Bonus Level 5

Game Genres

WELL HELLO THERE. Did you wander over here from Level 1? In case you are missed it, a genre is used to describe a category of something but a game genre is used to describe the type of gameplay. There are so many of them, I decided to put together a list of them for you.

Ever since the dawn of gaming, video games have been wildly diverse. Consider that the first three video games in existence were a sports game (Tennis for Two), a puzzle game (Noughts and Crosses), and a head-to-head shooter (Space War)! Diversity has been what makes gaming so great, and over the years, games have splintered off into many different genres and subgenres. In the following descriptions, italicized games are examples of the genre.

• Action—These games require hand-eye coordination to play. The action genre has several subgenres:
  • Action-adventure—This combination of genres features an emphasis on combat, item collection and usage, puzzle solving, and long-term story-related goals. Legend of Zelda series, Uncharted series, Batman Arkham series.
  • Action-arcade—These games are presented in the style of early arcade games with an emphasis on “twitch” gameplay, scoring, and short play time. Kaboom, FantaVision, Nidhogg.
  • Beat ’em up/hack ’n’ slash—In these games, also called brawlers, players battle against wave after wave of enemies, increasing in difficulty. Double Dragon, God Hand, Castle Crashers, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
  • Endless Runner—In these games, the player character constantly runs (or flies or swims or rockets) through a “never-ending” environment. To stop is to die! Canabalt, Jet Pack Joyride, Temple Run series.
  • Fighting—In these games, two or more opponents battle in arena settings. Fighting games are distinguished from other action games by the depth of their player controls. Street Fighter series, Soul Calibur series, Mortal Kombat series.
  • Maze—In these games, players navigate a maze environment while collecting items and power-ups and avoiding enemies. Pac-Man series, Mappy, Go Marble.
  • Platformer—Platformer games usually feature a mascot character jumping (or swinging or bouncing) their way through an obstacle course-like environment that often includes platforms of some sort. Shooting and fighting may also be involved. There might be a pirate ship. At one time, the platformer was the most popular subgenre in gaming. Nintendo’s Mario titles (Super Mario World, Mario 64, and Super Mario Galaxy), Sly Cooper series, LittleBigPlanet series, Super Meat Boy series.
  • Sandbox—Also called “open world” games, these are action games with non-linear gameplay that takes place in very large game world. Sandbox games offer a variety of activities from driving to puzzle solving to shooting and melee combat. Grand Theft Auto series, Saint’s Row series, Lego Marvel Super Heroes, Elder Scroll IV: Oblivion, Red Dead Redemption.
  • Stealth—These action games put an emphasis on avoiding enemies rather than directly fighting them. Metal Gear series, Thief: The Dark Project, Sneak Beat Bandit.
• Adventure—Adventure games focus on puzzle solving, plus item collection and inventory management. Adventure games can be solely text-based, such as Colossal Cave, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe, A Mind Forever Voyaging or Varicella, or can utilize graphics such as Adventure, the King’s Quest, Leisure Suit Larry series, The Wolf among Us.
  • Graphical adventure—This subgenre has players uncover clues, solve puzzles, and navigate their character from screen to screen. Myst series, Monkey Island series, the Sam and Max series, The Walking Dead: Season One.
  • Role-playing game (RPG)—This subgenre is based on pen and paper role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons and GURPS. Players choose a character class and enhance their “stats” by earning experience undertaking quests, defeating enemies and finding treasure. Characters can either play as generic character classes like a Fighter, Magic-User or Thief or as fictional characters. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the Mass Effect series, the Elder Scrolls series, Freedom Force, Card Hunter.
  • Japanese role-playing game (JRPG)—JRPGs first appeared on Nintendo’s Famicom system but have such a distinct feel from traditional RPGs that they have evolved to become a genre of their own. Players manage a team of characters and increase their “stats” through combat, exploration, and treasure finding. A greater emphasis is placed on interpersonal relationships and story than found in traditional RPGs. Pokémon series, Final Fantasy series, Kingdom Hearts series, Ni No Kuni.
  • Massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG)—This type of RPG can support hundreds of players together in one environment. MMORPGs are known for player versus player gameplay, repetitive gameplay or “grinding,” and group battles or “raids.” World of Warcraft, DC Universe Online, EVE Online.
