The State of Adventure Gaming

By Randy Sluganski

Adventure Sales Figures

All sales figures were provided by PC Data and are for the month of March 2001. These sales figures do not reflect international or online sales.

To provide a point of comparison, below are the sales figures for two of the most heavily advertised nonadventure games of the year.

Curiouser and Curiouser

Our recent interview with American McGee has not only become our all-time most talked about article, but it seems that forum posters at many of the larger action-oriented sites were mortified that we were so bold as to ask difficult questions about a controversial game. Some even went so far as to anoint me an a**hole. (Now, this in itself is not a shocking revelation. After eighteen years of marriage, I often think that a**hole is my first name.) God forbid anyone inside the industry pose any questions more difficult than, "What influenced your choice of 3D engines?" But what these reactions ultimately prove is that computer and video gaming professionals need to learn to be more critical and introspective. If the industry as a whole were to exhibit more maturity and common sense, then maybe we wouldn't always find ourselves on the defensive against negative criticism from outsiders. But enough from me, it's time to let our outspoken friend Josh Mandel have the last word, for now, on this subject.

"I read with great interest (as you knew I would!) the interview with American McGee in regard to his American McGee's Alice. I was delighted to see that you were so upfront with him about the "Go Ask Alice" article, but regretful that you felt a need to imply that you had put your foot in your mouth by publishing that article. [I have since informed Josh that I was not apologizing for publishing his article, but for some remarks I had made; my apologies if anyone else thought the same.]

"Mr. McGee was quite respectful in the private emails we exchanged shortly after the article appeared. His public response, though, indicated to me that he may've misconstrued the message of my criticism. The message I attempted to convey in the article was not, 'This is going to be a bad game because it's violent, and games shouldn't be violent.' Rather, the article was saying, 'This is a game that, because of its concept and timing, will further erode the public perception of game developers.' Because I dealt with the game's concept, which was clearly spelled out in the Alice website at the time that I wrote the article, this stance was wholly supportable by the available information. Moreover, that message has nothing at all to do with how enjoyable the game may or may not be, so it shouldn't have led you to imply that you'd done a disservice by publishing the article.

"McGee says, 'I was only upset that Josh would take a negative stance towards something that he knew so little about. At the time of his article we had released only small bits of information on the game, and it seemed odd that someone could form such strong opinions about something that hardly even existed.'

"That's an odd reaction. I based my impression of the game on what EA chose to display: many pages of graphics dripping with animated blood, a rotatable animation of Alice with a carving knife and an inverted cross, and some discussion of the plot of the game and the thrust (pardon the pun) of the gameplay. I made no assumptions about the game, I used only the information provided, and I was careful to reiterate that the game was still very early in development.

"Obviously it was EA's and Rogue's intention, in creating the pre-release Alice website upon which I based the article, to create a strong positive image for the game and generate pre-release sales. To then imply that it's unfair for someone to come away with a strong negative image is hypocritical. If Mr. McGee would've preferred that I held my thoughts until after the game was released, was he equally in favor of turning down pre-orders and quashing positive buzz in the press, because those people were also making a judgment based on fragmentary early information? I sincerely doubt it. Unless the marketing and development teams at EA and Rogue were unusually holy individuals, I'm sure they eagerly soaked up as much favorable early press as possible, attempted to create more, and gladly accepted pre-orders. If EA and Rogue were willing to accept early praise and early sales, they should be equally unafraid of early criticism.

"In most regards, Mr. McGee comes across as a humble and thoughtful individual. It's refreshing to see a designer speak so respectfully of his team; I know many 'star' designers who dole out such praise grudgingly, if ever (insecurity about the value of their own contributions, I think). But if I could communicate one thought to him, it would be this: if you choose to listen to the good things people say about you, then you must also listen to the bad things they say about you ... and give them equal consideration, as free of defensiveness as possible."

Whipping Boy of the Month

You know them, and as frustrated adventure gamers calling their technical support desk and sitting on hold have discovered, you dislike them ... that's right, we're talkin' 'bout UbiSoft.

