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I have been told that in the past, there were only seven original stories. Any more were based on the originals, or different variations. Whether that means there was an original murder story, love story, or what I do not know as I haven't been told which are the originals considering written language has been going on for more than 2000 years!
So could this apply to gaming?
Do you think that there could be seven original types of game? Of course they would be in two dimensions, but could apply to many three dimensional games!
Well here's some types of games which you could count as original:
1. Platformer. You know, the type of game to involve gravity, so that when a character jumps into the air, it falls back to the ground again. Well, we all know that Donkey Kong was the first in this genre, but you have to admit, there are a lot of games that go by this basis now, including the obvious Tomb Raider and Super Mario 64, to the lesser obvious Goldeneye 007 and Fifa 2001. Nearly every game features gravity, whether it's going in the same direction however, is another question.
2. Flight Sim. From the classic R-Type on the Spectrum to Rogue Leader on the GameCube, flight simulation games have been part of gamers lives for generations. The more arcade types usually involve a space-craft that gains powerups and fires lasers whilst moving only up and down on a side scrolling screen. However, the more complex ones require you to fly planes, take off, land, close and open wheel hatches and do the works! There are even specially made joysticks for them! Some games incorporate some kind of flight simulator as part of the game, for example in Skies of Arcadia, you've got a very simple flight sim' as you travel between islands.
3. Sports. From the word go, sports have been the most popular form of videogame in general. Whilst individual sports games don't seem to achieve the highest amount of sales, there are more sports games on the market than any other type. Originally there was Pong, now there's Virtua Tennis 2, Fifa 2002 World Cup (coming soon), and even cartoony racers like Mario Kart and Konami Krazy Racers. But the main craze at the moment is the snowboarding craze. No one wants to make a fool out of themselves in real life, talking Teenage Mutant Hero Turtle talk whilst breaking an arm or a leg down the side of a snowy cliff. So why not have a go on a home console?
4. Shooter. A lot of games have featured lazers or bullets flying into other sprites in games, wounding or destroying them. However, you'd be suprised how large a range of games there are which involve guns, ammo and hardcore technical warfare! You've got games like Command & Conquer with their simple tank shooting, and games like Doom with their BFG's killing everything in sight! But it's not just these games that feature them, you've got platformers like the original Duke Nukem games, three dimensional games like Grand Theft Auto 3, even some racers involve some kind of shooting like in Mario Kart where you fire your shells!
5. Point & Click. Ah, the infamous point and click games have gone a long, long, way. The originals of course involved a Joystick to move the cursor, but more modern computers have used that grey rodent with the buttons which your hands seem to fit just right on. Most point and click games are just like the internet. You click on something to make another thing happen, just like you do when you click on a link on a webpage. But more and more types of games are using the mouse now, like the strategy game, and even first person shooters like Return To Castle Wolfenstein!
6. Strategy. Many, many games cover this genre, ranging from the well known Command & Conquer, to the wierd and wacky worms series! Again, these feature many other elements like the shooting and the gravity, but the usually also include a certain degree of clicking with the mouse! But these games challenge you to think against an opponent, whether computer or human. You have to diverse plans and carry them out in you mind, think ahead before your opponent can carry out his evil doings, and basically play til you drop! I bet you wouldn't have considered chess a strategy game on a console? Well it's a strategy board game so why not?
7. Puzzle. The most well known genre. There are so many Tetris clones on the market now, it's unbelievable! Nearly all puzzle games work best in 2D and on a handheld, especially after Nintendo's Game Boy set the trend. But the PC does have lots of 3D shareware games available to download too which although very simple in design, are more challenging than you think! Even games like Doom have incorporated puzzles in levels to make the game longer and more difficult!
So there you have it, 7 genres which each feature in other genres if you look carefully. Are these the equivilent to the original stories? Well what do you think?
So could this apply to gaming?
Do you think that there could be seven original types of game? Of course they would be in two dimensions, but could apply to many three dimensional games!
Well here's some types of games which you could count as original:
1. Platformer. You know, the type of game to involve gravity, so that when a character jumps into the air, it falls back to the ground again. Well, we all know that Donkey Kong was the first in this genre, but you have to admit, there are a lot of games that go by this basis now, including the obvious Tomb Raider and Super Mario 64, to the lesser obvious Goldeneye 007 and Fifa 2001. Nearly every game features gravity, whether it's going in the same direction however, is another question.
2. Flight Sim. From the classic R-Type on the Spectrum to Rogue Leader on the GameCube, flight simulation games have been part of gamers lives for generations. The more arcade types usually involve a space-craft that gains powerups and fires lasers whilst moving only up and down on a side scrolling screen. However, the more complex ones require you to fly planes, take off, land, close and open wheel hatches and do the works! There are even specially made joysticks for them! Some games incorporate some kind of flight simulator as part of the game, for example in Skies of Arcadia, you've got a very simple flight sim' as you travel between islands.
3. Sports. From the word go, sports have been the most popular form of videogame in general. Whilst individual sports games don't seem to achieve the highest amount of sales, there are more sports games on the market than any other type. Originally there was Pong, now there's Virtua Tennis 2, Fifa 2002 World Cup (coming soon), and even cartoony racers like Mario Kart and Konami Krazy Racers. But the main craze at the moment is the snowboarding craze. No one wants to make a fool out of themselves in real life, talking Teenage Mutant Hero Turtle talk whilst breaking an arm or a leg down the side of a snowy cliff. So why not have a go on a home console?
