We must therefore restrict our problem solving to the intellectual realm. The solutions to problems in an adventure game should be difficult to conceive but not difficult to execute. This gives us a reasonably narrow border between adventure and the various action genres. This still leaves us needing a line between adventure and role-playing. Games in these two genres share many characteristics, although they usually lean in different directions on the emphasis thereof.
Adventures usually stress on story and puzzle content.
In contrast, RPG emphasize interaction with a larger and more randomly behaving virtual world. These differences in emphasis are not definitional, however, since a game clearly in either genre can be designed with either or both of these elements. Character development is a tempting characteristic to use to divide these two genres. Unfortunately, it falls a bit short. It is not unreasonable for an adventure protagonist to acquire new abilities, such as lock picking or increased dexterity, during the quest.