Between Stupid Invaders and now Myst 3, their PR department has already captured the "Clueless" marketing award for this year. Internal policy seems to dictate that "children should be seen and not heard," as constructive criticism concerning their inept marketing of adventure games has been met with negativity on their part and, in fact, certain high-placed individuals have asked that we not provide them with any more information concerning the wants of adventure gamers. Who cares what we want, we are sheep who will be led to slaughter.

For a heavily advertised game like Stupid Invaders to sell only 2,454 copies during the first month of release (figures provided by PC Data) is an embarrassment that can easily be explained by UbiSoft's insistence on advertising the game to nonadventure readers at Next Generation magazine and PC IGN. Though they had the European distribution rights to In Cold Blood, they passed on the North American distribution rights. One can only speculate that either they did not know how to market the game or they believed that an adventure game sans the toilet humor would not sell to Americans. By the way, In Cold Blood, which probably has one-tenth of the advertising budget of Stupid Invaders, sold 2,500 copies during the first month of release. As for Myst 3, it will sell half a million copies on name recognition alone, not because of any innovative marketing on behalf of UbiSoft, for they have neither developed nor financed the game, they only bought the company that put the sweat into the product.

I wish I could inform you of the botched distribution process for the review copies for Myst 3: Exile, but I would then have to betray confidences. I can tell you that major magazines and websites are screaming bloody murder over the ineptness of a company that sent advance review copies of Myst 3 to outlets geared towards an action-oriented fanbase (PC IGN, Gamespot) and ignored many sites and publications that have shown strong support for the adventure genre.

We have yet to even mention their unbelievable marketing decision to release the localized European version of Myst 3 at least four months after the North American release, a marketing blunder that has alienated their European fanbase. The delay is probably a blessing in disguise, though, for, as American adventure gamers are discovering, a major gaming company has once again foregone quality control in favor of the almighty dollar.

Yep, the biggest adventure release of the year is a nightmare to install, and gamers across the newsgroups and forums are speaking volumes. From the official support FAQ for Exile:

Q. I have problems when installing or trying to play the game. The game prompts me for a CD, but it doesn't recognize that the disk it is looking for is already in the drive?

The problem seems to be as a result of CDROM drive letter assignment. If you have one or more CDROM drives assigned to letters higher than H:, you will need to reassign the drive letter to something lower. The best configuration should be the next available drive letter. For example, if your hard drive is letter C:, try changing your CDROM drive letter to D:. If you have more then one hard drive, change the CDROM drive to the next available drive letter. The object is to make your CDROM drive letter as low as possible.

To change your drive letter assignment:

1. Right-click on you're my Computer icon and choose Properties.
2. Click on the Device Manager Tab and Double Click on CDROM.
3. Double-click on your CDROM drive and click on the settings Tab.
4. Make a note of your current drive letter assignment. Using the Start and End Drive Letter drop down boxes, select the lowest available drive letter for both.
5. Click OK and restart your computer.
6. Once your computer comes back up, Myst III should run without problems.

*NOTE*
Changing your CDROM drive letter may prevent other installed programs from working properly. The Myst development team is aware of this problem and is working on a better fix for this issue.

Well, that's a simple solution--not. UbiSoft's answer: we will release a patch on our website. My question: why wasn't the game released in a playable state?

There are also other minor problems being reported: an inability to exit from the game, system crashes, and soundcard incompatibility. The consumers complaining now are hardcore gamers who know how to work around some of these inconveniences, but what will happen when the general public faces these problems? Thousands of returns, that is what will happen. If ever a company was in need of a clue ...

All That Glitters Is Not Gold --Or Is It?

Strange things began to happen last month after we posted our review of the long-awaited Gilbert Goodmate and the Mushroom of Phungoria. Emails from the game's developers arrived accusing us of reviewing an unfinished beta version; which I thought peculiar since our copy clearly had "Master Submission" stamped across the cover. There was clearly no doubt in my mind that we had the version of Gilbert Goodmate that was intended to be sold to the public, sans the fancy retail packaging. This is when the story gets interesting.

Yes, we did review the gold master, or final version, of Gilbert Goodmate, but in a gutsy business decision that I believe is unprecedented in the industry, the game's developers responded to criticism that had been directed toward the game and resolved to correct the problems by remastering the final version of the game. So now when the new and improved version of Gilbert Goodmate is released, some small bugs will have been corrected, much extraneous dialogue will have been cut, and Gilbert's walking speed will have been increased. Kudos to the developers for improving a game after the gold master had already been pressed, especially when too many larger publishers won't hesitate to release a buggy product that later needs to be patched.

