The GWJ Adventure Game Club - Main Thread

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What's This?
You know how there are book clubs for people who want to read the same book at the same time and then talk about it? You know how there's a GWJ JRPG club and a GWJ RPG club? Well this is the same idea, but with much, much, much shorter games. Games we love, adventure games! The main idea is to play adventure games that may or may not have been sitting in our backlogs for quite a while, play it together, and hopefully motivate each other to finish it. Some adventure games can be pretty intricate, and asking fellow players for hints might not be as spoilery as reading a full walkthrough.

What's currently going on?
The GWJ adventure game group is now "retired" due to waning interest and slight burn out of yours truly.
If there ever seems to be extra interest in picking it up again... well, we'll see.

What types of games do we play?
1. Adventure Games that are at least a year old.
2. Games that are good, relatively inexpensive, and available through Steam, GMG, Humble Bundle or other legit means.

How do we decide on games to play?
I'm going to be maintaining a list of candidates. Anyone wishing to nominate a candidate must have that nomination seconded and thirded. There are a LOT of adventure games out there, so it's going to be tough to narrow it down. For the moment, I'm keeping nominations permanently open, though I might close them up if the list gets too bloated.
Please be kind enough to nominate, second or third only games you own (or plan to buy) and genuinely intend to play them.
Each round, I'll draw ten games from the list (9 randomly, 1 "Eleima's pick"), and offer them up for a vote. If that game doesn't win the vote, it must explicitly gain the approval of three forum members before it can be added to the list of candidates.
Everyone can vote for as many games as they please. The game with most votes will be the game the club plays next.
This system is subject to change depending on feedback.

How long do we have to play each game?
Two months, in essence, but we'll be starting off a new game every month. Ultimately, we're all playing at our pace, of course, but aiming to play together.

What are the guidelines on conversation spoilers?
Please be considerate of your fellow gamers and use the spoiler tags. This includes story beats, and puzzle solutions. When in doubt, you're better off using the spoilers. No one is going to complain about having to tap or click open spoiler tags.

Can anyone join? How do I join?
All are most welcome! There's no sign-up sheet, no formal list of members, just hop in the main thread here, or any one of the game threads! I'll keep track of the game threads in the original post here, just below.

Game History
Game 1 (Nov 1st, 2018 - Dec 31st, 2018): Oxenfree
Game 2 (Dec 1st, 2018 - Jan 31st, 2019): Tacoma
Game 3 (Jan 1st, 2019 - Feb 28th, 2019): RiME
Game 4 (Feb 1st, 2019 - Mar 31st, 2019): Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth
Game 5 (Mar 1st, 2019 - Apr 30th, 2019): Thimbleweed Park
Game 6 (Apr 1st, 2019 - May 31st, 2019): Blackwell Legacy
Game 7 (May 1st, 2019 - Jun 30th, 2019): Blackwell Unbound
Game 8 (Jun 1st, 2019 - Jul 31st, 2019): What Remains of Edith Finch
Game 9 (Jul 1st, 2019 - Aug 31st, 2019): To the Moon
Game 10 (Aug 1th, 2019 - Sep 30th): Night in the Woods
Game 11 (Sep 1st, 2019 - Oct 31st, 2019): Blackwell Convergence
Game 12 (Oct 1st, 2019 - Nov 30th, 2019): Fran Bow
Game 13 (Nov 1st, 2019 - Dec 31st, 2019): Her Story
Game 14 (Dec 1st, 2019 - Jan 31st, 2020): The Curse of Monkey Island
Game 15 (Jan 1st, 2020 - Feb 29th, 2020): Return of the Obra Dinn
Game 16 (Feb 1st, 2020 - Mar 31st, 2020): Silence
Game 17 (Mar 1st, 2020 - April 30th, 2020): Grim Fandango
Game 18 (Apr 1st, 2020 - May 31st, 2020): The Last Express
Game 19 (May 1st, 2020 - June 30th, 2020): Tales from the Borderlands
Game 20 (Jun 1st, 2020 - July 31st, 2020): Day of the Tentacle
Game 21 (Jul 1st, 2020 - Aug 31st, 2020): The Walking Dead
Game 22 (Aug 1st, 2020 - Sep 30th, 2020): The Red Strings Club
Game 23 (Sep 1st, 2020 - Oct 31st, 2020): Blackwell Deception
Game 24 (Oct 1st, 2020 - Nov 30th, 2020): The Secret of Monkey Island
Game 25 (Nov 1st, 2020 - Dec 31st, 2020): Loom
Game 26 (Dec 1st, 2020 - Jan 31st, 2021): Kentucky Route Zero
Game 27 (Jan 1st, 2021 - Feb 28th, 2021): Zork Nemesis
Game 28 (Feb 1st, 2021 - Mar 31st, 2021): The Blackwell Epiphany
Game 29 (Mar 1st, 2021 - April 30th, 2021): Observation
Game 30 (Apr 1st, 2021 - May 31st, 2021): Whispers of a Machine
Game 31 (May 1st, 2021 - Jun 30th, 2021): Eastshade
Game 32 (Jun 1st, 2021 - Jul 31st, 2021): Forgotton Anne
Game 33 (Jul 1st, 2021 - Aug 31st, 2021): Heaven’s Vault
Game 34 (Aug 1st, 2021 - Sep 30th, 2021): The Sexy Brutale
Game 35 (Sep 1st, 2021 - Oct 31st, 2021): VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action
Game 36 (Oct 1st, 2021 - Nov 30th, 2021): Beneath a Steel Sky
Game 37 (Nov 1st, 2021 - Dec 31st, 2021): Memoria
Game 38 (Dec 1st, 2021 - Jan 31st, 2022): Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
Game 39 (Jan 1st, 2022 - Feb 28th, 2022): King's Quest 5: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder
Game 40 (Feb 1st, 2022 - Mar 31st, 2022): King's Quest 6: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow
Game 41 (Mar 1st, 2022 - Apr 30th, 2022): The Darkside Detective

