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video game genre A video game genre is an informal classification of a video game based on how it is played rather than visual or narrative elements. This is independent of setting, unlike works of fiction that are expressed through other media, such as films o ...
is a specific category of games related by similar
gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and pl ...
characteristics. Video game genres are not usually defined by the
setting Setting may refer to: * A location (geography) where something is set * Set construction in theatrical scenery * Setting (narrative), the place and time in a work of narrative, especially fiction * Setting up to fail a manipulative technique to e ...
or
story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (British ...
of the game or its medium of play, but by the way the player interacts with the game.. For example; a
first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the p ...
is still a first-person shooter regardless of whether it takes place in a
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
,
western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
,
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
, or
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
setting; so long as it features a camera mimicking the perspective of the protagonist ( first-person) and gameplay centered around the use of
ranged weapon A ranged weapon is any weapon that can engage targets beyond hand-to-hand distance, i.e. at distances greater than the physical reach of the user holding the weapon itself. The act of using such a weapon is also known as shooting. It is someti ...
ry. Genres may encompass a wide variety of games, leading to even more specific classifications called ''subgenres''. For example, an
action game An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, and platform g ...
can be classified into many subgenres such as
platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
s and
fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as blocking, grappling, counter-attacking, and chaining atta ...
s. Some games, most notably browser and
mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...
games, are commonly classified into multiple genres.. The following is a list of most commonly defined video game genres, with short descriptions for individual genres and major subgenres.


Action

Action games emphasize physical challenges that require hand-eye coordination and motor skill to overcome. They center around the player, who is in control of most of the action. Most of the earliest video games were considered action games; today, it is still a vast genre covering all games that involve physical challenges. Action games are classified by many subgenres.
Platform games Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system o ...
and
fighting games A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...
are among the best-known subgenres, while
shooter games Shooter video games or shooters are a subgenre of action video games where the focus is almost entirely on the defeat of the character's enemies using the weapons given to the player. Usually these weapons are firearms or some other long-range ...
became and continue to be one of the dominant genres in video gaming since the 1990s.. Action games usually involve elements of
twitch gameplay Twitch gameplay is a type of video gameplay scenario that tests a player's response time. Action games such as shooters, sports, multiplayer online battle arena, and fighting games often contain elements of twitch gameplay. For example, firs ...
.


Platform games

Platform games (or ''platformers'') have gameplay primarily centered around jumping and climbing to navigate the player's environment. They may have enemies or obstacles to avoid and fight or may just be pure jumping puzzles. Generally the
playable characters A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not contr ...
in a platform game are able to jump many times their own height and the player is offered some control over their movement in midair as well as the height and distance of their jumps. Settings tend to be vertically exaggerated with much uneven terrain that the player can leap up to or fall off of. ''
Donkey Kong is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong and his clan of other Ape, apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of plat ...
'' (1981) was one of the earliest and best-known platformers; the American gaming press classified it using the term ''climbing game'' at the time. ''
Super Mario Bros. is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The successor to the 1983 arcade game '' Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series, it was first released in 1985 for ...
'' (1985), a platformer, was one of the best-selling games of all time, with more than 40 million copies sold.


Shooter games

In shooter games (or simply ''shooters''), players use ranged weapons to participate in the action, which takes place at a distance. Most shooters involve violent gameplay; lethal weaponry is used to damage opponents. However, some shooters, such as ''
Splatoon is a third-person shooter video game franchise created by Hisashi Nogami, and developed and owned by Nintendo. Set in a post-apocalyptic Earth inhabited by anthropomorphic marine animals, the series centers around fictional cephalopods known ...
'', have non-violent objectives. Shooters, aside from subgenre classifications, can be further classified by their perspective of play.
First-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the p ...
s are played within the protagonist's perspective; they often include a heads-up display showing key information such as the current
health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
of the protagonist.. In
third-person shooter Third-person shooter (TPS) is a subgenre of 3D computer graphics, 3D shooter games in which the gameplay consists primarily of shooting. It is closely related to first-person shooters, but with the player character visible on-screen during play. ...
s, the protagonist's body can be seen fully; the environment is rendered from a distance. Some shooters incorporate both perspectives.
Hero shooter A hero shooter is a subgenre of shooter games that cover both the first-person shooter and third-person shooter genres. These games emphasize "hero" characters that have distinctive abilities and/or weapons that are specific to them. Game desig ...
s are either first- or third-person multiplayer shooters that emphasize pre-designed "hero" characters, with each possessing distinctive abilities and/or weapons that are specific to them. Hero shooters strongly encourage teamwork between players on a team, guiding players to select effective combinations of hero characters and coordinate the use of hero abilities during a match. Outside of a match, players have the ability to customize the appearance of the heroes but with no other in-game effects. Hero shooters are inspired by the
multiplayer online battle arena Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is a subgenre of strategy video games in which two teams of players compete against each other on a predefined battlefield. Each player controls a single character with a set of distinctive abilities that ...
genre, and popular team-based shooters like ''
Team Fortress 2 ''Team Fortress 2'' is a 2007 multiplayer first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to the 1996 ''Team Fortress'' mod for '' Quake'' and its 1999 remake, '' Team Fortress Classic''. The game was ...
''. Examples of hero shooters include ''
Overwatch ''Overwatch'' is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of online multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment: '' Overwatch'' released in 2016, and ''Overwatch 2'' released in 2022. Both games f ...
'', ''
Paladins The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers, are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, where ...
'', ''
Apex Legends ''Apex Legends'' is a free-to-play battle royale-hero shooter game developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in February 2019, for Nintendo Switch in March ...
,'' and ''
Valorant ''Valorant'' is a free-to-play first-person tactical hero shooter developed and published by Riot Games, for Windows. Teased under the codename ''Project A'' in October 2019, the game began a closed beta period with limited access on April ...
''.
Light gun shooter Light gun shooter, also called light gun game or simply gun game, is a shooter video game genre in which the primary design element is to simulate a shooting gallery by having the player aiming and discharging a gun-shaped controller at a sc ...
s are controlled with a gun-shaped controller; light guns function via a light sensor, hence the name "light gun". The technology has been used as early as the 1920s for shooter games, although electronic video gaming did not exist at that time. Shoot 'em ups pit players, who are usually piloting some form of flying vehicle, or flying by some other means, against large waves of opponents; the player is continuously moving and must attack and avoid opponent's attacks as well as obstacles.. Since the 1990s, shooters, most notably first-person shooters, have become widely successful in video gaming, accounting for a large percentage of video game sales. ''
Wolfenstein 3D ''Wolfenstein 3D'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by id Software and published by Apogee Software and FormGen. Originally released on May 5, 1992, for DOS, it was inspired by the 1981 Muse Software video game '' Castle Wolfe ...
'', created by
Id Software id Software LLC () is an American video game developer based in Richardson, Texas. It was founded on February 1, 1991, by four members of the computer company Softdisk: game programmer, programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer T ...
and released in 1992, was credited for pioneering gameplay and graphics elements incorporated by many other shooters.. Also developed by Id and published one year after Wolfenstein 3D's release, ''
Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...
'' is broadly considered to be one of the most influential games in video gaming history. Other successful shooter series include ''
Half-Life Half-life (symbol ) is the time required for a quantity (of substance) to reduce to half of its initial value. The term is commonly used in nuclear physics to describe how quickly unstable atoms undergo radioactive decay or how long stable at ...
'', a widely acclaimed and commercially successful series noted for its influence on contemporary shooters; and the '' Call of Duty'' franchise, with more than 250 million sales across all its titles.


Fighting games

Fighting games center around close-ranged combat, typically one-on-one fights or against a small number of equally powerful opponents, often involving violent and exaggerated unarmed attacks. Most fighting games feature a large number of playable characters and a competitive multiplayer mode. While most fighting games emphasize hand-to-hand combat, some fighting games such as ''
Soulcalibur is a weapon-based fighting video game franchise by Bandai Namco Entertainment. There are seven main installments of video games and various media spin-offs, including music albums and a series of manga books. The first game in the series, '' ...
'' and ''
Samurai Shodown ''Samurai Shodown'', known in Japan as is a fighting game series by SNK. The series began in 1993 and is known for being one of the earliest in the genre with a primary focus on weapon-based combat. Plot The stories in the series take place ...
'' center around combat with melee weapons. Many fighting games incorporate heavily emphasized attacks based on various martial arts systems. Fighting games were one of the dominant genres in video gaming until the late-1990s, where the genre saw a slight decline. This decline was short-lived however, for titles such as '' Mortal Kombat'', ''
Street Fighter , commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...
'', and '' Super Smash Bros.'' dominate the fighter demographic of the modern era. Different sub-genre games are starting to become more popular though. ''Super Smash Bros.'', and its deviation from the traditional fighting game rule set is one of these games that has gained a large following because of its "fun over form" party game development mentality.


Beat 'em up games

Beat 'em ups (or ''brawlers'') are a related, but distinct genre to fighting games. While they both involve close-range combat, beat 'em ups put players against large waves of opponents as opposed to a few. Beat 'em ups often incorporate mechanics from other action genres, and multiplayer in beat 'em up games tends to be co-operative rather than competitive. Beat 'em ups saw a sudden decline in popularity in the early 1990s with the release of fighting games, but 3D beat 'em ups have kept the genre alive. Hack and Slash is a sub-genre often used to refer to weapons based beat 'em ups.


Stealth game

These games tend to emphasize sneaking around and avoiding enemy notice over direct conflict, for example, the ''Metal Gear'' series, and the ''Sly Cooper'' series. In a Stealth game, players are usually still able to engage in loud, conspicuous combat, but are often punished for it. Other games, such as ''
Dishonored ''Dishonored'' is a 2012 action-adventure game developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. Set in the fictional, plague-ridden industrial city of Dunwall, ''Dishonored'' follows the story of Corvo Attano, bodyguard to th ...
'', the player can obtain their goal with or without stealth, but stealth is encouraged as the player is at a disadvantage over many of their enemies. The inclusion of stealth as a mechanic in a game does not necessarily make it a Stealth Game. For example, '' Skyrim'' has an entire perk tree dedicated to "Sneaking" despite that most of the dungeons in the game can be completed using a hack-and-slash strategy. The first stealth game was ''Manbiki Shounen'' (''Shoplifting Boy''), published in November 1979. The
PET 2001 The Commodore PET is a line of personal computers produced starting in 1977 by Commodore International. A single all-in-one case combines a MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor, Commodore BASIC in read-only memory, keyboard, monochrome monitor, an ...
personal computer game A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-dete ...
was developed by Hiroshi Suzuki. Hideo Kojima's ''
Metal Gear is a series of techno-thriller stealth games created by Hideo Kojima. Developed and published by Konami, the first game, ''Metal Gear'', was released in 1987 for MSX home computers. The player often takes control of a special forces operativ ...
'' was the first mainstream stealth game, with the player starting the game unarmed, and sold over a million copies in the United States. '' Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake'' evolved the stealth gameplay of its predecessor. ''Metal Gear'' and ''Metal Gear 2'' are credited with pioneering stealth mechanics. ''
Metal Gear Solid is a series of techno-thriller stealth games created by Hideo Kojima. Developed and published by Konami, the first game, ''Metal Gear'', was released in 1987 for MSX home computers. The player often takes control of a special forces opera ...
'', which debuted at the 1996
Tokyo Game Show , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. ...
, was the first 3D stealth game, and is credited with popularizing the stealth game genre, as well as the hiding-behind-cover mechanic.


Survival games

Survival games start the player off with minimal resources, in a hostile, open-world environment, and require them to collect resources, craft tools, weapons, and shelter, in order to survive as long as possible. Many are set in procedurally-generated environments, and are open-ended with no set goals. They may overlap with the
survival horror Survival horror is a subgenre of survival of the players as the game tries to frighten them with either horror graphics or scary ambience. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical ac ...
genre, in which the player must survive within a supernatural setting, such as a zombie apocalypse.


