nor, with the exception of the sites that belong to the Adventure Coalition, are there many webzines that provide unbiased reviews of adventure games. Numerous publishers and public relations personnel agree, off the record of course, that the genre is dead. Public perception, though, seems to have been shaped by a few individuals who, through their misuse of power and dislike of the genre, have convinced others of their prejudices. Yet, for all of their posturing and insistence that no one is playing adventure games, the facts seem to prove otherwise. SouthPeak, Cryo, and DreamCatcher all boast their most impressive adventure line-up in years. In January, Just Adventure had, for the second month in a row, over 1.5 million page impressions from over 25,000 visitors. While I would like to believe that our increased readership is due to my infallible charm, I know that it can instead be attributed to a lack of sources for adventure gaming news--a void that has been validated by the number of adventure gaming sites cropping up to fill it in the past year alone.

To make matters even worse, many distributors and publishers seem to be under the mistaken impression that the biased opinions spouted by these unwanted spokespersons are representative of the industry--and they are not. Almost without exception, membership in every major gaming magazine and webzine staff is limited to Caucasian males in their early twenties and an occasional token Asian-American. Minorities and females are usually nonexistent. This is hardly representative of the gaming community at large, much less adventure gamers. One need look no further than Tom Houston's excellent Profile of an Adventure Gamer to understand that adventure games are one of the few, if not the only, genres that have equal appeal to male and female, black and white, young and old.

Over the course of this four-part series, we will take a look at how the adventure gaming community is mistakenly viewed by the industry from top to bottom: from magazines to webzines; from corporate heads to the average consumer. It is not a pretty picture, and only we, the adventure game enthusiasts, have the power to alter this skewed perspective. We will offer suggestions and radical solutions that will be controversial. We will venture into areas and cross boundaries that have previously been considered taboo. In the end, we hope that we have at least made you think and maybe even enticed you into speaking out on behalf of the beleaguered adventure gamer.

Magazines and Adventure Games

The immediacy of the Web has led to an unprecedented decline in game magazine readership. Subscriptions are at an all-time low. Publishers have fought back by lowering subscription rates and offering exclusives. Still, the special holiday issues this past year were smaller than ever as advertisers began to find more profitable venues in which to spend their money. What has hurt the magazines the most is their refusal to recognize that not all gamers are 20-year-old white males. Very few offer reviews from the perspective of an adventure gamer, much less a woman, a teenager, or a senior citizen. In fact, most reviewers are computer "geeks" or "experts," if you will, who can finish a game in the tenth of the time it takes the average gamer. Thus, their most common complaints about a game being too short, too easy, or too similar to other products really have no validity for the average gamer, who probably only purchases 10 or 12 new games a year compared to the dozens a reviewer plays. If these magazines are still wondering what many of their previous readers have gravitated to, they need look no further than Just Adventure. One industry professional we spoke with offered the following analysis of his relationship with the gaming magazines:

"I wouldn't necessarily blame the publishers with not helping out the adventure genre. In my mind, the publishers are the "suits" and they are required to make business decisions. This makes it that much harder for them to break away from the previous year's hits. Further hampering their ability to branch out is the fact that publishers become branded. The perception of the public that EA is a sports company inhibits their adventure gaming. Sierra had an "adventure" brand, but they sold out ...

"In my mind, the biggest culprits are the magazines, who lambast adventure gaming. Unfortunately, they are very jaded. They are exposed to everything, and are constantly in a "new technology" state of mind. So, [my game] was labeled "old" in style--even though I specifically designed it to be that way. Unfortunately, I get sea sick from most of the 3D games, and I was trying to create a game that others who can't play 3D games can have some fun with. Yes, it is an old style--but it's one I can play! And, I received hundreds of emails from people who loved the game, and many begged me to make more of the same. PC Gamer gave what I considered a fair evaluation, with minor lambasting. PC Games really needled us. But, since PC Gamer bought PC Games, some of the nasty writing staff continued at PC Gamer. The problem is that these guys think they are cool by flaming projects they don't like. Sort of like some of the punks on the web... Oh well ..."

"Oh well" indeed ... and this is just one of many correspondences I have received from industry professionals unhappy with the venomous manner that adventure games are reviewed in the gaming magazines and on the web. For understandable reasons, they have all asked to remain anonymous.

