An Adventure Game Retrospective

When most people think of the Adventure game genre, they think of things along the lines of Beneath a Steel Sky, Sam and Max or Monkey Island.  However, the genre was brought to life by a caver called Will Crowther.  Crowther was also a programmer, and set about creating a game about, you guessed it, caves.  His game would come to be known as “Adventure”.

Adventure was all about navigating your way through the Mammoth Cave, located in Kentucky.  He had been through all routes in the cave several times, and it's said that he detailed the cave itself so vividly in the game, that any budding adventurers would be able to navigate through the cave in real life after playing the game.  

Adventure, being the first Adventure game, was text based.  Every command had to be precise or nothing would happen.  This type of Adventure game would prevail through the late 70's with other text based titles such as Zork and Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.  However, the graphical adventure was not far behind.  Fans of adventure games were starting to demand graphics, and that's what they got.  But not until 1980.

By 1980, On-Line systems (now known as Sierra) had noticed the popularity of Adventure games increasing, and released Mystery House -  a graphic adventure using Vector graphics.  This did not last long however, as games started being made with Bitmap graphics being drawn by professional artists.  This saw the release of a wealth of Adventure games such as Return of Heracles, Sherwood Forest, Masquerade and Kings Quest.  However, these games were merely a stepping-stone, as they were still using text-based commands to play the game.  The leap from text to graphics was big, and the inclusion of the “point-and-click” interface would revitalise a now stale genre.

In 1984, the first point-and-click Adventure game was released.  Enchanted Scepters allowed the player to click on words to form sentences.  This was heaven to fans of the genre who were tired of remembering exact orders to type into a command box.  This new control method saw what could be known as the golden age of Adventure games.  With Sierra releasing revamped versions of Leisure Suit Larry, Police Quest and Space quest all with a new point and click control scheme, other companies started jumping on board.

During this golden age, in 1986, Lucas Arts released what is quite possibly the best-known adventure game to date – Maniac Mansion.  This was the first Adventure game to totally do away with text.  Where as other point and click games had still required you click on words to form sentences, Maniac Mansion stood apart as the first truly point-and click-adventure.  This new system was designed to allow people to simply click on a location, or item of interest, and select an action.  LucasArts continued to release well-received adventures for some time, including titles such as The Secret of Monkey Island and Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. 

 

The Secret of Monkey Island was the true groundbreaker for LucasArts though.  Their improved point-and-click interface allowed proper dialogue boxes, with selectable replies.  It was also the first to be made using 256 colours. Fast forward to 1993, and LucasArts released Day of the Tentacle.  This saw the release of many new cartoon themed Adventure games including the much loved Sam & Max Hit the Road.

Sam and Max were the two leads for LucasArts.  Along with Guybrush Threepwood from Monkey Island, they are possible the most instantly recognisable figures in the genre today.  LucasArts continued to release popular games, seeing the arrival of games like Full Throttle and The Dig, which was directed by a certain Steven Spielberg and had professional voice-work from the likes of Robert Patrick.

One year later, and we would see the release of Broken Sword, known as Circle of Blood in the US.  The game, made by Revolution Studios, was a drastic change of pace to LucasArts' style.  This was a serious game, with a mature storyline.  It had many funny moments, but it was one of the first to tell a real story while offering good characterisation from its protagonists.  Revolution had created Beneath a Steel Sky and Lure of the Temptress previously, but this had become its flagship series. 

 

The series now has four main games, a remake on the GBA, forthcoming remakes on the DS, and a fan made game called Broken Sword 2.5.  During this period, we were treated to other great Adventure games such as The Longest Journey, Monkey Island sequels, Myst and Gabriel Knight.

LucasArts were seen as the main runners in the genre and in 1998 they released the game that was known as the death of point-and-click.  Grim Fandango was well received by fans and critics alike, praising its new 3D engine and fully controllable hero, Manny Calavera.

The player had direct control over Manny, lending to it a new edge over point-and-click.  The player could now control the character with the keyboard and the game had a praised integrated inventory, while the story spanned over 4 years.  It seemed the point and click interface was gone, with many new Adventure games using a similar control scheme to Grim Fandango.  For a true point-and-click game, fans would have to wait until 2002.

With over 4 years without point-and-click games, Spanish company Pendulo Studios created Runaway: A Road Adventure.  This was a return to classic point and click.  Cartoon graphics, a less serious story than most, and a ridiculously named hero (Brian Basco).  However, the game did not do too well.  According to most, it just didn't have the “feel” of a real Adventure game.  It was almost as if it was trying too hard.  A sequel entitled Dream of the Turtle was released in 2006 but it also failed to set the world alight.  A cliffhanger ending also means a number 3 is in the works.

With the new breed of Adventure games we have nowadays, ranging from sprawling worlds (Oblivion, Fallout), to horror themed (Project Zero/Fatal Frame), it looks as if the point-and-click adventure could be dead.  Nevertheless, a little bird tells me there may be a revival on the way.  The Nintendo DS has since seen its release as an ideal haven for point and click games, and things are looking good.  Not so much point-and-click, but with all the classic Adventure game traits, games such as Hotel Dusk and the less traditional Phoenix Wright games, it looks as if the DS could indeed be home to many an Adventure game in it's lifetime.  

Will the DS save the genre?  Only time will tell.  It certainly has the capability, and the fans clearly want it.  But if it's done, we will have to see if the DS can house some true classics.  Until that time comes, we can always go back to the LucasArts and Sierra classics.