Penny Arcade Adventures Seduces

Nov 13th, 2008 by David McD in Game Criticism

An intersting observation: the second episode of the endearingly-titled On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Penny Arcade Adventures has just come out and I’ve acquired it, as I did with the first episode. I’m about half way through, and I can see the improvements they’ve made without sacrificing any of the fun of the original. However, the very fact that I have purchased and am playing the game is curious. The game is a phase-time RPG, and a simple one at that. The world is not overly large, the range of items and character development is modest, and the variety of enemies and obstacles is likewise undaunting. Yet the game is so much fun! But what makes me more eager to play PAA than other, similar titles? Why do I choose to purchase this title but ignore Fallout 3? This is not to say I won’t eventually get Fallout 3, or enjoy it when I do. But I jumped to purchase PAA while I am content to wait more or less indefinitely to buy Fallout. Why?

I have been a fan of Penny Arcade and their jokes and antics for some years now, almost as long as the strip has existed. I have watched the creators grow from a couple of jokers with a copy of Photoshop into premiere game critics and the progenitors of now-tremendous PAX and Child’s Play. Is it then a sense of loyalty or familiarity that makes their game so attractive, simple though it is? There is far less opportunity in the game to offer the kind of witty commentary I enjoy about the strip, and while I also appreciate the art style (both in the stip and the game), art alone has never sold me on a game before. Perhaps its my penchant for creative indie product. I’m on the verge of beating Braid (one puzzle piece to go, that last one in world 6) and I’m playing through World of Goo. PAA is a similarly quirky title from an indie developer. Likely this is part of the reason. It is elusive, the reason for this enthusiasm in the face of apathy towards other, more sophisticated titles. I am curious: do others also experience an attachment to games that would not logically seem to warrant such enthusiasm? Do you have a pet favorite that holds some magical drawing power that seems to affect only you?

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1 Comment

  • I’m sure I have experienced that as well, although I can’t think of much in the way of specific examples.

    Actually, your experience with the Penny Arcade Adventures is very similar to my love of the Sam and Max games…
    I played the original adventure game as a kid and discovered that these beloved characters were established characters from the comics world, and started to read all of them I could find (which wasn’t many – they were already quite rare.)
    The animated series I didn’t really get into because I disliked how they were dumbed down for children, although appreciate that a show at least existed. For one part, due to the brand loyalty again, pleased that the creator was doing so well with them. Also, though, I didn’t mind it was targeted at children because I fell in love with them as a child and owe a part of my current intelligence to them: the way the characters speak inspired me to improve my vocabulary.

    So, once the new episodic game series came out, I’ve been slowly working my way through them, and love them very much.
    And as a fantastic epilogue to that story, I just finally received for Christmas this year the re-released book collection of all the Sam and Max comics ever made (besides the interactive online one), so I can finally read the ones I’ve missed.

    While trying to think of other examples though, I realized that often nostalgia comes into play as a factor. I don’t know if that can really be considered the same thing. Games that if I looked back now with more critical eyes I would probably find flawed, I will still support having loved them when I was first getting into games. I’ve also noted, not surprisingly, that people will tend to glorify the era when they first got into gaming.

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