Is it just me or is it getting quiet on JA these days...

Seriously?  This is place is dead compared to how it used to be.   Mind you, in the old days there would be several big games released each year and lots of young people chatting away.  The games have changed and the young folk have grown up and moved on.   The nature of gaming and chatting on the internet has changed now too.

Originally Posted By Caroline (21 MAR 2012 10:45pm)

Seriously?  This is place is dead compared to how it used to be.   Mind you, in the old days there would be several big games released each year and lots of young people chatting away.  The games have changed and the young folk have grown up and moved on.   The nature of gaming and chatting on the internet has changed now too. 

yes indeed, but i think the way internet has changed is the biggest reason why it's quieter around here these days.

There're many more platforms where you can discuss games then before like many discussion boards of digital stores that didn't exist +/- 5 years ago (Steam, GOG, Origin,...) and social websites like facebook.

Almost every interactive website has a comment section these days

I see this happenning on every forum i visit daily, post counts are dropping, almost no new members subscribing.

A few of them already have closed down entirely, i really hope this never happens to this board

I don't know if the number of posts on the MAIN Forum ("Adventure Game Discussion") has diminished appreciably - has anybody got reliable verifiable statistics on this ?

After all, Just **ADVENTURE** exists fundamentally for that purpose - does it not ?

The Off Topic Forum may be quieter, chit chats are now *VERY MUCH* more prolific on Facebook and Twitter etc. than they used to be a year or two ago - and that includes movies, TV shows, books, radio broadcasts, music, amateur snapshots, etc., etc. 

You don't need to go to JA any more for a surfeit of those activities !!

I haven't played an adventure game in a while, so I've not much to contribute along those lines. I come here for the familiar company and to keep up with new games in case there is something I might like. I must say that miss the old forum and our regulars seemed to have diminished in numbers. 

I’ve noticed it too. I even thought about posting the same question. The Just Adventure forum used to be my main treat of the day, the place I would visit several times a day back in early 2000. It makes me feel sad that those days are gone.

I’ve asked myself why I don’t visit as often and have come up with these answers:

1. There are not any adventure games on the market that I want to play now. Or, at least the ones I enjoyed like Syberia, The Longest Journey, Grim Fandango, or Riven. I used to check and look forward to new games coming out, now I don’t even check to see what’s new.

2. I miss Randy. He loved adventure games, and his energy kept the forum alive.

3. I miss all the hard core adventure players who participated on the forum back then who have moved on.

4. CYAN Worlds energized the adventure game market back 2000 also. Some people hated Myst games, but CYAN still created millions of adventure players regardless of how you felt about their games. CYAN’s influence on the adventure game market has faded since they stopped making new adventure games.

5. I’ve always enjoyed the exploring part of adventure games more than the puzzles. I played on-line URU for a time, but got (I feel like a traitor saying it) bored because there was no new content. I then started playing Second Life and found that I could explore a new area of their world every night. I visit Second Life every night now. It sort of filled my adventure game needs. I made friends there and it’s fun to meet people and explore together or just hangout at our favorite places and talk.

I will say that Second Life does not fill all my adventure game needs, and that if there were games like Syberia, The Longest Journey, Grim Fandango, or Riven on the market today, I would start playing them again. (Although playing alone might be a bit lonely now that I’m used to being with other players on-line.)

Anyway, those are some of the reasons why I don’t visit or participate as often on JA.

The activity on this board has always waxed and waned.  As soon as the weather gets warmer, people tend to spend more time outside and less time in front of their computers.  Also, people do move on as life situations change.  Attending college, new jobs, growing families, moves to new locations, health problems, etc., can contribute to fewer leisure hours spent on games and/or chatting and writing about them.  I agree that the easy access to "general chat" places probably has had an impact, but personally, I prefer a board like this one that's dedicated to discussing all kinds of games.

Originally Posted By Lady Kestrel (22 MAR 2012 11:28am)

As soon as the weather gets warmer, people tend to spend more time outside and less time in front of their computers.

Don't be silly dear, it is in fact only March.

Seriously, this is really crazy though, at least around here. 

