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We all know that when a game is released it is categorized into a particular genre, whether it be Beat 'em Up or Sports etc.
But nowadays we are seeing a few, well one might say slightly odd games appearing around the place. Good examples of this are Sonic R or Crash Team Racing.
Now these are 'Genuine' genre-based changes or mutations, if you will. And there's one character who has stared in just about every kind of genre there is and altered it in some way.
Let me give you a few hints, shall I? He jumped many a barrel and stompped many a goombam, become a tennis star and a golf pro......and the list goes on!
You've guessed it right? Yes it's yours and mine's favourite plumber, Mario.
It seems as though those Ninty fellas can place their podgy creation into any type of game without fail.
However they obviously do it with care. I mean Mario could be tossed into the wrestling ring with a few of his pals
using the WWF No Mercy engine, pull off a few high risk moves and maybe a couple of belly drops from the turnbuckle (ouch!) but it just wouldn't feel as though it's from Nintendo or Mario's style. Instead you would feel cheated into buying such a cheap game.
What it would need is extra elements of fun and originality so that anyone can play it, such as the ring shot modes in Mario Golf and Tennis, although I'm not entirely sure how it would work with wrestling.
Cross-Genre games are actually quite rare, though you can see many more being released to the present day such as 007 Racing and those rugrats games like Mario Party and ISS 2000 had an RPG element to its Career mode etc. (My Mind seems to have momentarily left me since it is 11:44pm and I have no idea why I'm writing this.)
So as you can see Mascots tend to 'cross-genre' better than other characters and is easy to see why.
But do the developers do this on their own accord or maybe it just has to be done.
The latter seems in many ways absurd at first although is it easy to believe that game developers feel the need to mix around things a little with their already established franchises? Probably, yes.
But would you play a football game where you take control of numerous superheroes such as batman and captain america to kick each others butt, but on the field? Could you even in your right mind think of playing a role-playing game based on the automotive technicalities of Gran Turismo?
I seem to think not. Truthfully, there is no potential with these ideas but on the contrary many ideas would be welcomed, some more than others.
Think about all the Rare characters fighting it out in a similar style Super Smash Bros. game and what do you get?
Nothing special.
But what if you put in Final Fantasy characters. As fighting games are focused on character design (something which Square pours a mad amount of resources onto), it wouldn't go to far. Neither would a 3-D adventure game based on James Bond, which plays the same way as Tomb Raider.
When you look at all of these could be brought out fairly easily.
The point is, although genre-mutating doesn't sound like a good idea at first, there are a few examples of properties or game characters that can do it with ease.
Nevertheless, It's pretty obvious that not every established genre shold be bent in some form or another.
For people into 'Crazy' things though, it's good to see companies take risks to create games that have the element of someting mad and new.
In the end we know that the company isn't entirely there to make a totally unique game or improve that particular genre, it's there to show off to millions and pull in the rewards by selling product beyond product.
And if this is the case, then we might be seeing more and and more cross-genre games. I sure hope we do!
Think about this and remember - The opportunities for genre-bending are almost limitless!!!
But nowadays we are seeing a few, well one might say slightly odd games appearing around the place. Good examples of this are Sonic R or Crash Team Racing.
Now these are 'Genuine' genre-based changes or mutations, if you will. And there's one character who has stared in just about every kind of genre there is and altered it in some way.
Let me give you a few hints, shall I? He jumped many a barrel and stompped many a goombam, become a tennis star and a golf pro......and the list goes on!
You've guessed it right? Yes it's yours and mine's favourite plumber, Mario.
It seems as though those Ninty fellas can place their podgy creation into any type of game without fail.
However they obviously do it with care. I mean Mario could be tossed into the wrestling ring with a few of his pals
using the WWF No Mercy engine, pull off a few high risk moves and maybe a couple of belly drops from the turnbuckle (ouch!) but it just wouldn't feel as though it's from Nintendo or Mario's style. Instead you would feel cheated into buying such a cheap game.
What it would need is extra elements of fun and originality so that anyone can play it, such as the ring shot modes in Mario Golf and Tennis, although I'm not entirely sure how it would work with wrestling.
Cross-Genre games are actually quite rare, though you can see many more being released to the present day such as 007 Racing and those rugrats games like Mario Party and ISS 2000 had an RPG element to its Career mode etc. (My Mind seems to have momentarily left me since it is 11:44pm and I have no idea why I'm writing this.)
So as you can see Mascots tend to 'cross-genre' better than other characters and is easy to see why.
