I apologise for leaving this so long. It has weighed heavily on me for a few weeks, but the last thing I wanted to do was rashly pull up stumps, only to renege on the decision shortly afterwards. As you’ve likely guessed from that opening, I will not be continuing with The Adventure Gamer for the foreseeable future. Believe me when I say that this was a decision that took many months to come to. It is however one that I now feel very comfortable with.
My reasons for stopping the blog are not to do with limited time, family matters or reluctance to put the effort required in. The truth is that gaming is only one of my passions. Since I started The Adventure Gamer close to three years ago, I’ve done little else with my spare time than play and blog through 45 adventure games. My love of movies, books, TV shows, music, and most of all, other video game genres, have had to take a backseat to this strict, narrow focus. That was fine for a while, but over time I naturally started being pulled in different directions. One week it might be music, the next comics, the week after that movies. I found I was rejecting these itches and forcing myself to go back to the likes of Earthrise, Les Manley and Altered Destiny when it wasn’t really what I wanted to be doing. There was only so long this commitment could last.
I began wondering whether there might be a way to bring all my passions together, mapping out a new blog idea whilst sitting on the bus or lying in bed at night. When my family and I came back from Thailand a few weeks ago, I still had a couple of weeks of holiday time to occupy. I sat down and started a new blog. My intention was to see whether this new idea worked. Whether it felt…right. I’ve now written upwards of 20 posts, covering the whole spectrum of my interests. I feel revitalised, and genuinely excited to be able to cover new topics in differing mediums every couple of days. I can’t go back now.
So why didn’t I do this a year ago? The answer is you guys. My intention was always to build a community when I started The Adventure Gamer. I was delighted when it actually started happening, initially thanks to Chet advertising on the CRPG Addict blog, but eventually The Adventure Gamer stood up on its own and thrived. There are so many fantastic personalities here, and I felt a real responsibility to keep things going for as long as I could. I won’t mention a long list of names here, as I would undoubtedly forget someone critical to the blog’s success. I would however like to thank Lars-Erik for sponsoring the blog with games. He’s an amazingly generous and thoughtful man that I wish I knew personally. As for all the other regulars, please accept my sincere thanks for your involvement and enthusiasm. I hope at least some of you will come with me on my next endeavour.
I will respond to comments on this post for a while. I will also announce the launch of my new blog when the time comes. It will be a while though, as I’m determined to get the format right from the outset this time, and would like to have at least fifty or so posts up my sleeve from the get go. I don’t want to reveal too much about it just yet. Let’s just say that in the last few days I’ve written about Doctor Who, a surreal Japanese horror movie, an Atari 2600 video game and Wonder Woman. I’ve had a smile on my face the whole time too.
The Trickster
Wednesday, 15 October 2014
49 comments:
Note Regarding Spoilers and Companion Assist Points: There's a set of rules regarding spoilers and companion assist points. Please read it here before making any comments that could be considered a spoiler in any way. The short of it is that no points will be given for hints or spoilers given in advance of the reviewer requiring one. Please...try not to spoil any part of the game...unless they really obviously need the help...or they specifically request assistance.
If this is a game introduction post: This is your opportunity for readers to bet 10 CAPs (only if they already have them) that the reviewer won't be able to solve a puzzle without putting in an official Request for Assistance: remember to use ROT13 for betting. If you get it right, you will be rewarded with 50 CAPs in return.
It's also your chance to predict what the final rating will be for the game. Voters can predict whatever score they want, regardless of whether someone else has already chosen it. All score votes and puzzle bets must be placed before the next gameplay post appears. The winner will be awarded 10 CAPs.
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I've been a faithful reader, though not a frequent poster. I'm both sorry and glad to see this decision made, as I will miss this blog, but I'm happy you've made the difficult decision to concentrate on what you enjoy doing.
ReplyDeleteOn the bright side, you ended the blog with a review of my absolute favorite video game of all time, Quest for Glory II, there's always something to be said about going out with a bang.
I'll certainly be keeping an eye open for your latest blog, it sounds interesting and maybe I'll learn enough about Doctor Who to enable me to have a conversation with my Who-obsessed wife.
I would be surprised if you couldn't just put this blog into the hands of its readers and they could keep it chugging along until the death of the Adventure game genre. They're a passionate and dedicated lot!
ReplyDeleteThe slog is real, and I'm sure would have gotten harder. Thanks for sticking with it as long as you have. I've been absent for a few months, mainly due to wanting to play and blog through Quest For Glory II without spoilers, and just couldn't muster the time so I understand the strain of multiple pursuits. I look forward to the new blog and hanging around in the comment section.
ReplyDeleteThanks Trick, it's been fun. Looking forward to reading what comes next, especially what ever you've done with Doctor Who. Thanks to everyone else who's been commenting on the way. I always looked forward to reading peoples comments just as much as the blog itself.
