The Battle Of The Genres

[Stratadrake]

Am I seriously the first person to pose this question in the videogame discussion area? Wow....

Okay, we all have our favorites, but in general, which [i]genre[/i] is your favorite? There are always rules and exceptions to your preferences, but in general, which type of game comprises the most of what you like to play?

Allow me to define the terms.

[b]Arcade[/b] games revolve around one central, unwavering play mechanic. These sorts of games are 'perpetual' in the sense that there is no "You win, The End", you simply keep playing until you run out of lives, credits, whatever, and receive a Game Over (and possibly a high score). They're the endurance matches of videogames, always challenging you to score higher before the time runs out. Arcade games are usually single-player but may occasionally be multiplayer. The "classics", e.g. Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Centipede, and Asteroid, are all arcade games. Many puzzle games like Tetris and its clones are also arcade games.

[b]Action[/b] games also involve fairly simple play mechanics, but not to the simplistic extent of an arcade game. Action games focus mainly on the intensity of the experience, the adrenaline rush of playing through it. Mastering the (usually simple) controls is essential, but so too are quick reflexes, and you'll also need some degree of tactical thinking to overcome obstacles (usually hostile opponents). Action games usually have discrete start and end points, and a set number of levels/matches between them. Thus, unlike an Arcade game, it is possible to 'win' an Action game. Best known for the three-letter moniker FPS (or its lesser-known cousin, 3PS), Action games are usually "shooters", but the genre is actually a litle more broad and also includes a few sub-genres like tournament fighting ("beat-em-up") games.

[b]Action (Sports)[/b] games are based on real-life sports, enough said. But of course there's more. Sports games vie to be true-to-life, and to this end real-life sports tactics -- more than fast reflexes or a quick trigger finger -- are key to winning. Sports games are usually best enjoyed in multiplayer.

[b]Action/Adventure[/b] is the jack-of-all-trades, or at least tries to be. These games require some measure of reflexes and control mastery, but not to the brutal degree of a pure action or arcade game. Rather, the main focus of the game is usually on the environments that you travel and the maneuvers you need to perform to survive them. For this reason, A/A games generally utilize a simple yet diverse control scheme allowing you to perform any variety of maneuvers depending on the situation. One staple of which gives the A/A genre its well-deserved nickname, as the "platform jumpers". Action/Adventure games utilize a variety of gameplay mechanics, including exploration, combat, and solving (usually simple) puzzles. Mario is the obvious example here, and many others have followed in those steps.

[b]Adventure[/b] games, pure adventure games, are all about the environment and story telling. The plot progresses from start to finish, and as you progress through it, the core play mechanic revolves not around action, fighting, or jumping from one ledge to another, but on exploring, finding items, and solving puzzles that range in complexity from the slightly cryptic to the downright maddening. Adventure games usually avoid quick-reflex gameplay in favor of the slower, more 'intellecutal' approach. These are the games where you save often, save everywhere, because if you mess up on the next puzzle, you might receive an instant Game Over (and this is especially true of old-school adventure games). Myst is perhaps the most well-known example in this genre.

[b]Real-Time Strategy[/b] (RTS) games may also be called Real-Time Tactical games. Games of this type revolve around two central play mechanics: resource gathering and combat. The former requires you to explore, find and retrieve items, and use them to form the strategy, the plan to fulfill your objectives. The latter requires you to manage miniature armies of many units, assigning their orders in real time, and often during the heat of skirmishes against similar enemy forces.

[b]Turn-based Strategy[/b] games are somewhat rarer than their RTS cousins, but they tend to employ the same mechanics of resource harvesting and combat management (usually with more emphasis on the former). Turn-based strategy games generally proceed slowly and sporadically, allowing the user as much time to think out their plans and manage their game resources as they need. Turn-based strategy games may have a button the user selects to signify when they have completed their turn, or they may proceed continuously at a slow pace to allow the user to act out their plans in a patient fashion. For this reason, games like SimCity can also be considered turn-based.

[b]Card/Board Strategy Games[/b] are the sports section of the strategy genre in the sense that they adhere to the official rules of an established board or card game. The same skills used to win those games in real life will also win the videogames of this genre. Chess is the obvious flagship of this genre....

