...that the most popular threads BY FAR are the ones dedicated to old games, dead companies, remakes. There are new threads about upcoming and newly released games with zero or few replies which is a real shame.
There are SO MANY great adventure games being released right now and AGH is doing a fantastic job promoting them with near daily reviews and previews. I'd love to come here and see those games being played and discussed and not just see everyone reflecting on the glory days.
This thread is intended less as a criticism than a reflection on whether today's AGs really are so much worse than the "old days", as well as a (less than subtle) encouragement to the AG community get out there and explore those new titles so we can discuss them. I love the reminiscences and but part of being a community is encouraging and giving honest opinions on new and emerging developers and content. Otherwise there won't be a community around for much longer.
What do you think? Are the old days so much better than what we're being served today? Or could the AG community (including myself) step up our game a little?
There are SO MANY great adventure games being released right now and AGH is doing a fantastic job promoting them with near daily reviews and previews. I'd love to come here and see those games being played and discussed and not just see everyone reflecting on the glory days.
This thread is intended less as a criticism than a reflection on whether today's AGs really are so much worse than the "old days", as well as a (less than subtle) encouragement to the AG community get out there and explore those new titles so we can discuss them. I love the reminiscences and but part of being a community is encouraging and giving honest opinions on new and emerging developers and content. Otherwise there won't be a community around for much longer.
What do you think? Are the old days so much better than what we're being served today? Or could the AG community (including myself) step up our game a little?
I somewhat agree, which is why I created the following freeware/pay-what-you-want thread (due for an update) and I regularly post in upcoming games. Like you, I'd love to see more talk about new games and (potential) developments in the genre. I'm not wealthy enough to buy each new game as it comes out, nor do I receive free keys, so that's a limitation on my ability to get that off the ground.
I'm glad you reflect on the future of our community and how to keep it going. I definitely feel what you're saying, but I'm going to complicate the issue: remakes and reminscing about older titles can be useful for getting people (back) into the scene. Playthroughs of older games and the adventure game scene guessing thread keeps some momentum going. I don't think it's a matter of redirecting that energy to new games - I think we need to get more people involved. We could use more people driving engagement, perhaps from AGH itself, but it's going to be a challenge in this day and age regardless. This genre doesn't have a large player base and the dedicated online forum is somehat outdated as a medium.
I think it'd be good to shine a light on developers that aren't that well established. To reach out to scenes that are still fairly active, like AGS and the Interactive Fiction database. It seems to me the response to "what happened to adventure games?" and "are adventure games dead?" has led to an overcompensation, a desire to show our games can measure up to AA or even AAA releases in other genres, especially in terms of audio-visual design. Like we need prove adventure games are still relevant and commercially viable in the video game market at large. It's not all bad; we curently have a viable, high quality niche market that could be around for a couple more years. However, it would serve us well to reflect on where the energy for the genre's resurgence came from, about a decade ago.
All of that said; if you're up for it, create a thread or two! Talk about new games, the future of the genre, what developments you'd like to see!
I'm glad you reflect on the future of our community and how to keep it going. I definitely feel what you're saying, but I'm going to complicate the issue: remakes and reminscing about older titles can be useful for getting people (back) into the scene. Playthroughs of older games and the adventure game scene guessing thread keeps some momentum going. I don't think it's a matter of redirecting that energy to new games - I think we need to get more people involved. We could use more people driving engagement, perhaps from AGH itself, but it's going to be a challenge in this day and age regardless. This genre doesn't have a large player base and the dedicated online forum is somehat outdated as a medium.
I think it'd be good to shine a light on developers that aren't that well established. To reach out to scenes that are still fairly active, like AGS and the Interactive Fiction database. It seems to me the response to "what happened to adventure games?" and "are adventure games dead?" has led to an overcompensation, a desire to show our games can measure up to AA or even AAA releases in other genres, especially in terms of audio-visual design. Like we need prove adventure games are still relevant and commercially viable in the video game market at large. It's not all bad; we curently have a viable, high quality niche market that could be around for a couple more years. However, it would serve us well to reflect on where the energy for the genre's resurgence came from, about a decade ago.
All of that said; if you're up for it, create a thread or two! Talk about new games, the future of the genre, what developments you'd like to see!
I play new games but almost exclusively on iPad. What I would like to see is fewer developers trying to recapture the nostalgia of the so-called golden age, because those games almost never live up to the warm fuzzy memories, memories that often elide the aggravations that were present in even the greatest of the classics. I love games that offer new and different experiences, and those are woefully thin on the ground. I do like the more “traditional” games when they don’t have the types of aggravations that permeate the genre, like lengthy conversation trees or trying every inventory item everywhere because nothing makes sense or tromping around endlessly over old ground trying to find something else to do or tired puzzles like sliders or reassembling ripped-up papers or, yes, timed puzzles. I might just be blowing smoke here, but I’ll say games that break the mold are often not well-received by the AG fan base.
Mostly what I end up playing is room escapes, which are basically bite-sized AGs that don’t really merit much discussion. I am also not shy about quitting games when I run up against something I don’t want to do, and it doesn’t feel right to get all judgy about games I haven’t finished. In public, anyway; in the privacy of my own head I am judgy AF 100% of the time. About everything. And everyone :|
Mostly what I end up playing is room escapes, which are basically bite-sized AGs that don’t really merit much discussion. I am also not shy about quitting games when I run up against something I don’t want to do, and it doesn’t feel right to get all judgy about games I haven’t finished. In public, anyway; in the privacy of my own head I am judgy AF 100% of the time. About everything. And everyone :|
(07-05-2026, 09:58 AM)Disembodied Wrote: ... that the most popular threads BY FAR are the ones dedicated to old games, dead companies, remakes. There are new threads about upcoming and newly released games with zero or few replies which is a real shame.
One of the main reasons for this might be that AG community is fragmented now like never before.
A lot of social media channels, websites and forums are dedicated to AG subgenres like horror, investigation, escape room, etc.
People stay in these communities, rarely venturing to play a different kind of game, thus most of the new games discussions are held within these communities.