My favorite game of all time is The Dig by Lucasarts. I have a very hard time explaining to people why I love it so much. Most of the puzzles make very little sense, it's filled with pixel hunting and other point and click adventure game artifacts. I remember when I first played it many years ago, I was stuck on one particular puzzle for months. I didn't have access to online walkthroughs so I almost gave up on it. I did manage to finish it and I've since played through it dozens of times.
Of course now I know all the puzzle solutions so the challenge is gone. The game part of it is no longer a factor but my enjoyment of it has never declined. All I have left is the story, the setting, the music. I've often wondered if this story would have been better served as a film. But more and more I think that the answer is no. What I love most about it is to just take it all in at my own pace. To stand still and let the atmosphere wash over me.
I wanted to make experiences just like that so I started making point and clicks but I was never any good at coming up with puzzles. Even when they made sense they would be contrived and the story would suffer.
Here's an example of a never finished point and click project:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xFUGrvba6o&list=UUydw8nZQhYqKq7-8Qe578TQ&feature=c4-overviewBut how else would I make adventure games? Without puzzles? Nonsense! That led me to start thinking about games whose mechanics were integrated into the story and themes.
I made a proof of concept video for a possible game that incorporated these ideas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyJt8yMXxDg&list=UUydw8nZQhYqKq7-8Qe578TQ&feature=c4-overviewI think there's a lot of potential with that design method and I really want to make this game one day but it's just not possible with the size of my team at the moment (3 including me).
There wasn't an exact moment that I can pinpoint when I started giving real thought to the idea of making a narrative heavy game with no puzzles. I think Dear Esther may have been a big influence.
Right now I'm working on such a game and I'm really glad I stumbled onto a forum like this full of like-minded people.
I've read through a few threads already and it's been a great source of inspiration.