[b]Pure RPG[/b]'s, the high and established Role-Playing Games, are like Adventure games in the sense of narrative, exploration, item-hunting, and puzzle-solving, but they also utilize a fighting/combat system that emphasizes strategy and tactics relative to the main character(s) at hand. RPG's are generally distinguished by the presence of a level/experience system in which your characters' actions are limited by their skill progression in the story rather than the player's tactile reflexes (as in an action game). For this reason, RPG's typically utilize a statistics system to describe the abilities of your main character(s), the effects of which are felt throughout each and every aspect of combat, and the combat system is often turn-based with an emphasis on strategy. Videogames based on D&D architecture are clear examples of a 'pure' RPG, and so are many of the Final Fantasies.

[b]Light RPG[/b]'s are similar to RPG's in terms of narrative and other Adventure elements, but their actual gameplay proceeds more like an Action/Adventure game; the control scheme that you use to explore and solve puzzles is the same control scheme that you will also use to defeat monsters in combat; the game could even require you to do both at one time! For this reason, combat is usually real-time with a greater emphasis on maneuvers and tactics (and lesser emphasis on levels and statistics) than in a "pure" RPG. Kingdom Hearts is a good example.

* * * * *

Of course, it is always possible that I forgot about a genre or two. If you know of one not listed, please describe it! (Just make sure that you're not describing a [i]subvariety for[/i] one of the genres I've already listed)
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[Meredianna]

Well this is one of a type topic..hmm lets see, i really like all if they are good ( graphics, gameplay..etc.) ..except sports =( i dont like sports games.

[Lexar]

A good effort to try and cathegorise the game genres, but I don't agree with the method.
Here's the points that I don't agree on:

You have the 'party' games too, made for multiplayer, like ddr or that karaoke thing, or marioparty for example, or even music studio games.

I think the line between action, action/adventure and adventure isn't clear enough.

Zelda64 would fall under the same category as early mario games.

Gradius, star fox, iridion, r-type, you name it, are those action games, or arcade games?

I think myst should be considered a puzzle game, and not an adventure game. what happens if an adventure game has rpg elements? Or what happens with the newer castlevania games, since SotN? They are platformers, but with rpg elements, so in this schematic it would be a light rpg, which it isn't.

Where do beat'm up's fit in? Or race games? F-zero and gran tourismo are totally different, yet they fall in the same category as other action games like sonic or klonoa.

On the fps I don't think it's good to put them all under one banner. Games like rainbow six aim at a completely different gameplay than doom or unreal tournament.

I think games should be devided into themes (I made this list, but I'm probably forgetting many other things)


Japanese rpg themed games(grandia, FF, chrono trigger, pokemon)

american rpg themed games (more D&D system like, mostly point and click, but not always. Baldurs gate, morrowind)

massive multiplayer online games (FFXI, WoW, everquest, ragnarok online))

rts games (dune series, C&C, AoE)

God games (sim city, the sims, civilisation, black or white)

tactical rpg (tactics ogre, final fantasy tactics, advance wars)

adventure rpg games (zelda 64, kingdom hearts, secret of mana)

Arcade beat m ups (MK, soul calibur)

sports beat m ups (wrestling games, boxing games)

Platform beat m ups (viewtifull george, double dragon, final fight one)

story driven fps (halo, half life, goldeneye, call of duty maybe)

squad based or real life fps (battlefield, counterstrike clones, tom clancy games)

over-the-top-fps (quake 3, UT, tribes)

3rd person shooters (splinter cell, max payne, metal gear solid)

sideway scrolling shooters (R-type, gradius)

classic platform games (mario, sonic, megaman, prince of persia)

Exploration platform games (super metroid, castlevania SotN)

3d cutesy platform games (mario64, banjo kazooie, pyro the dragon)

3d battle platform games (the new ninja gaiden or prince of persia, or the castlevania for the ps2)

3d world crime games (GTA, the getaway)

Survival games (RE, silent hill)

Puzzle reflex games (tetris, bust a move, maybe worms)

Gun games (shoot at the screen with light gun or mouse, virtua cop, house of the dead, duckhunt)

Interface games (myst, donkey island, larry series or even text based games)

Old school arcade games (pacman, missile command, centipede, galaga)

Sports games (Fifa games, or any other team sport game, track and field, tennis and golf games)

Stock car racing (F1 sims, nascar games etc)

Rally games (colin mc rae rally, v-rally)

Fun racers (mariokart, and all the clones)

High speed racers (extreme G, f-zero, wipeout)

Shiny car racers (Need for speed, gran tourismo, ridge racer)

Party games (mario party, donkey kong konga, that karaoke game, or dancing games)

dating sims (wouldn't know any titles but this seems to be popular in japan)

real life game sims (board games, chess sims, card games, boring japanese stuff I can't read)



Can't think of anything more.. but this should cover a lot of ground.

