I just replayed Grim Fandango. It was the first time in a couple of years, and as I got to the end of it, I felt sad about leaving the game again, just like I have felt all the times I played the game. This time it was a little different though... this time I felt sad because I'm realizing I may never get to play a game like this again. Tim Schafer is still working, but I wonder if he will ever go back to doing a straight graphic adventure again.

I bought an Xbox a couple of years ago in anticipation of Psychonauts coming out, believing at the time that it would be an Xbox exclusive game like they were saying at the time. So the game finally comes out a couple of months ago, and it was a damn good game. But it was an action game with a few puzzles thrown in. Some of the action sequences drove me absolutely nuts, but for the most part I adapted and enjoyed the game for all of it's Tim Schafer goodness.

But one thing that became clear to me after playing GF again... Psychonauts ain't Grim Fandango. I didn't love the characters the way I loved the GF characters. When the game was over I didn't feel like I was going to miss them. And beyond that, I just miss the relaxed fun of playing an adventure game... Being able to try anything you want without having to worry about dying and starting over (well, at least with LucasArts adventure games), having to think your way through the game rather than frantically pushing joystick buttons.

I guess I'm rambling. To make my point short, I would be one happy dude if Tim Schafer ever decided to make another graphic adventure game again. But I know it will probably never happen. And that sucks.

Yes it is quite depressing, but I try to think positively, focusing on the fact that such a masterpiece of a game exists at all.

Adventures aren't completely dead though. Look out for Bone developed by Telltale games which is made up of all the good ex-Lucasarts people. There's also Dreamfall and not to mention the huge back catalogue of older adventures.

And don't forget "A Vampyre Story", "Beneath A Steel Sky 2" or the Agatha Christie adventure either. Each of them will hopefully be great.

Try Broken Sword or Gabriel Knight series if you're not familiar with them already.

I'm still a believer that the market will take an interest in adventure games again, eventually. They're not developed so much anymore simply because the mainstream market generally demands games to fit into the current culture of the time. Right now, flashy 3D graphics with tons of first-person shooting action and a war theme is what makes people ":D" the most, what sells the most, and what is being developed the most.

This is of course a contrast to how it was ten or so years ago, when adventure games were the market dominators, alongside the rts and platforming genres. Pretty much all three have been sidelined to an extent whilst the first-person shooter market continues to dominate, but it won't last -- eventually people will realise that things have become saturated, and will look for a more enriched playing experience. Developers will be forced to make their storylines more meaningful, to make their characters more memorable, and to make the world be a pure joy to immerse yourself in. Incidentally, something adventure games have a great habit of doing.

Of course, it's important to note that the above criteria can be inherent in pretty much any story driven game, so we may see the traits we love from adventure games appearing in other genres like Psychonauts and Beyond Good and Evil attempted (and succeeded, in many ways) to do. It's just too easy for a developer to not bother when people will end up buying it anyway (Doom 3) right now, though. You don't get much better than an adventure game's puzzle-driven linearity to convey a good story though, which is why I feel that adventure games may have a future simply because of their storytelling potential.

Has anyone played an Adventure game called... hmm... is it The Runaway? The Traveller? Something like that.

It looks kinda cartoon CMI style. I saw it at the local EB and was wondering if it's any good.

Glad to hear there is some life to the genre. Growing up I was a LucasArts exclusive fan... I had played some of the Sierra games like Space Quest and this Robin Hood game, and some Sherlock Holmes game, but the LucasArts ones were far and away better than any other games I played, so it's still kind of sad that LucasArts has ditched the graphic adventure. But at least some of the LucasArts people are continuing to work....

Do you guys have any recommendations for titles that have already been released that would satisfy an old LucasArts junkie? I haven't been keeping up with gaming for a long time... hell since before Grim Fandango came out. I only played that a couple of years after it was first released.

