Genres
From MechaSource Wiki
You might've heard this word before, associated with games as well as movies. Genres are types of games or movies. For example, horror, romance, and comedy are movie genres.
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[edit] Platformers
In the golden age of the NES, as well as the SNES, platformers were one of the most popular genres.
Games like Super Mario Brothers, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Kirby's Adventure are platformers.
In platformers, the goal is usually to get to the other side of the screen until you reach the end of the stage, while avoiding or destroying enemies and collecting point items and powerups.
2D platformers take a side-view camera, with gravity pulling literally down. Due to this, it is often difficult to translate 2D platformers into 3D while keeping the art style.
Cliches
- There is usually a jump button and a run button, with attacking sharing a button with running.
- One hit deaths, but powerups often take a hit for the player.
- Enemies are usually beaten by jumping on their heads.
- Multiple lives and continues with checkpoints.
[edit] Shoot 'Em Up
Found commonly on arcade machines, the name is often shortened to shmup.
Games like Gradius, Galaga, and Space Invaders are shmups.
In shoot 'em ups, the goal either to eliminate all enemies on the screen or to simply get to the end of the stage.
Shmups are usually found in a top-down or side-view perspective.
Cliches
- Space is a common location.
- Powerups change what you shoot.
- There is usually a powerdown which resets what you fire to what you started it and people will hate it.
- One hit deaths.
- Multiple lives and continues with checkpoints or restarting where you die.
[edit] Point and Click
Many years ago, Lucas arts were the kings of this genre. The Point and Click genre can be compared to a puzzle-adventure game, where the user must solve puzzles by finding objects and exploring new area's.
Games like Sam and Max and Adventure of Monkey Islands are excellent examples of this genre, and have recently become more popular by the developers from Telltale Games.
Cliches
- Multiple cursors for different actions such as talk, examine, or take.
- Puzzles usually are illogical.
- Usually has a Hint System in the game.
- Part of Episodic Series.
[edit] Role Playing Games
Normally shortened to RPG, this genre is very popular. Role Playing Games typically allow you to go where you want and defeat enemies to gain experience and "level up" your character to make him or her stronger.
Secret of Mana and Final Fantasy are great examples of typical Role Playing Games.
Cliches
- Orphaned, Stupid, or a non-human party member.
- Basic stats are normally Strength, Agility, Endurance and Defense.
- Side quests that require you to kill a bunch of the same enemies or fetch a certain object.
- A normal person that rising from unknown villager to hero.
- Multiple party members with different personalities and specialties
- Random enemy encounters
[edit] Simulation
Simulation games normally have you take care of a virtual pet, human or other creature by feeding it, spoiling it, and upgrading it's items. It can also be a more complicated simulation, such as cells and organisms.
An example of a simulation game would be EA's The Sims.
Cliches
- Normally has you take care of an animal, starting with it hatching and ending with death
- Do jobs to earn cash to upgrade items
[edit] Humor
Humor games are usually focused on a specific group of people, but generally don't sell as well as a, say, fully fledged Action RPG Platformer. However, humor games focus on, well, humor. Some games pull this off well ( Sam and Max... ) while others don't.
However, with humor games you need to still have solid gameplay.
Cliches
- An idiot somewhere in there
- Humor games are typically Point and Click games, but can also be Parodies.
[edit] Puzzle Games
As you can tell with the title, puzzle games are games that require you to think, usually within a time limit or within a specific time frame. Games like Tetris and Bejeweled can be called puzzle games because they require you to do fast thinking. The goal of puzzle games is usually to achieve a high score. Typically puzzle games do not have a story line.
Cliches
- Match 3 objects to make them disappear
- Game speeds up and more colors appear as your score gets higher
[edit] Arcade Games
Note that when I say arcade games I am not referring literally to Arcade Cabinets, but to the overall gameplay design. Arcade games are usually fast paced games where the goal is to get a high score. Typically in arcades the game would be very tough to make the user spend the most money on it. In this tradition, most arcade games are difficult. Arcade gamescan be compared to the Shoot 'em up Genre, but a wider audience. They can be any genre. Great examples of original arcade games include Pacman, Frogger and Galaga.
Cliches
- Can't really give cliches when the arcade genre is so broad.
[edit] Adventure Games
Adventure is a very broad genre. Some adventure games involve exploring abandoned cities, solving puzzles to get by a passage, or even getting into fights and escaping captivity. Most Adventure games involve finding items to defeat a villain, or exploring all of your surroundings. Examples of Adventure Games are Legend of Zelda, Uncharted 2, and Escape from Monkey Island.
Cliches
- Almost every adventure game is different in their own way so it's hard to give cliches.
[edit] Board Games
Board games are usually played with 2-4 people and all mainly involve a common goal of reaching The End before the rest of your opponents or staying in-game as long as possible. Examples of Board Games are Monopoly, Mario Party, and Sorry!.
Cliches
- Dice rolls
- Collectible objects (money, cards, etc.)
- Minigames (in video games)
[edit] Quiz Games
Self explanatory, Quiz games put people in a test of knowledge, in which the person who answers the most answers correctly wins the game. Examples of Quiz Games are Scene it or Jeopardy.
Cliches
- Many, MANY questions.
[edit] RTS Games
An acronym standing for Real Time Strategy, every RTS pits you against 1 or more people in a simulated war that you command from the backseat.
Cliches
- Isometric or Top-Down view.
- The building of buildings, units, or upgrades.
- An HQ or Headquarters.
- A Single Player Campaign mode, a Single Player Skirmish mode that allows you fight against AI, and an Online Multiplayer mode.
[edit] FPS Games
Standing for First Person Shooter, FPS games put you in the eyes of a person on foot with a wide-spread arsenal of ranged weapons fighting a specific enemy or enemies. First Person Shooters can involve playing as a soldier fighting a war, a psychopath fighting the law, or even a scientist fighting aliens. Examples of First Person Shooters are Team Fortress 2, Crysis, and Halo.
Cliches
- A first person view
- A variety of weapons at your disposal
- Many gunfights
- Vehicles.
[edit] Music Games
EVERY Music Game has the same topic. Whether it's playing in a rock band, making your own tunes, spinning a turn table, or even dancing to techno, Music Games have a wide variety of originality. Examples of Music Games are Dance Dance Revolution, Rock Band, and Wii Music.
Cliches
- Timed button presses synchronized to the song's beat or rhythm.
- Playing the song.
- Dancing to the song
- Making your own songs.
[edit] Casino Games
Games so serious you'd throw your money away for it. Casino Games range from cards, to dice, to roulette, to slot machines. An example of a Casino Game would be Caesar's Palace.
Cliches
- Gambling virtual money
- Many types of Poker
- Slots
- Craps
- Roulette
- Luck.
