A New Direction
By Peter Rollo
Over the years, adventure games have taken many directions in terms of
design, gameplay, puzzles, graphics and plot. Where are they headed next?
In this article, I hope to uncover the genre’s future.
I believe the direction that the genre is heading toward is 3D. But not
the 3D that comes to mind when Quake is mentioned, at least not
at this point in time. I see the genre taking two directions. Both would
be 3D, but in two different ways.
The first one would be total 3D. Two good examples would be King’s
Quest: Mask of Eternity (Sierra) and Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of
the Sacred, Blood of the Damned (Sierra). MOE takes the real-time
approach by walking through the 3D world somewhat like Tomb Raider.
As you walk (or run), the camera follows you seamlessly. GK3 takes
a different approach. You can position the camera anywhere you want, but
it doesn’t seamlessly follow you around.
In the near future, I think the method GK3 uses will be most popular
amongst hardcore adventure gamers since the graphics are somewhat more
realistic, and the single frame renders would give a more storybook feel.
As to whether or not the design MOE uses will be popular will depend
on how immersive the game is (being more physically oriented).
The other direction is partial 3D: where the characters are 3D but the
backgrounds are not. Two good examples would be Grim Fandango (LucasArts)
and Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire (Sierra). The backgrounds are
made to look 3D, but they are in actuality 2D. This allows the scenery
to look much better, but it is less explorative as total 3D games.
Have you noticed anything about the four games I’ve mentioned above?
Well, none of them have been released yet. And it isn’t until they have
that we can fairly guess which direction this wonderful genre will take.
I can tell you this though. As computers become more powerful, so will
the games that they will be able to run. I’m not a fortune teller, but
being a seasoned gamer, I can tell you that not too long from now, 3D
games will look stunningly like real life.