Rhythm games

Rhythm game or rhythm action is a genre of  music-themed  action video game that challenges a player's sense of rhythm. The genre includes dance games such as ''
Dance Dance Revolution (''DDR'') is a music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, ''Dance Dance Revolution'' is the pioneering series of the rhythm and dance ...
'' and music-based games such as ''
Donkey Konga is a GameCube rhythm video game series starring the ape Donkey Kong, developed by Namco and published by Nintendo. The series' games are intended to be played with a special controller called the DK Bongos that resemble two small bongo drums, b ...
'' and ''
Guitar Hero ''Guitar Hero'' is a series of music rhythm game video games first released in November 2005, in which players use a guitar-shaped game controller to simulate playing primarily lead, bass guitar, and rhythm guitar across numerous songs ...
''. Games in the genre challenge the player to press buttons at precise times: the screen shows which button the player is required to press, and the game awards points both for accuracy and for synchronization with the beat. ''
PaRappa the Rapper is a rhythm video game developed by NanaOn-Sha and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation in Japan in 1996 and worldwide in 1997. Created by music producer Masaya Matsuura in collaboration with artist Rodney Greenblat, t ...
'' has been deemed the first influential rhythm game; whose basic template formed the core of subsequent games in the genre. Other popular rhythm games include ''
Dance Dance Revolution (''DDR'') is a music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, ''Dance Dance Revolution'' is the pioneering series of the rhythm and dance ...
'', ''Maimai'', ''Project Diva'', '' Cytus'', ''Love Live: School Idol Festival'', '' The Idolmaster'', ''
osu! ''Osu!'' (stylized as ''osu!'') is a free-to-play rhythm game primarily developed, published, and created by Dean "peppy" Herbert. Inspired by iNiS' rhythm game ''Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan'', it was written in C Sharp (programming language), C# ...
'', ''
Taiko no Tatsujin , lead=yes, group=lower-alpha (Japanese: 太鼓の達人, Taiko no Tatsujin, lit. "Master of the drums") is a series of games created by Namco. In the games, players simulate playing a taiko drum in time with music. The series has released games ...
'', ''
Crypt of the Necrodancer ''Crypt of the NecroDancer'' is a roguelike rhythm video game developed and published by Canadian independent game studio Brace Yourself Games. The game takes fundamental elements of a roguelike dungeon exploration game and adds a beat-matching ...
'', ''
Rhythm Heaven ''Rhythm Heaven'', known as ''Rhythm Paradise'' in Europe and ''Rhythm World'' in Korea, is a Japanese rhythm video game developed by Nintendo SPD for the Nintendo DS. It is the second game in Nintendo's ''Rhythm Heaven'' series and the first on ...
'', etc.


Battle Royale games

A battle royale game is a genre that blends the survival, exploration and scavenging elements of a survival game with last man standing gameplay. Battle royale games challenge a large number of players, starting with minimal equipment, to search for weapons and armor and eliminate other opponents, while trying to stay in safe playable area which shrinks as the time passes, with the winner being the last competitor in the game. Notable battle royale games include ''
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds ''PUBG: Battlegrounds'' (previously known as ''PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds'') is a battle royale game developed by PUBG Studios and published by Krafton. The game, which was inspired by the Japanese film '' Battle Royale'' (2000), is based ...
'', ''
Fortnite Battle Royale ''Fortnite Battle Royale'' is a free-to-play battle royale video game developed and published by Epic Games. It is a companion game to '' Fortnite: Save the World'', a cooperative survival game with construction elements. It was initially ...
'', ''
Garena Free Fire ''Garena Free Fire'', also known as ''Free Fire (FF)'', is a Battle Royale game developed and published by Garena for Android and iOS. It became the most downloaded mobile game globally in 2019. , ''Free Fire'' had surpassed 150 million daily ...
'', ''
Apex Legends ''Apex Legends'' is a free-to-play battle royale-hero shooter game developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in February 2019, for Nintendo Switch in March ...
,'' and '' Call of Duty: Warzone,'' each having received tens of millions of players within months of their releases.


Action-adventure

Although Action-adventure games can divide into action or adventure games, they combine elements of their two component genres, typically featuring long-term obstacles that must be overcome using a tool or item as leverage (which is collected earlier), as well as many smaller obstacles almost constantly in the way, that require elements of action games to overcome. Action-adventure games tend to focus on exploration and usually involve item gathering, simple puzzle solving, and combat. "Action-adventure" has become a label which is sometimes attached to games which do not fit neatly into another well known genre. Because of their prevalence on
video game console A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connected to ...
s and the absence of typical adventure games, action-adventure games are often called "adventure games" by modern gamers. One of the first action-adventure games was the
Atari 2600 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocesso ...
game ''
Adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...
'' (1980). It was directly inspired by the original
text adventure '' Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives, either in the ...
, ''
Colossal Cave Adventure ''Colossal Cave Adventure'' (also known as ''Adventure'' or ''ADVENT'') is a text-based adventure game, released in 1976 by developer Will Crowther for the PDP-10 mainframe computer. It was expanded upon in 1977 by Don Woods. In the game, the ...
''. In the process of adapting a text game to a console with only a joystick for control, designer
Warren Robinett Joseph Warren Robinett Jr. (born December 25, 1951) In the A. Miller interview, Robinett says he was 26 in November 1977. is a designer of interactive computer graphics software, notable as the developer of the Atari 2600's ''Adventure'' — ...
created an action-adventure game by incorporating action arcade game elements. The action-adventure later became an established genre with Shigeru Miyamoto's ''
The Legend of Zelda ''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-rele ...
'' (1986), which became a success due to how it combined elements from different genres to create a compelling hybrid, including exploration, transport puzzles, adventure-style inventory
puzzles A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at the correct or fun solution of the puzzle ...
, an action component, a monetary system, and simplified RPG-style level building without the
experience points An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experien ...
. The game was also an early example of open world, non-linear gameplay, and introduced innovations like
saving Saving is income not spent, or deferred consumption. Methods of saving include putting money aside in, for example, a deposit account, a pension account, an investment fund, or as cash. Saving also involves reducing expenditures, such as recur ...
on battery backup. It became one of the most influential games of the 8-bit era, inspiring action-adventures like '' Metroid'' and RPGs like ''
Final Fantasy is a Japanese video game, Japanese science fantasy anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and ...
''. ''Zelda'' has since remained the most prolific action-adventure game series through to the present day.


Survival horror

Survival horror games focus on fear and attempt to scare the player via traditional horror fiction elements such as atmospherics, death, the undead, blood and gore. One crucial
gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and pl ...
element in many of these games is the low quantity of ammunition, or number of breakable
melee weapons A melee weapon, hand weapon or close combat weapon is any handheld weapon used in hand-to-hand combat, i.e. for use within the direct physical reach of the weapon itself, essentially functioning as an additional (and more impactful) extension of th ...
. Notable examples include ''
Silent Hill is a horror anthology media franchise centered on a series of survival horror games created by Keiichiro Toyama and published by Konami. The first four video games in the series, '' Silent Hill'', ''Silent Hill 2'', ''Silent Hill 3'' and '' ...
'' and ''
Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...
''. The first survival horror game was ''AX-2:'' ''Uchuu Yusousen Nostromo'' (AX-2 宇宙輸送船ノストロモ), developed by Akira Takiguchi, a
Tokyo University , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...
student and
Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. I ...
contractor, for the
PET 2001 The Commodore PET is a line of personal computers produced starting in 1977 by Commodore International. A single all-in-one case combines a MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor, Commodore BASIC in read-only memory, keyboard, monochrome monitor, an ...
. It was ported to the
PC-6001 The NEC PC-6000 series is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced in November 1981 by NEC Home Electronics. There are several models in this series, such as the PC-6001, the PC-6001 MK2 and the PC-6001 MK2 SR. There is also an American versio ...
by Masakuni Mitsuhashi (also known as Hiromi Ohba, later joined
Game Arts is a Japan, Japanese video game developer, developer and video game publisher, publisher of video games located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo. Originally established in 1985 as a computer software company, it expanded into producing for a nu ...
), and published by
ASCII ASCII ( ), abbreviated from American Standard Code for Information Interchange, is a character encoding standard for electronic communication. ASCII codes represent text in computers, telecommunications equipment, and other devices. Because ...
in 1981, exclusively for Japan.


Metroidvania

Metroidvania games are a subgenre of platformer, named after its two first well-known franchises, '' Metroid'' and '' Castlevania''. They feature large interconnected world maps the player can explore, but access to parts of the world is limited by doors or other obstacles that can only be opened after the player has acquired special tools, weapons or abilities within the game. Acquiring such improvements also aids the player in defeating more difficult enemies and locating shortcuts and secret areas, and often includes retracing one's steps across the map. Metroidvanias usually do not consist of any linear gameplay and often involve much backtracking – especially after new powerups or tools have been obtained.


Adventure

Adventure games were some of the earliest games created, beginning with the text adventure ''
Colossal Cave Adventure ''Colossal Cave Adventure'' (also known as ''Adventure'' or ''ADVENT'') is a text-based adventure game, released in 1976 by developer Will Crowther for the PDP-10 mainframe computer. It was expanded upon in 1977 by Don Woods. In the game, the ...
'' in the 1970s. That game was originally titled simply "Adventure," and is the namesake of the genre. Over time, graphics have been introduced to the genre and the interface has evolved. Unlike adventure films, adventure games are not defined by story or content. Rather, adventure describes a manner of gameplay without reflex challenges or action. They normally require the player to solve various puzzles by interacting with people or the environment, most often in a non-confrontational way. It is considered a "purist" genre and tends to exclude anything which includes action elements beyond a
mini game The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...
. Because they put little pressure on the player in the form of action-based challenges or time constraints, adventure games have had the unique ability to appeal to people who do not normally play video games. The genre peaked in popularity with the 1993 release of ''
Myst ''Myst'' is a graphic adventure/puzzle video game designed by the Miller brothers, Robyn and Rand. It was developed by Cyan, Inc., published by Broderbund, and initially released for the Macintosh in 1993. In the game, the player's charact ...
'', the best-selling PC game of all time up to that point. The simple point and click interface, detailed worlds and casual pace made it accessible, and its sense of artistic surrealism caused news outlets such as ''
Wired Magazine ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fr ...
'', ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', and the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...
'' to declare that the gaming industry had matured. It had four proper sequels, but none managed to experience the same level of success. The success of ''Myst'' also inspired many others to create similar games with first person perspectives, surreal environments and minimal or no dialogue, but these neither recaptured the success of ''Myst'' nor of earlier personality-driven adventures. In the late 1990s the genre suffered a large drop in popularity, mass-market releases became rare, and many proclaimed the adventure game to be dead. More accurately, it has become a niche genre. Adventure games are not entirely uncommon, but they tend to be very low budget in anticipation of modest sales. The genre was somewhat rejuvenated with the release of ''
The Longest Journey ''The Longest Journey'' ( nb, Den Lengste Reisen) is a magical realist point-and-click adventure video game developed by Norwegian studio Funcom for Microsoft Windows and released in 1999. The game was a commercial success, with sales in ex ...
'' in 1999, which emphasized stronger story elements and more interaction with different characters. A recent resurgence of adventure games on Nintendo consoles might signify a new interest in the genre. A successful Kickstarter campaign in 2012, run by Doublefine Studios, also spoke to the continued interest in Adventure games. The game produced as a result was mired in controversy and production delays, and to some, signalled the true end of the genre outside of niche markets.


Text adventures

The earliest adventure games were text adventures, also known as interactive fiction. Games such as the popular ''
Zork ''Zork'' is a text-based adventure game first released in 1977 by developers Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, Bruce Daniels, and Dave Lebling for the PDP-10 mainframe computer. The original developers and others, as the company Infocom, expanded a ...
'' series of the late 1970s and early 1980s allowed the player to use a keyboard to enter commands such as "get rope" or "go west" while the computer describes what is happening. A great deal of programming went into
parsing Parsing, syntax analysis, or syntactic analysis is the process of analyzing a string of symbols, either in natural language, computer languages or data structures, conforming to the rules of a formal grammar. The term ''parsing'' comes from L ...
the player's text input.


Graphic adventures

Adventure games emerged as graphics became more common. Adventure games began to supplement and later on replace textual descriptions with visuals (for example, a picture of the current location). Early graphic adventure games used text-parsers to input commands. The growing use of mice led to the "
point-and-click Point and click are the actions of a computer user moving a pointer to a certain location on a screen (''pointing'') and then pressing a button on a mouse, usually the left button (''click''), or other pointing device. An example of point and ...
" genre of adventure games, where the player would no longer have to type commands. The player could, for example, click on a hand
icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...
and then on a rope to pick up the rope.


Visual novels

A is a game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with
anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
-style art. As the name might suggest, they resemble mixed-media novels or
tableau vivant A (; often shortened to ; plural: ), French for "living picture", is a static scene containing one or more actors or models. They are stationary and silent, usually in costume, carefully posed, with props and/or scenery, and may be theatrica ...
stage plays. Many visual novels track statistics that the player must build in order to advance the plot, and permit a variety of endings, allowing more dynamic reactions to the player's actions than a typical linear adventure plot. Many visual novels are dating sims, including
bishōjo game A or , is "a type of Japanese video game centered on interactions with attractive girls". ''Bishōjo'' games are similar to ''Choose Your Own Adventure'' books in the way of narrative, in which the game tells a story but the player may make ...
s. Visual novels are especially prevalent in Japan, where they make up nearly 70% of PC games released. They are rarely produced for video game consoles, but the more popular games are sometimes
ported In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desi ...
to systems such as the
Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Nint ...
or the PlayStation 2. The market for visual novels outside Japan, however, was nearly non-existent prior to the success of the Nintendo DS, for which several Japanese visual novels were released in the West, such as the ''
Ace Attorney ''Ace Attorney'' is a series of visual novel adventure video games developed by Capcom. With storytelling fashioned after legal dramas, the first entry in the series, '' Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney'', was released in 2001; since then, five ...
'' series.