First Adventure games I ever played were Leisure Suit Larry 1, and Space Quest 2. Fun times. :)

Hey sjack, I think you'd really like Broken Sword I. The graphics are colourful, the plot is great and the humour had me rolling on the floor. I actually like it more than most LucasArts titles. If you live in Europe it shouldn't be a problem to get a hold of this game. I have no idea what the situation is elsewhere, though. The second game should be more easily available, so you can try your luck with it too (though I don't think it's even nearly as good). I'd stay away from the third game for now, because you probably won't like it unless you're already fond of the characters.

If you can't find it you can always try Beneath A Steel Sky by the same company. It's freeware nowadays so it wouldn't even cost you a thing. It's older and darker than Broken Sword, but a really charming game nevertheless. You can get it here. (http://scummvm.org)

EDIT: Also, if you live in the US and want to try BS1, you have to search for it under the name Circle of Blood. It was renamed over there for some reason.

Has anyone played an Adventure game called... hmm... is it The Runaway? The Traveller? Something like that.

It looks kinda cartoon CMI style. I saw it at the local EB and was wondering if it's any good.

I tried a demo of it a while ago. Well, I assumed it was a demo, but now I come to think it of it must have been a beta or something, because it seemed very sloppy and unfinished... there were a lot of bugs. But, judging from reviews, it's a good game.

I haven't played Runaway, but I've heard it features a puzzle in which the character refuses to pick up an item because his hands would get muddy. And that single fact has numerous people moaning and bitching about the game.

Sometimes I wonder why anyone even bothers developing adventure games anymore. The fans are so hard to please.

Yes, Broken Sword is total ":D".

Runaway is alright, nowhere near the calibre of LucaArts adventures but still worth playing. I would recommend it to anyone who just feels like playing an adventure game.

It does have some annoying puzzles, especially the one VampireNaomi mentioned but it doesnt detract from the whole experience that much.

Runaway 2 is also on the horizon so there's another reason to play it.

I just played The Longest Journey. Good game. Not quite as exquisite as GF, but it would be unfair to any other game to compare them. I was happy that the game adopted some of the "LucasArts" principles, like making sure you can't die (although there were a couple of moments where that got a little ridiculous) and making sure you can't get stuck. I remember playing Space Quest IV way back when, and I was racking my brain trying to figure out how to get past this series of lasers, and I finally got the strategy guide and realized I couldn't solve the puzzle because I forgot to pick up this little cigar butt on the floor of an earlier scene that I couldn't get back to, so I had to start the game over. I appreciate that LucasArts and Funcom actually took the time (and have the brains!) to make sure that if you need to pick up an item that you need later in the game, they will make you use it for a mini puzzle while you can still pick it up.

Anyway, I read a little about Dreamfall, and apparently they are going to incorporate action elements into the game. Aaargh! Oh well....

I loved The Longest Journey. It had a similar "epicn-ness" to it that GF had which meant I was sad that it had to end.

the closest thing these days to the good ol adventure games i find is the really good RPG's like Jade Empire and KOTOR and Shenmue

YES!!! Another Shenmue Fan has been spotted!

You're my new best friend, Manny C.

Yes, Broken Sword is total ":D".


Quoted for Emphasis, most true statement in the world! BS1 is IMO the best game ever.

Yaw haw haw !

Another adventure freak with old-days willies - played every single "point n' click" LucasArt adventure game as far as I can remember and all of the loose ends as well: GF, Fullthrottle etc. Everything marvelous, top of the cake, every game top material ! Bueno ! ;)

Every second day I'm on the edge of spamming LucasArts with reminders and mails containing irritating little one-liners from a Threepwood swordduel, which they've probably forgotten how to respond too.

The classic:

Me: "You fight like a dairy farmer!"
LucasArts: "S o r r y - we don't understand? Could you please write it with sabers or maybe pull a Skywalker out of that lovely hat you got there?"

