with a name like guybrush...

As a genre that the gaming press loves to declare dead on the PC, Adventure games have definitely seen better days. When the last bastion of Adventure gaming decides to cancel the development of Sam and Max: Freelance Police, an almost guaranteed success, solely because "the current market is unsuitable" makes me wonder where their allegiances lie. Lucasarts did the same thing last year with Full Throttle 2, another sequel to a much loved property that Adventure gamers were looking forward to - myself included. I suppose Lucasarts are content to continue spraying down the Star Wars license with a fire hose of money - Republic Commando and Star Wars Battlefront - two completely uninspired games that would have been better served as mods.

Interestingly enough, I caught a rumour last week about another possible installment in the Monkey Island saga. I would almost assume that this rumour could be classified as false at this time, unless LucasArts are following the disturbing example set by most traditionally PC-only developers; that is, getting into the console-porting business. Escape from Monkey Island (aka. Monkey Island 4) did fairly well, but it was also a console port. Full Throttle 2 and Sam and Max: Freelance Police were to be developed specifically for PC.

Some of my favorite PC gaming memories are of the SCUMM-powered Lucasarts adventures: Maniac Mansion, Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max Hit the Road, and my personal favourite adventure of all time: Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, something I still pick up and play today thanks to SCUMMVM. I still firmly believe that a movie could be based on this game; the story and dialogue are absolutely incredible.

Sierra was the other heavy hitter back in those days: sporting such well-known franchises like King's Quest, Space Quest, and of course the later Gabriel Knight series. You might also remember Infogrames' groundbreaking Alone in the Dark (1992), probably my first experience with polygon-based characters and true 3D environments. In 1998, Sierra figured they would bring their classic King's Quest up to current graphical standards with Mask of Eternity, which was widely agreed to be a funeral pyre for series. Numerous bugs and the complete disregard for the franchise's history in favour of a more action-oriented experience left a lot of players disappointed.

Adventure gaming also seems to get a bit of a bad rap from those not familiar with the genre, mostly due to some developers morbid fascination with full motion video sequences. Myst was the game that made people buy a CD-ROM drive, but watching a series of movies is not necessarily the best way to present a game. They usually end up as pixel hunts and allow only limited interaction with the environment. Dark Side of the Moon may have gotten this right, however, as the engrossing story and high production values made it a favourite amongst adventure gamers.

LucasArts' Grim Fandago won numerous awards and continues to be the flagship Adventure Game of recent years, followed closely by The Longest Journey (1999) and Syberia (2002), both of which are recieving the sequel treatment. Syberia II should be available shortly, and the long kept secret follow-up to TLJ, Dreamfall, will be out in 2005. Both games were praised for their character development, something that many adventure games tend to lack, eclipsed the developer's constant obsession with creating obscure puzzles to outdo players. Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon, released in late 2003, has also been favoured well amongst genre affectionados.

For those that still foster the adventure gamer within, Adventure Gamers has a great multi-part article that tries to pinpoint where the genre is going, and what the discerning fan can do so that it may survive. There is no talk of the genre's halcyon days and how the best games are behind us. I think the biggest point you can take from it is that advancements in graphics are just a means to an end; it doesn't signify an engaging story and real, likable characters will not exist in these worlds as well.

I didn't plan for this to be a State of the Adventure Gamers Union or anything, but there you have it. It's nice to see independent developers and publishers like The Adventure Company trying to carry on the traditions started by Sierra and LucasArts back in my early days of PC gaming, but to see a complete lack of interest by the major studios - and even the gamers themselves - is hard for me to accept. Have we turned into a bunch of twitch gamers, only able to withstand bite-sized sessions of gaming requiring minimal brain function? Are adventure games too much of a mental investment for the possible return? With the advent of online play, I think some gamers may consider adventure gaming a lonely experience. But ground can be made in this genre - just look at URU. An attempt at multiplay in a previously accepted "single-player only" environment is commendable, even though I have not played the game myself. Giving Sam and Max a graphical overhaul like LucasArts did with Monkey Island 4 was a fine idea, and would have probably done well in today's gaming climate, regardless of what their marketing goons may have us believe. I just hope this recent cancellation does not mark the beginning of a larger, more devastating trend - that major game releases will be developed for all platforms as a rule, and PC gamers will have to settle for ports.

the universe will have its way