The State of Adventure Gaming
You’ve
Come a Long Way, Baby
When Jen Guenther and I started Just Adventure
+ (it had existed before then as Just Adventure) back in February of 1999, little
did we know what was in store. What was supposed to be “for fun” quickly
turned into an all-consuming hobby. Nor did we even in our wildest dreams imagine
the influence Just Adventure would have with developers and publishers worldwide.
Jen has done a masterful job learning html from the ground up and is a constant
wellspring of improvements and fine-tuning; she demands perfection and we wouldn’t
have it any other way. Me, I have been able to convince a few publishers to take
a look at some games in development, and if they are purchased, well, that would
be more than I ever expected. But we are just two insignificant people who are
proud to be part of a staff of professionals who have exceeded our wildest expectations
(I must say, though, that Jen and I seem to have an eye for talent).
Our
news editor, Cindy Kyser Morgan, had her review
of The Longest Journey featured in the September issue of Computer Games
Magazine. Cindy awarded TLJ 4½ stars and the Computer Games Stamp of
Approval. Harriet Gurganus, who does a masterful job updating JA’s Upcoming Release
section, is so trusted by developers around the world that they send her proprietary
information on new projects. Her natural charm enabled JA to secure exclusive
one-month rights to Arxel Tribe’s The Legend of the Prophet and the Assassin.
Darcy Danielson, our resident Mac expert, is currently working with Mattel
to obtain exclusive information on Myst 3: Exile and was also asked to
beta-test an upcoming adventure game. Tom Houston’s excellent, in-depth reviews
are so respected that game developers have written to him expressing their heartfelt
thanks and offering behind-the-scenes information. Erik Reckase recently conducted
an interesting interview
with one of my heroes and a legend of computer gaming, Scott Adams. Ray Ivey has
had developers from Index contact him and ask for suggestions on how to improve
the English versions of Paris 1313 and Louvre. Valerie Davis is
working on the JAVE (Just Adventure Virtual Encyclopedia), a project that I promise
will have the adventure community abuzz. She is, as you will find out, extremely
talented. Audrey Wells, who has just started college (good luck, Audrey!), is
working on a special column about free adventure games on the Internet. Adam Rodman
has my utmost respect for establishing our sister site, Just RPG, and though the
site is currently on hiatus, it took a lot of courage for him to attempt such
a daunting task.
I applaud every one of you and thank you for your dedication
and perseverance.
The Times They Are a’Changing …
So
now what? We have the ear of the adventure community, so what do we do now? We
change. For if there has been any constant in adventure games it has been change–from
text to 2D, to FMV, to 3D. And just as adventure games have changed to survive,
so should any good webzine. We are finally about to live up to the promises we
made a very long time ago. By the end of September, we will have a regular reviewer
of children’s adventure games–Sean (aka Crayoneater) who is a teacher studying
for a masters degree in children’s education. Erik Reckase will be penning a biweekly
column on the history and future of text adventures. Audrey Wells will be reviewing
and recommending free adventure games on the web. Plus, we have our very first
Just Adventure intern, Matthew Desmond, who will be sharing his fresh outlook
on the adventure genre in his “I Was a Teenage Adventure Gamer” columns.
And in what is probably our biggest step, we will be reviewing many of the fine
action/adventure and survival horror games that are available on the top console
systems–Sega Dreamcast, Sony Playstation, and PSX 2 and eventually Microsoft’s
X-Box. To refuse to acknowledge the existence of these games is a serious oversight
by “pure” adventure gamers. The adventure community is already splintered
by point-and-click fans who will not try 3D games, 3D players who will not acknowledge
action/adventure games, and so on. No other genre suffers from such division.
Maybe therein lies a clue to the downswing in the popularity of the adventure
genre. By the way, don’t forget to let us know your opinion of our new console
reviewers, Twitch and Spaz.
Spam Spam Spam Spam (Sung to the Tune of
“Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam”)
Monty Python sang about it. Armour
sells it canned. But we will not spam you, we won’t even corned beef hash you
(… we now pause as we present Randy with the bad joke of the year award).
That’s right, if you visit our new JA
Forum, the place were the elite meet to eat and talk adventure games, your
IP address is safe with us. We do not and never will sell or provide any of your
personal information without your express written consent. If you are on our subscriber
list for our newsletter–then that is all you will ever receive–our newsletter.
