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Ad-ven'ture Game--The Definition
By Adam Rodman
Adventure gaming is the topic of Just Adventure, but what is it, anyway? Well, in order to synthesize a proper definition, I pulled out my handy Webster's New World Pocket Dictionary, Second Edition and got crackin' ...
ad-ven'ture n - 1. dangerous undertaking 2. exciting experience
game n - 1. amusement or sport with competing players 2. wild animals hunted for sport
An adventure game certainly isn't dangerous, so the best definition for adventure is number two. I'm also pretty sure that playing an adventure game does not involve wild animals, so the best definition for adventure game (from the definitions of adventure and game) is:
ad-ven'ture game n - an exciting amusement or sport with competing players
That's a pretty broad definition. It could be referring to a friendly game of soccer or a bowling tournament. As we all know (hopefully), an adventure game is played on a:
com-put'er n - an electronic machine that rapidly calculates or correlates data
Factoring that into the definition, we get:
ad-ven'ture game n - an exciting amusement or sport with competing players played on a computer
There are some critical problems with this definition. One: unless you consider mouse clicking or keyboard tapping a form of strenuous entertainment, adventure gaming is not a sport. Two: most adventure games are single player. So, the modified definition is:
ad-ven'ture game n - an exciting amusement played by a single person on a computer
This could be referring to an adventure game, just as easily as it could be referring to Doom, Minesweeper, or Fly! This brings up a big question--what makes an adventure game different from other computer games? Most people will agree that an adventure game:
1. Is not combat-based,
2. Is focused on character development, and
3. Has a universal goal.
Unfortunately, not all adventure games fit these rules. Myst, for example, has absolutely no character development, and Redjack: Revenge of the Brethren has a lot of combat. But, for the most part, adventure games have those three attributes. Considering this, the definition for adventure gaming would be:
ad-ven'ture game n - a genre of computer entertainment that is centered around a character with a universal goal and is not combat-based
Voila! So I have discovered the definition of adventure gaming. Don't be surprised if the Third Edition of the Webster's New World Pocket Dictionary has this definition in it.