Genres

 

Following are some of the important computer game genres.  For each one, try to think of some examples.

  • Arcade games - where reaction speed is the most important thing.
  • Puzzle games - where clever thinking is the most important aspect.
  • Role playing games (RPG) - where you steer a character through a difficult world.
  • Strategy games, either real-time (RTS) or turn-based - here the player normally
    only indirectly controls the character in the game but he does set out the strategies
    that the characters need to follow.
  • Adventure games - where the story line is rather crucial.
  • First-person shooters - which can be seen as the 3-dimensional version of the old
    arcade games.
  • Third-person shooters - where the player directly controls a game character
    through a hostile world.
  • Sport games - in which an existing sport, like soccer or baseball is simulated.
  • Racing games - are in some sense a special type of sport game. Because there are
    so many of them they deserve a category of their own.
  • Simulators, like flight simulators. Such games try to realistically simulate some
    mechanism, like a plane.

When you first start making games, it is easiest to start with arcade and puzzle games.  These only require 2D graphics and don't need to be very large to still be effective.

Try this matching activity to see how many you know.

 

 

Adapted from notes by Mark Overmaars


This page has been produced by Margaret Meijers.  Questions concerning its content may be directed by email to margaret.meijers@education.tas.gov.au.  This page was last modified on Thursday, 27 October 2005. The URL for this page is http://www.mindtools.tased.edu.au/games/genres.htm . You are directed to disclaimer and copyright notices governing the information provided.