Lately I have noticed a good deal of confusion about what constitutes an adventure game. Many so-called adventure games, both shareware and commercial, are much more closely related to other types of games. And many of the people attempting to make games with World Builder have been creating something entirely different.
Adventure games are often confused with Role-Playing Games (RPG's) and certain arcade-type games such as Doom or Marathon. All three types of games may share have some features in common, but there are some important differences, and I think some clarification is in order.
First, what are the primary elements or goals of a good adventure game? I think most people would agree that storytelling, exploration, and puzzle-solving are the three most important elements of a true adventure. Within these elements are things like character interaction, which can be used to advance the story and provide clues to the puzzles. Also, the solutions to the puzzle can be very complex, often requiring numerous steps to complete.
On America Online the message folders for Doom, Marathon, and other "shoot'em up" games are located in the Adventure Games folder. But are they true adventure games? No. The primary purpose of these games is to run around shooting everything that moves. Sure, in a few of these games there may be some non-player characters (NPC's) that you aren't supposed to shoot, but their importance to the player, and to the overall gameplay, is limited. The player's interaction with them is also limited.
Shoot'em-ups also may include some elements of puzzle-solving. But again, this is very limited, and is not the prime goal of the game. The puzzles in these games usually are of the "find the hidden object" type. No real deductive reasoning is involved. And as for exploration, the shoot'em up games are merely a series of maze-like levels, and the only purpose of searching them is to find more targets for your weapons.
And what about the story? In the shoot'em ups, the story is always pretty simple, just something to justify the carnage. Not that there is anything wrong with that. All types of games have their place. But the point here is that shoot'em up games like Doom place limited emphasis on storytelling, exploration, puzzle-solving and character interaction, and thus are not true adventure games. Instead they are highly advanced arcade games.
Now what about RPG's? Here the distinction is tougher to make. The story is often an important part of the gameplay. The is plenty of character interaction, in fact, there is often much more than you'd find in the average adventure game. There are elements of puzzle-solving too.
However, there are differences. The title tells us the biggest difference: Role-Playing. In an RPG, you are taking on the role of one (or more) characters, and acting out the part. If your character is mean and nasty, you must take the actions (in the game) that a mean and nasty character would take. If your character is timid, you must take the actions a timid creature would take. Like an actor, you are leaving yourself behind and donning the personality of the character. In an adventure game, the player character is just a means of inserting your own personality into the game world, a way of interfacing with the game. The roles are reversed: the character takes on your persona. In fact, in many adventure games there is no defined player character at all, simply an interface.
In RPG's, the players create and cultivate the personalities of their characters. There are a often a good deal of stats involved. And improving the character's stats through experience is one goal of the game. Certain enemies can't be conquered, or certain areas can't be reached, until the player's character has gained enough experience against lesser foes. In adventure games, the only experience that counts is your own. Since you are not acting out a part, it doesn't matter what "experience" the player "character" has.
Fighting and battle strategy are both a major part of RPG's. In a true adventure game, there may be some fighting, but it's not the main focus of the game. And often the creatures or enemies in an adventure game can only be defeated by using your mind, not your weapons. Many adventure games have no fighting at all.
Teamwork is another difference. Many RPG's allow the player to control a team of disparate characters, switching from one to another as the need arises. In adventure games, this is rarely the case, since the player "character" is just an interface for the player's own personality. The player may be given the choice of more than one character at the beginning of the game, but the personality of the character is still that of the player himself. The purpose of this choice is either to allow the player to use an identity that he or she can more closely identify with (such as a male or female), and/or to provide a new chance to play the game after finishing it once, with some changes in the puzzles the player will encounter.
Recently I asked some other gamers online how they would define adventure games, and the differences between these games. Here are some of the replies I received:
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Subj: Re:Adventure or ?
Date: 95-11-25 16:40:34 EST
From: Alex1011
I think an adventure game is one where you explore more, and have very few fights. A RPG has to do with the name. You interact more with characters, both your self (or party) and non player characters, a.k.a.NPCs. But here is the big difference, D&D. That is why RPGs have levels, and usually classes. They have stats and are built around fighting, but have a good plot. You could not have an RPG without fighting, it would be an adventure.
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Subj: Re:RPG's versus Adventures
Date: 95-11-29 00:31:32 EST
From: MarcJeff
"This always is a nebulous issue, but I've come up with some ideas.
"I definitely see RPG's as a type of adventure game. Even more broadly, I see that games fall into three general categories which overlap: Action, Adventure, and Strategy. The defining characteristic of Adventure has to be the emphasis on exploration. By this, I mean that the player is placed in a world and must interact with his surroundings by searching scenes, exploration, and interaction with objects and characters. Furthermore, I see Adventure games as being divided into two types: the "Puzzle Adventure" and the "Role Playing Adventure". Note that I don't claim these names actually are the best names for these two categories.
