I want more direct control adventure games.

[Beacon]

I realize I am in the minority, but I want more (well any) direct control adventure games. I think that point-n-click should be put away forever. At least make games with both options for a time. I'm a big fan of Tomb Raider like games, (Zelda, Soul Reaver, Morrowind, Deus Ex, etc.) I feel more immersion into the game world when I can control the character's movements. I feel more engaged in experience. I don't know whether to keep hope alive that adventure games would mature to where I think they should be or just stick to action games even if they don't have the kinds of stories adventure games are capable of.

[Damon]

You should wait for the remastered version of Sherlock Holmes.
The game will mix the best of both worlds, point'n click and first person view.
You switch from 1st to 3rd using the mouse button.

[Ascovel]

Try Simon the Sorcerer 3D!

[Lucien21]

Dreamfall
Broken Sword 3 and 4
Monkey Island 4
Grim Fandango

are all firect control games where using a joypad is preferable.

[colpet]

I think that direct control is fine, as long as you can use a mouse for it (ex. GK3, Uru, RealMyst, Sentinel). I used to get confused about direct control just meaning using a keyboard for movement, but have since been corrected.

[Buko]

The games you mention are not adventure games. Maybe you shoud stick to those kind of games if you dont like point and click.

[tsa]

It's all about money. Direct control games are a lot harder to make and thus more expensive.

BTW GK3 is one of the best adventure games ever made.

[D.C.]

Even though adventures these days tend to play like they always have, it's reassuring that other genres are picking up more and more adventure traits. (With the bonus of innovation!) GK3's camera made the game so much more immersive in my opinion. I would love to see a camera system like that again in an adventure game.

[AndreaDraco83]

GK3's camera made the game so much more immersive in my opinion. I would love to see a camera system like that again in an adventure game.

I totally agree: I'm close to define it the best possible way for a point-and-click adventure! ;)

It provides a huge immersion and a vivid feeling of reality: a shame that no more game used that system.

[Sik]

While I'm not against direct control in adventure games, I see no reason to use it unless the puzzles are built around exploration and physics. That means full 3D graphics, and developers have to choose between giving up a lot of detail compared to a game with static 2D screens, or making the game a real hog when it comes to system requirements. A good adventure game should, in my opinion, have more detailed locations than other genres, so the switch from 2D to 3D means inevitable tradeoffs.

[Periglo]

You should try games that have some AG elements, like:

Psychonauts
Beyond Good and Evil
Mass effect (from what I've heard, haven't played this one yet)

And RPGs rich in storyline: Torment, Vampire TM Bloodlines...

[Sik]

Little Big Adventure has a lot of adventure game elements in it. Lots of interesting characters, and having to choose between normal(walk and interact), aggressive(fight), athletic(run and jump) and stealth modes makes for some interesting puzzles. It's quite old, though, so probably not easy to get hold of or to actually run it if you do.

[Jatsie]

I'm the opposite really, I couldn't care less how the character moves, but I love point and click because the cursor is like having my own hand in the game, and I can reach out and interact with objects the way I want to.

GK3's camera made the game so much more immersive in my opinion. I would love to see a camera system like that again in an adventure game.

I totally agree: I'm close to define it the best possible way for a point-and-click adventure! ;)

It provides a huge immersion and a vivid feeling of reality: a shame that no more game used that system.

I wasn't a huge fan of the controls/camera system in Grim Fandango. I'd hold down an arrow key to run to one side of the room, then suddenly the camera would shift to another perspective, and my directional imput would translate differently, and Manny would run straight back out the way he came. It got a little tiring after a while. :shifty:

[Ascovel]

I wasn't a huge fan of the controls/camera system in Grim Fandango. I'd hold down an arrow key to run to one side of the room, then suddenly the camera would shift to another perspective, and my directional imput would translate differently, and Manny would run straight back out the way he came. It got a little tiring after a while. :shifty:

You could change this in the options by making the controls character-relative.

[vio]

while I'm a die hard fan of the point and clickers, I have to admit that a well done action/adventure can be a fun diversion. amongst my favourites I'd have to include Morrowind which is admittedly far more of an RPG than an adventure but manages to include a healthy dose of adventure elements
predating Morrowind however is the game that brought the Elder Scrolls series to my attention; Redguard. there's a lot of adventure elements and while there's plenty of combat it's not too difficult to master and it's a much more casual and relaxed game than Morrowind but without being any less fun

another great amongst this genre is Call of Cthulhu Dark Corners of the Earth. while I've not yet completed the game, what I have experienced so far has a lot of adventure elements intermingled with some action, but more of the running away and trying to escape than combat. it's also a very impressive adaptation of one of HP Lovecraft's best stories

[rtrooney]

Playing Scratches DCSuccessfully? Or did you need to buy a new graphics card that supports OpenGL to play it?

[Puzzler]

There are two main reasons why I play adventure games:

1. For good story
2. For good puzzles

If an adventure game has these two things, then most likely, I'll love it. Adventure games in general don't need full walking around control. It wouldn't do any good since adventure games aren't about beating up bad guys and dodging bullets. It's about picking up clues and solving puzzles.