Nothing is static in this world of ours. In Physics the Law of Entropy states that all physical matter changes and always in the direction of degeneration. In some respects, if not all maybe, the same applies to us and to life in general

Whatever ! Everything changes. People change as Lady Kestrel so rightly pointed out, events change, institutions change.
As one  matures, one's favourite family doctor retires; one's dentist moves to another town; lawyer, bookkeper, or accountant (if anybody engages such characters) dies... and so on.
We adjust to such changes - nothing lasts forever - certainly not ourselves.

I agree that most Quest/Adventures today are not what they used to be - or is it us the veteran gamers who are not what we used to be, or both ???

Nevertheless over the past say couple of years there have been some EXCELLENT games, albeit not the block-busters of yore but just the same vey enjoyable games.
We have to read several reviews from different people who have different tastes and pay attention to comments by forumites before sorting out the best from the mediocre. But unless one is an extraordinarily fast player (and maybe using helps & hints & walkthru's so freely and  easily available via the NET), there should be enough good games to fill whatever playing time most folk have available !

Originally Posted By CB (22 MAR 2012 2:11pm)

Originally Posted By Lady Kestrel (22 MAR 2012 11:28am)

As soon as the weather gets warmer, people tend to spend more time outside and less time in front of their computers.

 

Don't be silly dear, it is in fact only March.

 

Seriously, this is really crazy though, at least around here. 

 

 

I'm sitting in 89-degree heat right now. That's inside my house. Even though it's March, summer has arrived here.

It's 68°F. here in NJ.  Spring has definitely sprung!  My forsythia bushes are in full bloom.

It's been steadily 85 degrees here in Alabama and that's just crazy for this time of year. Anyway, I'm glad to be back adventuring again. Black Mirror 2 currently. Significantly through Gray Matter as well but lost a hard drive so have to start over. I've even managed to clue in a couple of co-workers to adventure gaming. Keep spreading the word.

To Lady Kestrel

Spring is sprung
The grass is riz
I wonder where the boidies iz
They say the boid is on the wing
but that's abzoid
The wing is on the boid

Originally Posted By Lady Kestrel (22 MAR 2012 4:24pm)

It's 68°F. here in NJ.  Spring has definitely sprung!  My forsythia bushes are in full bloom.

Likewise here in PA. And something new seems to start blooming everyday. It's weird to see this in March, but I like it!

Originally Posted By Caroline (21 MAR 2012 10:45pm)

Seriously?   

Remember I've only been on the forum since last March - 1 year now, so I have very little perspective. I've visited JA+ for the game previews/reviews 10+ however, so I *do* notice the overall decline in AG activity, but I was curious about the forum banter. A year ago one could spend quite a while perusing unread threads. Now it can be days between new posts. There seems to be more activity in the RPG section, though not being a devote, I don't benefit much from that.

GOOD FOR YOU .... Val

Hi Len! Long time, no talk!

Originally Posted By tincup2 (22 MAR 2012 7:04pm)

Originally Posted By Caroline (21 MAR 2012 10:45pm)

Seriously?   

 

Remember I've only been on the forum since last March - 1 year now, so I have very little perspective. I've visited JA+ for the game previews/reviews 10+ however, so I *do* notice the overall decline in AG activity, but I was curious about the forum banter. A year ago one could spend quite a while perusing unread threads. Now it can be days between new posts. There seems to be more activity in the RPG section, though not being a devote, I don't benefit much from that.

 

I feel that RPGs have taken part of the adventure game markert. A good CRPG can offer a similar experience to a good adventure game, i.e. a strong story, interesting characters, and good puzzles (just look at planescape, which has a story so good that people often quote it as one of the pinnacles of storytelling, up there with some of the best books). Looking at the user base, there is quite an overlap, a lot of people here love CRPGs, and over at RPGwatch, it is not uncommon to see people talk about adventure games. 

I think it was Ron Gilbert who said that it is not so much that adventure games sell worse these days than during their golden days, but rather that most other genres sell better, and that is why we don't have any major companies creating adventure games anymore (though the indie scene is going strong). The problem here is that we get no major release to rally around (like CRPG-lovers got around Skyrim, Mass Effect and Dragon Age). A big release like that can really revitalize a slow genre.

But at least things are going better for adventure games than turnbased strategy

And in regards to temperature: Here in Sweden (around Stockholm) we have over 10C during the day. Quite pleasant actually, I've always enjoyed spring a lot more than summer becuase of the lower temperature. 

