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A Recipe For The Perfect Next-Gen Adventure Game

An article by elTee, posted on July 29. 2004.

Adventure games need to change if they are to survive � Gabez has shown this in his recent articles. I've been reading them, and following on from his suggestions I've created what I think is the perfect set of game styles to create the ultimate NGA � next-generation adventure.

The Gameworld
The gameworld is the playable area in the game as a whole. For example, the Secret of Monkey Island gameworld is a network of inter-connecting 2D static images, with 2D sprites overlayed (a sprite is a 2D animation, such as a character � like Guybrush. It is laid on top of the background, and when animates looks to actually be there, creating the illusion of the game.) The Escape from Monkey Island gameworld looks the same as this, but slightly more complex � the same inter-connecting 2D images are there, albeit slightly more high-tech than its predecessors, but there is a fundamental difference. There are no 2D sprites � no pre-animated sequences that are played out according to what you do. Instead, the computer has created a totally 3D environment, with a real-time 3D mesh, or character, which animates according to what you tell it to do. The NGA would need to improve on both of these kinds of gameworld.

Half of TSB team are alread drooling Beyond Good & Evil fanboys. You should be too.

So, we have our gameworld � 3D. What does this mean for Monkey Island? Well, the next game would have complete islands. You'd be able to explore every nook and cranny, not just jump from "area" to "area." So there's a 2 mile walk from Melee town to Stan's � so what? You have to walk it, every step of the way. Remember that top-down, bird's eye view of Melee Island? How much jungle and forest is there, on that island?? And how much of it do we get to see? Why can't we wander off into the forest if we want to? And this means we would finally get to fully realise the Monkey Island world. I certainly can't imagine playing Windwaker without being able to fully explore every single acre of every single island, the way I want to and from the viewpoint I want to. Is it really so hard to make an adventure game in this way? Of course not.

Gameplay
Basically, this is how you would play the game. Every Monkey Island game thus far has had the same kind of gameplay � fixed-camera-third-person. Simply, this is to say that you only ever get to see the action from set vantage points, and you view the game as a total spectator. If someone creeps up behind Guybrush, we see it happen � but Guybrush doesn't. This style has allowed for some great comedy in the games so far, and is very visual � almost like watching a movie. But this doesn't mean that an NGA would have to be this way to succeed. Many games these days are played from a behind-the-character viewpoint. This way, the camera is situated directly behind the main character at all times, and we see the action as more-or-less through his eyes. The best method combines both of these styles � like Super Mario 64, or Little Big Adventure 2. In these games, you can position the camera with ease and play from the set viewpoint you decide. But, at any point where the viewpoint becomes obscured, or simply unappealing to the eye, it can be changed by the gamer. In console games, this invariably involves using the secondary analogue stick, and this can be the same on the PC if you have a nice controller to play the game with. Little Big Adventure 2, being a PC game, also came up with a simple solution � the game was played from fixed views, like with the Monkey Island games, but whenever you wanted to you could press the "enter" button, and the camera would suddenly revert to a position immediately behind the main character, and you would thus have a new fixed-vantage point.

For the kind of game I'm suggesting, a fixed camera behind the character would be most appropriate, but with a "first-person" perspective. This means, at the press of a button, the view would change to what the character can see, and by moving around using the mouse or control pad, you would be moving the characters head, thus enabling you to look at anything that catches your eye in closer detail. Now we have our camera system and 3D gameworld. So we can move around the island as we please, and look at anything we want from any angle we please. Now, introducing some commands to the character that simply weren't possible in a 2D environment, we can make it possible for Guybrush to scale small walls, and jump over small gaps. Nothing superhuman, of course, just feats well within the capabilities of the human body. This adds an extra layer of realism to the game, because it's really annoying when you're stuck in an adventure game and the puzzle involves finding a key to a gate � when looking at it, you know in real life you could have a good attempt at climbing over the gate anyway.