Now, in response to the over 1,400 readers who have already downloaded the Gilbert Goodmate demo, many of whom have asked for information on how to order this game: Gilbert Goodmate and the Mushroom of Phungoria will be published in the UK on June 8th by FastTrak Software Publishing Ltd at a price of £29.99 and can be delivered worldwide. The official Gilbert Goodmate website is now up and running providing product information, latest news, and an active adventure community.

E3--Small-Breasted Women Need Not Apply

Just Adventure will once again be the only adventure site represented at the E3. We will be there in full force, as Cindy K, Ray, and I will be sifting through the noise and the booth babes in search of the misplaced adventure game (I have volunteered to personally frisk every single booth babe in search of adventure games).

Since Just Adventure will not have a "war room" on the E3 floor, don't be surprised when some of the smaller sites publish "scoops" before JA, as they will appropriate their "exclusive" updates from the news wires and software web sites. As for us, we have meetings scheduled with Arxel, Cryo, Dreamcatcher, Electronic Arts, Her Interactive, Konami, LucasArts, and Sega, among others, and after the convention, rest assured that we will have more adventure-related interviews, news items, and inside stories than you could wish for in your wildest dreams. In fact, we have just lined up an exclusive interview with Charles Cecil to talk about his upcoming Broken Sword 3.

Now, just to prove that we strut our stuff for good reason, here's a tidbit to whet your appetite: Microids will be showing exclusive screenshots to JA and announcing the production of Amerzone 2 at this year's E3.

Are There Any Naked, Gun-Toting Bunnies in Your Game?

A developer would have to be out of his mind to attempt to produce a mature game directed toward intelligent adults. Nary an American publisher will touch a product unless there is bloodshed aplenty or cute little animals hopping around. So why would Rob Landeros and Dave Wheeler, the creative geniuses behind Tender Loving Care, The 7th Guest, and The 11th Hour, once again attempt to broach the adult marketplace with their new full-motion-video game, Point of View? According to Rob:

"We're in that strange twilight zone between movies and games, adult and youth entertainment. The game company creatives, and some within the media, admire and appreciate what we do. Several of my friends working for game companies express envy for the kind of projects we create for ourselves to work on. But management and marketing won't go for it. As far as they're concerned, TLC and PoV are marketing nightmares. And to an extent, they're right. They wouldn't know how to begin to sell a product outside their regular fare."

If you are one of the thousands who enjoyed Tender Loving Care, do yourself a favor and visit the PoV website and show publishers that we do want some variety in our games.

That's Me in the G-String

Those who like a little skin with their adventure games need look no further than the May issue of Maxim magazine (or you could just go here). For those who lead a sheltered life, Maxim is a toned-down version of Playboy aimed at the 17-to-25-year-old male. Never did I imagine that Just Adventure would be featured in a major publication that worships nude female celebrities, but I guess that's the price I pay for hiring such sexy female adventure reporters (little do they know that part of the deal for our mention was that they will participate in an "Adventure Gamers at the Beach" photo shoot).

In the interest of equal time, we understand that we are next to be featured in Blue Boy. Note to Tom, Ray, Adam, Eric, and Matt: you may want to start working on those tans.

We Don't Want Your Steenkin' Money

What in the hell is the matter with you people? We are giving away $1,000 cash and only four readers have entered the contest! All you have to do is download the Time Warrior 2 demo and then answer one simple question. You don't even have to play the entire demo or order the game (though it would be nice if you were to show support for small developers by purchasing Time Warrior 2). Over 1,100 readers have already downloaded the demo, but for reasons I can't even begin to fathom, only four readers have entered the contest.

Believe me, if I weren't prohibited from entering, I would already have about 20 submissions using multiple email addresses and aliases (don't tell the Time Warrior 2 people I said that). Are Just Adventure readers all independently wealthy, or do you have sugar daddies buying you every new adventure release? We give away a game with a retail value of $19.99 and we get 800 entries; we give away $1,000 cash and no one cares. You people are really being difficult (and, yes, I know that the contest is only open to U.S. and Canadian residents).

