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No new postsThe strange genre name: “ADVENTURE games”?
I’m noticing a trend from casual gamers that when I say “adventure games” they think I’m talking about ‘Uncharted’ (PS3 action-game), so I try to explain that “adventure” games has nothing to do with being “adventurous”, but then I give up and say “ok let’s just play some Uncharted”. 
So I’m wondering, if you could go back 30 years and decided the name(s) of the adventure game genre, what would those be?
Would all current adventure-games be in the same genre (Monkey Island, Gabriel Knight, Myst etc)?
Would games like Gabriel Knight and Monkey Island be in totally different genres, or sub-genres based on one main genre?
Would the main genre still be called ‘ADVENTURE games’?
What possible genre names could you think of? Puzzle games, Dialogue games, story games, detective games, mystery games etc?
It’s funny how that name stuck. In the mid 90s people were calling FPS games “Doom-likes” or “Doom clones” but “Doom” was well known as a videogame so the genre changed name as it evolved.
Adventure game weren’t so lucky, nobody remembers the mid ‘70s “Adventure” game the genre got its name from and, well, most of the games involve you going on an adventure don’t they? So we’re pretty much stuck with it, and the market being how it is it’s not like anyone is going to bother categorizing puzzles, visual novels, point & clicks etc each in their special niche.
The first “adventure” game was excellent too - great way for a genre to start. Puzzle Story games? Well, PSC games? That’s Puzzle, Story and Character games.
I enjoy playing adventure games on my Alienware M17 r4 and my Nintendo Switch OLED.
Narrative, exploratory puzzle games, perhaps? That’s what adventure games generally are, at their core.
But yes, Doom clone was the name for the wave of FPSs in the early 90ies. There’s a subgenre of RPGs called Roguelikes. The name comes from an ancient computer game called Rogue. Adventure is indeed a rather unfortunate, because easily misunderstood name for our most beloved genre. 
To describe the entire genre, I’ve always preferred the name of a subgenre of adventure games: “interactive fiction.” True, that could pretty much describe any genre, but “fiction” implies a novel. And adventure games are much like interacting with a novel—moreso than other genre, IMHO.
But when describing them to my gf, I say they’re like “interactive movies.”;)
Maybe “story-driven puzzle games”? Or “puzzle-driven story games”?
Meh, I still prefer the name “interactive fiction” over “adventure games.”
Maybe we could have originally distinguished puzzle adventures from action adventures like Uncharted. Then there would be “interactive fiction” which would include The Walking Dead. When I think of interactive fiction I think of games without puzzles, or very few of them. But Infocom called their text games interactive fiction, and many of those were very tough. There are a lot of adventures with minimal story so I don’t know if ‘fiction’ is appropriate for all of them.
No, I’m happy with the name. Who cares what the Uncharted fans think.
I like that the genre got stuck with the “adventure” term, because in its core = adventurous novel or movie = exciting story and adventure game = story, with some puzzles mixed in.
And heroes in such adventure novels often have to deal with some obstacles or solve problems. It’s just that the adventure genre took this two basic premises and exploited it to the maximum. That’s why even “escape from one room” is an adventure game - we’ve got a story, which is - a hero tries to escape the room, and probably some puzzles to accomplish that.
As the games evolved from the mainstream stance, we’ve witnessed the “decline” of the puzzle department but also a tendency that each game regardless of a genre tries to tell a big story, which could be a reason why action games are also called adventure.
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On the whole I like the term “Adventure” to describe the genre. I think that if you try and break it down and divide it further the names get too cumbersome, and it’s good to have an umbrella under which all “adventure” games can stand and be counted.
On the name itself, I think the term has changed in many people’s minds due to the increase in the average age of the gamer.
30 years ago gaming was viewed as mainly for children (adults played too of course!). I think that even Colossal Cave Adventure was written for the designer’s children. Many of the early “adventure” games have a childish feel (think nursery rhymes in Kings Quest etc.) Therefore the term “adventure” was really what children thought of it, i.e. the style of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five, Secret Seven and the Adventure series.
(There are obvious exceptions to this, particularly in some early text adventures but I advance it as a general view held by many).
