Genre-Defining Games: We're Going on an Adventure!

Most gamers can probably think of at least one game or franchise so influential that it became genre-defining. Survival horror was first coined to describe Capcom's Resident Evil. You can't imagine role-playing games without thinking about The Legend of Zelda. But some games have been so unique that they didn't just shape a genre, they lent their name to it.

In this series, I'll discuss eponymous video game genres, starting with the history of the game that inspired it all, the legacy the game left, and the subsequent evolution of the genre.

What better place to start than the oldest genre on the list: adventure? It's seen its share of struggles, from its epic rise to fame to it being dwarfed by more action-oriented and less frustrating games. But adventure games have touched almost every genre in one way or another. Let's dive into its storied history and curious place in today's video game market.

Colossal Cave Adventure

You might be surprised to learn that the highly inclusive adventure genre is actually named after a game. Colossal Cave Adventure, also known as simply Adventure, is an interactive fiction game released in 1976 for the PDP-10 mainframe (a very old computer). Taking up nearly a whopping 300 kB of memory (did I mention this game is old?), the game was initially created by Will Crowther, a programmer who wanted to create a way to connect with his daughters and share his love of caving and Dungeons and Dragons. Don Woods, then a graduate student at Stanford University, discovered and expanded upon the game, adding more high-fantasy elements.

The goal of Adventure was to rack up points by finding treasures and then escape the cave. Players would input one- or two-word commands, and the narrator would describe locations or the results of the character's actions, often utilizing dry humor or conversational storytelling, much like a dungeon master. You had three lives, measured in the amount of orange smoke remaining to revive you, and if you died, you were forced to restart.

Colossal Cave Adventure's Legacy

Colossal Cave Adventure directly influenced other early adventure games including Adventureland by Scott Adams, Zork by four members of the MIT Dynamic Modelling Group, and Mystery House by Roberta and Ken Williams. All of these designers and programmers went on to found their own publishing companies.

Adventure is accepted as the first work of interactive fiction. It's the pioneer of computer role-playing games (RPGs) and inspired the creation of multi-user dungeons (MUDs), which in turn preceded massively-multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). Michael Toy and Glenn Wichman cite Adventure as an influence for their dungeon-crawling game Rogue, released in 1980, which itself originated the roguelike genre.

The magic word in Adventure, "xyzzy," allowed players to teleport between two locations when inputted at specific times. Since then, it's been used as a cheat code and reference in many video games. For example, you could enter cheat mode in earlier versions of Minesweeper by typing "xyzzy," and the protagonist in Deus Ex, JC Denton, attempts to use xyzzy as a password if the player hasn't already discovered the correct one. Most recently, players can find a sign that says “XYZZY” in Return to Monkey Island. Reading the sign allows the protagonist, Guybrush Threepwood, to return to the entrance of the Terror Island Tunnels.

In 2019, Adventure was inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame, alongside greats like Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., and Mortal Kombat. Following their return to game development, Roberta and Ken Williams created a new studio, Cygnus Entertainment, in 2022. Their first game, Colossal Cave, a point-and-click 3D revitalization of Colossal Cave Adventure, was released in January 2023. In other words, Adventure is kind of a big deal for video gaming as a whole.

The Evolution of Adventure

Roberta and Ken Williams, who formed On-Line Systems (later Sierra On-Line), pioneered the graphic adventure game. Mystery House, released in 1980, was the first adventure game to feature graphics; even though they were only monochromatic stick figures and line drawings, the game was a hit. In the same year, they released The Wizard and the Princess, the first adventure game with graphics in color. In 1984, Sierra released the first King's Quest game, giving the genre its first walking character.

Lucasfilm Games (later LucasArts, and then back to the original name when acquired and rebranded by Disney), stepped into the adventure market in 1986 with the release of Labyrinth: The Computer Game. They also gave us beloved classics like the Monkey Island series and several Indiana Jones games. Along with Sierra, Lucasfilm Games was responsible for the quick rise and golden age of the adventure genre in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Myst, the oft-ported and remade puzzle-solving graphic adventure, became a surprise hit when it was released in 1993. It was the highest-selling game on the PC for almost a decade until The Sims overtook it in 2002. Unfortunately, the higher they rise, the harder they fall, and this was true of the adventure genre. Clones that lacked imagination and charm began popping up everywhere thanks to Myst's renown. And while it was once the most innovative genre, adventure games fell behind the more interactive first-person shooter and action-adventure hybrids that were fast gaining in popularity.

The genre was flailing, but the late 1990s and early 2000s saw some exceptional games. The Longest Journey, a point-and-click adventure, was released by Funcom in 1999. It was highly praised and spawned a spin-off and then a sequel, the latter of which was funded by Kickstarter. In 2002, Microids released Syberia, acclaimed for its impressive steampunk and Art Nouveau graphics and story. The series continues to the present day with Syberia: The World Before.

The adventure genre's revival, if you can call it that, is thanks to a few factors. Indie game developers took charge of smaller and easier-to-produce genres. Crowdfunding made it possible to raise large amounts of money for projects with modest but dedicated followings. Episodic releases allowed studios with limited resources to produce adventure games.

Telltale Games, propped up by the minds who left LucasArts when it stopped creating adventure games, took over the genre. The studio steadily went from remaking and expanding on classics to acquiring popular and profitable licensing opportunities with the likes of Batman and Game of Thrones. Despite its downfall, Telltale properties were acquired by and now operate under LCG Entertainment. They're currently working on The Wolf Among Us 2, which was in development during the studio closure.

The State of Adventure

Nowadays, when you hear "adventure," you might automatically think of action-adventure games since they're more prolific in the AAA sphere. But adventure games sans fighting are still alive and kicking. They're defined by exploration, compelling story-driven gameplay, puzzle solving, interaction with and use of items, and dialogue. A big selling point you'll often see is that "choices matter," meaning the decisions you make change the world or permanently impact your gameplay or ending. Conflict exists, just not through combat.

The genre survives in a strange state. On one side, it's mired by the towering giants of action-adventure and role-playing games. On the other, you'll find the humble but abundant puzzle and hidden-object games that appeal to casual players more than adventure's deep and rich storytelling can. The genre has no shortage of challenges to overcome. But survive it does. Occasionally, there are gems like Life is Strange, Disco Elysium, and The Forgotten City. But wherever it goes, and however it prevails, you can be sure that adventure will always survive in the elements interspersed in all of your favorite games.