80's here in Ohio, way to early for this kind of weather, I dont like it myself. Its been an unusually warm winter here and in alot of the US. Im a little scared it will be a heat wave summer and I absolutely hate that.

 Anyhoo, I dont always post but I check in and read at least several times a week if not more. And yeah I agree that the wamrer weather may have a little to do with the quiet around here but I also think FB has helped put a crimp in things. And they offer all those games now so I think alot of people that never really even played games play them now. They can pass the time while waiting for friends to show up. I even log in there several times a day to play that dang words with friends

 I do prefer forums like this.

Basically we had no winter here in the northest, and it looks like we're headed for a speed-spring into summer. Weird, but it's been getting more and more like this the last 10 years or so. Enjoyed the mists and fog out on the beach today - before it turned into a spectacular sunny 70's day. Put my toes in the water and it wasn't even particularly cold. full

Originally Posted By Val (22 MAR 2012 7:31pm)

Hi Len! Long time, no talk!

How are you and your family. I don't know if you remember me but I used to be Valadmin and the JA+ webmistress.

Val? Valadmin? No, can't seem to recall. Nope, I'm sure, don't remember that name. She must have been here just for a very short time. Certainly she couldn't have been around during the high-flying days of JA, when fur was flying and P&R was full of highly intelligent, deeply thought out, movingly presented and always correct points of view by, of course, myself. I'm sure I would have remembered someone called Val otherwise. It's a mystery.

(I think I can speak for all of us that we've really missed you around here Val. Always a class act even during some of the more difficult times.)

The weather here always drops or rises 10degrees with the equinox.  It's almost as if Mother Nature has her own timetable for doing things regardless of whether we have daylight saving or not.     So things are cooling down now and becoming very pleasant.

Here's a few names I recall, off the top of my head.

Monkeybone, DomBrewer, Scout, Grin, Stammer, Sennebec, Facfac, Pastor Disaster, Wimli, Elfsone, Friday 13th, Bicardijim, Gail, DimiDimiDimi, Ksandra, Michal, Solo22, Betje, Val (who has just reappeared),  Petter Holmberg, Ogre and some who definitely won' be returning: Anne, Daryl, Michelle.   There are quite a few other names that drift about on the edge of my consciousness that I can't remember but which I'd know if I saw them but these were regulars in the Off Topic forum in 2003.

A short while ago, some members were grumbling about TOO MANY posts and hijacking the original topic of the thread.

Now some are complaining about TOO FEW posts and the  quietness.
And the interesting topic has rapidly ben pirated into the fascinating one of the weather.

Originally Posted By Val (22 MAR 2012 7:31pm)

Hi Len! Long time, no talk!

How are you and your family. I don't know if you remember me but I used to be Valadmin and the JA+ webmistress.

Having taught Physics for more years than I care to remember, you would have thought that I would be pretty good at maths. But it seems that I'm not capable of putting 2 and 2 together.
*OF COURSE* I remember you Val(admin) - how could I forget after so many years?
*****  How are you and all your family. It's good to see you again on the new/renewed JA.
I wonder how you like & react to the quite extensive changes !
*****  Our family are fine (crossing my fingers - new additions 1 great-granddaughter and 1/2 a great-grandson).
*****  I'm doing fine in the last quarter of my 80's - well not quite so fine due to advancing AMD (Age related macular degeneration) - but compared to too many of our family and friends I can't & don't complain !

Originally Posted By Fnord (22 MAR 2012 7:42pm)

I feel that RPGs have taken part of the adventure game markert. A good CRPG can offer a similar experience to a good adventure game, i.e. a strong story, interesting characters, and good puzzles (just look at planescape, which has a story so good that people often quote it as one of the pinnacles of storytelling, up there with some of the best books). Looking at the user base, there is quite an overlap, a lot of people here love CRPGs, and over at RPGwatch, it is not uncommon to see people talk about adventure games. 

In my opinion RPG's are telling better stories because they allow more interaction from the user perspective.

The whole AG genre seems stuck in a diffent gaming era, that was popular 10 years ago.

Most AG's play like an interactive movie or book, whereas modern RPG's allow for much more interaction by adding  branching storylines, multiple endings and offer much bigger worlds to explore. 

But in order to create such things, you need a much bigger budget for AG's, maybe one day the developers will re-invent the genre