I started playing adventure games when I was 27 years old. I was a clinical veterinarian at the time, working long hours and 6 days a week at an extremely busy practice in a Chicago suburb. Checking my email one night, I saw a website offering cheap software, most of which I wasn't interested in.

One of them caught my eye, however. It had an illustration of an island and the word Myst on the cover. It wasn't a kid's game. It wasn't functional software. I had no idea what it was for. It just looked intriguing, so I decided to order it. I loaded it up and was hooked. I was often stuck but I had no big aspirations of trying to play the game entirely on my own. I just wanted to see what would happen next. What was waiting around the next corner on this deserted island with these two weird guys trapped in their respective books? Where would I end up with one of those magical linking books? In 1995, hints and walkthroughs were not that prevalent, but I still managed to find some to help to get me through the game. All I knew was that in the midst of my very stressful job, it was a blissful escape and I have been hooked on adventure games since then.

My introduction to adventure games may be unique or it may not, but it's my story. There are probably as many stories of how this genre entered into someone's life as there are adventure gamers. So what draws someone to this genre and why do they stay?

For me, there are a few things, and they continue to affect the games I choose to play. The primary reason is the idea of escape. That is the original reason I got so hooked. Being on Myst island meant leaving behind the tough cases, temperamental clients and annoying co-workers, if only for a few hours. One of the best ways for me to escape, and to honor my investigative tendencies, is lots of exploration. Even when playing adventure games today, be it first or third-person perspective, full of other characters or not, I love being able to travel around the environment and have a look around, even if there aren't many things to click on. That is one of the reasons why I loved Syberia so much (and have replayed it at least three or four times).

The other main reason why I love adventure games is the story. The first games I played were often devoid of many other characters and perhaps didn't have the most robust plotlines, but there were still pieces and parts of the story scattered around for me to discover. As I moved into third-person games, I would often learn of the story by talking to the other characters along with exploring my surroundings. I count The Longest Journey among my favorite games for this very reason. While the extensive dialogue may not have been everyone's cup of tea, it drew me into the worlds of Stark and Arcadia (okay, I admit it, I had the subtitles on, read them and clicked on, but I still liked what the characters had to say) and TLJ is another game I've played multiple times. Interestingly, I didn't mention puzzles. I like them, but it isn't important to me whether I solve them all on my own or not. I do happen to like them a bit on the easier side as my brain is often spent by the time I get around to playing at the end of my day.

So now you know why I got into adventure games and what made me stay. What about you? For some, it may have been the game your dad brought home. For others, it may have been a friend who enlisted your help with a puzzle when you were at their house one rainy afternoon. Maybe you love to escape or you want a terrific story. Perhaps you want the ability to rummage through the environment you find yourself in. Maybe you want to be challenged with a good set of puzzles at the end of the day. Regardless, the adventure genre is incredibly diverse. There are first and third-person perspectives, characters can be plentiful or not, there are myriads of locations and settings, the stories can be funny, serious, scary, gross, suspenseful, lighthearted, or mysterious, there can be a lot of inventory or none, and there can be easy or challenging puzzles. I believe there is an adventure game out there for others that can have the same effect that Myst had on me 12 years ago. So why not come visit our forums and tell us your story. We’d love to hear it!