  • Survival/horror—In these games, players attempt to survive a horror or survival scenario with limited resources, such as sparse ammunition. Resident Evil series, Silent Hill series, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Ao Oni, The Last of Us.
• Augmented reality—AR games use peripheral devices like cameras and global positioning systems (GPSs) to blur the “real world” with virtual gameplay. Majestic, ARDefender, Star Wars Falcon Gunner, Zombies, Run!, Parallel Kingdom.
• Educational—In these games, the primary intention is to educate players while entertaining them. Also known as edutainment games. Educational games are often aimed toward a younger audience. Carmen Sandiego series, Math Blaster series, Typing of the Dead, Wolf Quest series, Bot Colony.
  • Activity—These educational games have some game content but primarily focus on non-game activities such as dress-up, coloring, and reading. JumpStart series, Reader Rabbit series, Magic School Bus series.
  • Brain training—These games are scientifically designed to improve the players’ mental facilities using memorization and reaction time or to help users work through psychological issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Brain Age, Big Brain Academy series, T2 Virtual PTSD Experience, Nevermind.
• Life simulation—This genre is similar to the management genre but revolves around building and nurturing relationships with artificial life forms. The Sims and Princess Maker titles are both life simulators.
  • Pet simulation—Pet simulations became popular with the Tamagotchi digital pet pocket games. Pet simulators (or virtual pets) revolve around nurturing animals through feeding and relationships. EyePet, Rat Realm, NintenDogs, NeoPets, Hatch, Tomogotchi L.i.f.e.
• Minigame—A minigame can be any genre, but is only played for a limited time. Minigames are used to provide variety to other game genres such as the asteroid shooter in Dead Space or the card matching game in Super Mario Bros. 3. They are often a stand-in for an activity such as the hacking minigame in Bioshock or the lock picking minigame in Fallout 3. There are even compilations of mini games such as Mario Party, Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed, Sonic Shuffle, and Big League Sports.
  • Microgame—A super-short (usually seconds) mini game where half of the challenge to the player is learning how to play the game before it is over! WarioWare series, Dumb Ways to Die, Frobisher Says!
• Party—Party games are specifically designed for multiple players and are based on competitive play. More often than not, gameplay is presented in the minigame format. Mario Party, Start the Party, Spin the Bottle: Bumpie’s Party.
• Puzzle—Puzzle games are based on logic, observation, and pattern completion. They can utilize slow, methodical piece placement or use quick hand-eye coordination. Tetris.
  • Hidden object—Players attempt to find a list of objects among visual clutter. One of the few games that uses the romance story genre. Samantha Swift series, Jewel Quest Mysteries series, Mystery Case Files series, Mushroom Age, Angelica Weaver: Catch Me When You Can.
  • Drawing—Players draw images or sometimes just lines to create gameplay. In many cases, the players even draw the game’s mechanics. Draw to Life series, Line Rider series, Draw This!, Pixel Press, Let’s Draw!
  • Match Three—Players match three (or more) icons to gain points (or cash or whatever). Gameplay can either be timed, have a limited number of moves, or be open-ended. Recently, the match three gameplay has been used as a “stand-in” mechanic for combat and minigames in other game genres. Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, Bejeweled series, Peggle series, PuzzleQuest series, 10,000,000, Zuma’s Revenge, Candy Crush.
  • Math puzzle—Sometimes players do math problems; other times numbers are used to guide the gameplay. Either way, players are doing math whether or not they realize it. Addicus, Super 7, Math Gems, Brain Age Express: Math, Sudoku 2 Pro.
  • Physics games—These titles use physics such as gravity, trajectory, and fluid dynamics to create gameplay. The Incredible Machine, Angry Birds, Where’s My Water, Cut the Rope, Labyrinth, World of Goo.
  • Word Puzzle—Players use words and letters as part of the gameplay. Sometimes the point is to spell words for points; other times wordplay is used to activate other gameplay mechanics. Letz, Scribblenauts series, Words with Friends, SpellTower, Puzzlejuice.
• Rhythm—In these games, players try to match a rhythm or beat to score points. Parappa the Rapper, Tap Tap series, Elite Beat Agents series.