[Stratadrake]

Proof that no poll or survey is ever perfect, and I do know that I did forget a few genres.

Yes, many games use elements from differing genres. I wanted to organize them according to the type of game play.

And yes I did leave any number of sub-genres and varieties out.

"Party" games are a sort of hybrid between an encompassing board game layout, and arcade-like play mechanics. Each little game you play has simple rules and controls, like an arcade game.

"Sim" games that adhere to realism are usually action games (focusing on the intensity of the experience). Racing games like Nascar and Indy games can be considered action/sports. "Kart" racing games are that kiddie variety of racing games, but I would probably call them action games.

I could've made the poll more cryptic by just offering three simple choices: Action, Strategy, and Narrative. They are about as fundamental aspects as you get. Action being the quick reflexes and absolute control mastery, most essential to the Arcade genre; Strategy being the brains and thinking that you have to use, notorious in the puzzle-based adventure genre; and Narrative being the quality of story and plot, things that you generally just follow along on, out in force for both adventure and RPG genres. The Action/Adventure or "platforming" genre would probably land about as close to the middle of the three as they get as they try to balance action-based combat with strategic puzzles and some level of definite narrative.

[quote]Gradius, star fox, iridion, r-type, you name it, are those action games, or arcade games?[/quote]

I would call those action in the sense that they are divided into discrete levels and have fixed beginning and end points. Remember, one of the defining qualities of arcade type games is the endurance aspect. No matter how many dots you chomp, how many cities you save, how many aliens you shoot out of the sky, they just keep coming, again and again and again, until you lose.

A "pure" RPG is basically just an adventure game combined with a statistics-based combat system. Sierra's "Quest for Glory" is a good example of this. You explore, you collect items and solve puzzles like you would in an adventure game (and similarly, make one mistake and you could wind up dead), but when you see a monster, you don't run away or get killed like in a straight (especially old-school) adventure game, but the game switches out into a combat sequence to give you some say in who wins.

And a "light" RPG is basically a hybrid between action/adventure and pure RPG; were it not for the presence of character statistics and strong narrative, it probably would [i]be[/i] action/adventure by gameplay.

Yeah, I could have structured the choices by theme, but there's too many of those to count....
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[Thirteen_Black_Roses]

Well, as the only one to vote I think the genres listed are pretty good. Lexars list is kinda...big. Really, I like anything from Action/Adventure through Pure RPG, just as long as it's got a strong story.

[ruppy007]

I like action and sports games. I like sports games because I like sports. My favorite kinds are football games. Action games are where you get most of the excitement.

[SilentSoul92]

I prefer RPG light myself. A pure RPG just isn't as exciting because of the turn based system. But hey, that's just me.

[Pyrodragon125]

Pure RPG won for me. Can't beat the Final Fantasies in my book. Second would be the light RPG's. Kingdom Hearts was a good game. Then it would be Action/Adventure or Shooters(Halo 2, my favorite Xbox game at the moment)

[Stratadrake]

[quote]I don't mind adventure or RPGs, but you forgot to put up beat 'em up games, the type of game that I really love! I voted for the other option.[/quote]

You mean tournament fighter type games? I know, but you can consider those a subset of the action genre if you want. Because it's about the control mastery and quick reflexes, combined with a light degree of tactical thinking. The main difference between it and a 'shooter' game is that the fights are generally one-on-one....
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[KeheiZero]

Pure RPGs get my vote.
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"You know what? My squirrel instinct tells me he's even more of a bastard than I first thought." - Gene Hunt

[slet]

First Person Shooter all the way! Nothing can beat Unreal Tournament 2004.

