History Main / AdventureGame

Because Adventure Games are [[TheQuest story-based]], what they [[JigsawPuzzlePlot lack in body-count]] they can make up for with suspense. Indeed, [[HaveANiceDeath the primary death toll]] [[TheManyDeathsOfYou in such a game is You]]. The typical Adventure Game is framed around [[GuideDangIt an elaborate]], even [[DoingItForTheArt novelistic plot]] which the player must [[{{Railroading}} proceed through]] by trying to [[BeAsUnhelpfulAsPossible get information out of]] non-player characters and [[ConspicuouslyLightPatch collect any items]] you [[NoticeThis come across]] that [[ItMayHelpYouOnYourQuest May Help You On Your Quest]]. (These are all Adventure Game tropes, by the way.)

* ''VideoGame/Whateverland''

* ''Softporn Adventure'' (later remade as Leisure Suit Larry, as seen below)

* ''VideoGame/DisneyDreamlightValley''[[note]]first released in early access release on September 6, 2022[[/note]] (a hybrid of this and a LifeSimulationGame)

* ''VideoGame/AITheSomniumFilesNirvanaInitiative''

* ''VideoGame/{{Journey}}''

Fully 3D Adventure Games are rare, but the ActionAdventure game format has become increasingly common. Fully 3D pure-Adventure games include ''[[VideoGame/GabrielKnight Gabriel Knight 3]]'' and ''VideoGame/GrimFandango''. Many of the older franchises tried the [[VideoGame3DLeap jump to 3D]] in the late 90s and 2000s [[PolygonCeiling with generally little success]]. The added development costs meeting stagnating or degrading sales caused the end of many a celebrated franchise. Furthermore like most genre, Adventure games of the era had to learn how to use the new medium well, dealing with issues that plague other genres like figuring camera controls. With the growth of ActionAdventure genre, many of the old franchises also went with {{Actionized Sequel}}s, leading to games (such as ''VideoGame/KingsQuestMaskOfEternity'' and ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryV'') who not only had to juggle the transition to 3D but also whole new action mechanics, often leading to unpopular results.

Games which incorporate substantial or exclusive use of Full Motion Video and photorealistic images. While this seemed like a natural pairing, the added cost of filming a movie on top of making a videogame meant that a lot of time one was watching a poorly acted, poorly shot movie. Furthermore storage space at the time while increasing was a concern so those movies were often heavily compressed and interlace. Rigid scene structure and the underlying technology also often meant interactivity was minimal. By the time that it was feasible to do such games properly, the whole notion had left a bad taste in players' mouths. Examples: ''VideoGame/{{Phantasmagoria}}'', ''Gabriel Knight 2'', and ''VideoGame/TheXFilesGame''. Other examples of this are the 1998 VisualNovel ''{{VisualNovel/Yarudora}}'' series, the 1998 ''VisualNovel/DancingBladeKatteNiMomotenshi'' series by {{Creator/Konami}}, and the 2005 DatingSim ''VisualNovel/SchoolDays'' and its sequel ''Summer Days'', which are essentially branching {{anime}} movies, and the recent ''VideoGame/{{Fahrenheit}}''/''Indigo Prophecy'', which even featured interactive action scenes through [[ActionCommands Quick Time Events]].
** One notable ''failed'' Interactive Movie was Any River Entertainment's ''A Fork in the Tale''. Reviewed by PC Gamer, the magazine was quick to point out the low production values, relative lack of interactivity, and the game's incomprehensible storyline. Any River shut down shortly before the game's release. This format was one of the first kind of adventure game to have many titles on consoles. Particularly early CD-based consoles where the sudden increase in storage space from cartridges meant movie could be easily compressed and the controls were simple. Some even made their way to DVD players, where the simple controls made them relatively easily playable.