"Puzzle Adventures are games such as Myst, Monkey Island, Shadowgate, and, of course, A Mess O' Trouble. They focus on the player's ability to reason and experiment. There are a number of "puzzles" which are blended into a storyline. The player must overcome many of these to succeed.
"Role Playing Adventures are games like Bane of the Cosmic Forge, Might & Magic, Realmz, and Pools of Darkness. many of the manuals to these games spend some time defining a "RPG" or "FRP" game. These games usually focus on adventuring, combat, and character development. In contrast to Puzzle Adventures, the player almost always controls several different "player characters." These characters will increase in power and skills throughout the game. A big part of these games is combat, in which the player must use his characters' advantages to defeat the enemies. There are often "puzzles" to overcome as well, but they are fewer and less complex. Many times skill in combat may allow you to bypass the puzzles, albeit at a price.
"I will illustrate drawing the line for a game called "Quest for Glory I" by Sierra. It has elements of a Puzzle Adventure, Role Playing Adventure and an Action game. MacWorld even gave it the best RPG award (really sad, if you ask me). The action aspects are clearly minimal, and there is little more to do than selectively push a button. Therefore, it must be an adventure. You only control a single character, yet he grows in pwoer through combat. However, there are numerous "puzzles" which confront the player. Despite the character building system, I call this a Puzzle Adventure since the main challenge of the game comes from things that don't involve the character development. For example, the Player must find some fruit for a Frost Giant, and find a way to defeat a kobold magic-user.
"As for storytelling, I think that it's important to all sorts of games, not just adventure. Action and strategy games often benefit from an intriguing plot that provides form and purpose. For adventure games, the plot is even more important, but I think that Puzzle and Role Playing Adventures both need it about equally. However, I think plot and storyline is still less important than the adventuring aspect of these games."
"I think the most accepted definition between RPG's and action games is in how the character's actions and stats are described. RPG's require numbers and percentages in order to determine outcome. This converts into saying you don't need skill to hit the bad guy, but you need a good skill rating to hit the bad guy. Though strategy still determines a good part of RPG battles.
"In contrast, action games require the player to be skilled in jumping, attacking, etc. Where the outcome of such an action is not determined by a number, but rather the player's skill in hitting the right buttons and reflexes.
"RPG's offer a larger, broader range or interaction with surroundings, and are completely composed of exploration. Action games often have a set direction by which the player must follow in order to win. RPG's also seem to have multiple endings, while Action games do not.
>>>>>>Role Playing Adventures are games like Bane of the Cosmic Forge, Might & Magic, Realmz, and Pools of Darkness.
There are often "puzzles" to overcome as well, but they are fewer and less complex. Many times skill in combat may allow you to bypass the puzzles, albeit at a price.<<<<
"I completely agree with the first paragraph, however the second is decidely wrong. Your definition of puzzles may be somehwhat different than mine, but the RPG Exile and Exile II by Spiderweb Software and distributed by Fantasoft, LLC have puzzles which involve complex and deep thought, and do not let you buy simply as a result of brute force. Of particular mention is the Test of Intelligence in Exile II. Word puzzles and deduction are what is required to get through here."
>>>>>I think one of the prime differences between RPG's and straight adventures is that in an adventure, the player "character" doesn't matter very much, it's just a way of allowing the player to interface with the game world. With an RPG, the character matters a lot, and the player is in effect an actor acting out a part...<<<<<
"This is a good example, but I don't completely agree with it. Adventure games can also make the character very important, especially by use of plot. But for the most part, this is correct."
There will always be some blurring of the lines between these types of games. However, the game author who most clearly understands the differences, will stand a better chance of creating the kind of game he or she hopes for. And games that are labeled correctly by their authors will be less likely to disappoint the players. I can't count the number of times I've heard people complain about downloading an "adventure" game that had no story, no puzzles, and no character interaction, just lots of fighting. Clearly such games are not adventures.
When you're using World Builder to create your games, these distinctions become even more important. The limitations of the program make it inappropriate for games like Doom, or even most RPG's. Running through a corridor blasting everything that moves is great in a fully animated environment like Doom. But the same thing in a World Builder game translates to: Move from one scene to another, encountering static drawings of creatures, and pulling down the Weapons menu to select "Fire pistol" over and over, until the creature is removed from the scene, unless it kills you first, and it usually will. Obviously this is no fun at all!
The same limitations apply to RPG's created with World Builder. Yes, the player character does gain "experience points", but the gameplay is still boring and repetitious. And many of the traditional RPG elements such as multiple player characters (teams), are difficult or impossible to reproduce in World Builder. Don't get me wrong -- a good RPG can be created with World Builder, as long as the author takes the program's limitations into consideration and works around them. And such a game should be labeled as such, to avoid confusing or disappointing players hoping for a true adventure game.
