Fundamentals of Adventure Game Design

The Presentation Layer

Adventure games, more than most other genres, try to hide the fact that the player is using a computer. When compared to vehicle simulators, sports games, or RPGs, adventure games offer clean, uncluttered screens. The player needs to move through the world, talk to NPCs, and manipulate or collect objects using intuitive commands or actions that do not interfere with his sense of immersion in the story. This does not mean that the UI design is trivial; in fact, it can be harder precisely because you have to make the experience as intuitive as possible. It’s comparatively easy to fill a screen with menus that tell a player exactly what his options are, but adventure games should avoid that and make it clear from context. ...