Interactive movie

The
interactive movie Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but m ...
genre came about with the invention of laserdiscs. An interactive movie contains pre-filmed full-motion cartoons or live-action sequences, where the player controls some of the moves of the main character. For example, when in danger, the player decides which move, action, or combination to choose. In these games, the only activity the player has is to choose or guess the move the
designers A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...
intend him to make. Interactive movies usually differ from games that simply use full motion video, FMV, extensively between scenes in that they try to integrate it into the gameplay itself. This has been used in everything from racing games to fighting games. A few adventure game have tried to use the term to liken the storytelling of their games to those in movies, most notably the later '' Tex Murphy'' games and the more recent '' Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy)'', although they are more aptly classified as genre hybrids. Elements of interactive movies have been adapted for game
cut scene A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward the ...
s, in the form of Quick Time Events, to keep the player alert. Games like ''
Resident Evil 4 ''Resident Evil 4'' is a 2005 survival horror third-person shooter game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom. It was originally released for the GameCube on January 11, 2005. Players control U.S. government specia ...
'' present obvious in-game prompts for the player to react to. Not doing so usually results in the player character either getting hurt or outright killed.


Real-time 3D adventures

Around this time, real-time 3D adventure games appeared. These included '' Nightfall'' in 1998, ''
Shenmue is an action-adventure game series created, produced and directed by Yu Suzuki. '' Shenmue'' (1999) and ''Shenmue II'' (2001) were developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega for Dreamcast. '' Shenmue III,'' developed by Suzuki's company Y ...
'' in 1999, ''
realMyst ''Myst'' is a graphic adventure/puzzle video game designed by the Miller brothers, Robyn and Rand. It was developed by Cyan, Inc., published by Broderbund, and initially released for the Macintosh in 1993. In the game, the player's character ...
'' in 2000, '' Shadow of Memories'' in 2001, '' Uru: Ages Beyond Myst'' in 2003 and the Yakuza franchise in 2005. They augmented traditional adventure gameplay with some of the attributes more commonly associated with action games, for example, freedom of motion and physics-based behavior.


Puzzle

Puzzle games are for those who like to put their brain to use and find the thrill in solving puzzles. Whether simple adaptations of real-world puzzles like
Sudoku Sudoku (; ja, 数独, sūdoku, digit-single; originally called Number Place) is a logic-based, combinatorial number-placement puzzle. In classic Sudoku, the objective is to fill a 9 × 9 grid with digits so that each column, each row ...
or full-blown puzzle games meant to be explored in a video game environment, there’s a lot of variety on offer. They test the player’s problem-solving skills including logic, pattern recognition, sequence solving, and word completion. Puzzle games continue to find millions of fans, especially on mobile phones where games like Candy Crush Saga are extremely popular. Puzzle games focus on logical and conceptual challenges. While many action games and adventure games include puzzle elements in level design, a true puzzle game focuses on puzzle solving as its primary gameplay activity. Rather than presenting a random collection of puzzles to solve, puzzle games typically offer a series of related puzzles that are a variation on a single theme. This theme could involve pattern recognition, logic, or understanding a process. These games usually have a set of rules, where players manipulate game pieces on a grid, network or other interaction space. Players must unravel clues in order to achieve some victory condition, which will then allow them to advance to the next level. Completing each puzzle will usually lead to a more difficult challenge.


Breakout clone game

Breakout clone (also known as ''block-breaking'' or ''ball-and-paddle'') is a sub-class of the puzzle genre. This genre is named for the dynamics of the player-controlled block (called a ''"paddle"'') which the game is based on that hits a ball towards different objects such as colored tiles, special tiles and indestructible tiles (called a ''"brick"''). The term ''"brick buster"'' was coined in the early 2000s, mostly refers to more modern games. Some early examples is ''
Arkanoid is a 1986 block breaker arcade game developed and published by Taito. In North America, it was published by Romstar. Controlling a paddle-like craft known as the Vaus, the player is tasked with clearing a formation of colorful blocks by deflect ...
'' developed by
Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. I ...
in 1986 and the original '' Breakout'' developed by Atari in 1976.


Logical game

Logical puzzle games exhibit logic and mechanisms that are consistent throughout the entire game. Solving them typically requires deductive reasoning skills.


Physics game

A physics game is a type of logical puzzle video game where the player must use the game's physics and environment to complete each puzzle. Physics games use consistent physics to make games more challenging. The genre is especially popular in
online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" o ...
flash game A browser game or a "flash game" is a video game that is played via the internet using a web browser. They are mostly free-to-play and can be single-player or multiplayer. Some browser games are also available as mobile apps, PC games, or on co ...
s and mobile games. Educators have used these games to demonstrate principles of physics. Popular physics-based logic puzzle games include '' Portal'', ''
The Talos Principle ''The Talos Principle'' is a 2014 puzzle video game developed by Croteam and published by Devolver Digital. It was simultaneously released on Linux, OS X and Windows in December 2014. It was released for Android in May 2015, for PlayStation 4 ...
'', '' The Witness'', '' Braid'', ''
Fez Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...
'', ''
World of Goo ''World of Goo'' is a puzzle video game developed and published by independent game developer 2D Boy. The game was released on Microsoft Windows and Wii platforms on October 13, 2008, with releases on Nintendo Switch, Mac OS X, Linux, and var ...
'', and ''
Cut the Rope Cut may refer to: Common uses * The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely-directed force ** A type of wound ** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past ** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment ** Cut ( ...
''. These also include projectile collision games such as ''
Angry Birds ''Angry Birds'' is a Finnish action-based media franchise created by Rovio Entertainment. The game series focuses on the eponymous flock of angry birds who try to save their eggs from green-colored pigs. Inspired by the game ''Crush the Castl ...
'', '' Peggle'', ''
Monster Strike is a mobile Japanese role-playing physics game with elements of puzzle, strategy and cooperative multiplayer. It is developed by XFLAG for iOS and Android platforms. The game was created by former Capcom game designer Yoshiki Okamoto. In J ...
'', and '' Crush the Castle''.


Coding game

These are logical puzzle games that require programming elements. Examples include '' The Incredible Machine'', '' SpaceChem'', and ''
Infinifactory ''Infinifactory'' is a puzzle video game developed and published by Zachtronics, initially released on Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux on June 30, 2015. The game was later released on PlayStation 4 in December 2015. In the game, the player t ...
''.


Trial-and-error / Exploration

This sub-genre includes point-and-click games that often exhibit similarities with adventure games and walking simulators. Unlike logical puzzle games, these games generally require inductive reasoning to solve. The defining trait is that the player must experiment with mechanisms in each level before they can solve them. Puzzle elements often do not have consistency throughout the game, and thus require guessing and checking, and exploration to reveal more of the puzzle. These include ''
Myst ''Myst'' is a graphic adventure/puzzle video game designed by the Miller brothers, Robyn and Rand. It was developed by Cyan, Inc., published by Broderbund, and initially released for the Macintosh in 1993. In the game, the player's charact ...
'', ''
Limbo In Catholic theology, Limbo (Latin '' limbus'', edge or boundary, referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Euro ...
'', '' The Dig'', '' Monument Valley'', and
escape room An escape room, also known as an escape game, puzzle room, exit game, or riddle room is a game in which a team of players discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks in one or more rooms in order to accomplish a specific goal in a limite ...
games such as ''
The Room ''The Room'' is a 2003 American drama film written, produced, executive produced and directed by Tommy Wiseau, who stars in the film alongside Juliette Danielle and Greg Sestero. The film centers on a melodramatic love triangle between amia ...
''.


Hidden object game

A hidden object game (sometimes called hidden picture or hidden object puzzle adventure (HOPA)) is a genre of puzzle video game in which the player must find items from a list that are hidden within a scene. Hidden object games are a popular trend in
casual gaming A casual game is a video game targeted at a mass market audience, as opposed to a hardcore game, which is targeted at hobbyist gamers. Casual games may exhibit any type of gameplay and genre. They generally involve simpler rules, shorter sessio ...
, and are comparatively inexpensive to buy. '' Mystery Case Files: Huntsville'', released by
Big Fish Games Big Fish Games is a casual gaming company based in Seattle, with a regional office in Oakland, California, owned by Aristocrat Leisure. It is a developer and distributor of casual games for computers and mobile devices. It has been accused of ...
in 2005, is considered the first modern hidden objects game, coming at the rise of casual gaming in the mid-2000s.


Reveal the picture game

A reveal the picture game is a type of puzzle game that features piece-by-piece revealing of a photo or picture.


Tile-matching game

In tile-matching video games, the player manipulates tiles in order to make them disappear according to a matching criterion. The genre began with 1985's '' Chain Shot!'' and has similarities to "falling block" games such as ''
Tetris ''Tetris'' (russian: link=no, Тетрис) is a puzzle video game created by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute over the appro ...
.'' This genre includes games that require pieces to be swapped such as ''
Bejeweled ''Bejeweled'' (also referred as ''Bejeweled Deluxe'' in some releases) is a tile-matching puzzle video game by PopCap Games, developed for browsers in 2001. The first game developed by PopCap under their current name, ''Bejeweled'', involves ...
'' or '' Candy Crush Saga'', games that adapt the classic
tile-based game A tile-based game is a game that uses tiles as one of the fundamental elements of play. Traditional tile-based games use small tiles as playing pieces for gambling or entertainment games. Some board games use tiles to create their board, givin ...
Mahjong such as ''
Mahjong Trails MegaZebra is a game development company located in Munich, Germany. The company develops free-to-play games for social networks like Facebook and mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. As of July 2018, the company employs 55 people. H ...
'', and games in which pieces are shot on the board such as '' Zuma''. In many recent tile-matching games, the matching criterion is to place a given number of tiles of the same type so that they adjoin each other. That number is often three, and the corresponding subset of tile-matching games is referred to as "match-three games." Other examples include ''
Threes ''Threes'' (stylized as ''Threes!'') is a puzzle video game by Sirvo, an independent development team consisting of game designer Asher Vollmer, illustrator Greg Wohlwend, and composer Jimmy Hinson. The game was released on February 6, 2014, for ...
'' and ''
Lumines (pronounced as "Loo-min-ess") is a puzzle video game series developed by Q Entertainment. The core objective of the games is to survive by rotating and aligning 2×2 blocks varying between two colors to form 2×2 squares of a single color wh ...
''.


Traditional puzzle game

There have also been many digital adaptations of traditional puzzle games, including solitaire and
mahjong solitaire Mahjong solitaire (also known as Shanghai solitaire, electronic or computerized mahjong, solitaire mahjong or simply mahjong) is a single-player matching game that uses a set of mahjong tiles rather than cards. It is more commonly played on a c ...
. Even familiar word puzzles, number puzzles, and association puzzles have been adapted as games such as '' Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training''.


Puzzle-platform game

Puzzle platformers are characterized by their use of a platform game structure to drive a game whose challenge is derived primarily from
puzzles A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at the correct or fun solution of the puzzle ...
.
Enix was a Japanese video game publisher that produced video games, anime and manga. Enix is known for publishing the ''Dragon Quest'' series of role-playing video games. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975, as . Th ...
's 1983 release ''
Door Door is a single-screen puzzle-platform game developed by Enix and published in Japan in 1983. Originally released for the NEC PC-8801, it was ported to other platforms, including the Family Computer. Controlling a small character named Chun, the p ...
'' and Sega's 1985 release ''
Doki Doki Penguin Land ''Doki Doki Penguin Land'' is a series of puzzle platform games developed and published by Sega, and which began in 1985. All games in the series feature a very similar formula whereby players guide an egg to the bottom of a level by moving or de ...
'' (for the
SG-1000 The is a home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was Sega's first entry into the home video game hardware business. Developed in response to a downturn in arcades starting in 1982, the SG-1000 was created on the advice of Hayao Nak ...
) are perhaps the first examples, though the genre is diverse, and classifications can vary. ''Doki Doki Penguin Land'' allowed players to run and jump in typical platform fashion, but they could also destroy blocks, and were tasked with guiding an egg to the bottom of the level without letting it break. ''
The Lost Vikings ''The Lost Vikings'' is a puzzle-platform game developed by Silicon & Synapse (now Blizzard Entertainment) and published by Interplay. It was originally released for the Super NES in 1993, then subsequently released for the Amiga, Amiga CD32, M ...
'' (1993) was a popular game in this genre. It has three characters players can switch between, each with different abilities. All three characters are needed to complete the level goals. ''
Wario Land 2 ''Wario Land II'' is a 1998 platform game, platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. It was later re-released and optimised for the Game Boy Color. In the game, Wario has to recover his treasure from Wario (series) ...
'' moved the Wario series into the puzzle-platform genre by eliminating the element of death and adding temporary injuries, such as being squashed or lit on fire, and specialized powers. ''
Wario Land 3 ''Wario Land 3'' is a 2000 video game released for the Game Boy Color. In it, Mario's archrival Wario must free a mysterious figure who is trapped inside a music box. It was a critical and commercial success, and was followed by ''Wario Land 4' ...
'' continued this tradition, while ''
Wario Land 4 ''Wario Land 4'' is a 2001 platform game developed by Nintendo and released for the Game Boy Advance. Wario has to gather four treasures to unlock a pyramid and save Princess Shokora from the Golden Diva. Gameplay The gameplay of ''Wario Land ...
'' was more of a mix of puzzle and traditional platform elements. The Game Boy update of ''Donkey Kong'' was also successful and saw a sequel on Game Boy Advance: ''
Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a sub-series of the ''Mario'' and ''Donkey Kong'' series, based on puzzle video games, marking the return of Pauline and the rivalry between Mario and Donkey Kong. '' Mario vs. Donkey Kong'', released in 2004 for the Game Boy Advance, was ...
''.


