Target Audience (part 2)

What is action adventure and what are audiences demands?

An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements.

Action-adventures require many of the same physical skills as action games, but also offer a storyline, numerous characters, an inventory system, dialogue, and other features of adventure games. They are faster-paced than pure adventure games, because they include both physical and conceptual challenges.

Action-adventure games normally include a combination of complex story elements, which are displayed for players using audio and video.

The story is heavily reliant upon the player character's movement, which triggers story events and thus affects the flow of the game. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action-adventure_game

...the purest form of computer game, constantly engaging your brain without wasting your time...
http://www.angelfire.com/hero/tjekanefir/adventure.htm

...enjoy games in which the pace is slow and the reward is for thinking and figuring, rather than quick reflexes.  The element that brings adventure games to life for me is the stories around which they are woven.  When done right, it is a form of storytelling that can be engrossing in a way that only interaction can bring.....They are interactive, but they are not movies.
http://grumpygamer.com/2152210
 

...like puzzles with satisfying rather than random or contrived solutions, and I like a rich game world full of interesting discoveries to be made...

http://www.angelfire.com/hero/tjekanefir/adventure.htm

...emphasis on exploring large worlds, opening paths to new areas, and solving puzzles.

http://timewarpgamer.com/top10s/action_adventures.html 

Games in the action/adventure sub-genre may not have the non-stop shoot 'em up action of a first person shooter, but they make up for it with in-depth story lines and game play that includes a mix of combat, adventure, and problem solving...
http://compactiongames.about.com/od/topgames/tp/topactionadventure.htm 



What action adventure shouldn't be or do:

• Waste players time

'...don't have hours to waste trying every item in my inventory on a mysterious statue any more, nor is the tedium of that really what I buy games for...' http://www.angelfire.com/hero/tjekanefir/adventure.htm

• Be repetitive 

'...don't like repetitive and unrewarding tasks like inventory management or walking back and forth across large empty screens...'
http://www.angelfire.com/hero/tjekanefir/adventure.htm