Unit 2 – Types of Video Games

Items In This Unit

• Introduction
• Maze games
• Fighting games
• Platformer games
• First Person Shooter games
• Board games
• Sports games
• Educational games

Introduction

A video game genre is a specific game classification and is open to subjective interpretation. A particular game may belong to several genres. While there are many video game genres, we will cover some of the more popular game genres.

Maze Games

• The maze game genre is still one of the most popular genres
• It describes any game in which the entire playing field is a maze.
• In order to beat the maze player action is required while escaping and outracing monsters
• Some maze games use time limits as the main challenge
• By far the most popular maze game is Pac-man which has been ported on most if not all popular game consoles as well as arcade machines

Fighting Games

• A fighting game genre is perhaps one of the most popular as it is based around close combat between one or more characters, in a fixed or limited environment.
• The characters fight each other until they defeat their opponents or the designated fight time expires.
• Some of the most popular fighting games include:
  • Soul Calibur (Bandai Namco Entertainment)
  • Streets of Rage (Sega)
  • Tekken (Bandai Namco Entertainment)
  • Mortal Combat (Mortal Combat)

Platformer Games

• Platform games or platformers are subgenres of the action game genre.
• The player-controlled character must jump and climb between suspended platforms while avoiding obstacles.
• The player has some control over jumps and general movement direction to avoid obstacles and/or various enemies.
• The most popular platform game is Nintendo’s Super Mario

First Person Shooter

• Genre for games with gun and/or other weapon combat in a first-person perspective
• The player experiences the action through the eyes of the game’s hero
• Currently one of the most popular genres

Board Games

This genre is for a video game mimicking real-life board games. Some of the most popular ones include:

• Chess
• Backgammon
• Scrabble
• Monopoly
• Othello
• Trivial Pursuit

Sports Games

The sports games genre has come a long way in providing realistic virtual sports action

• Most sports have been recreated with a video game, including team sports, and track and field
• Major sports games publishers include:
  • Electronic Arts
  • Sega
  • 2K Games

Educational Games

• The educational game’s genre has become a part of many school curriculums
• While not strictly for children, educational games foster the learning of specific subject areas such as Math, English and Sciences
• Educational games reinforce traditional learning
• Educational games use elements of other game genres in an effort to make learning fun and easy