This is it, folks, we’re doing it! So a quick run down on what I’ve set up so far and I’ve got planned. I set up the spreadsheet and started throwing ideas in there, although I really don’t think we’ll be lacking for options. I’m going to try to factor in estimates which are directly coming from How Long to Beat and thus sometimes approximated, depending on how many people have contributed. I’ll try and add links to différents stores and I’ll keep an eye on sales and the like.
That’s it for now. Nominations are always open, and I’ll kick off the vote on the 15th.

Yay! I nominate Life is Strange, Season 1

Excellent. It's going to be interesting to see what proportion of the games will be on Mac. I'm betting it's going to be the majority.

Noice.

Are we doing it like the RPG thread where we just nominate a single game and then second other ones?

If so, I shall nominate... The Book of Unwritten Tales 2!

Oh, I do have a question: do you folks want me to keep track of the whole gamified aspect of it, like we’ve seen in other threads? I wasn’t planning to, because it isn’t always a fair thing to be knocked down a level because you didn’t like a game and didn’t want to play it for whatever reasons.
But I know some people are super into it because they’re freaking MVPs (totally not looking at you, Pyxi <3 ).

pyxistyx wrote:

Are we doing it like the RPG thread where we just nominate a single game and then second other ones?

You can nominate as many games as you like but you cannot second your own game. You can second as many as you like since this will be general, permanent candidate list.
If I’m not making any sense, I’ll rephrase.
For example, Tangle nominated Life Is Strange. For it to go on the list, it must be seconded and thirded.
Why then, are there already games on the list? Because it’s my thread and I’m a dictator.

It doesn't sound necessary to me but I'm ok if others want it.

I’m nominating Oxenfree!

(Fine, I’ll play by the rules)

I'm getting nomination anxiety. I'm overthinking it because I keep thinking someone else probably played this game already and likely has an opinion of it, or it's something I didn't play yet but want to or it's something I did play and want to share the love.

Anyhoo, I'll nominate (or second - I'm not sure because it's in the spreadsheet) Syberia.

Eleima wrote:

I’m nominating Oxenfree!

(Fine, I’ll play by the rules)

Can we second or third other games than those we've nominated?

Yesssss

I'm nominating Blackwell Legacy.

I’ll second Oxenfree.

Yay, well done Eleima.

Well this is odd, some of you may know I'm terrible at completing games... Here however I've finished three of the five nominations so far! What's going on?

I enjoyed all three. Life is Strange, Oxenfree, Blackwell... Wouldn't play again but be happy to chit chat along if picked.

Going to check my backlog for possible noms...

oh no, don't feel the need to gamify it Eleima.

I'll second Blackwell Legacy. I'd quite like to play through that again with the commentary on anyway.

I want to nominate Tales from the Borderlands because I already own it and really want an excuse to play it, but given how people who don't already own it will likely feel reluctant to spend money on a Telltale product right now, I will withhold that nomination until a later date.

I will instead nominate "Contradiction - Spot the Liar!", because why shouldn't the adventure game club also be an FMV game club

Oh YEAH. I'll second Contradiction as well, mainly just to see how other people react to it

mrlogical wrote:

I want to nominate Tales from the Borderlands...

Yeah, same. I'm playing it and aim is to finish it before this club kicks off, but it's been on the pile for ages, back when they paid their talent. I look at it as enjoying their work rather than supporting those at the top.

Edit. Checks candidate list, Borderlands already on there. To be fair, lots of folk probably already own it.

Hey everyone! I'd like to start by nominating Thimbleweed Park but I'll probably be back with more.

I don't think they need it but I'll second/third Oxenfree and Syberia while I'm at it.

I...shall... nom...inate... Firewatch and What Remains of Edith Finch, because I don't know if they're widely thought of as Adventure Games, but they seem like it to me and I want to play both.