ReplyDeleteThanks. It's been good entertainment for me for the past few years, both reading the posts and everyone's comments. I even won a few games - thanks to Lars-Erik and Andy Panthro.
ReplyDeleteGlad you seem to have found something else you enjoy as much.as you enjoyed blogging adventure games.
I've had fun reliving some of my gaming experiences of the past as well as discovering games I'd never heard of (while mostly realising I hadn't heard of them because they just weren't very good)
So now I'm off to the pub to spend my 483 CAPs which I assume are more valuable than ever seeing as there is now a finite amount of CAPs in existence?
+1 for the idea of blog being community run.
ReplyDeleteIt'd be such a shame to see it go just before we reach the genre heyday.
I agree with Rowan and Knurek. Why don't you let your Readers review the games? But I would appreciate if you could find the time to play 3-4 games a year. I'd love to hear your opinion on classics such as legend of Kyrandia, Simon the Sorceror or Broken Sword.
ReplyDeleteIt’s been a hell of a ride, but all good things must come to an end. I'm just sorry we never could convince Canageek that there are non-silly adventure games out there..
ReplyDeleteI cannot appreciate enough the enormous work you’ve done in playing even dregs like Emmanuelle just because we’ve asked, and it’s quite understandable that you want to finally quit it. Thank you for keeping it up so long and for creating a place for this outstanding community of fellow adventure gamers. I will certainly come to visit your new blog, maybe not so often as here, but I’ll definitely want to hear what you have to say about Doctor Who.
To echo the other commenters, I would also like to see the Adventure Gamer -blog continue as a community effort. I am just a bit skeptical whether we’d get enough volunteers for the more obscure titles. Sure, there could be fifty people wanting to review Lechuck’s Revenge, but what about such travesties like Les Manley II?
I'd review Les Manley II. It's... unoffensive. Compared to the first, it's nothing like as bad.
DeleteI'll admit that I did, sadly, see this coming after no posts over a few weeks. It'll be sad to see you leave your post, Trick - but it's hard not to understand how painful being asked to recap, let alone play through to the exclusion of other things. I struggled through Altered Destiny badly enough - and I didn't need to write about it every other day!
I'm sure we'll all follow you to your next pastures, Trick. Just let us know where to follow! :)
Well damn. Best of luck with your new blog; If you post about it here, I'll check it out for sure. I was wonderful to see you grow as a writer, and to learn about a genre that I haven't touched in years. Thanks for geeze, I guess I've been reading for what, two and a half years? Almost three? I've enjoyed it a lot, so yeah. Have fun with whatever comes next.
ReplyDeleteAww, such a shame. I was keeping a to-do list for things to comment about during future games (especially things to bash about King's Quest 5.) I was also looking forward to your playthroughs of various adventure game masterpieces, as well as so-bad-it's-good games. But I respect your decision.
ReplyDeleteI'm always a little disappointed that I came a few years late to the blog and didn't find it earlier. But it was great being a part of such a cool community.
Even when a part of me saw this coming due to the long hiatus (and I tried to keep pushing that ominous feeling away) it turns out preparation didn't do much to soften the blow when I read your first few lines. It may sound like trite pap, but this blog came at a difficult time in my life 2.5 years ago and helped me reconnect with some stuff that I had been missing for a long while. Going back to those simpler times of my youth by way of the serendipity and sheer joie de vivre that imbued many of the earlier games, a necessity when you're treading uncharted territory, was just what the doctor ordered. Sometimes you just want to know how to open that locked door and feel the thrill of finding that elusive key, and this blog has been for me the source of many "yes, yes, that's how it used to feel!" moments.
ReplyDeleteI think TAG has achieved its goal of documenting the history of the adventure genre while at the same time bringing back a glint of the zeitgeist of those magical times - which, as it's often the case, is so hard to communicate to those who didn't get the chance to be there. I also liked your approach to the genre in general, and your adventuring "voice" for want of a better term. Combine that with the ridiculously low amount of requests for assistance and it's easy to see you've more than earned your adventuring stripes :-)
All that said, it was obvious that keeping the blog going was a lot of work. I am amazed at the amount of love and effort, not to mention time, you put into it. Enjoyment is the only fuel that'll do and playing games shouldn't turn into a job. I'm aware that some of the lesser entries in the list have no doubt contributed to make it so. So even when it pains me to do it, I salute your decision Trickster, and hope your new endeavours will be able to rekindle the flame that Altered Destiny and Les Manley did their very damn best to stifle!
I just found your blog about a week ago (I posted a comment in an April 2012 post saying how I found it) and have been reading up from the beginning. I started playing adventure games around 1990 and haven't played many of the original classics, so it's been fun reading of your runs through some of the first graphic adventures. I had gone away from them for a while but reading this blog has rekindled the passion in me. I'm bummed you won't continue but I understand and will enjoy catching up on the rest of your posts.