We are not Big Brother and I don’t even have a Big Sister. We just want to provide
a common meeting place for adventure gamers worldwide. So please, if you have
been hesitant to post on our forum or subscribe to our newsletter, rest assured
that you will never receive any unsolicited material (though we have been to known
to randomly award brand-new Porsches to JA Forum posters). Plus, later this month
we will have some special visitors from Arxel Tribe live on the JA Forum! Now
where else would you get that kind of service?
Cindy Yans, We Love You,
and You Too, Tom Chick (In a Manly Sort of Way, of Course)
If you are
standing up while you are reading this, then you might want to sit down. For two
months running, a major magazine, Computer Games Magazine to be exact,
has featured adventure games on its covers. Their September issue featured a wonderful
cover story on Escape from Monkey Island by Cindy Yans, and the October
issue featured a cover story on Myst 3: Exile by Tom Chick. Let’s not forget
to mention reviews of Dracula Resurrection, The Longest Journey, and Martian
Gothic and a must-read editorial by editor-in-chief Steve Bauman in which
he offers no apologies for spotlighting Myst 3 on the cover. Ms. Yan’s
review of Dracula Resurrection is a textbook example of how an adventure
game review should be written. Though she gives the game three stars out of five,
she accentuates the positive points of the game and offers solutions to improve
the negative aspects. Compare her review to the garbage spewed forth from the
Gamespots of the world. On the other side of the fence, we have Computer Gaming
World, which must exist in some sort of bizarro alternate reality universe.
The September issue declared graphical adventures to be dead (yawn), and the last
page of the same issue promised an Escape to Monkey Island feature in the
September issue. It must have gotten lost at the printers, as Jeff Green’s “feature”
article is only two pages in length as compared to Cindy Yan’s six-page article
on the same game. If Johnny Wilson and Scorpia were dead, they would be turning
in their graves.
Yes, Ziff-Davis does own both Gamespot and Computer Gaming
World, so is it any wonder they have the same misconstrued vision of adventure
games? Shame on the excellent Jeff Green for not speaking out more on behalf of
the genre. And yes, this is the same Ziff-Davis with the nonexistent customer
service. They finally sent me a check for the subscriptions I had canceled. They
also sent a postcard informing me I would not receive any more issues of Computer
Gaming World. So, of course, the September issue arrived in my mailbox. Even
better, the October issue also arrived, and my subscriber information sticker
shows my subscription extended to September of 2001.
Book a Room at the
Hotel
Cut-rate rooms. All bloodstains have been meticulously scrubbed
from the bathtub. Dead bodies have been removed from underneath the beds. Family
rates available. Room service available from our front desk clerk. Just call and
ask for Norman.
Seriously, though, this game needs your help. The
Hotel is attempting to establish a new direction–on-line adventure
gaming. To do so, the developers need a show of public support. You can show your
support by simply signing up for their newsletter. They do not want your address,
they do not want your credit card number. Whether we like it or not, there is
a new age and attitude in gaming, and unless some games are shown support up front,
then the sponsors will not supply the developers the finances they need to complete
their project. It does not matter if you dislike online gaming, it does not matter
if you think the game will not succeed. What does matter that you show your support
of the adventure genre as a whole by supporting all adventure games.
Coming
Attractions
We ruffle Duckman’s feathers as we review this hard-to-find
game. Take a trip into literature as we go on an Odyssey. Plus, we’ll have
the skinny on all of the adventure games from the ECTS in London in a special
report from our English correspondent, Penelope Picklebrine. Look for inside info
on Schizm, Riddle of the Sphinx, and Myst 3. Put your suntan lotion
on as we journey to hell to meet The Devil Inside. Hide under your covers
to read “Son of the 10 Scariest Adventure Games Ever.” Console reviews
of D2, Resident Evil: Code Veronica, Carrier, Clocktower, Spider-Man, and
many more. Interviews with the creators of Gilbert Goodmate and Catechumen.
Special articles on Sierra fans young and old. The return of the Dungeon of
Shame and a very special article written in conjunction with … oops, I can’t
tell you about that yet! Well, how about those Tex Murphy rumors, are they true?
There’s only one way to find out–stay tuned to Just Adventure, the number one
adventure site for all your gaming news.