But do the developers do this on their own accord or maybe it just has to be done.
The latter seems in many ways absurd at first although is it easy to believe that game developers feel the need to mix around things a little with their already established franchises? Probably, yes.
But would you play a football game where you take control of numerous superheroes such as batman and captain america to kick each others butt, but on the field? Could you even in your right mind think of playing a role-playing game based on the automotive technicalities of Gran Turismo?
I seem to think not. Truthfully, there is no potential with these ideas but on the contrary many ideas would be welcomed, some more than others.
Think about all the Rare characters fighting it out in a similar style Super Smash Bros. game and what do you get?
Nothing special.
But what if you put in Final Fantasy characters. As fighting games are focused on character design (something which Square pours a mad amount of resources onto), it wouldn't go to far. Neither would a 3-D adventure game based on James Bond, which plays the same way as Tomb Raider.
When you look at all of these could be brought out fairly easily.
The point is, although genre-mutating doesn't sound like a good idea at first, there are a few examples of properties or game characters that can do it with ease.
Nevertheless, It's pretty obvious that not every established genre shold be bent in some form or another.
For people into 'Crazy' things though, it's good to see companies take risks to create games that have the element of someting mad and new.
In the end we know that the company isn't entirely there to make a totally unique game or improve that particular genre, it's there to show off to millions and pull in the rewards by selling product beyond product.
And if this is the case, then we might be seeing more and and more cross-genre games. I sure hope we do!
Think about this and remember - The opportunities for genre-bending are almost limitless!!!
RastaBillySkank wrote:
> In theory - No
In execution - sometimes.
I have to agree with this.
Yes although you guys have pointed out many games not many of them are streching too far.
There are, however, some excellent but rare hybrids around.
I say excellent because they are and not just 'good'.
I know lets have a vote - which of these game series would you most like to be genre-mutated?
>Army Men
>Gran Turismo
>Final Fantasy
>Street Fighter
>Tekken
>Other?
> In theory - No
In execution - sometimes.
I have to agree with this.
Yes although you guys have pointed out many games not many of them are streching too far.
There are, however, some excellent but rare hybrids around.
I say excellent because they are and not just 'good'.
I know lets have a vote - which of these game series would you most like to be genre-mutated?
>Army Men
>Gran Turismo
>Final Fantasy
>Street Fighter
>Tekken
>Other?
Resident Evil 2 especially is a good example of a cross genre.
The cross goes 3 ways, Horror, shoot em up and puzzle.
This works tremendously and I enjoyed every minute of it. Especially Hair raising moments.
I think that cross genre would work with almost and genre except the obvious like platformers and driving games, that just wouldn’t work.
You have to choose the right character and the right type of genre that character would suit. e.g. Mario:Beat em up (Smash Brothers) and a driving game, (Mario kart64). He could race opponents and shoot them with missiles and such. Hmm ok that is Mario Kart 64.
Well I tried to explain it, just my explaining skills aren’t up to scratch.
The cross goes 3 ways, Horror, shoot em up and puzzle.
This works tremendously and I enjoyed every minute of it. Especially Hair raising moments.
I think that cross genre would work with almost and genre except the obvious like platformers and driving games, that just wouldn’t work.
You have to choose the right character and the right type of genre that character would suit. e.g. Mario:Beat em up (Smash Brothers) and a driving game, (Mario kart64). He could race opponents and shoot them with missiles and such. Hmm ok that is Mario Kart 64.
Well I tried to explain it, just my explaining skills aren’t up to scratch.
Jet Force Gemini was a great example of a cross Genre game.
It was part shoot em up and part platformer.
Super Smash brothers - A Platformer beat em up. It has all of the platforming gameplay that it's characters usualy play and at the same time they're fighting in the unique way you don't find in other fighting games.
Zelda is the only RPG I've come across with lots of platforming elements.
I've only mentioned N64 games but I'm sure that there's hundreds of other examples out there too. You just have to know where to look and what to look for.
It was part shoot em up and part platformer.
Super Smash brothers - A Platformer beat em up. It has all of the platforming gameplay that it's characters usualy play and at the same time they're fighting in the unique way you don't find in other fighting games.
Zelda is the only RPG I've come across with lots of platforming elements.
I've only mentioned N64 games but I'm sure that there's hundreds of other examples out there too. You just have to know where to look and what to look for.
In theory - No
In execution - sometimes.
In execution - sometimes.
It all depends on the genres.
