I played a few of these when I was growing up and I've given more of them a chance here at GOG.

I have to say that this genre is rapidly becoming my most hated.

It's sad because there are a few things I like about the genre. The story-telling is great. The imagery is often impressive. Heck, I really want to like this genre... but it's just not enough to overcome its shortcomings...

Problem 1: This mostly applies to the most linear among the titles. It drives me absolutely bonkers when I *SHOULD* be able to do something, but I can't because I didn't do something meaningless before it. Like, you're telling me I can't pick this key up because I didn't discover that some door was locked? Or, I can't have an important conversation because I have to go back and find someone that I needed to have a *meaningless* conversation with first. WHY??!!

Problem 2: Stupid puzzles. Not all puzzles are stupid. You know the kinds of puzzles I'm talking about. The kind of stuff that you would never even dream of unless you: 1, spend years completing the game OR, 2, read about it in a game walk-through.

Problem 3: Ultimately, my problem is this: these games don't actually feel like games most of the time. They are more like decent movies that you have to do a ton of work to watch. It's like popping in a DVD and having to solve ciphers to get to the next scene every 5 minutes.

Anyone else feel the same way?

The level of generalization is too damn high.

I personally love the genre, but I of course don't love every single adventure game. Your mentioned problems are present in some games, but you can't just throw that to the whole genre.

You might have had some really shitty experiences. What games did you play?

I think those points depend heavily on each game. What adventures have you've been playing?

Edit: Ninja'd

Nope. :p

let me guess you've mostly played Sierra P'n'C's? Have you tried the Lucas Arts games?

Just to really warp your mind try "Loom" by lucasarts...

Also don't fear fanboys most fans acknowledge the problems of the games they enjoy

My favorite is the Monkey Island series. Including the newest Telltale's version.

Grim Fandango, Grim Fandango, The Curse of Monkey Island, Grim Fandango, Gemini Rue and Grim Fandango.

Interesting. My observation was the opposite. I could've sworn that i've encountered #1 in at least one LA adventure, while never encountering any of them in Sierra. Though i guess these lie beyond the LA/Sierra realm.

The only ones I've played off GOG so far are Sanitarium and BaSS. I don't think either one had extremely obtuse puzzles, but I did have to reach for an FAQ on both of them a couple times, mainly because I'm just not very good at these games.

While I admire your support for the game, (far in excess of one of its 'sponsors'), it's not quite a point and click, more a look and click.

Please do. {ShotgunReady.cs}

I haven't played that many PaC Adventure games, but those that I've played didn't really feel like work, torture, or movie you need to work to watch... Each had a nice atmosphere, and a nice story, so they kept me going until the end. And most important, I had fun playing them.

Although from what you've described, those, whatever they are, really seem like games with bad game mechanics.

1 pixel ribbon on the first screen.... which you can't return to when you realise you need it... at least in LA games if you forget something you can go get it.

Also number 1 is generally rare as doing the "useless" thing usually gives you an item you need to use...

Don't remember a 1px ribbon anywhere, but i haven't played all the Sierra adventures. Plenty of dead ends in LA adventures too, You can block Yourself pretty easily in Last Crusade without trying too hard.
ANYHOW that's not why i asked. I was wondering about the problems mentioned in the OP, and the Sierra connection.;)