Bryce
d926595135
Created category structure: - criticism/ (5 articles) - Design critiques and anti-patterns - defense/ (2 articles) - Praise and genre defense - puzzle-design/ (7 articles) - Puzzle mechanics and methodology - technical/ (4 articles) - SCUMM and engineering history - history/ (6 articles) - Genre evolution and decline analysis - moon-logic/ (5 articles) - Moon logic puzzle psychology - community/ (2 articles) - Community discussions and analysis Each category has README.md with summaries and key themes. Main index.md updated to link to all categories.
2.0 KiB
2.0 KiB
Criticism & Self-Improvement
Articles critiquing adventure games and providing design guidance for making better games.
Articles
| File | Title | Source | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
10-things-hate-adventure-games.md |
10 Things I Hate About Adventure Games | Hande's Blog (Hannu Mäkinen) | A developer's personal critique listing common adventure game design frustrations that frustrate both players and designers. |
14-deadly-sins-graphic-adventure-design-filfre.md |
The 14 Deadly Sins of Graphic-Adventure Design | FilFre (Jimmy Maher) | Historical catalog of common adventure game design failures, using Space Quest and Uninvited as primary examples of what not to do. |
seven-deadly-sins-adventure-games.md |
Seven Deadly Sins of Adventure Games | Game Developer (Adrian Chmielarz) | Modern analysis of how core adventure game mechanics contributed to genre death, examining issues from cinematic wannabes to undisciplined writing. |
why-adventure-games-suck-ron-gilbert.md |
Why Adventure Games Suck | Grumpy Gamer (Ron Gilbert) | Ron Gilbert's original 1989 manifesto on adventure game design failures—the most influential critique ever written on the subject. |
flaws-undead-genre-point-click-adventures.md |
Flaws of an Undead Genre | Game Developer | Modern Twitter-sourced critique examining why point-and-click adventures remain difficult to market and what players still dislike about the genre. |
Key Themes
- Dead ends and unwinnable states - Games that lock players out without warning
- Moon logic puzzles - Solutions that require impossible-to-guess combinations
- Pixel hunting - Hidden items that reward exhaustive clicking rather than logic
- Poor feedback - Lack of clear goals and progression signals
- Missing playtesting - Designs that work for creators but not players
Usage
These articles form the foundation of anti-patterns that the Puzzle Design Handbook documents. Each "sin" represents a failure mode designers should avoid.