Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Myst,
created by Robyn and Rand Miller and released in 1993 by Cyan, was
a groundbreaking adventure game. What made the game such a phenomenon
were the intricate and highly realistic worlds that gamers could move through
as they solved puzzles to unlock more levels, or worlds, to explore. One of the
unique aspects of the game was that it had several different endings, depending
on what choices the player made during gameplay.
In Figure 2.4, notice the extremely realistic textures, the sky, and the curious
structure in the center, entreating you to notice it and to come explore inside.
The game is quiet, mostly a visual tour de force, with beautiful imagery like this
at every turn.
Some of the adventure games available today are Telltale Games'
Jurassic Park
and
Back to the Future,
Pendulo Studio's
The Next Big Thing,
and Microids'
Dracula 3: The Path of the Dragon
and
Still Life
.
Fast-paced games
can wear out a
player, but slower
ones can become
boring. Action-
adventure games
combine fast
moments with more
in-depth storylines.
action-adventure Games
Action-adventure games are a hybrid of action games and adventure games and
may be the broadest type of game design in the industry. Adventure games tend
to be more slowly paced and are focused primarily on storylines and problem-
solving to get through the levels. When designers add some of the action ele-
ments described earlier to an adventure game, players can immerse themselves
in the narrative of the game, experience more and varied personality types with
their avatars, and enjoy faster-paced gameplay than in an adventure game while
also solving puzzles and often experiencing a detailed and elaborate storyline.
Tomb Raider, God of War,
and
The Legend of Zelda
are prime examples of
action-adventure games.
Shooters are a sub-
set of action games.
they're combat
games played in
either a linear or a
sandbox style.
shooters
A shooter typically falls under the action game genre; however, it's a separate
category here because of the massive number of games designed this way. These
games tend to be violent and are usually played as first-person shooters.
Many people consider
Wolfenstein 3D
to be the first game produced as a shooter.
It was created in 1992 by id Software and published by Apogee Software
.
Figure 2.5
shows a screenshot from the game with its simple graphics and easy-to-read sta-
tistics running along the bottom. Although basic-looking by today's standards, for
its time, the highly textured graphics were innovative. During gameplay, the player
saw a hand holding a weapon in front of him as he moved through the 3D world.
That method of gameplay has been used extensively in subsequent shooters.
the first-person
shooter point of
view is often called
FPS POV.