The Mario Sports titles aren't *really* genre hybrids. It's just someone from one genre put into another. Once you've finished a hole in Mario Golf, you don't have to run and jump across the fairway to retrieve your ball and head onto the next hole.
And it also depends on how you define a genre hybrid.
While a straight RPG based around Gran Turismo wouldn't work, there are many features that could have come out of RPGs- GT works kind of like this:
You win races to get money.
This money is used to improve particular parts of the car.
A Dungeons-And-Dragons style RPG works like this:
You win battles to get experience.
This experience is used to improve particular skills of your character.
Anything seem familiar with those two?
So when you think about it, GT is an arcade racer with RPG elements, and also, as many people have said, the natural evolution of the genre.
It's very similar with some wrestilng games, and they started out similarly, as Out Run had just a few identikit made-up cars with not much difference between the models, the early wrestlers had about 3 identikit made-up wrestlers, without a lot of difference between them.
Looking at it from another angle, Zelda (more apparrent in the N64 games), is an RPG which has taken cues from beat-em-ups and platformers.
As they are, cross-genre games don't actually exist, it's just that nowadays the genres are starting to take hints from each other.
-bm03
"bendy"
The Mario Sports titles aren't *really* genre hybrids. It's just someone from one genre put into another. Once you've finished a hole in Mario Golf, you don't have to run and jump across the fairway to retrieve your ball and head onto the next hole.
And it also depends on how you define a genre hybrid.
While a straight RPG based around Gran Turismo wouldn't work, there are many features that could have come out of RPGs- GT works kind of like this:
You win races to get money.
This money is used to improve particular parts of the car.
A Dungeons-And-Dragons style RPG works like this:
You win battles to get experience.
This experience is used to improve particular skills of your character.
Anything seem familiar with those two?
So when you think about it, GT is an arcade racer with RPG elements, and also, as many people have said, the natural evolution of the genre.
It's very similar with some wrestilng games, and they started out similarly, as Out Run had just a few identikit made-up cars with not much difference between the models, the early wrestlers had about 3 identikit made-up wrestlers, without a lot of difference between them.
Looking at it from another angle, Zelda (more apparrent in the N64 games), is an RPG which has taken cues from beat-em-ups and platformers.
As they are, cross-genre games don't actually exist, it's just that nowadays the genres are starting to take hints from each other.
-bm03
"bendy"
Yes those are all good games and I believe cross-genre games are part of the future of gaming as they are becoming increasingly popular and more and more are being released.
I also feel that some genre's have to be remade/reinvented due to same types of games being released over and over again e.g. the Fighting genre. Mixing things up is no harm done.
I also feel that some genre's have to be remade/reinvented due to same types of games being released over and over again e.g. the Fighting genre. Mixing things up is no harm done.
I can't be bothered to read that post so I'll simply post my own views: Cross genre games are a good idea and can work wonders EG Deus Ex, Dungeon Keeper 2(to an extent), Driver (kind of). It should be OK as long as the genres aren't too different - a wrestling and flight sim hybrid would not work.
We all know that when a game is released it is categorized into a particular genre, whether it be Beat 'em Up or Sports etc.
But nowadays we are seeing a few, well one might say slightly odd games appearing around the place. Good examples of this are Sonic R or Crash Team Racing.
Now these are 'Genuine' genre-based changes or mutations, if you will. And there's one character who has stared in just about every kind of genre there is and altered it in some way.
Let me give you a few hints, shall I? He jumped many a barrel and stompped many a goombam, become a tennis star and a golf pro......and the list goes on!
You've guessed it right? Yes it's yours and mine's favourite plumber, Mario.
It seems as though those Ninty fellas can place their podgy creation into any type of game without fail.
However they obviously do it with care. I mean Mario could be tossed into the wrestling ring with a few of his pals
using the WWF No Mercy engine, pull off a few high risk moves and maybe a couple of belly drops from the turnbuckle (ouch!) but it just wouldn't feel as though it's from Nintendo or Mario's style. Instead you would feel cheated into buying such a cheap game.
What it would need is extra elements of fun and originality so that anyone can play it, such as the ring shot modes in Mario Golf and Tennis, although I'm not entirely sure how it would work with wrestling.
Cross-Genre games are actually quite rare, though you can see many more being released to the present day such as 007 Racing and those rugrats games like Mario Party and ISS 2000 had an RPG element to its Career mode etc. (My Mind seems to have momentarily left me since it is 11:44pm and I have no idea why I'm writing this.)
So as you can see Mascots tend to 'cross-genre' better than other characters and is easy to see why.