The Adventure Company recently published a game called DEAD REEFS that tried to be innovative and made it where you controlled the player through the keyboard. It didn't work: the game sucked and the controls were annoying as hell. Perhaps it would have worked better if they had made the controlling easier, but still, it did nothing for the game. They should have just made it a point and click adventure.

[Lee in Limbo]

I feel like I'm in a time warp. Haven't we had this thread before?

Incidentally, I like both, so long as the controls actually work and don't require twitch gamer reflexes. I think direct control is an important innovation for adventure games, and look forward to seeing more games use it successfully.

[D.C.]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure we've done this thread before. If I recall, my post was almost identical too. :D

[Henke]

I don't really care about the controls as long as they work for the game. Although I agree that direct control often feels a little bit better. But I just played Shadow of the Comet and I felt the combination of keyboard controls and mouse in that game was a bit odd. But it works in games like Grim Fandango (only keyboard and no mouse).

[fabiopb]

Anachronox is one of the most spectacular adventure games I've ever played. Total immersion, gorgeous environments.

Highly recommended!

[Beacon]

What's frustrating me the most is that with every new preview that pops up on the home page and some new Adventure game looks cool and sounds cool and then I look at the preview and find out it is point-n-click. Purely my opinion, but it's 2008, nearly 2009. It's time to put PNC out to pasture. Anybody know of any cool up coming Adventure game that isn't PNC? (I know of Heavy Rain and Theisis.)

[stepurhan]

I don't understand why direct control is seen as inherently superior to point and click. It's not like direct control requires any particular advances in technology (or at least, nothing that hasn't been around since the first FPS anyway) I think part of the reason point and click has lasted so long is that it is a very easy control system to use. I'd rather have a system that was easy to use than an awkward system that was new just for the sake of it.

[Beacon]

I don't understand why direct control is seen as inherently superior to point and click. It's not like direct control requires any particular advances in technology (or at least, nothing that hasn't been around since the first FPS anyway) I think part of the reason point and click has lasted so long is that it is a very easy control system to use. I'd rather have a system that was easy to use than an awkward system that was new just for the sake of it.

For me, it is the immersion into the game world. As you walk around in the real world, you don't see a floating hand do you? With direct control, and first-person perspective, you as the character experience the game world as you the person would in real-life.

[Lucien21]

I don't understand why direct control is seen as inherently superior to point and click. It's not like direct control requires any particular advances in technology (or at least, nothing that hasn't been around since the first FPS anyway) I think part of the reason point and click has lasted so long is that it is a very easy control system to use. I'd rather have a system that was easy to use than an awkward system that was new just for the sake of it.


Direct control fools you into thinking you are constantly in control of the game which leads to more immersion in the game world. I don't think it's necessarily to do with advances in technology.

Point and click feels like you are remote from the action on screen. You click and then sit back and wait for your character to walk across the screen. You're not really in control, more like issuing orders and observing.

[vio]

some games work better as point and click, others work better with direct control, especially games which also involve some action elements but there have been direct control pure adventure games too. I wouldn't say that one is particularly better all around

[rowie4life]

There are plenty of direct control adventure game out. They just fall into the sub-category of "action" adventure games. Like Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, Lego Star Wars and Lost: The video game. I enjoy playing those games myself but I'd rather play a 2D PNC adventure game like Broken Sword.

[Sio]

again, its not so simple. direct control does not automatically ensure immersion.

My opinion is, direct control only works towards immersion in first person games, where YOU are the one interacting with the characters and the game world.

Examples of this are half life and vampire:bloodines (not adventure games, but games where direct control works WITH first person perspective towards immersion). In such games YOU are the character and you -generally- don't assume the role of another character (or at least one with a special personality)

In games like gabriel knight, monkey island, or grim fandango, the game revolves around the main character and not YOU as the character. There is a difference. It's all about watching the character interact with the environment and the story, about watching things unfold from HIS perspective. That is why direct control is not necessary and is only needed if the gameplay requires it. Grim fandango could easily have worked (perhaps better actually) with a point and click gameplay.

[Henke]

But still, I believe that it's funnier to actually control your characters movement then just click, sit back and watch the character take a stroll across the screen.

[marshal99]

The interface for the Tex Murphy games have both click and point that works together with the first person POV that allows you to move around the environment that you are in.

Realm of the haunting can move around freely but it's a hybrid game part shooter/part horror FMV adventure game.

Both of these are old games though. :D

[threerings]

There are plenty of direct control adventure game out. They just fall into the sub-category of "action" adventure games. Like Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, Lego Star Wars and Lost: The video game.

First of all, I think you have a long way to go to call most of those games adventures. I love RE and the Lego games, but I wouldn't call them adventure games, or even action/adventure games. I did try playing Lost and was extremely bored.

The thing that really annoys me in direct control games (and that Lost reminded me of) is having to walk right up to things to interact with them. It's annoying and a waste of time. However, if a game is good, well-implemented direct control doesn't bother me.

[Gledster]

I'm not fussed either way, it's whatever suits that particular game for me. I loved all the Space Quests, Monkey Islands, Indy, Tex Murphy, Rex Nebular games and more.

If the original poster wants more control then the Tex Murphy games might be up his street, first person and some of the puzzles are based on where you are in the environment. Worth checking out...