I thought I'd experiment with describing various gaming styles that I've observed over the years, based around four aspects of adventure games: story, puzzles, exploration and atmosphere.

Each description is written from the standpoint of the gamer. Part of what I'm hoping to show is that each reaction to story, puzzles, exploration and atmosphere is equally valid.

Hoping to start a friendly discussion!

What Type of Adventure Gamer Are YOU?

Very interesting, Becky. Time for the thinking cap.
I'm a Heinz 57.

Gamer: D <Story>

Gamer: C <Puzzles>

Gamer: C <Environments and Exploration>

Gamer C <Atmosphere>

Thank, Becky

All of the above is me when it comes to gaming.. :StPats:

MaG ..I love Heinz 57

Hi, I am probably 60 percent puzzle, 30 percent story and the other two equals the 10 percent , although I think some of these category overlap for me
as puzzles involve exploration, thinking cap
and there is great atmosphere, in a great story
love the puzzle part first, but the great story is growing on me, I am playing lost souls now, darkfall game and really into the atmosphere of the story

Marcia

Story: Gamer A
Puzzles: Gamer A
Environments/Exploration: Gamer A
Atmosphere: Gamer A

I guess that means I'm a lot like Gamer A, then.

The funny thing is, the series of games I'm most passionate about - the Sherlock Holmes ones - fall under Gamer B section. There's always an exception to the rule!

Thanks, Becky, what a fun quiz! I'd kind of all over the map with this one.

It seems I fit mostly into the "C" category, but I also have a good bit of "A" in me as well as a little "B." I enjoy mostly epic, well told stories, if there's a group for that. The Longest Journey, Culpa Innata (which will be very epic once part 2 comes out, I feel ), the Gabriel Knights, Grim Fandango - all of these games are my favorites and evoke that feeling for me.

EDIT: Rushes, that is funny. Just goes to show you never know.

Reminds me of my experience with Dreamfall. It had many things I don't look for in a game, that would turn me off to any other game. And yet I loved it. Go figure.

No big surprise here, I'm pretty much in the 'D' category, with the exception of the Story Category. There I am a 'B'. One thing that I think may be missing in your analysis is prioritizing. So, with that in mind, this is the order of importance of your catagories:
1 - Environments and Explorations
2 - Puzzles
3 - Story
4 - Atmosphere
Thanks for doing this. It'll will help knowing who has similar tastes (and also disparate ones).

I know games (as well as gamers) may fit more than one category. I'm open to arguments that certain games should actually belong in different categories!

I'm also curious to see what other games people feel would fit various categories (I used some of the best known series for the article, but there are a lot more good games out there)!

i have to think more on this .

i will say that i agree with the part in atmosphere about dark screens do not always equal mood - sometimes they are just annoying.

i think what looks good to me,depends on my mood.
for example - it's been a week where people have talked me to death- then i don't want lengthy dialogue,just a quiet place to explore and work on a puzzle or two.

i'll have to check my games and see what category they're in...

Yes-i am all over map on this..but one thing i sure agree with Niteowl07 on '' it's been a week where people have talked me to death- then i don't want lengthy dialogue,just a quiet place to explore and work on a puzzle or two.'' I am a retired telephone operator so i can relate to that! I think that is what drew me to games like Myst, and Rhem-lots of exploration & puzzles (although Rhem puzzles mostly so hard for me..thank goodness for walkthroughs!)..and no talk! Also agree with other poster..dark areas do Not equal atmosphere..takes real skill to create good atmosphere and not many games have had a lot of sucess. However, the Dark Fall and Lost Crown series have and also The Last Half of Darkness, The Darkness Within, and Scratches. The Myst games -to me-have an atmosphere of solitude and freedom, and adventure. The first Shivers had that as well. Takes a good combination of things to get great atmosphere in games..writing,sound, as well as what you see. There are a couple of 'casual' games that have it-Return to Ravenhurst and Dire Grove(made me feel so cold i actually went and got a sweater and i am generally NOT cold at all!). I enjoy old radio programs and lots of them could create atmosphere..good writing and sound! Also Poe..in his writing could really create an atmosphere..and Woodhouse generally had an atmophere he created of comedy in a difficult time. Sorry ..if i got off topic a bit..