  • Music simulation—In this type of rhythm game, the emphasis is on playing a musical instrument. These games often require special peripherals to play. Guitar Hero series, Samba De Amigo series, Donkey Konga series.
  • Dance simulation—In this type of rhythm game, players have to match a beat by moving their body. These games always utilize a special peripheral such as a pad or a camera to capture to the players’ movements. Dance, Dance Revolution series, Just Dance series, Dance Central series.
  • Singing simulation—In this type of rhythm game, players have to match the melody of a song using their voice. These games always utilize a microphone peripheral. SingStar series, Rock Band series.
• Serious games—Serious games are designed for some reason other than entertainment.
  • Advergames—These games were created to advertise a product or company. This genre has been around since the Atari 2600 days and has been used for everything from fast food to pet food (kinda the same thing, I guess). Chuck Wagon, Kool-Aid Man, Cool Spot, Chex Quest, America’s Army, Sneak King, You Vs. Cat.
  • Art games—These games have very light mechanics, emphasizing visuals and storytelling over gameplay. The Cat and the Coup, Journey, Little Inferno, Papa Sangre series, Type:Rider.
  • Social message games—These games educate players about social injustice with the intention of changing the players’ perspective. A Force More Powerful, Disaffected!, Darfor Is Dying, Food Force.
  • Training—These games are designed to train players in the fundamentals of vehicle or systems operation. Harpoon, Microsoft Flight Simulator, SimPort.
  • Productivity games—In these games, players do activities in the real world and use the game to track their progress. Epic Win, HabitRPG, CARROT.
  • Purpose games—These games were designed to reach a result such as solving a genetic sequence (Phylo) or cataloging an art collection (Artigo). Foldit, Google Image Labeler, EteRNA.
• Shooter—These games focus primarily on firing projectiles at enemies. While fast-paced and “twitch” oriented, like action games, this genre has evolved to include several subgenres that are distinguished by their camera view.
  • First person shooter—These shooter games are seen from the player’s perspective. The tighter camera view is more limiting but more personal than in a third person shooter. Quake, Halo series, Half Life series, Team Fortress series, Medal of Honor series, Call of Duty series.
  • Shoot ‘em up—Shoot ‘em ups (or shmups for short) are arcade-style shooters in which players shoot large quantities of enemies while avoiding hazards. The player’s avatar in a shmup is usually a vehicle (such as a spaceship) rather than a character. These games can be presented from several different camera angles. Space Invaders, Robotron 2084, the Contra series, Ikaruga, The Touhou Project.
  • Third person shooter (TPS)—In these shooter games, the camera is placed further behind the player, allowing for a partial or full view of the player’s character and surroundings. Despite the wider view, the emphasis on gameplay remains on shooting. The Star Wars Battlefront series, Gears of War series, Bulletstorm, Dead Space 2 and 3.
  • Simulation—This genre focuses on creating and managing a world designed, if not created, by the player. Often other gameplay styles can be created and played within these meta-worlds. Many scholars call this genre “toys,” as these games often do not have victory goals other than the personal satisfaction of the world’s creator.
  • Construction simulation—Players can exercise their creativity through building their own world by harvesting resources. These world-building games often have a social aspect. Minecraft, Lego Universe, Roblox.
  • Management simulation—This subgenre has players expand a property, business, or location based (somewhat) on reality. Predesigned buildings and environments evolve as the player-created world grows. SimCity, Harvest Moon series, Game Dev Story.
  • Social simulation—Often found as a browser or mobile game, this subgenre has players building locations that can be visited by other players. The other players can have an effect on the player’s world—often helping the player with tasks. Farmville, Smurf Village, The Simpsons: Tapped Out.
• Sports—These games are based on athletic competitions, whether they are traditional or extreme. It is common to see annual versions of these titles.
  • Traditional sports—Based on team sports like baseball, football, hockey, soccer, and basketball, these games try to accurately represent the “real-world” game, down to licensing real-world teams and players’ likenesses. These games range in play complexity from arcade-style controls to true simulations in which players can choose from a variety of moves and plays. Madden series, FIFA series, Major League Baseball 2K series.
  • Multi sports—These games offer a variety of real-world sporting events in one title. They often offer shorter play experiences, feeling much like a collection of sports-themed minigames. Track and Field, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games series, Justin Smith’s Realistic Summer Games.
