Adventure game

An adventure game is a <a href="/facts/Video_game_genre/yHpBg0aK">video game genre</a> in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an <a href="/facts/Interactive_storytelling/2fpMaBr8">interactive story</a>, driven by exploration and/or <a href="/facts/Puzzle_video_game/QqHU7Eqp">puzzle-solving</a>. The <a href="/facts/Video_game_genres/yHpBg0aK">genre</a>'s focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other <a href="/facts/Narrative/RIVoxJpV">narrative</a>-based media, such as <a href="/facts/Literature/CmUDxokU">literature</a> and <a href="/facts/Film/wM3b9Kk3">film</a>, encompassing a wide variety of genres. Most adventure games (<a href="/facts/List_of_text-based_computer_games/AHnxb3Na">text</a> and <a href="/facts/List_of_graphic_adventure_games/8lY7lmhS">graphic</a>) are designed for a single player, since the emphasis on story and character makes multiplayer design difficult. <a href="/facts/Colossal_Cave_Adventure/KQgvmdcJ">Colossal Cave Adventure</a> is identified by Rick Adams as the first such adventure game, first released in 1976, while other notable adventure game series include <a href="/facts/Zork/foP222ad">Zork</a>, <a href="/facts/King%27s_Quest/V9MzVdw5">King's Quest</a>, <a href="/facts/Monkey_Island/8n3X9I5q">Monkey Island</a>, <a href="/facts/Syberia/LSTnDjCf">Syberia</a>, and <a href="/facts/Myst/PJ1ApNlr">Myst</a>.
Adventure games were initially developed in the 1970s and early 1980s as text-based interactive stories, using text parsers to translate the player's commands into actions. As personal computers became more powerful with better graphics, the graphic adventure-game format became popular, initially by augmenting player's text commands with graphics, but soon moving towards <a href="/facts/Point-and-click/YvGz3Bah">point-and-click</a> interfaces. Further computer advances led to adventure games with more immersive graphics using real-time or pre-rendered three-dimensional scenes or <a href="/facts/Full-motion_video/DGyQ52z7">full-motion video</a> taken from the first- or third-person perspective. Currently, a large number of adventure games are available as a combination of different genres with adventure elements.
For markets in the Western hemisphere, the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1980s to mid-1990s when many[quantify] considered it to be among the most technically advanced genres, but it had become a <a href="/facts/Niche_market/qEJCErW8">niche</a> genre in the early 2000s due to the popularity of <a href="/facts/First-person_shooters/LQQX6yAw">first-person shooters</a>, and it became difficult for developers to find publishers to support adventure-game ventures. Since then, a resurgence in the genre has occurred, spurred on by the success of <a href="/facts/Independent_video_game_development/yacpsYTA">independent video-game development</a>, particularly from <a href="/facts/Crowdfunding_in_video_games/TjjvJoWt">crowdfunding</a> efforts, from the wide availability of <a href="/facts/Digital_distribution_in_video_games/TA6BjvSh">digital distribution</a> enabling episodic approaches, and from the proliferation of new gaming platforms, including portable consoles and mobile devices.
Within Asian markets, adventure games continue to be popular in the form of <a href="/facts/Visual_novel/0vtcDRpc">visual novels</a>, which make up nearly 70% of <a href="/facts/PC_games/AEDr23gA">PC games</a> released in Japan. Asian countries have also found markets for adventure games for portable and mobile gaming devices. Japanese adventure-games tend to be distinct, having a slower pace and revolving more around dialogue, whereas Western adventure-games typically emphasize more interactive worlds and complex puzzle solving, owing to them each having unique development histories.

Adventure game open-in-new

Adventure game