Articles
 by Jeff Strand March 15, 2002 |
“The
Evolution of the Adventure Game, Part Four” by Jeff Strand |
The major event in the
evolution of the adventure game was the release of Myst, which
sold approximately 75,392,004 copies in the city of Pugsquat, Indiana
alone. Players fell into one of three categories:
1. Those who loved Myst.
2. Those who hated Myst.
3. Those who hated Myst simply because there were so many
people in category #1.
Despite the mixed reaction,
the game continued to sell at a rate of three units for every belch
emitted in the northern hemisphere, spawning Riven: The Sequel
to Myst, Myst III: The Sequel to Riven, and the upcoming
Myst IV: Our Mansions Need More Closet Space. Unlike your average
adventure game, Myst had an enormous crossover audience. People
who didn’t know Guybrush Threepwood from Apu Nahasapeemapetilon were
playing this game, although 97% of them were downloading hint guides
off the Internet within three minutes of installation.
Myst was widely
praised for its jaw-dropping graphics and ear-dropping sound effects,
but was criticized for taking place in a world almost devoid of other
characters. Which leads us to another major way that adventure games
have changed over the years: dialogue.
Though there were exceptions,
dialogue was usually pretty limited in an all-text adventure game.
There were obviously only so many responses that could be programmed
in, so you’d mostly see stuff like:
> WIZARD, BITE MY WEASEL
The wizard smiles at you.
> WIZARD, THERE IS A COW
UDDER IN YOUR CHEESE WHIZ
The wizard smiles at you.
But dialogue changed with
the changing interface, and soon the “conversation tree”
became popular. So when the guard at the gate said “Who goes
there?” you’d have several choices:
1. “It is I, Thud
the Obese, seeking shelter from the bitter cold.”
2. “It is I, Thud the Obese, coming to kill you all for the
experience points.”
3. “Hmmmm, I would have expected this ice cube in my pants
to have melted by now.”
4. “It is I, Thud the Obese, ordering you mortals to send a
blank e-mail to SeriouslyWhacked –
[email protected] so that you can receive the Seriously
Whacked newsletter ABSOLUTELY FREE (except for some wear and tear
on your soul).”
Generally, conversations
handled in this fashion were kept fairly short (or else they responded
to each choice with “The wizard smiles at you.”). But as
adventure games became more story-driven, more dialogue was needed.
So instead of picking the sentence you wanted to say, you’d pick the
topic.
ASK ABOUT: SWORD HAIRCUT
MUCILAGE HUGH BEAUMONT: GENIUS OR MADMAN?
I know that nobody likes
a whiner, but if I may revert to all-caps for a moment, let me say
that THIS IS NOT REALLY INTERACTIVE! You’re not actually controlling
anything. All the walkthrough has to say is “Use up all conversation
topics with the dead Snapple vendor.”
And as you’ve no doubt
noticed, people in some of these games can TALK! C’mon now, excellent
as the game may be, aren’t there characters in The Longest Journey
that you want to gag with multiple layers of duct tape? You can go
through entire gaming sessions without actually doing anything but
clicking the next option on the list. I find myself speed-reading
the captions and cutting them off as quickly as possible: “Apr–And
th–Two wor–Don’t tou–You per–I’ll ca–”
Which is not as bad as
the full-motion-video games, where you couldn’t skip ahead without
risking missing something important. So not only did you have to watch
these long conversations, but you had to watch Gabriel Knight nod
his head thoughtfully about 17,382 times.
I know what you’re thinking.
You’re thinking “Gee, Dopey, Sleepy, Bashful, Doc, Happy, and
Sneezy might not be here, but Grumpy sure is!” You know you were.
So I’ll cease the whining for a paragraph and move on to:
This paragraph, where the
whining continues. Because I have to put out the garbage tomorrow.
Seriously, what’s up with that?
Actually, I hate to say
it (though you probably don’t hate to hear it), but this series on
the evolution of the adventure game is just about over. But what does
the future hold in store for our beloved genre?
1. Adventure games will
continue to become more “immersive,” meaning that players
can completely lose themselves in the designer’s universe and never
have to think “Whoa, I’m playing a computer game! What a geek!”
2. Pretty soon the “smart cursor” (where you don’t even
have to pick between “look,” “take,” or “interact
with,” but simply click on an item and let the computer take
over) will be replaced by the “even smarter than that cursor,”
where the player only needs to jiggle the mouse every few minutes
to prove that he or she is still in the room.
3. Adventure games will continue to be a dead genre that somehow
manages to produce new games on a regular basis.
Anyway, I hope you’ve tolerated
this four-part series, and will join me next time for a brand-new
topic of equal or lesser educational value. Thanks for reading.
BIO: Jeff Strand’s novel
Graverobbers Wanted (No Experience Necessary) was recently
proclaimed the Favorite E-Book Novel of 2001 by Inscriptions Magazine,
a coveted honor that came right after he cancelled his contract with
the current publisher. Was that bad timing or what? However, the new
version will be out ridiculously soon, and you can get the latest
updated by visiting his website at http://www.jeffstrand.com/.
His turn-ons include yogurt and moonlit walks along newly-paved beaches.
His turn-offs include shameless self-promotion and people who refer
to themselves in first person. His only real flaw is that he cares
too much.
