14 DAY TRIAL // Despite the recent revival led by the reboot of Sam & Max and by more recent releases like The Walking Dead, there’s still a big divide between what adventure games can offer and what gamers are expecting them to deliver.
Dan Connors, the chief executive officer of Telltale Games, has told Siliconera that, “I think the problem with adventure games is if you don’t understand how they work, and you’re playing one for the first time, and it’s built for an adventure gamer, you’re not gonna get past the first puzzle because it never even occurs to you to think that way.”
He added, “It has become an elite club in a way, and there’s almost a look down upon new people trying to come in. Adventure games are like good wine. It’s like, high-end, quality stuff that people who understand it, want it to be sophisticated. And that’s a struggle.”
The development teams working on such titles need to make sure that they create puzzles and situations that are challenging enough to satisfy long-term fans with high standards while also offering the accessibility required to draw in a constant stream of new gamers.
Connors has also acknowledged that the task of those working on adventure games is getting easier because the potential audience is always growing, with the newly introduced social games experiences and the rise of mobile gaming meaning that more people are already familiar with core mechanics.
Telltale has recently launched the first episode of The Walking Dead, based upon the comic book with the same name, and it is also currently running series based on Back to the Future and Jurassic Park.
The games have dropped some of the core elements of the classic adventure game while adding a number of cinematic moments that are expected by modern gamers.