Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Will the Walking Dead revive Adventure games or destroy them?
It's not every year you see an Adventure game win Multiple Game of the Year awards in this
day and age is it? When we are tackling an industry fuelled by big name releases full
of action, something a lot slower leaving a bigger impact on people than a game like
Halo 4 is quite mind blowing. Adventure games haven't been quite up there in the Video game
market for the past 15 or so years, so The Walking Dead is a pretty big deal for adventure
games. It has proven that you don't need something to overwhelm you with set pieces, and it has
also proven that Atmosphere and emotion can be more than what people were expecting. So
with all the good this game is doing for the genre, why does the title of the video suggest
it could do harm? Let's find out!
The Walking Dead is a Story driven game where you take the role of Lee Everett, a man guilty
of ***, as he goes through the events of a Zombie apocalypse. This of course is an
adventure game, so dialogue is a big part of it. Lee will meet many characters on the
way, such as Kenny the caring yet bad tempered father, Ben, the cowardly and somewhat idiotic
high schooler, but most importantly, Clementine. Clementine has been dubbed the best child
character in a video game, and I can see why. Lee finds her in a tree house, trying to survive
the apocalypse. Her parents had gone out for the weekend and her baby sitter became infected.
When Lee finds her, she is determined to find her parents again, so Lee tries to avoid telling
her that they are probably already dead. This is the heart of the game, Lee's relationship
with Clementine. Not only does Lee have to keep Clementine sane from the Apocalypse,
but Clementine has to keep Lee sane too. Clementine is practically all that Lee has, and the ways
they protect each other, makes you swear this isn't just a downloadable video game. Yeah
the Zombie apocalypse story has been done to death, but the fresh take with more of
a focus on Characterisation make the Walking Dead into one of the best examples of Video
game story telling you could find.
So the story for the Walking Dead is great, how is everything else to make this a great
adventure game? Well I'm going to flat out say it, this isn't your typical adventure
game. It is an Adventure game don't get me wrong, but it's a different kind. Rather than
a completely linear character with Puzzles to drive content, The Walking Dead is more
Choose-your-own-adventure. The Walking Dead isn't the first adventure game to have multiple
dialogue choices, but this is one of the only times where I feel the choices have a difference.
Characters will remember things that you chose Lee to say, and some of these choices can
be really tough. A good example would be in Episode 2, where you have to choose 3 people
to give food to. Characters will respond differently than others, and it makes playability a strong
factor, unlike other adventure games. The game's more non linear in dialogue though.
The walking dead doesn't have a main hub or anything like that. The game moves you from
one area to another relatively quickly, and the puzzles the game gives you are really
basic as well. That, and the inventory system is really basic. In previous adventure games
you would have to try using items on things in the area, until you find a working combination.
In this game, you can only use items on things that it will work on, making it a lot simpler.
Oh, and quick time events. And you can die from failing them.. yay.. But as said earlier,
yes it's dumbed down from other adventure games, but the Walking dead is doing it's
own thing. The puzzles don't make this an intellectual challenge, in that this game
isn't a challenge at all, but it's an experience. You can't just simply call this a long movie,
it's a story which you can interact with, making this feel fresh. I know Heavy rain
tried to do this, but the only time where it actually branched into different stories
was the end. This game doesn't branch much at all, but the little things such as what
characters will think of you have a much bigger impact to me.
One question though, will there be a ton more of these style of Adventure games? This game
was VERY successful, and we are tackling an Industry filled with using other people's
ideas, will all adventure games from now on be like this? I mean if more companies make
Adventure game that try to be like The Walking Dead, it will technically be a return to the
genre., but what about those Puzzle Driven games with humorous characters and goofy moments?
Will non linear areas and somewhat hard to figure out puzzles be boring to the Average
consumer? Maybe, but even before the Walking Dead, adventure games had a pretty slow return
to the industry. Mainly due to Tell Tale games, the same company that made the Walking Dead.
The company was founded by Ex Lucasarts employees, who still had faith in the dying genre. They
made traditional adventure games, based on Various franchises. Sam and Max, Wallace and
Gromit, Homestar Runner, Back to the future, the list goes on. The games definitely sold
pretty well, but they never did reach anything like a game of the year award, or huge sales.
So when they created the walking Dead, they tried to make it a lot more user friendly
to people, in order to gain sales, and it worked. This was a huge success, with around
8 and a half million sales, so if they can do this approach to the genre, why would they
go back? They are obviously fond of this style, so who knows if we are going to see a new
Sam and Max or Strong Bad.. well if it wasn't for Homestar Runner.com just.. quitting. I
have nothing against this style, but without the traditional gameplay, I will really miss
the creativity put into some of these puzzles. That, and if Tell Tale takes a more serious
approach to things, then the lack of this from the company will be really upsetting
(Show that awesome War song in Sam and Max). I know the question for this video is about
the genre as a whole, and not just one Company, but Tell Tale practically was the king of
traditional Adventure games for the past few years. There are some really good ones by
other companies, but the change in direction by the king, will impact the genre as a whole.
I loved The Walking Dead, but I feel it a lot of why it was made was for money. The
Walking Dead is an extremely popular franchise already, so people will buy into it. The game
is very streamlined, so the average consumer can do it easily, and the game has a lot of
action scenes too, something which adventure games usually don't have.
Will The Walking Dead revive Adventure Games or Destroy them? I'd say neither. What the
Walking Dead will do is move the genre into something different, whilst also getting bigger
at the same time. The Walking Dead isn't a traditional Adventure game, it's a new take
on it. It's obviously a lot more successful than the original style, and I can see Tell
Tale changing this to their standard from now on. I don't think it will destroy the
traditional style either. I doubt we will see this from Tell Tale again, but if things
such as the Double Fine Adventure or Dreamfall Chapters have been kickstarted, I feel there's
still an interest there in consumers. And call me crazy, but these could be just as,
if not more successful than the Walking Dead. Not saying they will, but any thing's possible.
So I think the traditional Style will be here for a while longer, and hey, Tell Tale might
even return to the original style, it is by Ex Lucasarts employees after all, and they
have a King's Quest game coming soon. So if that's sells well, maybe Tell Tale can have
the best of both worlds in the genre. This is AQ, Rambling over.