Role-playing

Role-playing video games draw their gameplay from traditional tabletop role-playing games like ''
Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...
''. Most of these games cast the player in the role of a character that grows in strength and
experience Experience refers to conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these conscious processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience involv ...
over the course of the game. By overcoming difficult challenges and/or defeating monsters, the player gains experience points which represent the character's progress in a chosen profession or class (such as melee combat or ranged
magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
spells) and allow the player to gain new abilities once a set amount are obtained. Many RPGs contain an open world known as an
overworld An overworld (sometimes referred to as a hub world) is, in a broad sense, commonly an area within a video game that interconnects all its levels or locations. They are mostly common in role-playing games, though this does not exclude other vide ...
, which is usually populated with monsters, that allows access to more important game locations, such as towns, dungeons, and castles. Since the emergence of affordable home computers coincided with the popularity of paper and pencil role-playing games, this genre was one of the first in video games and continues to be popular today. Gameplay elements strongly associated with RPG, such as statistical character development through the acquisition of experience points, have been widely adapted to other genres such as action-adventure games. Though nearly all of the early entries in the genre were
turn-based game In video and other games, the passage of time must be handled in a way that players find fair and easy to understand. This is usually done in one of the two ways: real-time and turn-based. Real-time Real-time games have game time progress con ...
s, many modern role-playing games progress in real-time. Thus, the genre has followed the
strategy game A strategy game or strategic game is a game (e.g. a board game) in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous, decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome. Almost all strategy games require internal decisi ...
's trend of moving from turn-based to real-time combat. The move to real-time combat began with the release of
Square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...
's (now Square Enix's) ''
Final Fantasy IV known as ''Final Fantasy II'' for its initial North American release, is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Released in 1991, it is the fourth main insta ...
'', the first game to use the
Active Time Battle In video and other games, the passage of time must be handled in a way that players find fair and easy to understand. This is usually done in one of the two ways: real-time and turn-based. Real-time Real-time games have game time progress con ...
system; this was quickly followed by truly real-time action role-playing games such as the ''Mana'' series, '' Soul Blazer'' and '' Ultima VII''. Although older turn-based system still exist, such as the ''Golden Sun'' series for
Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, ...
as well as '' Pokémon''.


Action RPG

The action role-playing game or action RPG is a type of role-playing video game which incorporates real-time combat as opposed to turn-based or menu-based, often borrowing elements from
action game An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, and platform g ...
s or action-adventure games. Some of the first action role-playing games were produced by
Nihon Falcom is a Japanese video game developer, best known for their '' Ys'', ''The Legend of Heroes'', and ''Trails'' series. The company was founded in March 1981, making them one of the oldest active video game companies. They are credited with pioneeri ...
in the 1980s, such as the ''Dragon Slayer'' series and ''Ys'' series. Later so-called "'' Diablo'' clones" are also part of this genre. Although the precise definition of the genre varies, the typical action RPG features a heavy emphasis on combat, often simplifying or removing non-combat attributes and statistics and the effect they have on the character's development. Additionally, combat always takes place using a real-time system (hence the "action") that relies on the player's ability to perform particular actions with speed and accuracy to determine success, rather than mainly using the player character's attributes to determine this.


MMORPG

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games, or MMORPG, emerged in the mid to late 1990s as a commercial,
graphical Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture ...
variant of text-based MUDs, which had existed since 1978. By and large, MMORPG feature the usual RPG objectives of completing quests and strengthening one's player character, but involve up to hundreds of players interacting with each other on the same persistent world in real-time. The massively multiplayer concept was quickly combined with other genres. Fantasy MMORPG, like ''
Final Fantasy XI also known as ''Final Fantasy XI Online'', is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), originally developed and published by Squaresoft and then published by Square Enix as the eleventh main installment of the ''Final Fantas ...
'', '' The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar'', and ''
The Elder Scrolls Online ''The Elder Scrolls Online'', abbreviated ''ESO'', is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by ZeniMax Online Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was released for Windows and OS X in April 2014. It is a ...
'', remain the most popular type of MMOG, with the most popular "pay-to-play" game being ''
World of Warcraft ''World of Warcraft'' (''WoW'') is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. Set in the ''Warcraft'' fantasy universe, ''World of Warcraft'' takes place within the world of Azeroth ...
'', and the most popular "
free-to-play Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...
" games including ''
RuneScape ''RuneScape'' is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Jagex, released in January 2001. ''RuneScape'' was originally a browser game built with the Java programming language; it was lar ...
'' and ''
TERA TERA is a shielded twisted pair connector for use with Category 7 twisted-pair data cables, developed by The Siemon Company and standardised in 2003 by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) with the reference IEC 61076-3-104. Th ...
'', yet other types of MMORPG are appearing. Sci-fi MMORPG like '' Phantasy Star Online'' hold a smaller part of the market, with the popular space sci-fi game ''
EVE Online ''Eve Online'' (stylised ''EVE Online'') is a space-based, persistent world massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by CCP Games. Players of ''Eve Online'' can participate in a number of in-game profes ...
'' being the most notable. Other massively multiplayer online games which do not have a conventional RPG setting include
Second Life ''Second Life'' is an online multimedia platform that allows people to create an avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user created content within a multi player online virtual world. Developed and owned by the San Fra ...
and
Ingress Ingress may refer to: Science and technology * Ingress (signal leakage), the passage of an outside signal into a coaxial cable * Ingress filtering, a computer network packet filtering technique * Ingress protection rating, a protection level that ...
.


Roguelikes

The roguelike video game subgenre borrows its name and gameplay elements from the 1980 computer game '' Rogue''. Superficially, a roguelike is a two-dimensional dungeon crawl with a high degree of randomness via procedural generation, an emphasis on statistical character development, and the use of
permadeath Permadeath or permanent death is a game mechanic in both tabletop games and video games in which player characters who lose all of their health are considered dead and cannot be used anymore. Depending on the situation, this could require the p ...
. Though traditionally featuring a text user interface, many such games utilize graphic tiles to overcome character set limitations. Newer games that move away from traditional hack-and-slash elements but otherwise keeping procedural generation and permadeath features are sometimes called "rogue-lites".


Tactical RPG

The tactical role-playing game subgenre principally refers to games which incorporate gameplay from
strategy games A strategy game or strategic game is a game (e.g. a board game) in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous, decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome. Almost all strategy games require internal decisio ...
as an alternative to traditional RPG systems. Like standard RPG, the player controls a finite party and battles a similar number of enemies, but this genre incorporates strategic gameplay such as tactical movement on an isometric grid. The genre has its origins in
tabletop role-playing game A tabletop role-playing game (typically abbreviated as TRPG or TTRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a form of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech. Participa ...
s, where each player has time to decide his or her characters' actions.


Sandbox RPG

Sandbox RPG or Open World RPG allow the player a large amount of freedom and usually contain a somewhat more open free-roaming (meaning the player is not confined to a single path restricted by rocks or fences etc.) world. Sandbox RPGs contain similarities to other sandbox games such as the
Grand Theft Auto ''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is a series of action-adventure games created by David Jones and Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is primarily d ...
series, with a large number of interactable non-player characters, large amount of content and typically some of the largest worlds to explore and longest playtimes of all RPG due to an impressive amount of secondary content not critical to the game's main storyline. Sandbox RPG often attempt to emulate an entire region of their setting. Popular examples of this subgenre include the ''
Dragon Slayer A dragonslayer is a person or being that slays dragons. Dragonslayers and the creatures they hunt have been popular in traditional stories from around the world: they are a type of story classified as type 300 in the Aarne–Thompson classifica ...
'' series by
Nihon Falcom is a Japanese video game developer, best known for their '' Ys'', ''The Legend of Heroes'', and ''Trails'' series. The company was founded in March 1981, making them one of the oldest active video game companies. They are credited with pioneeri ...
, the early '' Dragon Quest'' games by Chunsoft, ''
Zelda II ''Zelda II: The Adventure of Link'' is an action role-playing video game with platforming elements developed and published by Nintendo. It is the second installment in the '' Legend of Zelda'' series, and was released in Japan for the Famicom D ...
'' by Nintendo, ''
Wasteland Wasteland or waste land may refer to: * Desert or barren area * an uncultivated area of land, whether wooded or not, whether common land or not Art, entertainment, and media Comics * ''Wasteland'' (DC Comics), 1987–1989 anthology-style horror/ ...
'' by
Interplay Entertainment Interplay Entertainment Corp. is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by developers Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca ...
, the '' SaGa'' and ''
Mana According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being ...
'' series by Squaresoft, '' System Shock 2'' by
Irrational Games Irrational Games (known as 2K Boston between 2007 and 2009) was an American video game developer founded in 1997 by three former employees of Looking Glass Studios: Ken Levine, Jonathan Chey, and Robert Fermier. Take-Two Interactive acquired t ...
and
Looking Glass Studios Looking Glass Studios, Inc. (formerly Blue Sky Productions and LookingGlass Technologies, Inc.) was an American video game developer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company was founded by Paul Neurath with Ned Lerner as Blue Sky Produ ...
, ''
Deus Ex ''Deus Ex'' is a series of role-playing video games, set during the mid 21st century. Focusing on the conflict between secretive factions who wish to control the world by proxy, and the effects of transhumanistic attitudes and technologies in a ...
'' by
Ion Storm Ion Storm, L.P. was an American video game developer founded by video game industry veterans John Romero and Tom Hall, both formerly of id Software. Despite an impressive pedigree and high expectations, the company only produced one commercial ...
, ''
The Elder Scrolls ''The Elder Scrolls'' is a series of Action role-playing game, action role-playing video games primarily developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The series focuses on Nonlinear gameplay, free-form gameplay in an ...
'' and ''Fallout'' series by Bethesda Softworks and
Interplay Entertainment Interplay Entertainment Corp. is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by developers Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca ...
, ''
Fable Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse (poetry), verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphized, and that illustrat ...
'' by
Lionhead Studios Lionhead Studios Limited was a British video game developer founded in July 1997 by Peter Molyneux, Mark Webley, Tim Rance, and Steve Jackson. The company is best known for the ''Black & White'' and ''Fable'' series. Lionhead started as a br ...
, the ''Gothic'' series by
Piranha Bytes Piranha Bytes GmbH is a German video game developer based in Essen. Founded in 1997, it is best known for their '' Gothic'' and '' Risen'' series of role-playing video games. The studio is a subsidiary of THQ Nordic and, as of August 2021, ...
, and the ''
Xenoblade Chronicles is a series of action role-playing games developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo. It is a part of the '' Xeno'' metaseries created by Tetsuya Takahashi, but was formed after Nintendo's acquisition of Monolith Soft in 2007. The se ...
'' series by
Monolith Soft trading as Monolith Soft, is a Japanese video game development studio originally owned by Namco (later Bandai Namco) until being bought out by Nintendo in 2007. The company was founded in 1999 by Tetsuya Takahashi with the support and coope ...
.


