Assignment 2: Adventure Game Space

The adventure genre of video games has always been popular among avid game players. Over time, this genre has expanded from text based games, like Zork, to games that contain vast 3D worlds, like Zelda. Despite these differences, each adventure game uses unique techniques to create a space for the player.

With the text based game Adventure, I found myself using an active imagination to get a feel for what I was doing in the game. Since everything is text based, I had to depend on the game to let me know where I was or what was around me. By using different commands, such as “north” or “down”, I was able to move through the space. While moving, in some situations, certain sections of the space span endlessly, causing me to get confused when trying to traverse the Valley or the Forrest. However, it was usually easy to get to and from previous locations by going in the opposite direct. For instance, if I went west from the Forrest to the Valley, traveling east on the next turn would get me back to the Forrest. With Adventure, the objects I interacted with were usually able to be picked up and stored in an inventory to be used later. In one instance, I filled a bottle with water and drank it later in the game. Even though this did nothing but empty the bottle, the interaction was present, giving the game a sense of realism.

The game Myst reminded me of my interactions with Adventure. The only major difference was that I could see the world and see the objects I could interact with. In Myst, I could still only travel in the basic directions, as well as up and down stairs. As far as interaction with objects, I didn’t find anything I could put into an inventory, but I did find stationary objects, like switches and buttons, that I could interact with to obtain different results within the environment. Like Adventure, in Myst the relationship between locations depends on retracing steps, except now you have visual so multiple paths can be explored. Overall, Myst gave me a sense of realism, but not as much as Adventure.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas presents a 3D interactive environment. In the game, I was able to interact with people, cars, planes, and various objects. Though ever building wasn’t able to be entered or every object in a room could be used, the sense of realism is still present because like Adventure, the player is able to interact with significant objects and achieve a specific goal. In this case, a gun or car is more significant that a stove or a lamp, and only certain building have importance. In Grand Theft Auto, the player is able to move in any direction by flying, jumping, walking, driving, etc. To assist with movement, there is are two maps, a small radar and a larger map, that help players traverse throughout the areas and get back to key and previous locations. Since the game focuses largely on the storyline, certain locations have different events associated with them. If I went into the territory of a rival gang, I was usually shot at with no warning. Also, if I went to a location before it officially opens, I received four stars and the swat team attempted to arrest me. Since the game has a storyline, cinematic events usually determine where I wanted to go to next, but didn’t limit where I was able to travel.

All of the games do their job to create a space in which users can interact with an environment and the objects with an environment. Though different techniques are used, each game engulfs the player into a world that can be considered "real". By using these three games, one is able to tell how techniques of the adventure genre have changed in order to keep up with the changing industry.