But do the developers do this on their own accord or maybe it just has to be done.
The latter seems in many ways absurd at first although is it easy to believe that game developers feel the need to mix around things a little with their already established franchises? Probably, yes.
But would you play a football game where you take control of numerous superheroes such as batman and captain america to kick each others butt, but on the field? Could you even in your right mind think of playing a role-playing game based on the automotive technicalities of Gran Turismo?
I seem to think not. Truthfully, there is no potential with these ideas but on the contrary many ideas would be welcomed, some more than others.
Think about all the Rare characters fighting it out in a similar style Super Smash Bros. game and what do you get?
Nothing special.
But what if you put in Final Fantasy characters. As fighting games are focused on character design (something which Square pours a mad amount of resources onto), it wouldn't go to far. Neither would a 3-D adventure game based on James Bond, which plays the same way as Tomb Raider.
When you look at all of these could be brought out fairly easily.
The point is, although genre-mutating doesn't sound like a good idea at first, there are a few examples of properties or game characters that can do it with ease.
Nevertheless, It's pretty obvious that not every established genre shold be bent in some form or another.
For people into 'Crazy' things though, it's good to see companies take risks to create games that have the element of someting mad and new.
In the end we know that the company isn't entirely there to make a totally unique game or improve that particular genre, it's there to show off to millions and pull in the rewards by selling product beyond product.
And if this is the case, then we might be seeing more and and more cross-genre games. I sure hope we do!
Think about this and remember - The opportunities for genre-bending are almost limitless!!!
But nowadays we are seeing a few, well one might say slightly odd games appearing around the place. Good examples of this are Sonic R or Crash Team Racing.
Now these are 'Genuine' genre-based changes or mutations, if you will. And there's one character who has stared in just about every kind of genre there is and altered it in some way.
Let me give you a few hints, shall I? He jumped many a barrel and stompped many a goombam, become a tennis star and a golf pro......and the list goes on!
You've guessed it right? Yes it's yours and mine's favourite plumber, Mario.
It seems as though those Ninty fellas can place their podgy creation into any type of game without fail.
However they obviously do it with care. I mean Mario could be tossed into the wrestling ring with a few of his pals
using the WWF No Mercy engine, pull off a few high risk moves and maybe a couple of belly drops from the turnbuckle (ouch!) but it just wouldn't feel as though it's from Nintendo or Mario's style. Instead you would feel cheated into buying such a cheap game.
What it would need is extra elements of fun and originality so that anyone can play it, such as the ring shot modes in Mario Golf and Tennis, although I'm not entirely sure how it would work with wrestling.
Cross-Genre games are actually quite rare, though you can see many more being released to the present day such as 007 Racing and those rugrats games like Mario Party and ISS 2000 had an RPG element to its Career mode etc. (My Mind seems to have momentarily left me since it is 11:44pm and I have no idea why I'm writing this.)
So as you can see Mascots tend to 'cross-genre' better than other characters and is easy to see why.
But do the developers do this on their own accord or maybe it just has to be done.
The latter seems in many ways absurd at first although is it easy to believe that game developers feel the need to mix around things a little with their already established franchises? Probably, yes.
But would you play a football game where you take control of numerous superheroes such as batman and captain america to kick each others butt, but on the field? Could you even in your right mind think of playing a role-playing game based on the automotive technicalities of Gran Turismo?
I seem to think not. Truthfully, there is no potential with these ideas but on the contrary many ideas would be welcomed, some more than others.
Think about all the Rare characters fighting it out in a similar style Super Smash Bros. game and what do you get?
Nothing special.
But what if you put in Final Fantasy characters. As fighting games are focused on character design (something which Square pours a mad amount of resources onto), it wouldn't go to far. Neither would a 3-D adventure game based on James Bond, which plays the same way as Tomb Raider.
When you look at all of these could be brought out fairly easily.
The point is, although genre-mutating doesn't sound like a good idea at first, there are a few examples of properties or game characters that can do it with ease.
Nevertheless, It's pretty obvious that not every established genre shold be bent in some form or another.
For people into 'Crazy' things though, it's good to see companies take risks to create games that have the element of someting mad and new.
In the end we know that the company isn't entirely there to make a totally unique game or improve that particular genre, it's there to show off to millions and pull in the rewards by selling product beyond product.
And if this is the case, then we might be seeing more and and more cross-genre games. I sure hope we do!
Think about this and remember - The opportunities for genre-bending are almost limitless!!!