- “That doesn’t seem to work.” (Talk @ Codemotion Rome 2018 – YouTube link)
- #4 – Technobabylon
- #3 – Zak McKracken: Between Time and Space
- #2 – Broken Age
- #1 – Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today
I have been an avid Point and Click Adventure Games enthusiast since I was, probably, five or six years old.
As many others, my pointing and clicking journey started by playing LucasFilm\LucasArts adventures. I remember restarting Maniac Mansion and The Secret of Monkey Island over and over again on my older brother’s Amiga and I probably learned to read also because of that.
The first videogame I have ever bought with my own money was Full Throttle, also from LucasArts, designed by none other than Tim Schafer. Give ’em hell, Polecat!
While I do indeed play many other games, from different genres, it’s still fair to say that Point and Click Adventure Games have always had a special place in my heart. I may sometimes move away from them for a while, but then I usually catch up.
That’s why it should not be surprising that my first attempts at Game Design were Adventure Games. I learned programming basics mostly thanks to Adventure Games Design.
But then, as well as technique, I should learn more about Design itself. Being interested and fan of the Adventure Game genre I often think about how can one improve the genre itself and also if it is something that needs improvement.
They say “if works, don’t fix it”, but there’s always room for improvement, am I right?
What is Unpoint/Unclick?
Glad you asked!
Unpoint/Unclick is my attempt to learn more about Point and Click Adventure Game Design by deconstructing other adventure games I loved playing.
I concentrate mostly on analyzing their puzzle design and structure, then building Puzzle Dependency Charts (as described by Ron Gilbert) out of the results.
It is indeed something very time consuming, but also something very interesting and valuable. It’s basically the way I learn how to make a point and click adventure game.
So, all of you fellow Game Designers wannabes and Adventure Games aficionados, join me in this learning journey! Also, beware: these analysis may not be 100% accurate and will most likely contain complete spoilers for each game.
“I want to design Point and Click Adventure Games. Any advice?”
Hey, if you think I can help, why shouldn’t I? Just contact me and let’s click the point out of your game!