I think a reasonable hypothesis is that enjoyment of adventure games affects how role playing games are played.
I don't really see the correlation as they are rather different experiences. A typical adventure game has a set and linear story which is central to the experience, and a series of ingredients that must be combined in a very specific order to progress from A to B. In a typical western RPG, story is peripheral to combat, and progression is nonlinear in the sense that the player generally has multiple and often random means of progressing, not from A to B in the story, but in character power. There are certainly adventure type elements such as find the key to open the door, but these are also largely peripheral to the meat of the experience. Once character power reaches a certain level, the game can be completed, generally by fighting a final battle that previously would have been impossible. It is perfectly possible to enjoy both types of experiences, or one or the other, or neither. I guess playstyle expectations of one might carry over into the approach to another for an enthusiast of one style, but it doesn't seem necessary at all.
I guess it would be helpful if you were more explicit about your theory, i.e. 'Adventure enthusiasts tend towards speed-run style RPG play' or whatnot.
So, firstly, do you enjoy adventure games? Additionally, which adventure gaming series do you most enjoy?
Generally, no; or rather, I do enjoy them, but far less than other types of games. More than any other type of game, they require reading the minds of the developers, in a bad way. My favorite example is a hedge of impassable thorn bushes that can
only be overcome by pouring rancid apple juice on them so that a nearby group of goats eat them.
I recently played the rerelease of Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars and enjoyed it quite a bit, largely due to most of its puzzles actually making sense while still (sometimes) being challenging, a well done built-in hint system, and lack of fail states.
Secondly, how do you prefer to play role playing games? Specifically, do you enjoy speed running and power gaming?
To me, speed running is for people who prefer 'beating' games to actually playing them, and powergaming implies exploiting a game's mathematical systems past the point of developer intention - again for those who find more joy in breaking a system than engaging it.* ** I play RPGs to develop characters my way and to bring them to life through exploration of the game's systems and stories. I generally have the most fun constructing 'suboptimal' characters, built to personality concepts rather than a mathematical algorithm (or, worse, a "build guide"), and finding ways to succeed in a manner consistent with those characters. The best role-playing, whether in P&P or in a CRPG, is to be found in character weakness, not strength.
*I do approve of difficult games such as Dark Souls which all but require the munchkin mindset, but RPGs typically are nowhere near this tough. Developer intention is key here.
**Also, I realize that I am getting preachy here about bad people who play the wrong way, when there "really" "is" no "wrong" way to enjoy a game. I get it. No one needs to call me on it.