ReplyDeleteOh, just a few weeks after I finished reading all the posts! Well, thank you for all your great work and we will of course read your new blog when it's ready.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that TAG is no more, but I am eager to see your new blog and will happily still comment and follow that one.
ReplyDeleteI've found regular blogging to be a difficult task (there are often weeks where I don't even play a game, let alone write about one), so your achievement on this blog to chart through the early history of adventure games has been nothing short of incredible.
My only regret is that I could never spend the CAPs I accumulated on a desperate attempt to get you to play Alone in the Dark and Ultima VII (although if you're branching out on your next blog, perhaps you might consider them?)
I'd also like to thank all my fellow commenters, who have made this place an interesting, funny and friendly place to hang out.
Sorry to hear you're done, but looking forward to the new blog. Putting Sweet Brown in Colonel's Bequest was a highlight for me! :) I agree that community posts are worth looking into. I'd continue to read new forays into adventure gaming. Does your new blog include the occasional adventure game? I guess we'll see details when they're ready.
ReplyDeleteHvala na svemu :)
ReplyDeleteI sretno :)
Thanks on everything and good luck :)
I can tell I've spent a lot of time reading this blog's comments because I immediately went to rot13.com when I read this. And now I'm even more confused. :)
DeleteThanks everyone for the understanding and complimentary replies. It makes me even sadder to be leaving this behind. I am excited to hear that at least some of you will come and see what my new blog is all about.
ReplyDeleteAs for handing The Adventure Gamer over to the community, I would have no qualms in doing so. I do have the ability to add other people as Authors, so if anyone(s) seriously wanted to give it a shot, please let me know. I agree that it would be sad to stop when we're so close to some really great games.
I will definitely play some adventure games on my new blog, but given the approach I'm taking it will be infrequently. I plan to play the very best games of every genre as part of it, but once again there will be a chronological aspect to it. That's probably all I'm willing to say at this point. :)
I'm just glad you came back at all; I was kind of worried that you'd gotten stabbed in a bar fight or something while on vacation. Now I get to read a new blog, if less often, about other things then games. Well, I didn't play adventure games anyway, so hey, I'll give it a try.
DeleteI am sure I couldn't handle the task of continuing The Adventure Gamer all alone (or the progress would be very slow), but if there were few more volunteers, I'd be willing to contribute. Even with something like three or four persons, managing the blog shouldn't be that great a challenge (and the more the merrier).
DeleteThen, shouldn't the blog be called The Adventure GamerS?
DeleteAs long as Kenny isn't the one to review Fatty Bear's Birthday Surprise I'd be willing to help with the new blog.
Delete*waves* Thanks for sharing what you've done and I wish all the best with your other projects.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great work and good luck on your new blog. I'm certainly curious about it. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteOhhhh boy do I feel you on this one, Tricky. Both my 80s blog and my Scotch blog have seen extended breaks due to ... well, real life. So many other hobbies, personal life, travel, etc. I wish I could figure out how to make these passions pay for themselves, I would do nothing else, but I don't have a patron... yet ;)
ReplyDeleteI look forward to your new blog, and am curious to see if the community continues this one - so many great games to go!!!!!
Good luck and godspeed
I just went through a similar crisis. I have a religion blog which I have run for many years, but I was burning out on it (even if it was never well-updated). So, I started a general blog where I'm posting word origins, Doctor Who reviews, Disney films, and some old games. Far too scattered to build an audience, but it has inspired me to go back and write more which is always a good thing-- AND I've started being inspired to post to my main blog again. Perhaps you will have the same experience?
ReplyDeleteTo give you an idea how I'm doing it, check out this post I recently made on Wizardry 1: http://kniggit.net/2014/10/16/wizardry-proving-ground-mad-overlord-1981/
Thank you for the nostalgia trip and also educating us about other adventure games.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck to your future endeavors.
No other volunteers yet. Sad... Perhaps I should add that I could take on most of the admin stuff like putting the reviews on blog etc. (although I am more than willing to share the administrative duties with someone), if there just would be a pool of other people willing to play the games and write reviews (and I could do an occasional review myself, of course). Heck, I could even do the introductory post for a game, if a reviewer would not have the time to do the necessary research of the game's creators.
ReplyDeleteI think that this may be because people are less likely to look at the comments to a valedictory post, Ilmari, less so because of a lack of interest.
DeleteI'd certainly be up to reviewing a few games - though I'd admittedly rather the obscure to the less than. I've played through pretty much every Sierra adventure so much that I know all of the pitfalls that cursed me - LSL2's overbearing item hunt, LSL3's magic marker, PQ2's gun calibration. I'm not saying I'd want to play -EVERY- Altered Destiny, but having a game that out and out infuriates me is sometimes the best way to keep me interested (particularly if it comes to having to blog about it!)