Hi Becky and Boomers. I do not care so much for games with extensive dialogue and conversation trees.I give equal billing to story, puzzles, exploration and atmosphere. Games that fit those four have a seamless quality that invite many replay sessions. There are games that excel in one selection over the others but still hold my interest if the remaining three are at least average. In other words games that integrate these selections seem to attract a following. For me the Myst series among others, fulfills all those parameters.That was an excellent question Becky. Hope the Game producers are reading all the Boomer comments. :niceday: PS: You said it all Gamenut.

Thanks, Becky,
For closing the other thread. Obviously, I can't be *typed* because I have "my own take" on games, 'nuff said.

Wow! I'm a B all the way down. Although I do enjoy the games listed under "B", the game I loved the most was Myst, and still like the same type. Interesting.

Interesting quiz/gaming styles resaerch.

In the story category I don't have any strong preferences - I like all kinds of storytelling if they are well executed.

In "Puzzles", I guess I'm the most similar to Gamer B, although I don't have a particularly great opinion of "puzzles that require pattern analysis, especially the kind that involve color or sound". They usually aren't very clever and tend to be similar to one another. Also, color and sound recognition is problematic for many people.

In terms of exploration, I think that I'm the most akin to Gamer A, but I do enjoy games like Gamer D as well. The only thing that I dislike in exploration is slow, repetitive traveling sequences and walking back and forth a huge world when the game could be easily designed to avoid that (why not give the player a map that can automatically teleport her to far away places?).

Atmospherically, I'm definitely Gamer B.

Overall, I'm very open to every kind of adventure game, only wish the amount of pointless walking and clicking would be limited in some of them.

I appear to be a hybrid

Most of my "individual" slections are a combination of the B and C categories but the games I enjoy playing the most come from A, B and C !!

So I can't truthfully pinpoint myself as being a particular type of adventure gamer who would reside solely within the boundaries suggested

An interesting experiment though, thanks, Becky !!

I just don't know. I enjoyed games from each catagory, particularly LHoD series, but maybe that was because I have only played them recently. I remember thinking that Syberia felt like reading a book, which is a solitary enjoyment. I guess I am the(weak)silent type, but there are always exceptions....Discworld, for one. I loved that.

Nice quiz Becky.

Story: C Love those cutscenes, feels like a reward after doing something hard.

Puzzles: B&D All tho I really don't like musical related ones.

Environments: B

Atmosphere: B

Looks like I'm mostly a B person.
The order of importance to me is:
Puzzles
Environments and Exploration
Atmosphere
Story

Sassy

I guess I'm most like type "A"
Like an imaginative, immersive story that I can understand with puzzles that make sense and move the plot along. Don't have a lot of patience with difficult, unsolvable(for me) puzzles and will turn to a WT to avoid having the story spoiled by too much stuckness.
Appearance (eye candy) and atmosphere are a must.
Interesting or offbeat characters plus a little humor.
Really enjoyed the Syberia games-they have all these elements. also TLJ and Dreamfall.

I am basically a "D" person too with B in the story part. For me, I love a good story that weaves it together, but with an interesting enviroment to explore and challenging puzzles. The best part for me is the puzzles with a great enviroment. The story should make sense, but I do a lot of reading, and that is when the story is important. For games, the puzzles and exploring are paradise for me.

Thanks Becky!

ETA, But I do love most of the games on all the lists, including the crazy funny ones....go figure

Story -- Mostly B
Gamer B -- Story: The story should unfold gradually, and parts can remain in the background. Not all the plot threads need to be tied up by the game's end. The story should be told via characters, texts, puzzles, and the gameworld itself.

but also bits of others

Gamer C -- Story: ...The story should be fresh, original and deep...

Gamer D -- Story: ...If the story enhances the puzzles and makes sense of the gameworld, then it's a plus. If cut scenes or dialogs or diary/journal entries are too frequent or too long, the story has become a hindrance.