LucasArts is all Star Wars. Their official homepage drips with the Force - when first entering you're presented to a fine palette consisting of 6 Star Wars games and a design which states quite clearly; "We only produce raw actionpacked games - preferably with a Star Wars twist to it". All this running along the mainstream secure line like a dog, really annoys me and it's not the right way for a great company as LucasArts with all their heavyweight milestones in the backpack. I think you get the picture ! I'm just tired of seeing only Star Wars based freaking games on their production list instead of becoming the experimental company they used to be.

Who on EARTH would make a game like Grim Fandango unless you were seeking out new fields and great, marvelous sub-genres ! Same with Day of the Tentacle, not to mention Sam and Max ! Where did those games vanish to ?

Well, just had alot of annoyance on my heart I needed to get rid of ! ;) Hehe..

To the question: How is this Bone game, anything good ?

Oh, and hallelujah for the International House of Mojo ! Viva la revolution ! :D

EDIT: To the moderator. You may delete this topic if yaa like. Posted it a more proper place ! Sorry there. :D

I've only played the free trial bit of Bone and it seemed kinda fun. It has some minigames in it as well but nothing too hard for relfex challenged adventurerers. People who have bought the whole game though have said that its too short, only 3 or so hours of play time for US$20.

Has anyone played still life? i think thats a point and click. just wondering id its any good oh and i absolutely adored broken sword one. it was such a sexy game. i loved the french police man who says do not cross the road untill the litle man goes green

I haven't played Runaway, but I've heard it features a puzzle in which the character refuses to pick up an item because his hands would get muddy. And that single fact has numerous people moaning and bitching about the game.

Sometimes I wonder why anyone even bothers developing adventure games anymore. The fans are so hard to please.

Yes, it stinks when your hands get covered in SCUMM!!! ;)

It was just as annoying sometimes to listen to Guybrush refusing to do something simple for the same reason! ;)

Does anybody know if Loom is still attainable?

home of the underdogs has a page on it (LOOM)...

http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=655)

Damn, I doubt I'd get a chance to get it.

Has anyone played a 1996 game called Bad Mojo (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/adventure/badmojo/index.html?q=Bad%20Mojo)?) It is certainly worth it.

That's the one where you turn into the cockroach?

I played a demo.

I also really dig the oldschool puzzle games like 7th Guest, Shivers, Obsidian, etc.

Yay, I finally bought Full Throttle.

And yes, BM is the one you turn into a roach. It's quite a dark game. I bought it when it was released (I was about 7 or 8), and the game disturbed me quite a lot.

I must admit, I played a really small amount of adventure games; I'm trying to make up for it now.

Im still wondering about still life. it looks cool but im still wondering if it is worth me buying it. Has anyone played it?

I read all of your replies very carefully and all of you missed one awesome adventure game, it is either unknown to some of you or absolutely no one here played it (or you "liked" it so much you never want to hear about it), I'm rambling about The Neverhood. I just finished the game yesterday and I'm trying to play it since 1997, so imagine.
You really should play this game (for those of you who didn't and I hope there are few) it's worth wasting a night of you life.

The Neverhood, I have never heard of it. And it would seem as if nobody has got an idea of what Still Life is.
Anybody played Noir (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/adventure/noir/index.html?q=Noir)?), I plan on getting it (hah, as if I'd get the chance...). http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/images/screenshots/9/198209/noir_screen001.jpg)
Despite the bad overall ratings, I heard it was a decent game which sort of captured the atmosphere.

I've never heard of The Neverhood either. What is it like?

Has anyone played The Black Mirror? I keep hearing bad things about it, but all in all I find the setting so interesting that I'll probably end up getting it anyway. I doubt it'll be anything revolutionary, but perhaps an okay game.

My advice is, if you like the story, find the graphics or just feel attracted to it without a clear reason; go ahead and buy it, most game crtics are too hard to please, and those things are extremely relative. I think the game is worth it, Unless it is practically impossible to get it (gee, I wonder why you can get more games at small town-Finland than in Argentina :P).

