Wat is the difference between RPG and adventure games?

[Terrektwo]

I've always wondered what the difference is between RPG and Adventure games, can anyone field this one?

[daMoose_Neo]

(All IMO):
RPG is a broad term reflecting games in which the participants take an active role in the life of fictional characters. Can be any genre, any point of play or view.
Adventure games I'd say then are a subset of that, in which the character is a protagonist in, of course, an adventure, usually traditional sword and sorcery (though other settings are used, but follow many of the same ideas: big bad villian, chosen hero, band of friends, dungeon crawls and wilderness), also usually linear.

If you're talking Console/PC, I myself would place all "RPGs" into the Adventure catagory.
Market wise however, a PC/Console RPG generally features leveling, item customizability, stats, turn based (or something resembling) combat (which is a high priority as its the only means to level and gain power and experiance). Typical Final Fantasy experiance to one degree or another.  
Adventure games usually feature an individual character, plays more like a traditional storybook, rarely has a "combat" system (touch an enemy and die). Cant' name any standout series, but most folks know what I'm talking about. One I played back when was Curse of Enchantria, another was like Chronicles of Krys-something.

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

Terrektwo, welcome to the Forge. Your question is not going to be easy to address, because it's not clear that any authority exists over the use of these terms. Here's some history, though:

The term "adventure gaming" was proposed at one time to encompass wargaming, role-playing, customizable card games with themes similar to the previous two, some board games, and related products. It was adopted for some time by GAMA and other organizations, but has been replaced by "hobby gaming." Currently no organization uses the term "adventure gaming" in a defined way.

What leads you to ask the question? In other words, where did you encounter the term "adventure gaming," and what leads you to be interested in its relation to "role-playing?"

Thomas (daMoose_neo), the Forge is not a place for "in my opinion" posting. RPG Theory is suffering from this problem lately and I'm cracking down on it.

Best,
Ron

[Eero Tuovinen]

Actually, I imagine that Terrektwo is posting about computer games, where "adventure game" refers to a CRPG without quantitive mechanics (or a CRPG is an adventure game with quantitive problem solving, as I prefer it) and is in constant use, to detriment of design, marketing and play. The difference is essentially irrelevant, as many cross-form games (Quest for Glory, King of Dragon Pass, Zelda series, to mention a few) have demonstrated again and again. At one time (all along the '80s) there was more meaning to it, as there were all kinds of cultural blind spots in design: a CRPG was assumed to have a certain kind of structure (extreme tactical focus, quantitive challenges impeding progress), an adventure game a completely different one (quantitive puzzles, major dialogue focus), although neither inherently forced this. Today the terminology has however lost it's meaning, as most CRPG designs straddle the line completely, leaving no strong "adventure game zone" at all.

In console games this is especially clear, as the Lucasarts/Sierra type of puzzle-driven adventure games never developed (understandable, because their prominence in the computer world was long predicated on the particular limitations of the systems). In those circles there are CRPGS like Final Fantasy or Chrono Trigger, adventure games like Zelda or Metroid and "real-time CRPGS" like... well, can't remember any examples, not really my scene. The point is, who really thinks that there is any real difference as far as game design goes? If the newest Zelda had variable hit points it'd be a real-time CRPG, and if Final Fantasy didn't have battles, it'd be a most classical western adventure game.

The question is a good one; computer gaming has suffered from the illusionary division for quite some time, and everyone can imagine what it's been doing to roleplaying. It's a pure example of how cultural labels form, get sustained and finally, disappear. However, Terrektwo: this is primarily a pen-and-paper rpg discussion board, so if you really meant your question solely in computer gaming terms, consider skimming the forums some more: you'll soon get a sense of our primary interests here.

Then again, we've lately had so much computer stuff here that a little more won't hurt, I would think.

Ron: an interesting point about the role of the term in the tabletop world. I knew that, but had completely forgotten it. A clear example of how marginal that definition of the word has become...