First-person party-based RPG

Also known as DRPG (Dungeon RPG), this subgenre consists of RPGs where the player leads a party of adventurers in
first-person perspective A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person re-teller ...
through a dungeon or labyrinth, typically in a grid-based environment. Examples include the aforementioned ''Wizardry'', ''Might and Magic'' and ''Bard's Tale'' series; as well as the ''
Etrian Odyssey ''Etrian Odyssey'' is a dungeon crawler role-playing video game series. It is primarily developed and published by Atlus and currently owned by Sega. By 2016, the series had sold a combined total of 1.5 million copies worldwide. Titles Main se ...
'' and '' Elminage'' series. Games of this type are also known as "blobbers", since the player moves the entire party around the playing field as a single unit, or "blob". Most "blobbers" are turn-based, but some titles such as the ''Dungeon Master'', '' Legend of Grimrock'', and '' Eye of the Beholder'' series are played in real-time. Early games in this genre lack an
automap A mini-map or minimap is a miniature map that is often placed at a screen corner in video games to aid players in orienting themselves within the game world. They are often only a small portion of the screen and must be selective in what details ...
feature, forcing players to draw their own maps in order to keep track of their progress. Environmental and spatial puzzles are common, meaning players may have to, for instance, move a stone in one part of the level in order to open a gate in another part of the level.


Monster Tamer

A variant of the RPG formula where the player recruits monsters to fight for or alongside them. Collected creatures can often be raised or bred to create stronger monsters or to increase their abilities in battle. An example of a monster tamer games is '' Pokémon.''


Simulation

Simulation video games is a diverse super-category of games, generally designed to closely simulate aspects of a real or fictional reality.


Construction and management simulation

Construction and management simulations (or CMS) are a type of simulation game which task players to build, expand or manage fictional communities or projects with limited resources. In
city-building game A city-building game, or town-building game, is a genre of simulation video game where players act as the overall planner and leader of a city or town, looking down on it from above, and being responsible for its growth and management strategy. ...
s the player acts as overall planner or leader to meet the needs and wants of game characters by initiating structures for food, shelter, health, spiritual care, economic growth, etc. Success is achieved when the city budget makes a growing profit and citizens experience an upgraded lifestyle in housing, health, and goods. While military development is often included, the emphasis is on economic strength. Perhaps the most known game of this type is ''
SimCity ''SimCity'' is an open-ended city-building video game series originally designed by Will Wright. The first game in the series, ''SimCity'', was published by Maxis in 1989 and were followed by several sequels and many other spin-off "''Sim ...
'', which is still popular and has had great influence on later city-building games. ''SimCity'', however, also belongs to the ''God Games'' genre since it gives the player god-like abilities in manipulating the world.
Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
was a long-running series in this genre, with the original game spawning three sequels. Business simulation games generally attempt to simulate an economy or business, with the player controlling the economy of the game. A
government simulation game A government simulation or political simulation is a game that attempts to simulate the government and politics of all or part of a nation. These games may include Geopolitics, geopolitical situations (involving the formation and execution of for ...
(or "political game") involves the simulation of the policies, government or politics of a country, but typically excludes warfare. Recently, these types of games have gained the moniker "
serious game A serious game or applied game is a game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. The "serious" adjective is generally prepended to refer to video games used by industries like defense, education, scientific exploration, he ...
".


Life simulation

Life simulation games (or artificial life games) involve living or controlling one or more artificial lives. A life simulation game can revolve around individuals and relationships, or it could be a simulation of an ecosystem. Biological simulations may allow the player to experiment with
genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...
,
survival Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things (or, hypotheti ...
or
ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
s, often in the form of an educational package. An early example is ''
SimLife ''SimLife: The Genetic Playground'' is a video game produced by Maxis in 1992. The concept of the game is to simulate an ecosystem; players may modify the genetics of the plants and animals that inhabit the virtual world. The point of this game i ...
'', while relatively recent ones are '' Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis'' and '' Spore''. In other educational simulations such as ''
Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...
'', the player "lives the life" of an individual animal in a relatively realistic way. Hailed as one of the greatest life simulation games, however, is Creatures, Creatures 2, Creatures 3, where the player breeds generations of a species in a hugely detailed ecosystem. Unlike other genres of games,
god game A god game is an artificial life game that casts the player in the position of controlling the game on a large scale, as an entity with divine and supernatural powers, as a great leader, or with no specified character (as in ''Spore''), and pla ...
s often do not have a set goal that allows a player to win the game. The focus of a god game tends to be control over the lives of people, anywhere from micromanaging a family to overseeing the rise of a civilization. Pet-raising simulations (or
digital pet A virtual pet (also known as a digital pet, artificial pet, or pet-raising simulation) is a type of artificial human companion. They are usually kept for companionship or enjoyment. People may keep a digital pet in lieu of a real pet. Digital ...
s) focus more on the relationship between the player and one or few life forms. They are often more limited in scope than other biological simulations. This includes popular examples of
virtual pets A virtual pet (also known as a digital pet, artificial pet, or pet-raising simulation) is a type of artificial human companion. They are usually kept for companionship or enjoyment. People may keep a digital pet in lieu of a real pet. Digital ...
such as ''
Tamagotchi The is a handheld digital pet that was created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi of WiZ and Aki Maita of Bandai. It was released by Bandai on November 23, 1996 in Japan and in the USA on May 1, 1997, quickly becoming one of the biggest toy fads o ...
'', the ''
Petz ''Petz'' (''Dogz'' and ''Catz'') is a series of single-player video games dating back to 1995, in which the player can adopt, raise, care for and breed their own virtual pets. The original ''Petz'' has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide and ...
'' series, and ''
Nintendogs is a real-time pet simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It was released in Japan, and was later released in: North America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and other regions. ...
''. Social simulation games base their gameplay on the social interaction between multiple artificial lives. The most famous example from this genre is Will Wright's ''
The Sims ''The Sims'' is a series of life simulation game, life simulation video games developed by Maxis and video game publisher, published by Electronic Arts. The franchise has sold nearly 200 million copies worldwide, and it is one of the best-selling ...
''. Dating sims and Romance simulation games fall under this category.


Vehicle simulation

Vehicle simulation games are a genre of
video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedbac ...
which attempt to provide the player with a realistic interpretation of operating various kinds of vehicles.
Flight simulation A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...
tasks the player with flying an aircraft, usually an airplane, as realistically as possible.
Combat flight simulators Combat flight simulators are vehicle simulation games, amateur flight simulation computer programs used to simulate military aircraft and their operations. These are distinct from dedicated flight simulators used for professional pilot and mili ...
are the most popular subgenre of simulation. The player controls the plane, not only simulating the act of flying, but also combat situations. There are also civilian flight simulators that do not have the combat aspect.
Racing game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic ra ...
s typically place the player in the driver's seat of a high-performance vehicle and require the player to race against other drivers or sometimes just time. This genre of games is one of the staples of the computer gaming world and many of the earliest computer games created were part of this genre. Emerging in the late 1970s, this genre is still very popular today and continues to push the envelope in terms of graphics and performance. These games "tend to fall into ''organized racing'' and ''imaginary racing'' categories". Organized racing simulators attempt to "reproduce the experience of driving a racing car or motorcycle in an existing racing class: Indycar,
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
, Formula 1, and so on." On the other hand, imaginary racing games involve "imaginary situations, driving madly through cities or the countryside or even fantasy environments". These "imaginary" racing games are sometimes called arcade racing games, in contrast to their more realistic "racing simulation" counterparts. These include ''
Need For Speed ''Need for Speed'' (''NFS'') is a racing game franchise published by Electronic Arts and currently developed by Criterion Games, the developers of ''Burnout''. The series generally centers around illicit street racing and tasks players to co ...
'', '' Mario Kart'' and '' Gran Turismo''. Rollings and Adams note that "racing games are often sold in the
sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
category," but "from a
design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...
standpoint, they really belong in ... vehicle simulations".
Space flight simulator game A space flight simulation is a genre of flight simulator video games that lets players experience space flight to varying degrees of realism. Common mechanics include space exploration, space trade and space combat. Overview Some games in th ...
s are a subgenre that involve piloting a
spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, p ...
. Space simulators are different from other subgenres, and are not generally considered to be simulators, as their simulated objects do not always exist and often disregard the laws of physics.
Train simulator A train simulator (also railroad simulator or railway simulator) is a computer based simulation of rail transport operations. They are generally large complicated software packages modeling a 3D virtual reality world implemented both as comme ...
s simulate the vehicles, environments and often economics associated with railway transport. These are frequently historical in nature, reminiscing on the evolution and emergence of the railroad in various countries and the economic booms that often accompanied them.
Vehicular combat Vehicular combat games (also known as just vehicular combat or car combat) are a sub-genre of vehicle simulation video games where the primary objectives of gameplay include vehicles armed with weapons attempting to destroy vehicles controlled b ...
or ''car combat'' games focus on fast-paced action, as the player operates a car or other vehicle and attempts to disable or destroy CPU or human opponents. Vehicular combat games often allow a player to choose from a variety of potential vehicles, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Vehicular combat was born out of racing/shooter combinations like ''
Spy Hunter Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...
'', ''
RoadBlasters ''RoadBlasters'' is a combat racing video game released in arcades by Atari Games in 1987. In ''RoadBlasters'', the player must navigate an armed sports car through 50 different rally races, getting to the finish line before running out of fuel. ...
'', and '' Rock 'N' Roll Racing'', but differs in that the players can, if desired, take their vehicles off predefined routes and do battle wherever they please. A subgenre of vehicular combat is ''
Mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japanese is ...
'' combat, where vehicles generally include giant robot-like tanks.


Strategy

Strategy video games focus on gameplay requiring careful and skillful thinking and planning in order to achieve victory and the action scales from world domination to squad-based tactics. “In most strategy video games,” says Andrew Rollings, "the player is given a godlike view of the game world, indirectly controlling the units under his command." Rollings also notes that "The origin of strategy games is rooted in their close cousins, board games." Strategy video games generally take one of four archetypal forms, depending on whether the game is turn-based or real-time and whether the game's focus is upon strategy or tactics. Real time strategy games are often a multiple unit selection game (multiple game characters can be selected at once to perform different tasks, as opposed to only selecting one character at a time) with a sky view (view looking down from above) but some recent games such as Tom Clancy's EndWar, are single unit selection and third person view. Like many RPG games, many strategy games are gradually moving away from turn-based systems to more real-time systems.


4X game

4X refers to a genre of strategy video game with four primary goals: eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate. A 4X game can be
turn-based In video and other games, the passage of time must be handled in a way that players find fair and easy to understand. This is usually done in one of the two ways: real-time and turn-based. Real-time Real-time games have game time progress cont ...
or
real-time Real-time or real time describes various operations in computing or other processes that must guarantee response times within a specified time (deadline), usually a relatively short time. A real-time process is generally one that happens in defined ...
. Perhaps the best known example of this genre is
Sid Meier Sidney K. Meier ( ; born February 24, 1954) is a Canadian-American programmer, game designer, designer, and video game producer, producer of several strategy video games and simulation video games, including the ''Civilization (series), Civiliz ...
's ''
Civilization A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system). ...
'' series. 4X games often cover a very large period of time, giving the player the control of an entire civilization or species. Typically these games have a historical setting, encompassing a large amount of human history (
Empire Earth ''Empire Earth'' is a series of real-time strategy video games developed by Stainless Steel Studios and Mad Doc Software, and published by Sierra Entertainment. The games in the series are historical RTS games that are similar to '' Age of Emp ...
, Civilization, Golden Age of Civilizations) or a science fiction setting where the player controls a species set to dominate the galaxy (
Master of Orion ''Master of Orion'' (abbreviated as MoO) is a turn-based, 4X science fiction strategy game in which the player leads one of ten races to dominate the galaxy through a combination of diplomacy and conquest while developing technology, exploring ...
,
Galactic Civilizations ''Galactic Civilizations'' is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Stardock and released in March 2003. The game is a remake of an OS/2 series of the same name. An expansion pack entitled ''Altarian Prophecy'' was released in 2004. A se ...
).


Artillery game

Artillery is the generic name for early two or three-player (usually
turn-based In video and other games, the passage of time must be handled in a way that players find fair and easy to understand. This is usually done in one of the two ways: real-time and turn-based. Real-time Real-time games have game time progress cont ...
) computer games involving
tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...
s fighting each other in combat or similar derivative games. Artillery games were among the earliest computer games developed and can be considered an extension of the original use of computers, which were once used for military-based calculations such as plotting the trajectories of rockets. Artillery games are considered a type of
turn-based tactics Turn-based tactics (TBT), or tactical turn-based (TTB), is a computer and video game genre of strategy video games that through stop-action simulates the considerations and circumstances of operational warfare and military tactics in generally s ...
game, though they have also been described as a type of "shooting game." Examples of this genre are ''
Pocket Tanks ''Pocket Tanks,'' often abbreviated as PTanks or simply as PT'','' is a 1-2 player computer game and mobile game developed by Michael P. Welch from Blitwise Productions. It was originally released for Windows and Mac OS X in 2001 and was later ...
'', '' Hogs of War'', '' Scorched 3D'' and the ''
Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...
'' series.


