Adventure Games - Fundamentals of Game Design - page 571

FIGURE 19.11
Loom . Note the musical
distaff at the bottom of
the screen; this is used
for all actions other
than movement
Summary
Adventure games are best known for their storytelling, but they also offer deeply
challenging puzzles. To design an adventure game, your most important task is to
create compelling characters and an interesting story and then combine them
seamlessly with puzzle challenges to give the player a rewarding gameplay experi-
ence. Your puzzles should heighten dramatic tension when the player encounters
them and help move the story forward when she solves them. Although adventure
game features are now common in action and role-playing hybrids, classic puzzle-
and exploration-based adventure still have a devoted following.
Design Practice CASE STUDY
Choose an adventure game that you believe, from your own experience of playing
it, is an excellent example of the genre (or use one your instructor assigns). It can
be a classic graphic adventure game or a hybrid action-adventure game but should
not be a text adventure. Write a report documenting why you believe it is superior
to others of its kind. Be sure to cover at least the following areas:
■ Describe the challenges that the game offers and any rewards that it gives for
achiev-ing them.