Fighting

Most mainstream gamers consider games like Zelda adventure games. Is it time for Monkey Island to Think Different^TM.

Fighting would be recommended though, as if you won the swordfight you would be able to rob the other pirate of his gold, and increase your swordfighting reputation. This swordfighting reputation would vary depending on how many fights you have, and how many you win. If you're good enough to win lots of fights, your reputation would spread to the towns on the island, and some puzzles would become easier. For example, if you need to buy a spade, a possible dialogue line could be "I'll take it for 20 pieces of eight, or else I'll run ya through!" If your reputation was, for example, "legendary", the shopkeeper would perhaps think better than to argue with you, and sell it for 20 pieces of eight. If, however, your ability is only "able", then the shopkeeper would be less afraid of your threat and reply "you don't scare me, the price is 50 pieces of eight, plus another 20 for yer insolence!" This adds something of an RPG element to the game, and allows players to compare with their friends. This could also be extended to a possible multi-player scenario � perhaps a two-player fighting game on consoles, or on the PC a fully 3D world with several islands and other pirates, where you could set up crews or simply be a wandering rogue. In this online version, the puzzle and plot elements would be removed, the only aim being to have fun walking around the pirate world and fighting other pirates. Alternatively, this swordfighting reputation could be an optional feature, for those who dislike RPG's.

Puzzles and Talking
Well, so far the game sounds exactly like a typical action game, with no elements of the adventure game we are used to with Monkey Island. However, this would all change as you enter the towns. In the towns, there would be no combat, as they would be policed. (Possibly, some towns could be un-policed a la Scabb Island, where combat could occur.) Guybrush would have an inventory, just like in the previous games, and most important of all the branching dialogue would be present. This means, in conversation with other characters the lines of dialogue you choose will affect the game. In normal adventure games, like Zelda and Beyond Good and Evil, the dialogue is strictly linear. You can only say what the game wants you to or nothing at all. In the NGA this wouldn't be the case. If you are rude, peoples attitude towards you changes and you may have to find an alternative way to solving a puzzle. One example is this: Guybrush needs to find a bucket. There is one in a shop, but it's very expensive, and he might need to save his money for another purchase. However, if he's rude to the shopkeeper, he will refuse to sell it. If Guybrush looks around the island though, he'll find that there's another bucket hidden in a bush. So now, either he's been rude and been denied the ability to purchase the bucket, thus being forced to look elsewhere for one, or he's found one in his normal exploration of the island and managed to save some of his money by not having to buy it. To add a greater depth of non-linearity, perhaps the bucket that Guybrush finds has a hole in it, and needs fixing. This way there are effectively two solutions to the puzzle � the easy, expensive one, or the tricky but cost-effective one. This would also have the effect of making the game more difficult for those who swordfight less � the more you swordfight, the more money you win. Thus, if you don't like swordfighting and choose not to do it unless forced to, you might not have enough money to buy certain items in the game. This would force you to solve puzzles in another way, which would presumably be more suited to the gamer that dislikes the fighting element, as it would be more like a traditional adventure game.

Vehicles

Beyond Good & Evil has full vehicle support. Did we mention we love this game?

Conclusion
Well, there it is. It's not the definitive combination � some of you will love this game plan, and some will despise it � but as far as I'm concerned, this makes for the perfect NGA. Games like Zelda have lots of combat, but it isn't a chore � the combat system is well tuned and a joy to use. Furthermore, these games tell a great story, just like Monkey Island games. However, there are no real puzzles � nothing complicated, with an inventory where items can be combined to create new items. You can't investigate your options by "using" an item on a game object, and it's extremely linear. On the other hand, games like Monkey Island have great puzzles and dialogue, but a flat, relatively un-interactive gameworld. Travelling from place to place is more a case of watching Guybrush walk than actually taking him there yourself. I think the combination of these two genres in the way I've described would make for a really exciting and enjoyable game, one that I would certainly love to play.

         

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