What is Point and Click Games?
Point and click games are the same category as adventure genre. Players must use a mouse to move characters and solve puzzles in order to progress through the game. For example, LucasArts games like Monkey Island and Day of the Tentacle use different verbs that protagonist must follow. There is an engine called SCUMM, which developers use to dialogue trees, commands and other formats of languages. SCUMM was first used in Maniac Mansion and developed by Rob Glibert and many more. During gameplay, players will see different actions like pull, look, open, close and many more. These commands can help you with puzzles and navigate through the game. It might seem complaint and tedious but it’s worth it. Point n click is like interactive novel where the player steps into the shoes of protagonist.
While playing point and click games, the player must figure out how to get to point A and B. Players must listen carefully to dialogue of NPC to figure out how to solve certain problems. Sometimes you would get stuck and there is a hint system to help players in-game. Trust me, I have gotten stuck in point n clicks in my lifetime like Toonstruck. I had to go to Gamefaqs for guides on how to beat the game. Anyways, point n clicks open doors to new possibilities and sometimes doesn’t take long to complete. I will be talking some 90s point and click games that peaked in this post. 1990s was the golden age of adventure point and clicks. I remember MS DOS days went I played Simon the Sorcerer with no soundcard.
90s Peaked Point N Click Games
Afterwards was Discworld (I can’t believe I remember that game), That’s all I remember playing during MS DOS days but fast forward to future. There was Telltale Games era like Back to the Future, The Wolf Among Us and Batman. I am not here to talk about modern point n click games but 90s. There was some point and click, I downloaded during the time I had Steam. Broken Sword was one of them other was Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail, both games peaked in 1990s. Broken Sword had a stain glass design and even protagonist narrate everything they do. I found that kind of funny but that’s how game goes but never played the sequels. After I ended pc gaming and moved to consoles, I didn’t see any point and clicks.
Mainly point and click games are meant or design for PCs. Due to the specs and more flexible than controller. I beg to defer that some point n click games were ported to PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and Xbox. For example, Yu-No: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of this world which was ported to Sega Saturn. There is a 2017 remake of the game along with anime based on it. I might do a retro review or analysis on 2017 YU-No in the future. Grim Fandango was ported to PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One along with I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. There is some in IOS and Android users to enjoy as well.
Continue
The 1990s point n click games were mind blowing as a kid. Too bad, they don’t make point n click video games like this anymore. Don’t forget about voice acting and cutscenes that co-exist with storyline. There are unforgettable characters like Ransom the Clown from Thimbleweed. Personally, I haven’t played these in ages but mainly fighting, shooters and many more. Nowadays, you don’t see a lot of gamers play point n click adventures games anymore. Yes, pc gaming is huge right now and so many popular Ips is on the market. There might be indie developers that do point and click adventure games that recreated MS DOS era.
I have missed buying some point n click adventure titles like Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father, Clock Tower and Dark Seed. PlayStation Store might have some in their library for me to purchase later on. In the late 90s, point and click rules with immersive storytelling and giving players more freedom to explore new worlds. Some people think point n click genre is very boring, but it makes you feel like a kid again. There are companies like Sierra On-Line, Humongous Entertainment and many more that people of all ages will enjoy. Speaking of Humongous Entertainment, I am planning on doing educational video games blogpost soon. Stay tune for it, but back on topic of point and click video games.
Closing
I really enjoyed point n click video games from 90s along with early 2000s as well. Whether, you are solving a mystery and having a quick laugh. It doesn’t matter the age because it’s for everyone. Don’t forget there are different variants of point of clicks like visual novels, interactive full motion video and more. Feel free to check out those on your own time. You can buy some point n click adventure games on Amazon or any online retailers. What about your thoughts on it? Let me know in the comments below and thank you for reading this blogpost. Stay tuned for more in the future.