Next Generation: Pseudo-intellectual claptrap for the immature gamer. It is suspicious when a magazine allots four pages to a preview of a game and half a page to a review of the finished product. Finding an adventure game review, much less a female writer, in Next Generation is like looking for a needle in a haystack. The staff seems more concerned with the hardware necessary to play the game and whether or not it is cutting-edge than they are with the depth or complexity of the gameplay. (A typical line from an NG review: "The graphics have undergone a serious technological update and have been remarkably improved although over-reliance on a single texture in a few scenes induces a relative monotony.") As they have no steady adventure reviewer, their opinions are usually across-the-board--almost universally--negative. A review of Gabriel Knight 3 by Jeff Lundrigan, one of the few NG reviewers who is consistent in his opinions, gave it four out of five stars. More common are the reviews awarding Cryo's Ring one star and a three-star review of the Playstation adventure game Juggernaut. The opening line is consistent with the perceived overall opinion of NG toward adventure games, "Juggernaut is a game that most hard-core gamers should probably avoid. It lacks any action, and the graphics are merely passable. It favors thinking over reflexes ..." Well, duh! While Next Generation does a passable job in some areas, it is not recommended for adventure gamers and receives a grade of F.

PC Gamer: Would only be worth its cover price if it was printed on toilet paper and could thus serve its real purpose. Probably the single biggest negative influence in the perpetuation of the myth that adventure games are dead. Adventure games are all but ignored. I wish I could share with you the private emails I have received from adventure game developers swearing that they will never again send a product for review to these butchers. Some of their staff seem to operate under the impression that criticizing a game for every reason possible without taking into consideration budget restrictions, first-time developers, etc., is providing a boon to the industry when in reality it is decimating smaller companies that rely on reviews to push sales and generate operating income. A recent review of Amerzone awarded the game a score of 20% (out of a possible 100), complained of the "disjointed storyline," and, in a coup for international relations, scornfully claimed that Amerzone is akin to "being trapped in the middle of a brain-addled French-man's drug fantasy." The same magazine, though, never seems to have a problem with the disjointed storylines of games like Duke Nukem, Quake, or Unreal. In fact, their reviewing policy seems to be, "If it's an adventure game--scorn it. If it's by a small company--ridicule it. If it's by a major publisher--kiss their asses (gotta keep those companies with big advertising budgets happy)." A recent review of Ultima IX, a game that has been rightfully blasted by every major magazine and webzine for being released unfinished, was given a score of 80% by PC Gamer, who insisted that "it's brilliance as a game ultimately outshines and overshadows any of these failings." If this same bug-ridden, multiple-patched travesty had been released by anyone other than Electronic Arts and Lord British, I assure you that the score would have been halved. This is a magazine where the staff is more interested in positioning themselves for a high-paying career with a high-profile company in the industry than they are making waves by being truthful. When the integrity of the reviews and reviewers is in question, then it becomes understandable why smaller developers will no longer submit their products for perusal. Finally, a monthly column titled "Alternate Reality" purports to focus on adventure and role-playing games, yet it has trumpeted that the adventure genre is dead. When furious emails listing dozens of adventure games in production were received, a printed apology claimed to not of heard of any of them. Excuse me, but isn't it part of your responsibility as an adventure columnist at a major magazine to get off your ass and do some research? I would be remiss if I did not mention that yes, Just Adventure was promised to be mentioned in the Alternate Reality column. Not only did this never happen (and probably never will now!), but emails inquiring as to the change in attitude have gone unanswered. Definitely not recommended for adventure gamers; final grade--F.

Computer Gaming World: At one time, the voice of the adventure gamer, but the defections of Johnny Wilson and Scorpia have lessened the overall appreciation for the genre. The new adventure columnist, Desslock, may be a proponent of the genre, but we might never know--all he ever writes about and reviews are RPGs. The adventure reviews in CGW are still some of the best-written in the business, and their insistence on playing a game to completion and not considering game patches in the final review score is admirable, but CGW is also guilty of not making an effort to seek out anything outside of the mainstream. The adventure games they do review receive a fair and insightful treatment, and they often offer solutions to improve a game that does not meet their standards. Unfortunately, they are also guilty of the same indiscretions as their contemporaries, an all-male, all-white staff. In a nice change of pace, though, some of their staff members are old enough to be the parents of the staff at NG and PC Gamer. Jeff Green's monthly column alone is often worth the price of admission, and his reviews of adventure and action/adventure games are usually right on the mark. While Computer Gaming World is still a viable option for adventure gamers, something tells me that the glorious ride is almost over, as the new editorial staff of CGW seems to be veering into a new direction. Recommended with reservations; grade of C.

