So, my vacation was over last Friday. That would explain my lack of posts between then, and now. It was fun while it lasted, but I do have bills to pay, and I do enjoy eating every once in a while. So, unfortunately, I had to go back to work. However, that did give me time to think of a new topic to discuss. This comes from a particularly heated debate over the upcoming Super Smash Bros. title. Now, as most of you reading this are aware, I am a huge Super Smash Bros. fan. Completely unrelated to the point of this blog, but I thought I'd make it known.
The argument that I was reading basically stated that Super Smash Bros. should not be considered a fighting game. I saw similar statements to The Last of Us, stating that it shouldn't be considered a horror survival game. This actually made me curious about the genres of video games as a whole.
What Determines a Video Game Genre?
Video game genres are different from most other genres of entertainment in that they describe the mechanics of the title rather than the overall feeling it should give the audience. If a movie is funny it's labeled comedy, if it's scary it's labeled horror, and so on. Let's take a look at some video game genres. If the game consists of jumping to different platforms, and meticulously collecting items it's called a platformer, if it consists of shooting enemies from a first person perspective it's considered a first person shooter, and so on.
Why is that? Well, there are many plausible reasons, but I will focus on two of the major ones for this post. The first being that back in the early days of gaming video games had little to no story lines. If they did they were either printed on the arcade cabinet, or revealed if you beat the game. Games like Asteroids, and 1942 were considered shooters where as games like Donkey Kong, and SonSon were considered platformers. It made sense to label game genres back then based simply on mechanics.
When consoles came to market the story elements in video games were still pretty ambiguous. Most people who played Super Mario Bros. only knew that a princess was kidnapped, and the title character, Mario, had to save her. The explanation for her kidnapping was printed in the game's manual, which most people didn't read anyway.
This was pretty much the bulk of the story.
Another reason is that this system is convenient. It pretty much lets the player know what experience they're in for. If a game is labeled first person shooter the player can assume there will be a lot of shooting, and if it's labeled platformer the player can assume they will be jumping across platforms a lot.
Why This System Needs to be Improved
With the mechanics of games growing more and more with each generation it really does them no justice to classify a game as one genre specifically as the lines between them are becoming more blurred, and more arguments are started between fans as to what genre the game should actually be. More first person shooter games are adopting RPG elements such as leveling, and upgrading. More platforming games are starting to implement mechanics from adventure games such as quick time events. The more video games experiment with mixing elements from different genres the more specifically labeling a video game with today's genre listing becomes obsolete.
Also, a storyline in a video game is almost essential with today's gaming market. Story, and plot elements in a game could effect the experience a player has playing the game on par with the game's mechanics. The Call of Duty series could fit comfortably with the Halo series and the Doom series in the first person shooter genre, yet I enjoy all three of them for completely different reasons. The same could be said for most genre games today.
Thus far, the best game genre, as far as name, I could find is horror survival. The name of this genre not only implies the atmosphere of the game, but the mechanics as well. Also, since "survival" is a pretty ambiguous description elements from adventure, first person shooter, and RPGs could be added seamlessly, and not detour from the overall presentation of the game.
In Closing
I, personally, don't really pay much attention to video game genres. I care more about the experience of actually playing the game rather than what I should describe it as. I don't care if Super Smash Bros. should be considered a fighting game, or not. I still play the shit out of it, and enjoy every minute. It doesn't matter to me whether The Last of Us should be considered a horror survival game, or not. It had me on the edge of my seat when I played it, and that's good enough for me. I understand the need for a simple, yet descriptive system of video games, but I'd have no idea where to begin with it. So, I leave that to people who know more about it than me, and just enjoy my games. As always, thanks for listening.
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