With so many games coming out...So many opinions on what is what..

I would like to know your opinion on Just What Is An "Adventure Game"? And What Is a Puzzle game?

Myst & Rheem to me are Puzzle games not Adventure Games..Safe cracker is another one..I am sure there are many more...But some developers are listing their games as "Adventure" When they are truly not..

It tends to get very confusing...

I hate to disagree but Myst and Rhem are absolutely full fledged adventure games. While you may not like mechanical puzzles as opposed to inventory puzzles that does not make it a non adventure.

Perhaps the definition here may help you.

Ana

Here's where I disagree..there is no interaction in the game play of Myst..

You just solve puzzles..That to me is not an Adventure Game

What do you mean by "interaction" ??

You are usually interacting when you solve puzzles

Talking to people...Following a path..where someone says.. "Example" "You must follow this path"

Darleen -- do you mean that an adventure game has to have dialog trees (where you click to interact with a character)?

There's interaction with the gameworld in the Myst games, and the characters do talk to you, often through video segments (though you don't respond to them with words). There are also diary entries that tell the story, and/or let you know what the characters were thinking.

Just saw your post -- when Atrus hands you a book and says you must use it to capture Gehn -- that wouldn't count?

But speaking to other characters is only one form of interaction, as Wikipedia explains :

"Interaction is a kind of action that occurs as two or more objects have an effect upon one another. The idea of a two-way effect is essential in the concept of interaction, as opposed to a one-way causal effect. A closely related term is interconnectivity, which deals with the interactions of interactions within systems: combinations of many simple interactions can lead to surprising emergent phenomena. Interaction has different tailored meanings in various sciences. All systems are related and interdependent. Every action has a consequence."

Yes, Becky..Dialogue trees is what I mean...Not videos..

Mad...What made you come to the conclusion that "Heaven" was not an "Adventure Game" ?

Heaven did not have a storyline as such - which is a must for me in an adventure game - and I felt I was visiting the game rather than participating in it a lot of the time

That does suit many people. It just doesn't suit me

Tossing all games without dialog trees out of the genre? Woa. So no Scratches, Dark Fall, Barrow Hill, Amerzone, Riddle of the Sphinx? Or am I misremembering and they had dialog trees?

Becky..Good point ..

But you can't compare them to a full fledged mechanical puzzle game like Rhem..

In scratches you talked on the phone..You even talked to yourself

Darleen, you are confusing preferences vs. actual. They are all adventure games, that is a fact. You may prefer one with people interaction, just as some prefer 1st over 3rd person, but that does not change the fact that they are all adventure games.

Thanks, Mad...

I will add "No Story" to my list of what is NOT an Adventure Game

Myst is one of the best virtual *adventures* I personally had...

Adventure? What adventure? What plot? What interaction? Myst is a pure puzzle game.