Incite--PC Gaming: The new kid on the block with the potential to be one of the best. February's editorial featured editor-in-chief Tasos Kaiafas pontificating about his love for the relaxing pace of adventure games. Senior editors Gary Eng Walk and Nikki Douglas are both excellent adventure and action/adventure reviewers. Nikki is one of the few female adventure game reviewers in the industry, outside of Just Adventure and some other members of the Adventure Coalition, and her in-depth and insightful reviews are proof of why adventure gamers need more spokespersons other than 20-year-old, middle-class, white males who have only been exposed to action and sports games. Recent reviews awarded Ultima IX 2 stars (out of a possible 5), Omikron 4 stars, Star Trek: Hidden Evil 2 stars, and Wild, Wild West 1 star. Every review, even the negative ones, is intelligently presented and offers suggestions for improvement. None of the typical "this game sucks because it is an adventure game" crap so familiar to Gamespot and PC Gamer readers. Previews are actually shorter than the reviews, so we do not get the impression that the writers are paid shills for the distributors. Did I mention that, besides a female writer, the staff also has two Asian-Americans, an African-American, and a few members pushing 30! This is what balanced journalism is supposed to be, and this balance is why Incite--PC Gaming spurred my decision to cancel my subscriptions to PC Gamer and Next Generation. The last two issues have also enclosed playable CD demos of Indiana Jones, Gabriel Knight 3, and Star Trek: Hidden Evil. Make sure you don't pick up a copy of Incite--Video Gaming by accident (a fine magazine in its own right). Let's hope they keep up the good work and don't fall prey to the almighty advertising dollar. Recommended for adventure gamers; grade of B+.

Computer Games Magazine: An adventure lover's Disneyland. A monthly column by Cindy Yans--yes, another female reviewer--that actually focuses on adventure games. Previews of European adventure games like It Came from Zog. Articles like "The 10 Best Adventure Games." Informative reviews by Tom Chick, Jason Cross, and the two Cindys--Yans and Vanous. Even the articles and reviews that cover other genres usually focus on the cerebral and strategy facets of the gaming experience. The only gaming magazine besides Incite to boast more content than advertisements. Editor-in-chief Denny Atkin has a solid background in the gaming industry, and it shows. Computer Games Magazine does not try to impress with flashy pictures and fancy unintelligible jargon, but instead offers a solid, balanced presentation of all the genres. Kudos to the entire staff. If you have not already subscribed, what are you waiting for? Highly recommended for all adventure gamers; grade of A+.

So has anything been proven here? It certainly seems clear that the magazines with the younger, Caucasian male staffs have a disposition to attack adventure games and embrace action games. No surprise there, but one would wonder why a company would not want to present a more balanced blend of writers in order to attract more readers. We have not even mentioned the magazines (mostly console-oriented) that offer grade school-level writing and reviews with grades of "wowzer" and "way cool." Granted, these console magazines are skewed toward a younger audience, but what is disturbing is that these magazines are also exclusively comprised of all-male, adventure-hating staff members who will grow up to shape and influence opinions at their future workplaces.

One thing I would question are the qualifications of some of these journalists. In a lot of cases, writing classes would be more than welcome. Next Generation seems to have a fondness for technical jargon and a hatred of any gaming function requiring brain cells. PC Gamer's "holier than thou" attitude and disdain for any game that is not high-budget speaks volumes. One gets the opinion that many magazine reviews are written not to inform a potential customer of the positives or negatives of a game but to showcase how whimsical a particular reviewer can be without actually forming an opinion that could unduly affect his future job options. Fortunately, the majority of the magazine customers are already hardcore gamers and have their purchasing decisions made before they read the critics. What is bothersome, though, is that any outsider or someone new to the industry would read one of the adventure-hating reviews and buy into its venom without being aware of the prejudices that influenced such a negative opinion. This is why we must fervently hope that the future generations of adventure gamers are looking to other sources for their information.

Are there any possible solutions? Well, you will have to wait until part 4 of this article for those, but in the meantime, be here next week for part 2 as we look at gaming webzines and their approach to adventure games.