4. Shooter. A lot of games have featured lazers or bullets flying into other sprites in games, wounding or destroying them. However, you'd be suprised how large a range of games there are which involve guns, ammo and hardcore technical warfare! You've got games like Command & Conquer with their simple tank shooting, and games like Doom with their BFG's killing everything in sight! But it's not just these games that feature them, you've got platformers like the original Duke Nukem games, three dimensional games like Grand Theft Auto 3, even some racers involve some kind of shooting like in Mario Kart where you fire your shells!
5. Point & Click. Ah, the infamous point and click games have gone a long, long, way. The originals of course involved a Joystick to move the cursor, but more modern computers have used that grey rodent with the buttons which your hands seem to fit just right on. Most point and click games are just like the internet. You click on something to make another thing happen, just like you do when you click on a link on a webpage. But more and more types of games are using the mouse now, like the strategy game, and even first person shooters like Return To Castle Wolfenstein!
6. Strategy. Many, many games cover this genre, ranging from the well known Command & Conquer, to the wierd and wacky worms series! Again, these feature many other elements like the shooting and the gravity, but the usually also include a certain degree of clicking with the mouse! But these games challenge you to think against an opponent, whether computer or human. You have to diverse plans and carry them out in you mind, think ahead before your opponent can carry out his evil doings, and basically play til you drop! I bet you wouldn't have considered chess a strategy game on a console? Well it's a strategy board game so why not?
7. Puzzle. The most well known genre. There are so many Tetris clones on the market now, it's unbelievable! Nearly all puzzle games work best in 2D and on a handheld, especially after Nintendo's Game Boy set the trend. But the PC does have lots of 3D shareware games available to download too which although very simple in design, are more challenging than you think! Even games like Doom have incorporated puzzles in levels to make the game longer and more difficult!
So there you have it, 7 genres which each feature in other genres if you look carefully. Are these the equivilent to the original stories? Well what do you think?
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Hmph!
Good point, I was debating whether or not to put RPG in.....but some RPG's fit into other catagories as well, so to keep to the number 7, I left it out :)
Edgy, where's RPG?
You're right about the fact that there are only 7(?) or is it 10(?) basic stories, all films and plays and books and every tale ever told is based on those 7 or 10 themes.
But I don't think an analogy can be made to game genres. Game storylines, yes, but genres no. Because genres are constantly evolving, as in Bemani becoming a genre of its own rather than just a sub-category of puzzler, we'll end up with more than we have now.
I think there are many unexplored genres out there. Some say Rez is a shooter, but in other ways it can be seen as in a category all to itself, call it 'EI' for 'Emotional Immersion' or something like that. There are similar titles out there at the moment and there are sure to be more in the future, so perhaps Rez will define this new category.
Other genres merge, as in Metal Gear Solid taking the best shooting elements and mixing them with a puzzle (stealth) element, creating the stealth 'em up. Grand Theft Auto 3 takes driving, killing, stealth, puzzle (planning) and so on to create yet another genre all of its own, a crime 'em up perhaps.
All the storylines in these genres certainly conform to the basic 7 or 10 storylines that are known to exist, nothing can detract from that. But I think the genres themselves aren't as easy to compare in this way.
You're right about the fact that there are only 7(?) or is it 10(?) basic stories, all films and plays and books and every tale ever told is based on those 7 or 10 themes.
But I don't think an analogy can be made to game genres. Game storylines, yes, but genres no. Because genres are constantly evolving, as in Bemani becoming a genre of its own rather than just a sub-category of puzzler, we'll end up with more than we have now.
I think there are many unexplored genres out there. Some say Rez is a shooter, but in other ways it can be seen as in a category all to itself, call it 'EI' for 'Emotional Immersion' or something like that. There are similar titles out there at the moment and there are sure to be more in the future, so perhaps Rez will define this new category.
Other genres merge, as in Metal Gear Solid taking the best shooting elements and mixing them with a puzzle (stealth) element, creating the stealth 'em up. Grand Theft Auto 3 takes driving, killing, stealth, puzzle (planning) and so on to create yet another genre all of its own, a crime 'em up perhaps.
All the storylines in these genres certainly conform to the basic 7 or 10 storylines that are known to exist, nothing can detract from that. But I think the genres themselves aren't as easy to compare in this way.
Samos wrote:
> If you're going to make your posts so long try and make it funny!
Thank you!
Stryke, maybe you could learn something from Samos! He gave "constructive critisism" which is a whole lot better than "I rule, blah blah blah".
> If you're going to make your posts so long try and make it funny!
Thank you!
Stryke, maybe you could learn something from Samos! He gave "constructive critisism" which is a whole lot better than "I rule, blah blah blah".
If you're going to make your posts so long try and make it funny!
I've learnt my lesson...
I've learnt my lesson...
Yeah yeah, you tell yourself that when they drag you out of the Marks & Spencer fitting rooms in the suits section at 11pm
But I rule and they will never ban me because I rule and all should bow to me. I'm also amazing at everything. Did I mention I rule? My mother told me not to stare at myself in the mirror all day, but it's fun.
Stryke! That was a joke! I don't give a monkey's anus about the elections!
All monkeys do what they see.
And I was just making a point. If we're talking about the election, you're obviously still biased against Goatboy because he mocked you for being a sillybilly.
And I was just making a point. If we're talking about the election, you're obviously still biased against Goatboy because he mocked you for being a sillybilly.
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