Why Doesn't Anyone Ever Remake Bloodwings or MTV's Club Dead?

Normally, for obvious legal reasons, we refuse to publicize fan sites that have created adventure games based on copyrighted characters. Personally, I believe that the creation of these games is further proof that publishers are still not hearing the buying public and instead are sucked into the misconceptions propagated by the action-oriented gaming magazines. But are you going too far when you publicly acknowledge the remake of a classic game like King's Quest 1, as Tierra Entertainment claims to be doing?

We asked Roberta Williams, former owner of Sierra, for her thoughts:

"‘New' people are not able to experience the older games whereas older books, movies, etc. are available. Actually, I think it's a shame; a computer game designer's work only has a short time span for people to enjoy it ... and then it's gone. Whereas the work of book authors, or movie actors/directors, or singers/bands can seemingly go on forever. I suppose that part of the reason is that with computer games, technology is an issue that those other mediums don't have to contend with as much ... I guess I would care if these people would somehow denigrate my past work and/or try to ruin my reputation. As long as they are not doing that, I should take this as a compliment."

We will keep you updated.

That's Me in the G-String--Part 2

In late May/early June, we will be featuring what we believe will be the world's first live 3D adventure chat room. Sponsored by Cryonetworks, our 3D chat room will be allow you to enter a time machine that will then transport you to the Middle Ages. Once there, you can choose your avatar and wander around a medieval atmosphere as you interact with gamers from around the world. The more adventurous will want to scan a headshot to put upon their avatar's shoulders. From the various rooms of the 3D world, you will be able to view demos, link to the JAVE and other JA features, and chat live with another gamer.

Take a look at the fabulous screenshots we have provided below, and then, if you are still not interested, you don't have a pulse.

Serverice with a Smile

As Just Adventure's popularity has grown, the small servers we have been using have had difficulties supporting our increased readership. As of June, we finally will have all of our adventure gaming goodness--Just Adventure, the JAVE, and the JA Forum--on one dedicated server so we will no longer be afflicted with the downtime and server crashes that have become so commonplace over the past four months. In fact, we will be utilizing the same company as Ziff-Davis, so if we do go down, we're taking Gamespot with us.

Don't Touch That Dial!

On Sunday, July 8, from 3 pm to 5 pm, your fondest wish will come true. That's right, you'll once again be soothed by the melodious musings of my voluptuous vocal cords as I appear live, coast-to-coast, on Dave Graveline's Into Tomorrow radio show. For our overseas fans who cannot wait an extra week for the international broadcast of the show, it can also be viewed live on the Internet so not only will you be able to hear me, but you can see me also! Oh, how I envy you!

My, You Have a Big Stinger

I can't yet mention a name, but I have recently had some wonderful telephone conversations with the most famous name in adventure gaming--S ... oops, I almost gave it away. Anyhow, we will soon be publishing an interview with Sc ... dang, it's hard not say that name ... and are even speaking with Sco ... sorry ... about a possible monthly feature for Just Adventure. I know this one is pretty hard to figure out, so here is another clue: back in the days when gaming magazines actually cared about adventure gamers, Scor ... man, it's hard to not say that name ... used to write a monthly column on adventure gaming and was in many ways an inspiration for Just Adventure.

On a totally unrelated note, has anyone yet seen The Mummy Returns? I was just wondering about that new character--The Scorpia-n King. Does anyone know when the WCW is scheduled to return to television? My favorite wrestler was Sting. I love it when he takes down his opponent with his Scorpia-n Splash move. Did you know that when you go to the beach ...

Red Herrings--Odds and Ends Until Next Time

Don't look for Simon 3D to be released anytime soon. Rumor has it that much fine-tuning is needed before we see this comedy of errors.

Riven had the largest returns-to-purchase ratio of any game in history. Will Myst 3 suffer the same fate since UbiSoft thought it wise to heavily advertise Exile in magazines and sites with a predominantly male readership in the 17-to-25-year-old range? On the other hand, if Myst 3 is an unqualified success, will the gaming magazines blame Exile for the newest death of the adventure genre if there are numerous poorly designed Myst 3 clones? Why don't these same magazines ever point a finger at Doom or Quake when the innumerable cheaply made first-person shooters are released?