(gee, I wonder why you can get more games at small town-Finland than in Argentina :P).

I don't know. About ten years ago we got everything from Germany and since adventure games are still relatively popular there, that may be a reason. On the other hand, we get everything with English voice overs, so the reason may something else too.

And I can't actually buy anything in my village. I have to travel at least 100km for every game or order online. :P

Is the situation really that bad in Argentina? Do you have any idea why? If I remember correctly, you live in Buenos Aires, right? What kind of places do you buy your games in?

I kinda felt the same way when I last played through GF. I really dont think there will be another game like it. it's all about who can push the most polys now and how much memory they can sqeeeeeze onto a board. sad really.

And I can't actually buy anything in my village. I have to travel at least 100km for every game or order online. :P
Oh, that explains it a bit. 100km? You go up to Helsinki (or any major city)?

Is the situation really that bad in Argentina? Do you have any idea why? If I remember correctly, you live in Buenos Aires, right? What kind of places do you buy your games in?
Well, it is somewhat bad. Before the 2000s, when the dollar and our national currency were at the same rate (such nonsense!), our country could take the luxury of importing anything. But after the crisis of 2001, we've had some economical issues, and basically, no one will take the chance of importing something that isn't going to be sold. This has brought a severe problem, and that is piracy; since games can't be acquired decently, a lot of people go to places where they sell copies of games, and since there are no laws about it right now those places are still open (Mind you, I don't buy from these places, not because I respect the law or LucasArts, but because I'm too materialistic and need to have the box and all those goodies as well as the game).
However, we have two game distributors, and one of them (a music store) has recently released "Full Throttle" (I bought it a couple of weeks ago), and I have the hope of them releasing other LucsaArts products in the future, but I seriously doubt it.

I've tried to ask my 'contacts' in the US of A to get either LOOM, Sam&Max, or Outlaws, but they couldn't find them. I guess that if I reied hard enough I'll get them from somewhere down here, but I'm too lazy for that.

Oh, that explains it a bit. 100km? You go up to Helsinki (or any major city)?

No, I don't go to Helsinki. It's not really a place for me. There is a huge store called Keskinen that stocks several old LucasArts titles, and sometimes I find something at Seinдjoki as well. However, getting something like Loom, Indiana Jones, Monkey Island 1 & 2, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream etc. is practically impossible.

However, it's clear that you have it worse. Are there any chances of the economical situation getting better in the near future? Also, is the situation the same in all of South America, aka can you get games from Chile or something?

(Mind you, I don't buy from these places, not because I respect the law or LucasArts, but because I'm too materialistic and need to have the box and all those goodies as well as the game).

Soulmate! That's exactly why I dislike the way some games are only available by download.

...I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream...
I've never heard of that one, what is it like?

However, it's clear that you have it worse. Are there any chances of the economical situation getting better in the near future? Also, is the situation the same in all of South America, aka can you get games from Chile or something?
Well, I guess that it will get better, but you can never know about those things (plus, I don't really care about economy :\); however our government keeps claiming that inflation is getting lower and there is less unemployment, but they just say it for the sake of popularity, as it is not really true; and to add to this, we are now having issues at other areas. It's a shame, weare an able country, and a long time ago we were an important country (economically speaking, I mean); this is just the result of a series of military take-overs and bad governments.
As for the rest of 'the Southern part of America', they have all got their own problems, but hopefully they'll get over them. Chile, for instance is about to elct a new president.

But (even though there is a lot to say about this sub-continent) enough with politics, as I don't want to bore you.

Soulmate! That's exactly why I dislike the way some games are only available by download.
To think that my father threw away the box of my copy of Grim Fandango!
'It ain't a big deal' he said, I guess he didn't get the significance of it to me.

I've never heard of that one, what is it like?

