Originally Posted By honeycomb (4 FEB 2005 7:24am)
This thread started in the context of the Still Life game. The trailer which is beautifully crafted creates a sense of urgency and danger. To become part of that world and  feel what those characters are experiencing i think you need the adrenaline rush of participating in an action or timed sequence.  

With timed sequences, the game becomes a contest instead of a means of being part of a story or gameworld.

Originally Posted By honeycomb (4 FEB 2005 7:24am)
The trailer which is beautifully crafted creates a sense of urgency and danger. To become part of that world and  feel what those characters are experiencing i think you need the adrenaline rush of participating in an action or timed sequence.

Originally Posted By Syberian (4 FEB 2005 8:39pm)


For me, those contests--and aren't all games contests in the end?...

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (4 FEB 2005 7:51pm)


But that would completely kick me out of the gameworld and the story.
It wouldn't be immersive any more, even if I managed to get through the timed part without being presented with a load screen. With timed sequences, the game becomes a contest instead of a means of being part of a story or gameworld.

Originally Posted By Agustin (2 FEB 2005 12:35pm)

All good points, really. But the possibility of having your character killed has nothing to do with the inclusion of action. Most of the times I felt I was in danger while playing the Space Quest series because (ie) Roger Wilco could get killed by that furry creature. Should I come closer or investigate further first? Saddly, the SQ series had these sequences to the point of being frustrating, but my point is: you can have a sense of impending danger without having to tap buttons quickly.

Moreso, I firmly believe there are other ways to create the feeling of 'pressure' and 'drama' without resorting to action sequences and quick reflexes. Appropriate music, good acting, the right atmosphere, etc. can be some of them.

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (4 FEB 2005 7:51pm)


But that would completely kick me out of the gameworld and the story.
It wouldn't be immersive any more, even if I managed to get through the timed part without being presented with a load screen. With timed sequences, the game becomes a contest instead of a means of being part of a story or gameworld.

Do you think of stories as contests? Do you think of exploring the game environment as a contest? Do you think of interacting with the characters as a contest?

I'd agree that unless they're perfectly done its best to leave action sequences out.

As others have said, I don't want to do things over and over.

Originally Posted By nytimesguy (5 FEB 2005 8:27am)


I think what kicks one out of the sense of immersion is anytime you feel a game has poorly integrated elements.  This is why action is so annoying in most adventure games even if you like action games; it feels irrelevant to the game as a whole.  This is also true of a randomly placed slider puzzle or a puzzle with a contrived solution.  Anything that makes you stop and think about what the game designers are doing, throwing in an irrelevant element or awkwardly transitioning from one genre to another, will ruin the sense of being in the game.  

It would actually work the same way if you played an action game for 15 hours of nothing but mindless shooting and suddenly were presented with an intricate puzzle.  You would just stop and say, WTF!?  

The trick is to create a coherent vision, and in adventure games action elements rarely feel like a part of that vision.  (I think Blade Runner actually managed that okay, but it was such a different sort of game that I think it got to make up its own rules.)

But that's precisely what happens when you get stuck on a puzzle. You're forced to keep walking over the same old ground repeatedly, forced to try one futile solution after another until you get it right.

For myself - I think of adventure gaming and action gaming as separate things.

Dear adventurers,

Just a quick word to tell you that by Microids,
some of us are dedicated to think about and design the next generation of adventure games. (NG-AG)
We follow-up this subject from the beginning with a lot of interests and thanks everyone.  All opinions are welcome and considered with greatest interest.

For Still Life, we have invited people from several adventure forums to playtest the Beta version in July in our studio.
For NG-AG, we plan to hold focus tests in early phase according what we have designed and what we hear from you all, here and elsewhere.

Because we expect to surprise you positively and provide fun beyond your wishes ... you understand that the NG-AG will not be exactly the "wish-list" you all have described here, but will be definitely based upon ...  

Cheers,
Jacques Chatenet,
User Test & Research - Microids, Canada

P.S : sorry for my bad english, it's not my mother tongue

Originally Posted By SquarejawHero (5 FEB 2005 11:44pm)


Although it looks like you may have given us something else to discuss... or either that and I'm being very thick. NG-AG. Hmm... *strokes beard*

Originally Posted By SquarejawHero (5 FEB 2005 11:44pm)


Although it looks like you may have given us something else to discuss... or either that and I'm being very thick. NG-AG. Hmm... *strokes beard*

Originally Posted By strategic_test (7 FEB 2005 3:26pm)

But the thread is about upcoming Microids game so, FYI, we experiment with this last title some gameplay features what we consider part of the NG-AG.

Originally Posted By Shany (7 FEB 2005 6:36pm)


ok, possible SPOILER here:

are you talking about the robot sequence?

Originally Posted By Crapstorm (7 FEB 2005 6:53pm)
This puts me in mind of the New Coke advertising campaign back in the 1980s.

Originally Posted By strategic_test (7 FEB 2005 7:48pm)
Thanks Crapstorm.