Gamer's (illusion of) freedom

Posted by Igor Hardy.
First posted on 01 July 2008. Last updated on 31 October 2008.
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The qualities of a computer game that capture a gamer's attention cannot just be as a simple list of ingredients worthy of inclusion. It is not necessarily that the more you add to a dish, the richer the dish will taste. Adding more of something often means taking away from something else. Many gamers desire for an unattainable mix of conflicting qualities when they imagine a perfect gaming…

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Previous Comments

@Dan: You may be right that the younger gamers are spoiled by the current crop of big budget games with seemingly very rich content. However, adventure games, even the small, independent ones, have also various important advantages over other genres' apparent limitations. Icluding the quality of the gameworld exploration which you mention.

I believe many teenagers ultimately discover the unique appeals of adventure games and the genre won't just die out with older generations. The problem is that mature people have usually much less time and energy for playing computer games and will never be as important commercially as the young.

Poland By Igor Hardy • On 04 July 2008 • From Poland

Very Good

Interesting article. I especially found this comment interesting:

Will this be tolerated by the new, inexperienced gamers?


Personally, I think when it comes to adventure games, most adventure game players are older. That can largely be blamed on them buying computer games back in the day with no expectation of massive environments, freedom, or ability to accomplish tasks out of order. It's the same formula that adventure games have used since Myst. Now that freedom, ability to roam and explore, and the ability to perform tasks in whatever order are all fairly common in every genre besides the adventure genre, younger players no doubt find a typcial adventure game to be boring and annoying. At least when compared to, say, a shooter game.

Anyway, it was a good, thought-provoking article.

United States By Dan Sinkel • On 01 July 2008 • From USA