Auto battler (Auto chess)

Auto battler, also known as "auto chess", is a type of strategy game that features
chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
-like elements where players place characters on a grid-shaped battlefield during a preparation phase, who then fight the opposing team's characters without any further direct input from the player. It was created and popularized by ''
Dota Auto Chess ''Dota Auto Chess'' is a strategy video game mod for the video game ''Dota 2''. Developed by Drodo Studio and released in January 2019, the game features elements of chess and supports up to eight players. The popularity of the mod, with its hav ...
'' in early 2019, and saw more games in the genre by other studios, such as ''
Teamfight Tactics ''Teamfight Tactics'' (''TFT'') is an auto battler game developed and published by Riot Games. The game is a spinoff of ''League of Legends'' and is based on ''Dota Auto Chess'', where players compete online against seven other opponents by buil ...
'', ''
Dota Underlords ''Dota Underlords'' is a 2020 auto battler game developed and published by Valve. The game is based on a popular ''Dota 2'' community-created game mode called ''Dota Auto Chess'', which was released in January 2019. ''Dota Underlords'' first rel ...
'', and ''
Hearthstone Battlegrounds ''Hearthstone'' is a free-to-play online digital collectible card game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. Originally subtitled ''Heroes of Warcraft'', ''Hearthstone'' builds upon the existing lore of the ''Warcraft'' series by ...
'' releasing soon after.


Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) / Action RTS (ARTS)

Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), also known as Action RTS (ARTS), is a genre of strategy video games in which each player controls a single character with a set of unique abilities that improve over the course of a game and which contribute to the team's overall strategy. Players work together as a team to achieve a victory condition which is to destroy the opposing team's main structure whilst protecting their own. Player characters, typically called "heroes" or "champions", are assisted by computer-controlled units that periodically
spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: ...
in groups and march forward along set paths (called "lanes") toward their enemy's base. Defensive structures, which are usually automatic "towers", are in place to prevent this. The first team to destroy the opponents' main structure wins the match. The genre is seen as a fusion of real-time strategy games,
role-playing games A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...
, and
action game An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, and platform g ...
s, however, players usually do not construct either buildings or units. This type of multiplayer online video games gained popularity in early 2010s, with ''
Defense of the Ancients ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA'') is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) mod for the video game '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos'' (2002) and its expansion, ''The Frozen Throne''. The objective of the game is for each team to destro ...
'' mod for ''
Warcraft III ''Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos'' is a high fantasy real-time strategy computer video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment released in July 2002. It is the second sequel to ''Warcraft: Orcs & Humans'', after ''Warcraft II: Tides ...
'', ''
League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by '' Defense of the Ancients'', a custom map for ''Warcraft III'', ...
'', '' Dota 2'', ''
Heroes of the Storm ''Heroes of the Storm'' is a crossover multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. It was released for Microsoft Windows and macOS on June 2, 2015. The game features various characters from Bl ...
'', '' Mobile Legends: Bang Bang'', and ''
Smite ''Smite'' is a 2014 free-to-play, third-person multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed and published by Hi-Rez Studios for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch, and Amazon Luna. MOBA games are well-represented in esports as well. In 2018, prize pools reached over US$60 million, 40% of the year's total esports prize pools.


Real-time strategy (RTS)

The moniker "real-time strategy" (RTS), usually applied only to certain computer strategy games, (however, this genre is probably the most well known of strategy games and is what most websites mean when they say "strategy games") indicates that the action in the game is continuous, and players will have to make their decisions and actions within the backdrop of a constantly changing game state. Real-time strategy gameplay is characterised by obtaining resources, building bases, researching technologies and producing units. Blizzard Entertainment's '' StarCraft'' is a popular RTS played competitively in South Korea and televised to large audiences. Other notable games include the ''Warcraft'' series, ''Age of Empires'' series, ''
Dawn of War ''Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War'' is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Relic Entertainment and based on Games Workshop's tabletop wargame ''Warhammer 40,000''. It was released by THQ on September 20, 2004 in No ...
'', ''
Company of Heroes ''Company of Heroes'' is a real-time strategy video game series developed by Relic Entertainment. The series is set during World War II. Games ''Company of Heroes'' The first game in the series was released on September 12, 2006 in North ...
'', ''
Command and Conquer ''Command & Conquer'' (''C&C'') is a real-time strategy (RTS) video game franchise, first developed by Westwood Studios. The first game was one of the earliest of the RTS genre, itself based on Westwood Studios' influential strategy game ''Dun ...
'', and ''
Dune II A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...
'' (essentially the first RTS game). Outside of PCs, very few strategy games are real-time; a few examples are '' Battle for Middle-earth II'', ''
Pikmin is a real-time strategy and puzzle video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, and published by Nintendo. The games focus on directing a horde of plant-like creatures called Pikmin in order to collect items by destroying obstacles, avoiding ...
'' and ''
Halo Wars ''Halo Wars'' is a real-time strategy (RTS) video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 video game console. It was released in Australia on February 26, 2009; in Europe on February 27; and i ...
''. Even fewer ones use physical pieces, such as '' Icehouse''.


Real-time tactics (RTT)

Real-time tactics (abbreviated RTT(Article at IGN discussing their perception of RTS and related genres as of 2006. RTT is discussed as a new and not yet established genre from the publisher's perspective.) and less commonly referred to as "fixed-unit real-time strategy") is a
subgenre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
of
tactical wargame Tactical wargames are a type of wargaming, wargame that models military conflict at a tactical level, i.e. units range from individual vehicles and squads to platoons or company (military unit), companies. These units are rated based on types a ...
s played in
real-time Real-time or real time describes various operations in computing or other processes that must guarantee response times within a specified time (deadline), usually a relatively short time. A real-time process is generally one that happens in defined ...
simulating the considerations and circumstances of
operational warfare In the field of military theory, the operational level of war (also called operational art, as derived from russian: оперативное искусство, or operational warfare) represents the level of command that connects the details of ...
and military tactics. It is also sometimes considered a subgenre of
real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in turn-based strategy (TBS) games, players take turns to p ...
, and thus may in this context exist as an element of gameplay or as a basis for the whole game. It is differentiated from
real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in turn-based strategy (TBS) games, players take turns to p ...
gameplay by the lack of resource
micromanagement In business management, micromanagement is a management style whereby a manager closely observes, controls, and/or reminds the work of their subordinates or employees. Micromanagement is generally considered to have a negative connotation, main ...
and base or unit building, as well as the greater importance of individual units and a focus on complex battlefield tactics. Example titles include '' Warhammer: Dark Omen'', '' World In Conflict'', the ''
Close Combat Close combat means a violent physical confrontation between two or more opponents at short range.''MCRP 3-02B: Close Combat'', Washington, D.C.: Department Of The Navy, Headquarters United States Marine Corps, 12 February 1999Matthews, Phil, CQB ...
'' series, and early
tactical role-playing game Tactical role-playing games (abbreviated TRPGs), also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as (both abbreviated SRPGs), are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical (turn-bas ...
s such as '' Bokosuka Wars'', '' Silver Ghost'', and ''First Queen''.


Tower defense

Tower defense games have a very simple layout. Usually, computer-controlled monsters move along a set path, and the player must place, or "build" towers along this path to kill the enemies. In some games, towers are placed along a set path for the enemies, while in others towers can interrupt enemy movement and change their path. In most tower defense games different towers have different abilities such as poisoning enemies or slowing them down. The player is awarded money for killing enemies, and this money can be used to buy more towers, or buy upgrades for a tower such as increased power or range.


Turn-based strategy (TBS)

The term turn-based strategy (TBS) is usually reserved for certain computer strategy games, to distinguish them from real-time strategy games. A player of a turn-based game is allowed a period of analysis before committing to a game action, and some games allow a certain number of moves or actions to take place in a turn. Like real-time strategy games, this genre can include many strategy games which are not solely turn-based games, and games which may contain other features not related to whether the game is turn-based or not. Examples of this genre are the ''
Civilization A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system). ...
'', ''
Heroes of Might and Magic ''Heroes of Might and Magic'', known as ''Might & Magic Heroes'' since 2011, is a series of video games originally created and developed by Jon Van Caneghem through New World Computing. As part of the ''Might and Magic'' franchise, the series ...
'', '' Making History,'' and ''
Master of Orion ''Master of Orion'' (abbreviated as MoO) is a turn-based, 4X science fiction strategy game in which the player leads one of ten races to dominate the galaxy through a combination of diplomacy and conquest while developing technology, exploring ...
''. Some recent turn-based strategy games feature a different gameplay mechanic, with a simultaneous resolution of the turns, every player preparing their future actions in the planning phase, then letting the game follow the orders given at the same time, causing orders to be interrupted by the opponents actions, changing the gameplay from reacting to the opponent's action into guessing them.


Turn-based tactics (TBT)

The gameplay of turn-based tactics games (TBT) is characterized by the expectation of players to complete their tasks using the combat forces provided to them, and usually by the provision of a realistic (or at least believable) representation of military tactics and operations. Examples of this genre include the ''
Wars War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...
'', ''
Jagged Alliance ''Jagged Alliance'' is a tactical role-playing game released in 1995 for MS-DOS. It was developed by Madlab Software and published by Sir-Tech. It is the first game in the ''Jagged Alliance'' series. It was re-released in 2008 on GOG.com and i ...
'' and '' X-COM'' series, as well as
tactical role-playing game Tactical role-playing games (abbreviated TRPGs), also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as (both abbreviated SRPGs), are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical (turn-bas ...
s such as the ''
Fire Emblem is a fantasy tactical role-playing game franchise developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. First produced and published for the Famicom in 1990, the series currently consists of sixteen core entries and five spinoffs. ...
'' and ''
Final Fantasy Tactics is a 1997 tactical role-playing game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. Released in Japan in June 1997 and in the United States in January 1998 by Sony Computer Entertainment, it is the first game of the ...
''.


Wargame

Wargames are a subgenre of strategy video games that emphasize strategic or tactical warfare on a map. Wargames generally take one of four archetypal forms, depending on whether the game is turn-based or real-time and whether the game's focus is upon military strategy or
tactics Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to: * Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks ** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield ** Chess tactics ** Political tact ...
.


Grand strategy wargame

A grand strategy wargame is a
wargame A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a realistic simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to s ...
that places focus on
grand strategy Grand strategy or high strategy is a state's strategy of how means can be used to advance and achieve national interests. Issues of grand strategy typically include the choice of primary versus secondary theaters in war, distribution of resource ...
: military strategy at the level of movement and use of an entire
nation state A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group. A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may i ...
or
empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
's resources. An example of this is the Hearts of Iron franchise.


Sports

Sports are video games that simulate
sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
or arcade-style
sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
. The opposing team(s) can be controlled by other real life people or artificial intelligence.


Racing

There are different types of racing games that the player competes against time or opponents using some means of transportation. Sub-genres include
racing simulators Simulated racing or racing simulation, commonly known as simply sim racing, are the collective terms for racing game software that attempts to accurately simulate auto racing, complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tir ...
('' Gran Turismo'') and
kart racing Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on fu ...
('' Mario Kart''). Other
racing simulator Simulated racing or racing simulation, commonly known as simply sim racing, are the collective terms for racing game software that attempts to accurately simulate auto racing, complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tir ...
series like '' Forza'' are one of the most popular game in this category, but arcade classics like '' Pole Position'' are included here too.


Sports game

Sports game A sports video game is a video game that simulates the practice of sports. Most sports have been recreated with a game, including team sports, track and field, extreme sports, and combat sports. Some games emphasize actually playing the sport ( ...
s emulate the playing of traditional physical
sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
. Some emphasize actually playing the sport, while others emphasize the strategy behind the sport (such as '' Championship Manager''). Others satirize the sport for comic effect (such as ''
Arch Rivals ''Arch Rivals'' is a basketball sports video game released by Midway for arcades in 1989. Billed by Midway as "A Basket Brawl", the game features two-on-two full court basketball games in which players are encouraged to punch opposing players ...
''). One of the best selling series in this genre is the '' FIFA'' series. This genre emerged early in the history of video games (e.g., ''
Pong ''Pong'' is a table tennis–themed twitch arcade sports video game, featuring simple two-dimensional graphics, manufactured by Atari and originally released in 1972. It was one of the earliest arcade video games; it was created by Allan Al ...
'') and remains popular today. Other games, like ''
NBA Jam ''NBA Jam'' (sometimes "Jam" for short) is a long-running List of basketball video games, basketball video game series based on the National Basketball Association (NBA). Initially developed as arcade games by Midway Games, Midway, the game foun ...
'', satirize the genre, while others like the ''
Madden NFL (series) ''Madden NFL'' (known as ''John Madden Football'' until 1993) is an American football video game series developed by EA Tiburon for EA Sports. It is named after Pro Football Hall of Fame coach and commentator John Madden and sold more than 130 m ...
'' and '' NBA 2K (series)'' are looking forward to recreate the realism and capture the feeling of playing a live sport.


