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Kurufinwe · 12-30-2011, 03:28 PM

In honour of GLaDOS being in the Top-10, let's do some Science! Using the Top-100 as the Absolute Truth about the adventure genre, let's see what we can learn...

Best designer of all time

I've actually given up trying to do this rigorously, since the results are going to depend on how you count people having co-designed games. So, based just on the number of games on the list, the top-10, and the #1 game, I'm going to say that the King of Adventures is

Tim Schaffer

But since many of his games were collaborations (MI1, MI2, DotT), one could also make a case for Jane Jensen. Science is powerless to settle this question.

Best adventure company in the Universe

Looking at the number of games on the list, there is no competition:
Sierra: 15
LucasArts: 11 (out of only 14 published adventures!)
Activision, AdventureSoft, Cing, Microids, Presto: 3

If you take quality into account, giving 1 point for game #100, 31 points for game #70, etc., the picture is slightly different, with the following top-10:

Sierra wins, but only by a hair's breadth. Seriously, what was the point of doing a Top-100 if doesn't even manage to unequivocally settle the rivalry between Sierra and LucasArts?!

Bonus question (left as an exercise to the reader): out of these 10 companies, how many are nowadays still in business and still making adventure games?

The homeland of adventure games

We all know that the list is full of American games. But can you guess what other countries are represented?

And how huge is the US domination overall? Let's look at the top-5:

Adventures may not be selling as much in the US anymore, but with almost 2/3 of the games on the list, there's no doubt that the US is the homeland of adventure gaming.

I thought there were two surprises in this Top-5. (1) Japan ranking at #3, with 7 games, 6 of which are on the Nintendo DS. Clearly this little console has made quite an impression. (2) Canada at #4. Who might've known... I originally suspected that Jack had tipped the scales, but The Riddle of Master Lu, Myst III, Syberia 1 & 2 and Still Life are all legitimate games. So next time you hear about Canada, forget about the reindeer and Celine Dion, think "adventure games"!

And that's it for now! I'll post more stats from the top-100 in an upcoming post, including the disturbing truth about the most important element in adventure games!

12-30-2011, 03:28 PM	#195
Kurufinwe Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Santa Barbara, CA Posts: 3,038	In honour of GLaDOS being in the Top-10, let's do some Science! Using the Top-100 as the Absolute Truth about the adventure genre, let's see what we can learn... Best designer of all time I've actually given up trying to do this rigorously, since the results are going to depend on how you count people having co-designed games. So, based just on the number of games on the list, the top-10, and the #1 game, I'm going to say that the King of Adventures is Tim Schaffer But since many of his games were collaborations (MI1, MI2, DotT), one could also make a case for Jane Jensen. Science is powerless to settle this question. Best adventure company in the Universe Looking at the number of games on the list, there is no competition: Sierra: 15 LucasArts: 11 (out of only 14 published adventures!) Activision, AdventureSoft, Cing, Microids, Presto: 3 If you take quality into account, giving 1 point for game #100, 31 points for game #70, etc., the picture is slightly different, with the following top-10: Sierra wins, but only by a hair's breadth. Seriously, what was the point of doing a Top-100 if doesn't even manage to unequivocally settle the rivalry between Sierra and LucasArts?! Bonus question (left as an exercise to the reader): out of these 10 companies, how many are nowadays still in business and still making adventure games? The homeland of adventure games We all know that the list is full of American games. But can you guess what other countries are represented? And how huge is the US domination overall? Let's look at the top-5: Adventures may not be selling as much in the US anymore, but with almost 2/3 of the games on the list, there's no doubt that the US is the homeland of adventure gaming. I thought there were two surprises in this Top-5. (1) Japan ranking at #3, with 7 games, 6 of which are on the Nintendo DS. Clearly this little console has made quite an impression. (2) Canada at #4. Who might've known... I originally suspected that Jack had tipped the scales, but The Riddle of Master Lu, Myst III, Syberia 1 & 2 and Still Life are all legitimate games. So next time you hear about Canada, forget about the reindeer and Celine Dion, think "adventure games"! And that's it for now! I'll post more stats from the top-100 in an upcoming post, including the disturbing truth about the most important element in adventure games! __________________ Currently reading: Dune (F. Herbert) Recently finished: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (J. K. Rowling) [++], La Nuit des Temps (R. Barjavel) [+++] Currently playing: Skyrim Recently finished: MCF: Escape from Ravenhearst [+], The Walking Dead, ep. 1 [+++], Gray Matter [++]