  • Extreme sports—Based on individual sports such as skiing, snowboarding, skate boarding, and surfing, these games don’t always try to accurately represent the sport. They rely more on arcade-style controls and action. They often feature celebrity athletes as the player’s guide through the game. Skitchin’, Tony Hawk series, Shaun White Snowboarding.
  • Sports management—Rather than directly playing the sport in these games, players manage players or teams. FIFA Manager series, NFL Head Coach series.
• Strategy—From chess to Sid Meir’s Civilization, thinking and planning are the hallmarks of strategy games. They take place in both historical and fictitious settings.
  • Real time strategy (RTS)—Similar to turn-based games, these faster-paced games focus on the “four X’s”: expansion, exploration, exploitation, and extermination. RTS has become the dominant strategy subgenre. Command and Conquer series, WarCraft, StarCraft series, Dawn of War series.
  • Turn-based—The slower pace of these games allows players time to think, providing more opportunity for strategy to be employed. X-Com series, Advance Wars series.
  • Tower defense—In these games, players create automated projectile shooting “towers” that keep enemies from reaching a destination. Games are often played from a third-person perspective so players can keep track of the “creeps” advancing in from multiple directions. Defense Grid: The Awakening, Plants vs. Zombies series, Orcs Must Die series, Kingdom Rush: Frontiers.
  • Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA)—Also called DOTA-style gameplay—named after Defense of the Ancients, the first MOBA game—this genre of game pits two teams of players in a tug-of-war struggle of territory control. Players respawn after defeat while upgrading their characters over the course of the battle. League of Legends, Heroes of Newerth, Infinite Crisis.
• Traditional games—These games first appeared in another physical form.
  • Board games—This genre simulates board games played on a tabletop. Typically the code is used to perform “mundane” tasks such as rolling die, managing money or resources, or acting as an opponent. Often these games can be played by multiple players. Scrabble, Monopoly, Settlers of Catan, Small World, Talisman.
  • Card games—These games simulate traditional and thematic card games. Solitaire, Uno, WarStorm, Magic the Gathering, Dominion, Dead Man’s Draw, Yu-Gi-Oh.
  • Casino games—These are any games you’d find at a casino: poker, slots, roulette, craps, bingo, even betting on sporting events. Hoyle CasinoGames, Hollywood Spins, Big Fish Casino, SportsCasino, World Championship Poker series.
  • Miniature games—These games replicate tabletop miniature games. Often the graphics are meant to invoke the visuals of miniatures. Heroclix Online, Sid Meir’s Ace Patrol series, Space Hulk, Combat Monsters.
  • Pinball—These games replicate the physics and the bells and whistles of a pinball table. Zen Pinball, Pinball Arcade, Pinball HD Collection.
  • Trivia games—In these games, players compete to answer trivia questions. Scene it series, You Don’t Know Jack series, Buzz! series.
• Vehicle Simulation—In these games, players simulate piloting/driving a vehicle, from a sports car to a spaceship. Emphasis is placed on making the experience as “real” as possible or on creating an action-based arcade-like experience. There may or may not be stunts involved. Night Driver, Rush series, Midnight Club series, Wipeout series.
  • Racing—Players race and upgrade vehicles, from motorcycles to hovercrafts. Driving games can be ultra-realistic experiences like the GTR series or more action oriented like the Burnout series. Gran Turismo series, the NASCAR Racing series, Wave Race, Grand Prix series.
  • Kart racing—Kart racers are a much more arcade-like experience than their racing counterparts. Cartoony drivers and environments, crazy looking karts and power ups that can be used to improve performance and attack other players are all hallmarks of this sub-genre. Super Mario Kart series, Sonic Drift series, LittleBigPlanet Karting.
  • Flight simulation—Players pilot aircraft for the pleasure of flying and to learn the basics of flight as in the Microsoft Flight Simulator series.
• Combat flight simulation—Players battle against AI enemies or other players. Controls can be simple like an arcade game or complex, replicating a true aircraft or fictitious spacecraft. Battle throughout history in the Red Baron series, War Thunder, The Jane’s Combat Simulations series, Ace Combat series or take the fight into outer space in the Wing Commander series, Star Wars: X-wing series, the X series, Freespace series.