I'm not completely sure as I've tried to avoid spoilers, but this is what I've been told: during the Cold War the three strongest nations (USA, China, Soviet Union) created three super computers. As usual in scifi stories, the computers merged together and became a sentinent being called AM (as in "I think, therefore I am"). And as usual, it hates humans with passion. It eventually wipes out the entire human race with the exception of five people. It takes these poor souls to Earth's core, makes them immortal and tortures them both physically and mentally for all eternity. After 109 years AM decides to play a game: it gives all five humans the possibility of escape if they manage to complete a journey it has prepared for them. It means that they must face their worst fears and moral failures.

I heard it's quite scary because the protagonists are a miserable bunch of people. One was a Nazi scientist or something like that etc.

It's based on a short story by Harlan Ellison and is still available here. (http://harlanellison.com/herc.htm#ihnm) However, as much as I'd like to play this game, I just don't feel comfortable with that site.

Has anyone played this?

I'm not going to pay 6 lousy bucks for a story, specially when you can find it here. (http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/classics/classics_archive/ellison/ellison1.html)

It seems like a very interesting game; damn, the story won a Hugo award even better.

The Neverhood, I have never heard of it. And it would seem as if nobody has got an idea of what Still Life is.
Anybody played Noir (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/adventure/noir/index.html?q=Noir)?)

Hold on, there's an ADVENTURE game based around the greatest, most awesome film genre of all time and i wasnt informed? hmm i have to look into this.

mind you, grim fandango was pretty noir, one of the reasons i loved it so much.

nup, im sorry but i f###ing hate internet explorer. I just spent 20 minutes writing a reply to this thread detailing what i though has gone wrong in the gaming industry and why half assed action games have flooded the market, and when i hit "submit reply" internet explorer stops responding.

Hold on, there's an ADVENTURE game based around the greatest, most awesome film genre of all time and i wasnt informed? hmm i have to look into this.
Yes, and it seems to be worth playing. Not much fuss was made about it back in 1996, I found out about two years ago, but dessisted on the idea of buying it, after some time.

nup, im sorry but i f###ing hate internet explorer. I just spent 20 minutes writing a reply to this thread detailing what i though has gone wrong in the gaming industry and why half assed action games have flooded the market, and when i hit "submit reply" internet explorer stops responding.

That used to happen to me, until I got Mozilla Firefox, and now I can post some rather long messages without the risk of loosing them (I write everything on Word first, and then paste it, however).

That sucks, bigtime (I hate it when that happens...).

Well, i don't want my effort to be in complete vain so ill give you the gist of it.

Era of adventure games=golden era. Consumer population was much smaller, developers and publishers werent as clear cut as they are today, so developers had more freedom to be creative using games as a canvas without being shot down for trying to make games that are "too risky" (euphamism for "not garuanteed moneymaker"). As market size grew, publishers became the decision makers behind game production, they provide the funding and therefore decide who lives or dies (gaming wise that is). Because they are soulless suits without any semblance of human empathy or compassion, they will never produce the "best" game, but will always produce the games that will cost the least and turn in the most revenue, and somehow publishers everywhere seem to have come to the conclusion that the "money makers" were twitchy action games with no plot, story or characters, probably because they are cheaper to make (less voice acting costs, writing costs, can be made faster) so our shelves got flooded with cruddy B grade FPS's and adventure games went the way of the dodo.

Lucasarts have become a publisher. In the "good ol' days" (hate myself for saying that) lucasarts made their own games, now they're just a publisher, and therefore their no. 1 objective is to MAKE MONEY. That means every decision they make is based on whether or not it will gain them a profit. Examples of this are the canning of sam and max, forcing obsidian to release kotor 2 early for the release of ep 3, and, by the logic that publishers seem to think action games are the most cost effective, this explains their "we only make balls to wall action games".

My theory however, is not to lose hope, because every time a gaming gem like half life or GTA 3 is released, the bar gets raised, and the overall quality of games goes up, because players of those games know what its like to play an awesome game and are less sucked in to utter garbage.