Competitive

Competitive games are those that have a high competitive factor but do not represent traditional sports, such as games in which the concept is fictional and designed by the developer (e.g. Ball Jacks and
Rocket League ''Rocket League'' is a vehicular soccer video game developed and published by Psyonix. The game was first released for Windows and PlayStation 4 in July 2015, with ports for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch being released later on. In June ...
).


Sports-based fighting

Sports-based fighting games are titles that fall firmly within the definitions of both the Fighting game and Sports game genre, such as boxing and wrestling video games. As such, they are usually put in their own separate subgenres. Often the fighting is far more realistic than in traditional fighting games (though the amount of realism can greatly vary), and many feature real-world franchises or fighters. Examples of this include the ''Fight Night'', ''
UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
'' and ''
WWE 2K ''WWE 2K'', formerly released as ''WWF/E SmackDown!'' and ''SmackDown vs. Raw'', is a series of professional wrestling sports video games that launched in 2000. The premise of the series is to emulate the sport of professional wrestling, and mo ...
'' series.


MMO

A massively multiplayer online game (also called MMO and MMOG) is a
multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system ( couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
online video game An online game is a video game that is either partially or primarily played through the Internet or any other computer network available. Online games are ubiquitous on modern gaming platforms, including PCs, consoles and mobile devices, and s ...
which is capable of supporting large numbers of players simultaneously. By necessity, they are played on the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
. Many games have at least one
persistent world A persistent world or persistent state world (PSW) is a virtual world which, by the definition by Richard Bartle, "continues to exist and develop internally even when there are no people interacting with it". The first virtual worlds were text-ba ...
, however others just have large numbers of players competing at once in one form or another without any lasting effect to the world at all. These games can be found for most network-capable platforms, including the
personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...
,
video game console A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connected to ...
, or
smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s and other mobile devices. An example is the widely played game ''
Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java (programming language), Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made pub ...
'' which can be played both as an MMO or a single player game. MMO games can enable players to cooperate and compete with each other on a large scale, and sometimes to interact meaningfully with people around the world. They include a variety of gameplay types, representing many video game genres, such as MMORPG,
MMOFPS A massively multiplayer online first-person shooter game (MMOFPS) is an online game which mixes the genres of first-person shooter and massively multiplayer online game. A MMOFPS is a real-time shooter experience where a very large number of play ...
, MMORTS, MMOTBS and MMO simulation games.


Other notable genres


Board game or card game

Many popular
board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a co ...
s and
card game A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker). A small number of card ga ...
s have computer versions. AI opponents can help improver one's skill at traditional games.
Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
,
Checkers Checkers (American English), also known as draughts (; British English), is a group of strategy board games for two players which involve diagonal moves of uniform game pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over opponent pieces. Checkers ...
, Othello (also known as
Reversi Reversi is a strategy board game for two players, played on an 8×8 uncheckered board. It was invented in 1883. Othello, a variant with a fixed initial setup of the board, was patented in 1971. Basics There are sixty-four identical game pieces ...
), and
Backgammon Backgammon is a two-player board game played with counters and dice on tables boards. It is the most widespread Western member of the large family of tables games, whose ancestors date back nearly 5,000 years to the regions of Mesopotamia and Pe ...
have world class computer programs. Mahjong and related games are immensely popular in China and Japan. Go is popular in
East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...
, though it is notoriously difficult to program a computer to play Go well.


Casino game

There are three general categories of casino games: gaming machines, table games, and random number games. Gaming machines, such as the
slot machine A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...
and
pachinko is a mechanical game originating in Japan that is used as an arcade game, and much more frequently for gambling. Pachinko fills a niche in Japanese gambling comparable to that of the slot machine in the West as a form of low-stakes, low-st ...
, are usually played by one player at a time and do not require the involvement of players to play. Tables games, such as blackjack or
craps Craps is a dice game in which players bet on the outcomes of the roll of a pair of dice. Players can wager money against each other (playing "street craps") or against a bank ("casino craps"). Because it requires little equipment, "street ...
, involve one or more players who are competing against the house (the casino itself) rather than each other. Random number games may be played at a table or through the purchase of paper tickets or cards, such as
keno Keno is a lottery-like gambling game often played at modern casinos, and also offered as a game in some lotteries. Players wager by choosing numbers ranging from 1 through (usually) 80. After all players make their wagers, 20 numbers (some va ...
or
bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** Bi ...
.


Casual games

Casual games are designed to be easily picked up and put down again, allowing for potentially short bursts of play, such as ''Call of Duty'' and most games on a mobile platform. This genre of gaming is meant to be a short and relaxing pastime, a rest in between other occupations and so is most popular with demographics who have less free time. For this reason the games often have auto-saving and syncing as standard so the games can be minimised, put into sleep or otherwise put down with no loss to the player. Market leaders in this genre are often boldly coloured, designed for intuitive interaction and have a high balance of reward to time to keep people coming back. Designers of these games should add a lot of "juice" (sound and motion elements that excite the senses) to make them stand out in a sea of highly similar games. Due to the aforementioned requirements, many of these games are quite simple to pick up and play without lengthy tutorials. Retaining players involves a lot of careful design of levels, challenges and events.


Digital collectible card game

A digital collectible card game (DCCG) is a computer or video game usually played online that emulates collectible card games (CCG), or in many cases, doesn't use card-like images at all, but instead
icons An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most c ...
,
avatars Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...
or other symbols to represent game pieces. Originally, DCCGs started out as replications of a CCG's physical counterpart such as ''
Magic: The Gathering ''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a Tabletop game, tabletop and Digital collectible card game, digital Collectible card game, collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards ...
,'' but many DCCGs have foregone a physical version and exclusively release as a video game, such as with '' Hearthstone''.


Gacha game

Gacha games are
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s that implement the ''
gacha Gacha may refer to: * Gashapon, a kind of toy that originated in Japan which is sold inside a plastic capsule. Commonly sold in vending machines ** Gacha game, video games that are monetized via a concept that is similar to gashapon. Comparable to ...
'' (toy vending machine) mechanic. Similar to
loot boxes In video games, a loot box (also called a loot crate or prize crate) is a consumable virtual item which can be redeemed to receive a randomised selection of further virtual items, or loot, ranging from simple customization options for a player ...
, gacha games induce players to spend
in-game currency A virtual economy (or sometimes synthetic economy) is an emergent economy existing in a virtual world, usually exchanging virtual goods in the context of an online game, particularly in massively multiplayer online games (MMOs). People enter ...
to receive a random virtual item. Most of these games are
free-to-play Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...
mobile games, where the ''gacha'' serves as an incentive to spend real-world money.


Horror game

Horror games are games that incorporate elements of
horror fiction Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian ...
into their narrative, generally irrespective of the type of gameplay. It is the only major video game genre that is recognized by narrative elements rather than by gameplay, gameplay mode, or platform.
Survival horror Survival horror is a subgenre of survival of the players as the game tries to frighten them with either horror graphics or scary ambience. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical ac ...
is a subgenre of horror games focused on action-adventure style of gameplay.


Idle game

In an
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
article, ''
Cookie Clicker ''Cookie Clicker'' is an incremental game created by French programmer Julien "Orteil" Thiennot in 2013. The user initially clicks on a big cookie on the screen, earning a single cookie per click. They can then spend their earned cookies upon pu ...
'' is credited as one of the few games to have played a major role in the establishment of the genre of idle gaming. This genre involves games that orient the player with a trivial task, such as clicking a cookie; and as the game progresses, the player is gradually rewarded certain upgrades for completing said task. In all, these games require very little involvement from the player, and in most cases they play themselves; hence the use of the word " idle". In early 2014, Orteil released an early version of ''Idle Game Maker'', a tool allowing customized idle games to be made without coding knowledge.


Logic game

Logic games require the player to solve
logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...
puzzles or navigate complex locations such as mazes. They are well suited to casual play, and tile-matching puzzle games are among the most popular casual games. This genre frequently crosses over with adventure and educational games. ''
Tetris ''Tetris'' (russian: link=no, Тетрис) is a puzzle video game created by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute over the appro ...
'', labeled a puzzle game, is credited for revolutionizing gaming and popularizing the puzzle genre.


Party game

Party games Party games are games that are played at social gatherings to facilitate interaction and provide entertainment and recreation. Categories include (explicit) icebreaker, parlour (indoor), picnic (outdoor), and large group games.Frankel, Lillian; ...
are video games developed specifically for multiplayer games between many players. Normally, party games have a variety of
mini-game A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than th ...
s that range between collecting more of a certain item than other players or having the fastest time at something. Such games include the ''
Mario Party is a party video game series featuring characters from the ''Mario'' franchise in which up to four local players or computer-controlled characters (called " CPUs") compete in a board game interspersed with minigames. The games are currentl ...
'' series, ''
Crash Bash ''Crash Bash'' is a 2000 party video game developed by Eurocom Entertainment Software in association with Cerny Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the fifth title in the ''Crash Bandicoot'' series a ...
'', and ''
Rayman Raving Rabbids ''Rayman Raving Rabbids'' is a 2006 party video game developed and published by Ubisoft. The game is a spinoff in the '' Rayman'' series. The game consists of 75 minigames. The game was released for the PlayStation 2, Wii, Xbox 360, and Microso ...
''. Versus multiplayer games are not generally considered to be party games.


Photography game

A
photography game A photography game is a form of video game in which taking photographs using the in-game camera system is a key game mechanic. Photography games often employ mechanics similar to a first-person shooter, but rather than using a gun to kill enemies, ...
tasks players with taking photos using the in-game camera system, typically awarding more points for better composed images. Photography mechanics are often implemented as sidequests in games in other genres, but there are also games where photography is the main gameplay mode. These include '' Pokémon Snap'', '' Afrika'' and the ''
Fatal Frame ''Fatal Frame'', titled in Japan and ''Project Zero'' in Europe and Australia, is a Japanese survival horror video game series created, published and developed by Koei Tecmo (originally Tecmo). Debuting in 2001 with the first entry in the seri ...
'' series.


Programming game

A
programming game A programming game is a video game that incorporates elements of computer programming, enabling the player to direct otherwise autonomous units within the game to follow commands in a domain-specific programming language, often represented as a v ...
is a computer game where the player has no direct influence on the course of the game. Instead, a
computer program A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to execute. Computer programs are one component of software, which also includes documentation and other intangible components. A computer program ...
or script is written in some domain-specific programming language in order to control the actions of the characters (usually
robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may ...
s,
tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...
s or
bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometr ...
, which seek to destroy each other). In '' SpaceChem'', for example, players design circuits used for creating molecules from raw materials. ''
Final Fantasy XII is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix. The twelfth main installment of the '' Final Fantasy'' series, it was first released for the PlayStation 2 in 2006. It introduced several innovations to the series: an open ...
'' also includes some elements of a programming game, as the player creates the AI of his characters, although the player can also choose to directly control the action.


Social deduction game

A
social deduction game A social deduction game is a game in which players attempt to uncover each other's hidden role or team allegiance. Commonly, these games are played with teams, with one team being considered "good" and another being "bad". During gameplay, players ...
is a game in which players attempt to uncover each other's hidden role or team allegiance. During gameplay, players can use logic and deductive reasoning to try to deduce one another's roles, while other players can bluff to keep players from suspecting them. A notable example of the social deduction video game is ''
Among Us ''Among Us'' is a 2018 online multiplayer social deduction game developed and published by American game studio Innersloth. The game was inspired by the party game Mafia and the science fiction horror film '' The Thing''. The game allows ...
,'' which received a massive influx of popularity in 2020 due to many well-known
Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle co ...
streamers and
YouTuber A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influe ...
s playing it.


Trivia game

Trivia Trivia is information and data that are considered to be of little value. It can be contrasted with general knowledge and common sense. Latin Etymology The ancient Romans used the word ''triviae'' to describe where one road split or forke ...
games are growing in popularity, especially on
mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whi ...
s where people may only have a few minutes to play the game. In trivia games, the object is to answer questions with the goal of obtaining points. They may be based on real-life trivia game shows such as '' Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?'' or ''
Family Feud ''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. The show has had three separate runs, th ...
''.


Typing game

A typing game is any game that uses
typing Typing is the process of writing or inputting text by pressing keys on a typewriter, computer keyboard, mobile phone or calculator. It can be distinguished from other means of text input, such as handwriting and speech recognition. Text can b ...
as the main method of interaction. While they initially started as a type of educational game, they later became more entertainment focused as indie developers explored possibilities within the genre.


Video game genres by purpose

While most video games are designed as entertainment, many video games are designed with additional purposes. These purposes are as varied as the nature of information itself—to inform, persuade, or stimulate. These games can have any kind of gameplay, from puzzles to action to adventure.


