Comments on: What makes a fun adventure game? http://arcadeberg.com/causerie/what-makes-a-fun-adventure-game/ aka. "Learning Game Design with Arcade Berg" Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:21:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Arcade http://arcadeberg.com/causerie/what-makes-a-fun-adventure-game/comment-page-1/#comment-3887 Arcade Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:33:52 +0000 http://arcadeberg.com/?p=875#comment-3887 @Mike C Thanks. I'm currently juiced up on energy drinks though, because I have work to do. I really appreciate those two points and I'll try to discuss them a bit later on in my post about it. I especially like your first one, about the semantics of failing. Good tips! @Mike C
Thanks.
I’m currently juiced up on energy drinks though, because I have work to do.

I really appreciate those two points and I’ll try to discuss them a bit later on in my post about it. I especially like your first one, about the semantics of failing. Good tips!

]]> By: Mike C http://arcadeberg.com/causerie/what-makes-a-fun-adventure-game/comment-page-1/#comment-3886 Mike C Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:28:49 +0000 http://arcadeberg.com/?p=875#comment-3886 Nice post, Arcade. Sorry to hear you're sick. You threw out several good ideas about this niche of gaming, but what really perked my ears (err...eyes... whatever) was the idea that mistakes ought to be fun. Two ideas I want to draw out of that, then I'll go about trying to implement them myself: 1. Making mistakes is not the same thing as failing. That's key. Remember the precursor to point and click adventures? That's right, text adventures. What does everyone remember from those games? Expectations were unclear and ever mistake meant death. And that's why the genre was so narrow and is basically extinct. 2. If thinking/learning is a core concept of a game, you have to nurture that - and that means encouraging experimentation. The best way to encourage anything in a game? Make it fun. Interestingly, in my experience players will often sink massive time into peripheral activities (things that don't really help, or have very small gains in the overall game) if they're fun. Nice post, Arcade. Sorry to hear you’re sick. You threw out several good ideas about this niche of gaming, but what really perked my ears (err…eyes… whatever) was the idea that mistakes ought to be fun.

Two ideas I want to draw out of that, then I’ll go about trying to implement them myself:

1. Making mistakes is not the same thing as failing. That’s key. Remember the precursor to point and click adventures? That’s right, text adventures. What does everyone remember from those games? Expectations were unclear and ever mistake meant death. And that’s why the genre was so narrow and is basically extinct.

2. If thinking/learning is a core concept of a game, you have to nurture that – and that means encouraging experimentation. The best way to encourage anything in a game? Make it fun. Interestingly, in my experience players will often sink massive time into peripheral activities (things that don’t really help, or have very small gains in the overall game) if they’re fun.

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