Now, the average age of gamers is well up into the 20’s or even 30’s and the adventure in the mind of mainstream people of that age is more Indiana Jones/James Bond/Bourne etc. Uncharted and others which “mainstream” gamers would call adventure, or action/adventure, take their feel much more from these sort of movies and “Adventure” games as we would call them more from the Enid Blyton school.
I should make clear that I am not saying all “adventures” are childish or only of interest to children, that is clearly untrue, but the style of adventure/gameplay in them is often nearer to the famous five investigating, talking to people, solving puzzles etc. than it is to the all action heros of Jones/Bond/Bourne.
That’s my opinion anyway.
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When I tell people what kind of games I play, which is very rare nowadays, I just say: ‘point n’ click adventures’ or ‘old-school point n’ click/adventures’...
When people ask me what kind of computer games I play, I say adventures, but then subclassify it as non-combat, solitary exploration environments with a background story and lots of puzzles. I think that the non-combat is important because most people automatically assume computer games are shoot-em-up games.
Guitar Hero? Nice, nice… Me? Oh I just play non-combat, solitary exploration environments adventure games with a background story and lots of puzzles. You probably haven’t heard of it.
Guitar Hero? Nice, nice… Me? Oh I just play non-combat, solitary exploration environments adventure games with a background story and lots of puzzles. You probably haven’t heard of it.
Don’t mock Guitar Hero. I love Guitar Hero. In fact, I started playing Frets on Fire again recently…
Anyway, I always say “adventure games” and depending on whether or not they know the LucasArts games from the ‘90s, I say “point-and-click” or “story-driven without combat”.
That’s general enough, imo.
And I don’t think we should change the name “adventure games”. Sure, it can get confusing with action/adventures like the plenty Tomb Raiders or Uncharted, but I grasp that as an opportunity to school people in the wonderful ways of non-action adventures!
Not that it has ever helped… 
The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka
I call it “puzzle games with story”, because when they think puzzles they know there isn’t combat, and I say with story so they don’t confuse it with casual games.
Favorite Adventure Games-Lost Crown, Longest Journey, Dark Fall 1&2, Barrow Hill, Black Mirror, Blackwell games, Riven, Myst
Favorite Other Games-Kings Bounty, FTL
Currently Playing-Barrow Hill:The Dark Path
Looking Forward To-Last Crown/Braken Tor
But “puzzle games” as a genre is equally badly-named, or maybe just equally as overly-broad as a concept, as “adventure games”. 
You have things like Bejeweled and Tetris which are often considered puzzle games but don’t really need much “puzzling”. Things like Lemmings and Portal which do, but can require exact timing etc.
puzzles they know there isn’t combat
Even that isn’t so clear-cut - DROD is a “slow” puzzle game with a lot of combat.
And “with story” doesn’t preclude the hidden-object type casual games, which are pretty much just “lite” adventures.
Very true. Going to have to rethink how I explain it to people.
Favorite Adventure Games-Lost Crown, Longest Journey, Dark Fall 1&2, Barrow Hill, Black Mirror, Blackwell games, Riven, Myst
Favorite Other Games-Kings Bounty, FTL
Currently Playing-Barrow Hill:The Dark Path
Looking Forward To-Last Crown/Braken Tor
Guitar Hero? Nice, nice… Me? Oh I just play non-combat, solitary exploration environments adventure games with a background story and lots of puzzles. You probably haven’t heard of it.
Don’t mock Guitar Hero. I love Guitar Hero. In fact, I started playing Frets on Fire again recently…
Anyway, I always say “adventure games” and depending on whether or not they know the LucasArts games from the ‘90s, I say “point-and-click” or “story-driven without combat”.
That’s general enough, imo.And I don’t think we should change the name “adventure games”. Sure, it can get confusing with action/adventures like the plenty Tomb Raiders or Uncharted, but I grasp that as an opportunity to school people in the wonderful ways of non-action adventures!
Not that it has ever helped…
I was just joking around but yeah I had the Metallica version and it was a lot of fun with friends on the weekend.
Point-and-click is probably the way most people specify the type of game they are playing. It’s too bad some garbage genres like object hunting games (or whatever they are called) get lumped in with the rest.
But the real reason this genre needs a proper designation is this: http://store.steampowered.com/genre/Adventure/
Just look through that list and weep…
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