Multitasking

There's another benefit to playing a text-heavy adventure game that I didn't mention earlier, but thought I'd put down here. You can play guitar during the dialog.

I wasn't sure if this would be possible or not, but as it turns out the concept is sound. You see, practicing picking patterns on a guitar is just plain fun. Your fingers move in a predetermined rhythm over the strings, and the goal is to have each pluck make a note that rings. It's easy, but most importantly, it's satisfying. Without expending too much thought into what you're doing, suddenly the notes from the guitar sound suspiciously like music.

And you do it over and over again. For hours.

When playing The Longest Journey, I'd recommend putting a guitar in your lap and just idly plucking the strings in your picking pattern while the characters interact. At the end of the scene, you've enjoyed some good dialog and your fingers have learned a new skill. Best of all, if you do it right, you're providing a killer soundtrack to the characters. Win-win!