A recurring theme in the forums is control systems. Which is your favourite? What do you think of this new game's setup? Isn't point-and-click an antique that should be consigned to history? For me, all of these questions miss two vital aspects of player character control that are both more important than the mere mechanics.

The first is that the control method should be easy to use. This goes some way to explaining the enduring nature of point-and-click. Since it simply makes use of the mouse in a way that users apply in all aspects of computer operation, it is arguably the most intuitive control system available. Adding a variety of icons accessible by clicking the right mouse button, you can even allow for a wide variety of actions to be undertaken with the same left-click. This is not to say that I'm inextricably wedded to the point-and-click interface. Back as far as Grim Fandango I've used a variety of control methods and found myself ultimately comfortable with many of them. My sole requirement is that, after a brief learning curve, I should be able to achieve everything without having to think about it. If I have to break off from a game to check the manual for the talk key then the designers have failed.

Secondly, and far more importantly, I must actually have control. This is an area where adventure games tend to suffer much more than most other genres. A first-person shooter will allow you to run into a patch of open ground in front of a machine gun nest. A strategy game will allow you to march your troops into the enemy base one at a time. Even racing games will allow you to potter along at 10 miles an hour if the fancy takes you. By contrast, adventures are all too often full of situations where the PC will refuse to do something. There's nothing interesting down that street, I don't want to talk to that person, and no earth-shattering emergency is going to make me reach into a muddy puddle to grab a key. I appreciate that the story-driven nature of adventures makes diversions a lot more work than just an extra bit of map. However, every time a player runs up against one of these blocks, they are jarred out of the game world the authors have tried to create. Allowing players to perform actions that are dumb or even outright suicidal reinforces the realism of the game for them. It is my prerogative to open the hold of a sunken submarine, even if I know a hideous creature from beyond, intent on destruction, lurks inside. (Prisoner of Ice allowed me to do just that, and yes, the creature did kill me immediately)

Developers won’t capture my interest in controls alone; I do still demand more from a game than that. But if they get that part right, they’re well on their way to getting me lost within their world.