Ooh yeah, seconding Thimbleweed Park and What Remains of Edith Finch, both games I think I would like but haven't gotten to.

This is awesome! Count me in!

I'll hold off on nominating and seconding/thirding for a bit, but I am following along.

What remains of Edith Finch, highly recommend. Properly atmospheric and sits on my Goty list 2018 atm. Firewatch a slow burn but writing and actoring excellent, plus very pretty, was on my Goty list last year or '16.

I'll third Thimbleweed park.

I'll nominate Tacoma

Did I read somewhere can nominate more than one? If so I'll chuck To the Moon in the mix too.

Nominate:
- Night of the Rabbit
- A New Beginning
- Solstice

(Why, yes, I am a Daedalic fan.)

Second:
- Tacoma
- Oxenfree
- What Remains of Edith Finch

Eleima wrote:

Oh, I do have a question: do you folks want me to keep track of the whole gamified aspect of it, like we’ve seen in other threads?

No. I hate that, and it feels like crap to get "dinged" for not replaying something or for not slogging through a game I don't like.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
Eleima wrote:

Oh, I do have a question: do you folks want me to keep track of the whole gamified aspect of it, like we’ve seen in other threads?

No. I hate that, and it feels like crap to get "dinged" for not replaying something or for not slogging through a game I don't like.

That’s interesting. I never imagined anyone would feel that way about it (that you’re punished for not playing). I always envisioned it as a positive, that you gain something by playing. That’s valuable feedback, thanks.

PaladinTom wrote:

Anyhoo, I'll nominate (or second - I'm not sure because it's in the spreadsheet) Syberia.

Freyja wrote:

I'm nominating Blackwell Legacy.

pyxistyx wrote:

I'll second Blackwell Legacy.

Oh darlings. You adorable people. Of **course** I've already put a bunch of games with female protagonists on the list.

So quick recap:

Games I've already put on the candidates list because WHO IS THE BOSS OF YOU?!

  • Memoria (2013)
  • Resonance (2012)
  • Botanicula (2012)
  • Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth (2017)
  • Tales from the Borderlands (2014)
  • Blackwell Legacy (2006)
  • Blackwell Deception (2011)
  • Blackwell Convergence (2009)
  • Blackwell Unbound (2007)
  • Blackwell Epiphany (2014)
  • Syberia (2002)
  • Syberia 2 (2004)
  • Syberia 3 (2017)
  • Shivers (1995)
  • Torin's Passage (1995)
  • The Longest Journey (1999)
  • Grim Fandango (1998)
  • Day of the Tentacle (1993)
  • Gray Matter (2010)

(obviously, sequels will not be "available" before their predecessors)

Nominated (still needs two confirmations):
Life Is Strange (2015) - Tanglebones
The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 (2016) - Pyxistyx
To the Moon (2011) - Bubblefuzz
Firewatch (2016) - SpacePPoliceman
Night of the Rabbit (2013) - ClockworkHouse
A New Beginning (2010) - ClockworkHouse

Seconded (still needs one confirmation):
Contradiction - Spot the Liar! (2015) - mrlogical, Pyxistyx
Tacoma (2017) - Bubblefuzz, ClockworkHouse

Thirded (going on the list):
Oxenfree (2016) - Eleima, Stevintendo, ClockworkHouse
What Remains of Edith Finch (2017) - SpacePPoliceman, mrlogical, ClockworkHouse
Thimbleweed Park (2014) - Stevintendo, mrlogical, Bubblefuzz

Clocky, are we talking Solstice, the 1990 puzzle game for the NES, or Solstice, the 2016 visual novel by MoaCube (which is amazing, by the by) ?

Godzilla Blitz, I'm super glad you're joining us, and I hope you won't feel that I'm knocking the leveling system. It's just that I personally don't feel the need for the levels (says the woman with a gazillion badges on her Steam profile *sigh*), and if I don't have to keep track of those, that's one less thing for me to worry about.

!!EVERYONE!! I've got an idea to make the choices each round more "fair". How about I let the RNG choose 4 or 9 and I pick one to offer up to you folks? Like Eleima's pick? And then I explain why it's awesome.

The 2016 visual novel which is on my pile specifically because you recommended it.

It ***is*** amazeballs, but I'm not sure I want to have visual novels qualify. The argument could be made for them, since we're including "walking simulators". I don't know. I'm on the fence. I love it, and it's amazing, but... I need some feedback, folks: should we allow Solstice, the 2016 visual novel by MoaCube (which is spectacular, I don't know if I've mentioned that) ?

VNs still feel like they're part of the same general category as adventure games to me

I feel like the line between visual novels and something like Life Is Strange (which I will happily second) is mostly about presentation, not mechanics.

I will third Tacoma, another game I own and have been meaning to play...

Eleima, I don't understand your suggestion about the RNG. Is it that you'd randomly select a handful of items off the list for us to vote on? Or you'd just pick yourself from a randomly selected subset of the list? Apologies if this is clear and my brain just isn't working.

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