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VIDEOGAME GENRES & Auteurs

What is GenreGenre is a set of criteria for a category of

composition; the term is often used to categorize literature and cinema, but is also used for videogames.

Genres are formed by sets of conventions, and many works cross into multiple genres by way of borrowing and recombining these conventions.

A video game genre is defined by a set of gameplay challenges. For example, an action game is still an action game, regardless of whether it takes place in a fantasy world or outer space.

In Cinema StudiesIncludes:Action Adult Adventure

Biography Children's Comedy Crime Disaster Documentary Drama Foreign Espionage Family Fantasy Gay & Lesbian Horror Musical Mystery Period Piece Romance Sci-Fi Short Sport Suspense Teen Thriller War Western

In Videogame StudiesWe will look at these and their various

subgenres:1. Action game | 2. Shooter game3. Action-Adventure game |4. Adventure5. Construction Simulation game | 6. Life

Sim7. RPG Game | 8. Strategy game9. Vehicle Simulation 10 Others (Fitness, Music, Sports, Casual,

Social)

Action GamesRequires players to overcome obstacles

by using quick reflexes and timing. Subgenres include Fighting Games

(eg Street Fighter II - IV)Maze Games (eg Pac Man) thx Remi

Gaillard.Pinball Games Platform Games (eg Donkey Kong)

Shooter GamesFocuses on combat involving

weaponry.Subgenres include First Person Shooters (FPS)

(eg Halo 3) and Doom.

MMOFPS (eg Unreal Tournament)Shmup Arcade Shooter

(eg Space Invaders)

Action-AdventureTend to focus on exploration and

involve some item gathering, puzzle solving and combat.

An example is the world’s best selling videogame and that would be …..

This game? The Legend of ZeldaBy the great videogame auteur

Shigeru Miyamoto

Shig Miyamotohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja5GNzmUhho

Donkey Kong (1981)

Mario Bros. (1983)

Super Mario Bros. (1985)

Super Mario Bros. 2 (1986)

The Legend of Zelda (1987)

Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988)

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991)

Super Mario Kart (1992)

Super Mario 64 (1996)

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2000)

Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001)

Super Mario Sunshine (2002)

Metroid Prime (2002)

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002)

Super Mario Galaxy (2007)

Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008)

New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2009)

Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010)

Auteur

AdventureUnlike adventure films, adventure

games are not defined by story, but rather by manner of gameplay. Is considered a “purist” genre.

An example is the world’s best selling PC game and that would be …..

MYST.

Robyn and Rand Millerhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiOqdfCBv40

Robyn and Rand Miller developed the games Myst and Riven through Cyan Worlds, a Spokane, Washington-based studio, and published and distributed by Brøderbund. The Millers began working on Myst in 1991 and released it for the Macintosh computer on September 24, 1993

Remakes and ports of the game have been released for Microsoft Windows, Windows Mobile, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Jaguar CD, AmigaOS, CD-i, 3DO, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, and the iPhone OS by publishers Midway Games, Sunsoft, and Mean Hamster Software.

Auteurs

Construction SimulationIn these games one builds or

manages communities and projects with a set of resources:

Subgenres include:City building games

(eg Sim City Classic)God Games (Spore)Both these games were designed by

Will Wright.

Life SimulationLife simulation games can be about

individuals or allow one to experiment with ecosystem sims.

Subgenres include:Biological Simulations (

Jurassic Park: Op Genesis)Pet-raising Simulations (Tamagotchi)Social Simulations (Will Wright’

s The Sims)

Will Wright

Cofounder of Maxis, now part of Electronic Arts. In 2009 he formed the "Stupid Fun Club", an entertainment think tank.

SimCity brought him to prominence and he built on the theme of computer simulation with SimEarth and SimAnt.

Wright's greatest success is The Sims which, as of 2009, is the best-selling PC game in history. His latest work, Spore, was released in 2008 and features gameplay based loosely upon the model of evolution and scientific advancement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH5ALcdxNag

Auteur

Role-Playing GamePlayers get to play characters

through a story narrative.Subgenres include:Original Game

Dungeons and Dragons.MMORGs: WOW and Second Life.A Thriller-a-thonTactical RPGs :

Final Fantasy Tactics

Strategy GamePlayers use skill and careful thinking to

achieve a victory condition.Subgenres include:4X – Xplore, Xpand, Xploit, Xterminate. (eg Civilization) auteur Sid Meir.Realtime Tactics (eg Empire Total War)

machinimaTurn-based Strategy Games (

Battle For Wesmoth) for iPhone!.

Sid Meir

Canadian Programmer/Designer of Strategy Games (Firaxis):

* Spitfire Ace (1982) * HellCat Ace (1982)* Floyd of the Jungle (1982)* NATO Commander (1984)* Solo Flight (1984)* Kennedy Approach (1985)* F-15 Strike Eagle (1985)

Auteur

Sid Meir, Videogame Auteur

* Silent Service (1985)* Sid Meier's Pirates! (1987) * F-19 Stealth Fighter (1988) * F-15 Strike Eagle II (1989) * Covert Action (1990) * Railroad Tycoon (1990) * Civilization (1991) * Pirates! Gold (1993) * Colonization (1994) * Civilization II (1996)

Continued

Sid Meir, Videogame Auteur

* Magic: The Gathering (1997) * Sid Meier's Gettysburg! (1997) * Sid Meier's Antietam! (1998) * Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (1999) * Civilization III (2001)* Sid Meier's SimGolf (2002) * Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004)* Civilization IV, Designed by Soren Johnson

2005. * Sid Meier's Railroads!, released October 17,

200608

Continued Further!

Sid Meir, Videogame Auteur

* Civilization Revolution, announced on June 28, 2007 and released on June 13, 2008. A seventh generation console edition of Civilization.

* Sid Meier's Civilization IV: War of Two Cities, 2008

* Sid Meier's Pirates! Mobile 2008 * Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon Mobile, 2008

mobile version * Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization, is

a 2008.

ACK EVEN MORE

WHOA!! What a body of work!

Vehicle SimulationProvide the player with realistic

interpretations of operating vehicles.

Subgenres include:Racing Games

(eg Simpsons Hit and Run) Booze Cruise

Flight Simulators (Flight Simulator X)

Other Notable GenresCorporeal Games (Wii Sports)Music Games (Guitar Hero)Sports Games (NHL)Casual Games (Puzzle Games –

Tetris) performance creator Guillaume Reymond

Social Games (Mafia Wars on Facebook)