Adventure games


Posts

Adventure game graphics

Loving these comparisons between EGA and VGA graphics in the early LucasArts adventure games. Great compilation job by Superrune! The LucasArts games are still some of my all-time favorites, a lot of nostalgia here.

Amazing how much they got out of the limited EGA palette, in a lot of cases the backgrounds look better than the VGA versions. Also interesting how the artists got infatuated with a new gradient tool in Deluxe Paint, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade looks awful in places.

See also Jimmy Maher's excellent write-ups on:

(I think it's about time I played Loom, still haven't)


Quotes

Why adventure games suck

I enjoy games in which the pace is slow and the reward is for thinking and figuring, rather than quick reflexes. The element that brings adventure games to life for me is the stories around which they are woven. When done right, it is a form of storytelling that can be engrossing in a way that only interaction can bring. [...] If any type of game is going to bridge the gap between games and storytelling, it is most likely going to be adventure games. They will become less puzzle solving and more story telling, it is the blueprint the future will be made from.

Burly Men at Sea review

I have nothing against stories you play, though they’re currently shelved with video games only because we privilege unreliable terms like “interactivity.” [...] in all cases they involved me watching some things happen, clicking a button, then watching some more things happen. [...] That’s put the burden of invention on audiovisual novelty.