I would volunteer, but I already feel like I'm neglecting my own blog and didn't know how much time I would be able to give.
DeleteI would be glad to contribute a review as well. Perhaps we get a list of upcoming games and take volunteers?
DeleteNice to see there are more volunteers! The final games for the 1990 are:
DeleteCountdown
Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All The Girls
James Bond: The Stealth Affair
Elvira
B.A.T.
Rise of the Dragon
King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder!
But Aperama is right, and people might not read these comments... Perhaps we should ask Trickster open a new post for discussing about continuing the blog?
I really, REALLY would love to have the time to take on one of those, Ilmari. I've always wanted to play Spellcasting and Rise of the Dragon; however my free time is extremely scarce these days.
DeleteI don't know that keeping Elvira as an option is necessary, seeing as it is up there only because I spent some hard-earned CAPs with the hope of seeing Trickster suffer through more limited-inventory puzzles. And then he goes ahead and denies me that basic pleasure! :-)
I'd suggest that whoever actually paid for Elvira is the mongrel who should review it. (I'm safe from Les Manley, woohoo!)
DeleteIf you'd like, I can pick up Countdown over the weekend and make a start on it. I'd also be interested in The Stealth Affair, as it's one I'd planned to play through with Trick on.
We can also think as to whether we should look at BAT - it was written up, albeit tersely, by Chester over at this site's mirror.
Charles: Yea, I know your sentiments exactly: too many interesting games, too little time!
DeleteAperama: Yes, I think you could start with Countdown. I'll probably try to play along, since I managed to screw up that game and I'd really like to have a second chance with it.
I got the author rights from Trickster, and I wrote up a new text - I think we could move the commenting on games over there.
I'd be up for the occasional game too. But i'm the opposite of Aperama - i'd rather blog the games I've heard of but never played or played a long time ago.
ReplyDeleteI personally do not feel sorry at all. Trix, feel free to post about anything you like. There is a reason why almost any game out there these days can be labelled an RPG or Adventure game. Because that is what life is all about - Character Growth and Adventures! So, post what you wish and (if we have similar experiences to share), we will chime in as well.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking, you should have the last post on the blog end with: "Calling all. This is our last cry before our eternal silence." (The French Navy's final morse code message. The US used the first one ever sent: "What hath God wrought")
ReplyDeleteI go on vacation for 3 weeks and this is what I find after coming back :(. Thanks for the fantastic effort you put into this blog, Trickster. I enjoyed your posts, even those of games that are terrible and boring, your writing and the community built around the blog made me come back every time. I wish you enjoy writing your new blog at least as much as you enjoyed writing this one :)
ReplyDeleteRegarding the community effort, I could help with some games, although my time schedule may make me spent a month or more in playing and writing...
I know I do not comment much, but I have really enjoyed your posts over the years Trickster. The Adventure game genre is not one of my personal favorites, but I have found your posts to be very interesting. I also apologize again for being partly responsible for you playing Deja Vu 2 :) I look forward to seeing your new blog, your Ultimate Doom Metal Box Set on Rate Your Music has been something I have read and used many times on building my CD collection and I imagine your new blog will have the same high quality writing as this blog and your RYM content!
ReplyDeleteAha! So THIS is why the newer posts aren't written by Trickster! I was wondering...
ReplyDeleteSorry to see this era of the blog end, but looking forward to what comes next!
Yeah, this was the dividing point between Trickster era and TAG community era. We've also included a summarised version of TAG's history in the beginning of our new "New Reader" -page:
Deletehttp://advgamer.blogspot.fi/p/rookie-companion.html
Glad to see you are catching up! We're all very proud of the "new" era of the blog and I hope you enjoy as we collectively found our new voice.
DeleteI'm sure I will!! & I'm excited to catch up to the present day and start commenting a bit more than just saying the score I think a game's gonna get.
DeleteOutrageous!
ReplyDeleteOh wow, the end of an era! I've been reading through every post on this blog up to this point (yeah...) and while I knew the era of Trickster was going to end it's surprisingly sad to read! But I'm also delighted that the blog moved to being community-run and look forward to reading on from here too, especially as the golden age of adventure games is about to begin.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on reading up to this point! Lots of good stuff to come.
DeleteI believe too much detailed posts caused a burnout. Typing dialogues, poems etc. out is time-consuming but the same effect can be achieved by screenshotting a text. I'm sad that Trickster left. I enjoyed reading his posts even though I did not agree with some of his game ratings and conclusions. On the other hand I am curious how this blog will evolve under the community rule (did not read a single post from a post-Trix period yet).
ReplyDeleteA glimpse about Trickster's new blog sounds interesting. I hope the words were put into action.