Advergame

Advergames, in the context of video game genres, refers to promotional software specifically made to advertise a product, organization or viewpoint. The first advergames were distributed on floppy disk by the
Chef Boyardee Chef Boyardee is an American brand of canned pasta products sold internationally by Conagra Brands. The company was founded by Italian immigrant Ettore Boiardi in Milton, Pennsylvania, U.S., in 1928. History After leaving his position as head ...
,
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...
, and
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
brands, while the first cereal box advergame was Chex Quest in 1996. The majority of advergames are found online and mostly include simple and cheaply made
Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid F ...
games. Some advergames were released to consoles, like Pepsiman for Sony PlayStation.


Art game

Art games are designed so as to emphasize art or whose structures are intended to produce some kind of non- ludological reaction in its audience. Art games typically go out of their way to have a unique, unconventional look, often standing out for aesthetic beauty or complexity in design. This concept extends to the realm of modified ("modded") gaming when modifications have been made to existing non-art-games to produce graphic results intended to be viewed as an artistic display, as opposed to modifications intended to change game play scenarios or for storytelling. Modified games created for artistic purposes are sometimes referred to as " videogame art."


Casual game

Casual games have very simple rules or play techniques and a very low degree of strategy. They also require no long-term time commitment or special skills to play, making them easy to learn and play as a pastime. There are comparatively low production and distribution costs for the producer. Casual games typically are played on a personal computer online in web browsers, although they now are starting to become popular on game consoles. The purpose of the casual game is to entertain, but with a much lower commitment than other video games.


Christian game

Christian games attempt to provide the dual purposes of spreading the
Christian religion Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popul ...
to non-believers through the medium of video games, and providing gamers who identify as Christian with a common pool of games. Christian video games were first developed by
Wisdom Tree Wisdom Tree, Inc. is an American developer of Christian video games. Originally founded in 1988 as Color Dreams, one of the first companies to work around Nintendo's lockout chip technology for the Nintendo Entertainment System, the company cha ...
for the
NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...
, without license. While largely regarded as derivative titles by the mainstream gaming culture, Christian games have nevertheless expanded in distribution since their inception.


Educational game

Educational games, as the name implies, attempt to teach the user using the game as a vehicle. Most of these types of games target young users from the ages of about three years to mid-
teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...
s; past the mid-teens, subjects become so complex (e.g.
Calculus Calculus, originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the calculus of infinitesimals", is the mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithm ...
) that teaching via a game is generally impractical, though exceptions do exist in some areas, such as programming. Numerous subgenres exist, in fields such as math or typing.


Esports

Esports games are
multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system ( couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
games that are usually played competitively at the professional level. These games are often targeted at the "hardcore" gaming audience, and are usually
first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the p ...
games, requiring twitch-based reaction speed and coordination, or
real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in turn-based strategy (TBS) games, players take turns to p ...
games, requiring high levels of strategic macro- and micromanagement, or
MOBA Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is a subgenre of strategy video games in which two teams of players compete against each other on a predefined battlefield. Each player controls a single character with a set of distinctive abilities that i ...
s, requiring both.


Exergame (Fitness Game)

An exergame (
portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsexercise" and " game") is a video game that provides exercise. "Exergames" sub-divide into two main implementations, those with a game specifically designed to use an exercise input device (for example, the game ''
Wii Fit is an exergaming video game designed by Nintendo's Hiroshi Matsunaga for the Wii home video game console, featuring a variety of yoga, strength training, aerobics, and balance mini-games for use with the Wii Balance Board peripheral. Matsunag ...
'' using the
Wii Balance Board The is an accessory for the Wii and Wii U video game consoles. Unlike the usual balance board for exercise, it does not rock but instead tracks the user's center of balance. Along with Wii Fit, it was introduced on July 11, 2007 at the Electr ...
) and those implementations using a genre of a game. Games fit into the category of entertainment, and similarly "exergames" are a category of "exertainment" (formed from " exercise" and "
entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...
"). "Exertainment" refers to one aspect of adding entertainment to an exercise workout.


Personalized game

Personalized games are created for one specific player or a group of players usually as a gift. They are hand-made to feature real names, places and events from the recipient's life. Usual occasions for such games are birthdays, anniversaries, and engagement proposals.


Serious game

Serious games are intended to educate or train the player. These games tend to promote "education, science, social change, health care or even the military." Some of these games have no specific ending or goal in the game. Rather, the player learns a real life lesson from the game. For example, games from
website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Wi ...
s such as Newsgaming.com and gamesforchange.org raise political issues using the distinct properties of games.


Sandbox / open world games

Sandbox and open-world games are not specifically video game genres, as they generally describe gameplay features, but often games will be described as a sandbox or an open-world game as if it were a defining genre. They are included here for such distinguishing purposes.


Sandbox

A sandbox game is a
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
with a gameplay element that gives the player a great degree of creativity to complete tasks towards a goal within the game, if such a goal exists. Some games exist as pure sandbox games with no objectives; these are also known as non-games or software toys. More commonly, sandbox games results from these creative elements being incorporated into other genres and allowing for
emergent gameplay Emergent gameplay refers to complex situations in video games, board games, or table top role-playing games that emerge from the interaction of relatively simple game mechanics. Designers have attempted to encourage emergent play by providing too ...
. Sandbox games are often associated with open world concepts which gives the player freedom of movement and progression in the game's world. The "sandbox" term derives from the nature of a sandbox that lets children create nearly anything they want within it. Early sandbox games came out of space trading and combat games like '' Elite'' (1984) and city-building simulations and
tycoon games Business simulation games, also known as economic simulation games
like ''
SimCity ''SimCity'' is an open-ended city-building video game series originally designed by Will Wright. The first game in the series, ''SimCity'', was published by Maxis in 1989 and were followed by several sequels and many other spin-off "''Sim ...
'' (1989). The releases of ''
The Sims ''The Sims'' is a series of life simulation game, life simulation video games developed by Maxis and video game publisher, published by Electronic Arts. The franchise has sold nearly 200 million copies worldwide, and it is one of the best-selling ...
'' and '' Grand Theft Auto III'' in 2000 and 2001, respectively, demonstrated that games with highly detailed interacting systems that encouraged player experimentation could also be seen as sandbox games. Sandbox games also found ground with the ability to interact socially and share
user-generated content User-generated content (UGC), alternatively known as user-created content (UCC), is any form of content, such as images, videos, text, testimonials, and audio, that has been posted by users on online platforms such as social media, discussion f ...
across the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
like ''
Second Life ''Second Life'' is an online multimedia platform that allows people to create an avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user created content within a multi player online virtual world. Developed and owned by the San Fra ...
'' (2003). ''
Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java (programming language), Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made pub ...
'' (2011) is one of the most successful examples of a sandbox game, with players able to enjoy in both creative modes and through more goal-driven
survival Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things (or, hypotheti ...
modes.


Creative

Creative games are games that are often grounded into other genres but have certain modes of gameplay that allow for a Sandbox and/or Openworld Gameplay, It is extremely common for a "Creative" Game mode to use the same aspects, assets, mechanics, etc. of the Parent Game. However, this isn't always the case as some games have used assets unavailable in the normal Game. Story/Narrative is often removed or non-existent in these modes. However, while generally rare, creative modes have been seen to have an independent story from the main game or even be an entirely independent game.


Open world

In video games, an open world is a
game mechanic In tabletop games and video games, game mechanics are the rules or ludemes that govern and guide the player's actions, as well as the game's response to them. A rule is an instruction on how to play, a ludeme is an element of play like the L-sha ...
of using a
virtual world A virtual world (also called a virtual space) is a computer-simulated environment which may be populated by many users who can create a personal avatar, and simultaneously and independently explore the virtual world, participate in its activities ...
that the
player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...
can explore and approach objectives freely, as opposed to a world with more linear and structured gameplay. While games have used open-world designs since the 1980s, the implementation in '' Grand Theft Auto III'' (2001) set a standard that has been used since. Games with open or free-roaming worlds typically lack level structures like walls and locked doors, or the
invisible wall An invisible wall is a boundary in a video game that limits where a player character can go in a certain area, but does not appear as a physical obstacle. The term can also refer to an obstacle that in reality could easily be bypassed, such as a ...
s in more open areas that prevent the player from venturing beyond them; only at the bounds of an open-world game will players be limited by geographic features like vast oceans or impassible mountains. Players typically do not encounter loading screens common in linear level designs when moving about the game world, with the open-world game using strategic storage and memory techniques to load the game world in a dynamic and seamless manner. Open-world games still enforce many restrictions in the game environment, either because of absolute technical limitations or in-game limitations imposed by a game's linearity. While the openness of the game world is an important facet to games featuring open worlds, the main draw of open-world games is about providing the player with autonomy – not so much the freedom to do anything they want in the game (which is nearly impossible with current computing technology), but the ability to choose how to approach the game and its challenges in the order and manner as the player desires while still constrained by gameplay rules. Examples of high level of autonomy in computer games can be found in
massively multiplayer online role-playing game A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...
s (MMORPG) or in single-player games adhering to the open-world concept such as the ''
Fallout Nuclear fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and the shock wave has passed. It commonly refers to the radioac ...
'' series. The main appeal of open-world gameplay is that they provide a simulated reality and allow players to develop their character and its behaviour in the direction and the pace of their own choosing. In these cases, there is often no concrete goal or end to the game, although there may be the main storyline, such as with games like '' The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim''.


Scientific studies

As video games are increasingly the subject of scientific studies, game genres are themselves becoming a subject of study. An early attempt at analysis of the action and adventure genres appeared in a Game Developers Conference 2000 paper 'Mostly Armless: Grabbing the 3D World'. This critiqued a variety of adventure and action games to categorize gameplay and interaction for adventure, action, and hybrid genres. It provided a graph of the genres along the axes of 'immediacy' vs 'complexity', with an 'ideal-zone' for gameplay that covered and linked adventure and action games. It detailed various interaction styles present in these genres and extrapolated to future user interface and gameplay possibilities for these and other genres. Some of these have since been adopted by persistent worlds. For example,
Second Life ''Second Life'' is an online multimedia platform that allows people to create an avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user created content within a multi player online virtual world. Developed and owned by the San Fra ...
uses some of the gameplay investment and interface elements described in section 4 of the paper. In a
University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...
study, game enjoyment was correlated with attributes such as immersion, social interaction, and the nature of the goals. These may be underlying factors in differentiating game genres. Statistical scaling techniques were used in a study presented at the 2007 Siggraph Video Game Symposium to convert subject ratings of game similarity into visual maps of game genres. The maps reproduced some of the commonly identified genres such as first-person shooters and god games. A Michigan State University study found that men have a higher preference for genres that require competition and three-dimensional navigation and manipulation than women do.


See also


Game interfaces

*
Audio game An audio game is an electronic game played on a device such as a personal computer. It is similar to a video game save that there is audible and tactile feedback but not visual. Audio games originally started out as 'blind accessible'-games an ...
*
Browser game A browser game or a "flash game" is a video game that is played via the internet using a web browser. They are mostly free-to-play and can be single-player or multiplayer. Some browser games are also available as mobile apps, PC games, or on ...
*
Text-based game A text game or text-based game is an electronic game that uses a text-based user interface, that is, the user interface employs a set of encodable characters, such as ASCII, instead of bitmap or vector graphics. All text-based games have bee ...
* Tile-based video games *
Side-scrolling video game '' A side-scrolling video game (alternatively side-scroller), is a game viewed from a side-view camera angle where the screen follows the player as they move left or right. The jump from single-screen or flip-screen graphics to scrolling graphic ...


Game platforms

* Arcade game *
Console game A console game is a type of video game consisting of images and often sounds generated by a video game console, which are displayed on a television or similar audio-video system, and that can be manipulated by a player. This manipulation usually ...
*
Handheld video game A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the cons ...
*
Massively multiplayer online game A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players, often hundreds or thousands, on the same server. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent open world, although there are ...
* Mobile game * Online game *
Personal computer game A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-dete ...


Other related topics

*
Game classification Game classification is the classification of games, forming a game taxonomy. Many different methods of classifying games exist. Physical education There are four basic approaches to classifying the games used in physical education: ;Game cate ...
*
List of types of games This list contains types of games. Main types Party games * Pong * Conversation games * Drinking games * Guessing games * Singing games * Power games Tabletop games * Board games * Card games * Dice games * Miniature games * Pencil ...
* List of gaming topics * Nonviolent video game *
Non-game Non-games are a class of software on the border between video games and toys. The term "non-game game" was coined by late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who describes it as "a form of entertainment that really doesn't have a winner, or even ...
*
Video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
* Asymmetry


Notes


References

*


Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Video Game Genres *
Genres Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
Articles containing video clips