Point-and-click adventure
An adventure where you use the mouse or your finger to point at places, objects and characters in the scene to move, examine, talk and use what is in your inventory. The challenge is combining items and dialogue clues to solve the puzzles that move the story forward.
Also known as: point and click, point & click, graphic adventure
This is a basic entry: it has the definition and the classification. Full entries add history, games and a demo.
History
- 1984Origin
Enchanted Scepters (1984), by Silicon Beach Software for the Macintosh, is the first known game with a mouse-driven point-and-click interface.
Adventure game (Wikipedia) - 1985
Déjà Vu, the first MacVenture game, fleshes out the interface and lets you drag objects around the scene.
Adventure game (Wikipedia) - 1987
Lucasfilm Games' Maniac Mansion introduces the on-screen verb-object interface that becomes a staple of the genre.
Adventure game (Wikipedia)
Reference games
1987
Maniac Mansion
You control a group of teenagers who break into a mad scientist's mansion to rescue a friend. Instead of typing, you pick a verb from a menu and click on an object, using the SCUMM engine.
1990
The Secret of Monkey Island
Guybrush Threepwood wants to become a pirate in an absurdly funny Caribbean. You solve inventory puzzles and insult sword fights with verbs and clicks, and you almost never die, so the game invites fearless exploration.
1993
Myst
You arrive on a deserted island through a magic book and explore it by clicking on pre-rendered images. There is no inventory and no enemies; the challenge is to observe the world and work out how its machines operate.
2003
Samorost
A tiny gnome must stop a huge spaceship from crashing into his home planet. There is no text and no visible inventory; you click around the scenery until you find what reacts and in which order.
2025
Cheese is the Reason
A short point-and-click adventure made in 72 hours for Ludum Dare 57. You go down into the depths of Rat City to unclog a customer's pipe, talking to characters and using items.
Subgenres
- Escape roomYou wake up locked in a room and have to get out: you click on everything to examine it, find hidden items and clues, and combine them to open drawers, locks and, finally, the door. There are no enemies and no rush; the challenge is paying close attention.