Defining Difference Between Action Adventures and Platformers?

Action/Adventures usually involve more action. Haha, that's about all I can come up with.Yagr_Zero

I think that action adventures focus more on you finding the route yourself than them giving it away, while in platformers you basically know where you hae to go, you just have to know the appropriate actions required to reach your destination. And I also think that Ratchet and Cank is more of a hybriddue to it from borrowing the elements from both genres.

Platformers have a lot of collecting items, and power ups, or transforming and stuffs.

Action Adventure is more just an adventure focused more on combat. I'd consider a game like Zelda to be an action/adventure, and a game like Mario a platformer. It's pretty easy to see what makes each game different.

Well, here's my take on it. Action Adventure games are a widespread genre that encompasses many sub-genres. Platformers were originally a sub-genre of the Action genre, but now can either be catagorized as either a sub-genre of Action (in the case of the game being extremely linear in its design, with little to any exploration/non-linearity in its world design and game world progression), or Action-Adventure (if such non-linearity and exploration do exist).

One of the biggest factors to come into play is that when you come down to it, defining a game as an Action game (or a sub-genre of Action) really requires the game to have a relatively to very strict progression in what happens in the game, as the pacing and scaling of the difficulty of the game crucial for the action genre as a whole.

I find it interesting, though, that you cite Uncharted as an Action-Adventure game...because I found that game to be extremely linear in its design, aside from moments where you could explore the environment to get little secrets, and I'm really noticing the same Bionic Commando, now that I think about it.

Furthermore, I'd agrue the authenticity and validity of calling the platforming segments of Uncharted...well, platforming segments, given that it relies so heavily on pre-scripted jump animations, that it's extremely hard at times to gauge exactly which jump you're supposed to make, as his capable jumping distance seems to vary greatly enough to make it difficult to determine. This is in contrast to a game like, say, Super Mario Bros., where Mario's jumping length has a relatively clear, absolute maximum that's possible based on certain conditions, and these conditions are reliable enough for the player to gauge whether a jump is possible or not...but that's a whoooole different discussion I can go into. :P

Overall, my contention is that 'platformers' really shouldn't be used as a genre cIassification in and of itself, especially at this time. It could easily be used as a qualifier of what /styIe/ of action or action-adventure game is being done, but in and of itself it's merely indicating a gameplay 'styIe' that is prominent in the game. All of the games you listed contain platforming, yes, but really the distinction would be which are more action, and which are more action-adventure in design, IMHO.

Platformers have a lot of collecting items, and power ups, or transforming and stuffs.

Action Adventure is more just an adventure focused more on combat. I'd consider a game like Zelda to be an action/adventure, and a game like Mario a platformer. It's pretty easy to see what makes each game different.

treedoor

According to The Videogame StyIe Guide and Reference Manual, the difference is that action-adventure games combine elements from both the action and adventure genres. The elements being exploration and puzzle solving (adventure), and combat (action). Whereas platformers focus more on jumping and navigational challenges, rather than combat, which is typically an after thought in such games (minus the Ratchet & Clank series).

That's the best definition of the two genres I've seen thus far. It may not be perfect, but the line between those genres is very small (which the writers of the aforesaid manual mention even), so it's hard to define 'em any better than they did.

According to The Videogame StyIe Guide and Reference Manual, the difference is that action-adventure games combine elements from both the action and adventure genres. The elements being exploration and puzzle solving (adventure), and combat (action). Whereas platformers focus more on jumping and navigational challenges, rather than combat, which is typically an after thought in such games (minus the Ratchet & Clank series).

That's the best definition of the two genres I've seen thus far. It may not be perfect, but the line between those genres is very small (which the writers of the aforesaid manual mention even), so it's hard to define 'em any better than they did.

c_rake

thats a good question. I thought Gears of war was a shooter but I was wrong is an action adventure so maybe tomb raider would be a platformer in my book...now you got me confuse

[QUOTE="c_rake"]

According to The Videogame StyIe Guide and Reference Manual, the difference is that action-adventure games combine elements from both the action and adventure genres. The elements being exploration and puzzle solving (adventure), and combat (action). Whereas platformers focus more on jumping and navigational challenges, rather than combat, which is typically an after thought in such games (minus the Ratchet & Clank series).

That's the best definition of the two genres I've seen thus far. It may not be perfect, but the line between those genres is very small (which the writers of the aforesaid manual mention even), so it's hard to define 'em any better than they did.

Skylock00

Understandable. I don't agree with some of what they say either (specifically their review guidelines). I simply used that as reference because it's the only definition I know of. I'm sure there are better definitions out there, but I've yet to see one.

But even then, I have to wonder how one would go about doing that. This thread's seen many different definitions for these genres, some of which are acceptable definitions, but it makes me think that an exact definition simply isn't possible. As with so many out there, it becomes difficult to figure out which is the true one.

Hmm...perhaps it would be a good idea to make that thread you mentioned. Maybe then we'd get closer to answering this question.

Where are you guys getting your genre definitions from?

Here's a thought: Uncharted, Tomb Raider, Jak and Daxter, and Super Mario are ALL platformers. A platformer is a game that requires jumping in order to traverse terrain. Action adventure is a misnomer, as all games that operate within real-time are action games. Adventures, by definition, can be found in all games, and "adventure" games are little more than puzzle games, occasionally with minor RPG elements (dialogue trees).

And Gears of War is a third-person shooter, not an "action adventure".

Where are you guys getting your genre definitions from?

Here's a thought: Uncharted, Tomb Raider, Jak and Daxter, and Super Mario are ALL platformers. A platformer is a game that requires jumping in order to traverse terrain. Action adventure is a misnomer, as all games that operate within real-time are action games. Adventures, by definition, can be found in all games, and "adventure" games are little more than puzzle games, occasionally with minor RPG elements (dialogue trees).

And Gears of War is a third-person shooter, not an "action adventure".

Ngakor