[SilentSoul92]

Hang on, I think I'm mixed up. RPG light is real time and pure RPG is turn based, righ? Or was it the other way around. Or are they both real time. Oh boy, I AM mixed up...

[Stratadrake]

It is a subtle difference between them, unfortunately. "Pure" RPG's are a bit heavier on the storytelling and narrative, whereas "light" RPG's are a little heavier on action/adventure style gameplay.

All RPG's themselves partly focus on your character "learning" and "growing" as the game progresses. Not just you pick up a new weapon that's more powerful, but you accumulate experience and gradually become more powerful as a rule.

Yes it's difficult to classify some games into the categories the way they're defined. Besides, some games are just out there to bend and break existing genres anyway!

So, if you want, here's the "For Dummies" version of the terms:

[b]Arcade genre[/b]: Usually one simple task over and over and over and over and over again, one level after the next until you die and get a Game Over. No true victory, the best you can do is a high score. Making lines, shooting asteroids, bouncing a ball back and forth, whoopie.

[b]Action genre[/b]: Quick reflexes and control mastery save the day. Usually involves shooting or beating things up over a set course of matches or levels.

[b]Action (Sports) genre[/b]: A videogame that tries to [i]be[/i] the real-life sport it's based on. Football, basketball, racing, wrestling, boxing, golf, so on.

[b]Action/Adventure genre[/b]: Mainly consists of jumping between platforms and collecting a never-ending amount of items. Enemies are usually defeated with one or two hits each (but so are YOU), and bosses usually employ a dodge-them-until-they-reveal-a-weakness tactic.

[b]RTS genre[/b]: Consists mostly of managing resources and leading armies against each other in real time. Siege and war type games mostly.

[b]Strategy, Turn-based genre[/b]: A lot more managing resources, a lot less fighting. Often there simply is no fighting. Take all the time in the world and get the job done! SimCity and Tycoon type games go here.

[b]Strategy, board/card genre[/b]: A videogame that imitates a real-life card or board game. Chess, Solitaire, Monopoly, so on.

[b]RPG, pure[/b]: Big emphasis on storytelling, cutscenes and FMV's. Your party of main character(s) grow and learn new skills as it goes along. Combat is made for the eye candy, usually turn-based and menu-driven with VERY FANCY special attack sequences. D&D games, old-school Final Fantasy games, etc.

[b]RPG, light[/b]: More emphasis on gameplay than a pure RPG. Not quite as many cutscenes or FMV's, and there is usually more fighting involved. Your party of character(s) still grow and learn new skills as it goes along. Combat focuses less on the fancy visuals and is usually real-time.
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[SilentSoul92]

Didn't need the For Dummies guide, but thanks. I just could never tell the difference. I still like RPG light better though.

[LightningAurora]

I like my pure RPGs, mostly because I like games like I like books - long and with an involving storyline. That said, the only genres I don't like are the racing and sports ones.

[Mountain_Dewroo]

Strata, What catagory is First person shooter in?

[Kounetsu]

i believe he said action. As for me i pick action/adventure, because like was said, they have a little bit of everything.

[ZeroHourLP]

You're a filthy gamer for not including FIGHTING GAMES.

2D fighting games, are my preference.

Why they are the greatest. And this applies to the 2D variety.

2D fighting games, such as Street Fighter or King of Fighters, offer incredible depth, gameplay, replay value, competitive edge, difficulty, and character design.


Gameplay's the highlight of fighting games, though. You've got to be quick in order to ever be successful in the competitive scene and you'll need to learn the moves of usually over twenty characters in order to use them, or just fight against them.

All of the controller/joystick movements have to be mastered. Quarter circles, half circles, 360s, etc. And then there's super combos, which are usually just doubles of said movements or combinations which need to be inputted very quickly.

Those movements are actually why 2D fighting games aren't too popular these days. People suck these days and don't want to be bothered with actually trying something that requires SKILL.

Well, theres the graphics factor. People are all for 3D and s**t. Losing their boners when they see the "old" 2D animations.



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>:C

[SilentSoul92]

That's why there's the "other" choice. If Strata listed every single possibility it'd go on forever.

[Stratadrake]

If I listed every genre, subgenre, and theme ever devised, we'd be here all day. But if you'd have read previous posts, you may have noticed my comment saying that fighting games are a subset of the Action genre.
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