Well, i don't want my effort to be in complete vain so ill give you the gist of it.

Era of adventure games=golden era. Consumer population was much smaller, developers and publishers werent as clear cut as they are today, so developers had more freedom to be creative using games as a canvas without being shot down for trying to make games that are "too risky" (euphamism for "not garuanteed moneymaker").

[...]

My theory however, is not to lose hope, because every time a gaming gem like half life or GTA 3 is released, the bar gets raised, and the overall quality of games goes up, because players of those games know what its like to play an awesome game and are less sucked in to utter garbage.

I feel that since the games of yesteryear could not really have stunning graphics, the developers focused on the stories (take a look, for instance in any text-based game of the 80s, some of them are true gems). Nowadays, however, it seems as if the only thing taken into account is the 'stunning visual effects' a game can have, or how good its graphics are; but they contain simple, unplanned stories, which have no character evolution or whatsoever. This is why I like Grim Fandango so much (exaggeration ahead), it has a nearly perfect story and great graphical images.
I'm not a big fan of LucasArts, because of their 'publisher position' as you said, and their full interest on a series of movies I really abhor such as Star Wars and their merchandise.
It's a shame good adventure games are barely made to-day.

you're probably right about the text game period, i cant really comment because i was too young to take any notice of computer games then, but during the adventure games hayday, i reckon they had great graphics, especially the lucasarts ones. They had amazing graphics for games of their age, and some of the environments are really fantastic.

im talkin early to mid 90's here, like the monkey island series, indy and the fate of atlantis, The Dig, full throttle.

What are your opinions of adventure games, or games similar to them, developed for Nintendo DS? The touch screen is ideal for point & click type of gaming, and I heard that Another Code, Phoenix Wright and Lost in Blue are excellent adventures.

Since I haven't played any of them myself, I can't really give a good judgement. However, I am intrigued by the possibility of adventure games switching to another platform and DS is definitely going to be a part of my gaming future.

well to be honest it looks like a great medium, and the couple ive read about look pretty good, but i havent personally played them so i couldnt really say.

The idea of portable adventure games is great tho, id love to play dig/sam and max/similar while chillin by my pool or whatever. Definately a great idea thats for sure

Cough...FireFox > Internet Explorer...cough

Anyway!

Hello!

I'm new here, I played GF back in the days when 800x600 res was "pushing the limit" and the other day I found myself humming a GF back ground music song!

So I’m back in the swing, I can’t believe I ever stoped playing the game... I was too Sad when I finished it the first time... it was the type of experience that never ends... we all know Manny is out there kicking it, and glottis! What’s he up too? As I said its an experience that never ends... all we know is that once we get to the end of the game we don’t get to ride the train any further...

And yes its sad...

No game has done what GF has done to the player’s emotions... There are allot that come close... the adventures of silly'ol Guybrush and such... but... there is only one Grim Fandango...

And there will only ever be one... and although I say this with a sad tone... I'm glad there is only one...

It needs nothing more, nothing less...

also the horrorsoft games on amiga are great, waxworks and elvira

When I was younger one of my favourite games was Blade Runner. It was an adventure game. It had such a phenomenal atmosphere, basically that of the movie, but it wasn't hindered by the gameplay like it is for some games. I've mostly played non-adventure games, but I've been realizing more and more how inspiring playing this game was, and it was the main reason that I would play many games. That is to say, although I haven't played that many adventure games, adventure games are the games that I most enjoy. Recently in trying to find another adventure game I picked up The Longest Journey. I enjoyed it overall, but I must say that it had some shortcomings. It was also quite difficult to find. Now I want to play Snatcher and Grim Fandango, and I'm going to have a heck of a hard time finding them. But I suspect that it will be worth it.

The only two first-person shooter games that I truly love have been Goldeneye for the Nintendo 64, and Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II. That Grim Fandango was based on JK's Sith engine is actually the reason that I looked into it, and realized that I have been missing out. I can't wait to play this game. :)