And I'd want to add that a "story" where the fourth wall is constantly being broken by a wisecracking main character is often rendered useless.
________________________________

Puzzles -- Again mostly B
Gamer B -- Puzzles: Good puzzles are innovative, don't require the gamer to undergo a lot of repetition, and are fairly clued... I like puzzles that require pattern analysis, especially the kind that involve color or sound, and I also enjoy mechanical puzzles. It's a bonus if the puzzle fits into the gameworld and story, but the cleverness of the puzzle itself is more important than how it happens to "fit in."

but also bits of D
Gamer D -- Puzzles: I like variety and innovation in puzzles, but I also like traditional puzzles, especially if they have a new "take" or are approached in a slightly different fashion. I like sliders, tone-matching, decoding ... I don't like timed puzzles -- I want to test my brain, not my reflexes, at least when playing an adventure game.
(I really don't like Tower of Hanoi because it is usually more an exercise in repetition than a real puzzle).

______________________________

Environments and Exploration -- mostly B
Gamer B -- Environments and Exploration: The environments should provide an alternate reality that's fun to explore. The more exploration the better. The environments should be eye-catching, detailed, and compelling. I like to observe the surroundings, and prefer a large environment with fewer hotspots (or a way to tell which hotspots are essential), rather than a smaller environment loaded with hotspots. Stylized graphics, cartoon-like graphics, photorealistic graphics -- they're all enjoyable. I drink it all in. The best gaming reward is a new area opening up to explore.

and parts of D

Gamer D -- Environments and Exploration: The environment should be fully integrated into the puzzles, so much so that often it IS the puzzles. ... I don't mind back-and-forthing if it's logical and adds to the challenge. Show me an environment with intricate paths, locked doors, tunnels, rail switchbacks and underwater caverns -- and I'm in paradise ...Photorealism is much (I'd say usually) preferred to cartoon-like graphics.

And what doesn't seem to be mentioned for any of the above is that I prefer colorful environments -- not necessarily brightly colored, but certainly not monochromatic.
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For Atmosphere I agree with almost everything A, B, C, and D say, except I do not think that random obstacles having "nothing" to do with the story necessarily destroys the game's atmosphere. After all, in real life if I take time out to work a Sudoku (or some other puzzle), it doesn't have anything to do with the "story" of what I do the rest of the day, but at the same time it doesn't take anything away from what sort of a day I'm having and usually enhances it by giving me a break from the norm.

I'd also stress what B said here:
"Atmospheric" is not the same thing as "dark."
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I liked
The Syberia series
The first Still Life
The first Broken Sword
The first Return to Mysterious Island
The first and second Dark Fall games
Uru
Sherlock Holmes
The first and third Monkey Islands
The first Runaway
The Myst games (especially the first three)
The RHEM series
The Schizm series (and Sentinel)

Order of importance would be

Environments and Exploration with Atmosphere (I find it hard to separate them since an interesting environment will always have some sort of atmosphere)
Puzzles
Story

Also, for comedy games like Monkey Island, I'd say Characters are usually more important than anything else.

How interesting!
Well, I'm too an hybrid, I can recognize myself in A and B, probably more B!
And it suits me fine, I like all the games of group A and B and much less the games from the other groups.
Like Bigmamma, I haven't got patience for puzzles, for me the important thing is the story and the atmosphere, puzzles for me are just an impediment to the unfolding of the story!
I loved all the Dark Fall games, TLJ, Syberia and of course all the Gabriel Knight.
:StPats:

I am definately a B Story, and B and D Puzzler..

I have been thinking on this, there are some games, that pull me into being or caring about things I normally would not, its like movies ,
the ones that are the best of the best,
then the story is as important as the Puzzles, to me,
so far, that is how Darkfall:the Souls is, its amazing, the artwork in it should win an award, this game is one of the best of the best,

anyway, so maybe its more like
Puzzles first, but Story close second, that is for the Best Games...

Marcia

Hi Becky. Hears my list.
Story = A & D
Puzzles = A
Environments & Exploration = B
Atmosphere = D

Throughout I would probably say D for every question, but some variables are close, the next most frequently close letter is B.

This is pretty accurate for what games I would like considering that my favorite adventure game series are all listed under D, and about half of the series listed in B are ones I like.

Becky's article reminded me of one I read on a indie game designer's blog about types of adventure games designers. Some really fun ideas there:

http://ghostglimpse.blogspot.com/2009/06/on-puzzle-design.html