Classification Essay
When one thinks of videogames one might think of Pacman, or Digdug, or maybe that little paddle ball game on the Atari console. There were no genres of videogames back then, back then it was just videogames as there weren’t many of them out there. But nowadays videogames are more complex. The graphics have been enhanced greatly; there are many storylines, and consoles and ways to play said consoles. They even have motion activated gaming on a console called the Nintendo Wii. But no matter what console one is playing there will usually be a genre associated with the game being played. There are five major categories in which one should categorize his or her videogames, and some of them have sub categories. These genres include Action games, Adventure games, Roleplaying games, simulation games, and Strategy games. If one were to look at these genres that person would notice that there are many sub categories, as well as a list of games to go along with these categories so it is important to look at each genre as being more diverse instead of being specific to only one game. The first and probably the broadest category is action. An action game requires quick reflexes, accuracy and timing to overcome obstacles. There are few sub categories such as fighting games, platform games, and FPS (first person shooter) games. Fighting games are those in which two opponents face off in an arena (usually with melee based weapons) and face off till one of the players is eliminated. However some fighting games like the Super Smash Brothers series have teams that face off against each other that usually consist of 2-4 people per team. Another sub category of action games would be platform games. Platform games involve traveling from one area to another via swinging, jumping, climbing, or running all while avoiding obstacles on the way. Some of these platform games borrow elements from fighting and shooting games by adding the ability to fight your way to the next level while also avoiding the obstacles. The last sub category of action games would be the most popular by far and that is the first person shooter game. An FPS game involves combat with projectile weapons. An FPS game emphasizes on shooting and combat from the view of the character that the player is controlling which gives the effect of “being there” in the game. Some of the most recent Fps games include the halo series and the call of duty series. The next genre that one thinks of is adventure games, adventure games usually emphasize on exploration while having some sort of storyline with objectives to complete. Some adventure games require a person to complete puzzle and riddle to advance farther into the game, and most adventure games do not require quick reflexes but mostly focus on the mind. However this will lead one to the subcategory of action adventure games. Action adventure games take elements from action games and adventure games. One of the most famous of these games would be the Zelda series. In this series you not only have to enter combat to advance in the game but are also required to solve riddles and puzzles. These games are very popular to people who like puzzles and combat all in one package. Another popular genre in which to categorize videogames are roleplaying games. Role-playing video games emphasize their gameplay from traditional “role-playing games” like Dungeons & Dragons. These games put the player into the role of one or more "adventurers" who specialize in specific skill sets (such as melee combat or casting magic spells) while progressing through a predetermined storyline. Many involve maneuvering these characters through an over world, usually populated with monsters, which allows access to more important game locations, such as towns, dungeons, and castles. One of the most popular RPG games out there today is Fallout 3. However unlike most RPG games every move you make in fallout 3 alters the way the game ends which is what makes it unique and popular among gamers. The next genre one should classify videogames in is simulation games. These games do exactly what one would think they do and that is to simulate something. There are many sub categories like life simulation, vehicle simulation, and construction simulation. Life simulation games consist of doing basic life functions through a character whose life is different than that of the player. Vehicle simulation allows a player to take control of a vehicle in a manner on which is not normally possible. For example the game called Flight Simulator allows one to fly a Boeing 747 airplane. Not many people get to do that in real life. Another simulation game is that based on construction in which the player gets to build his or her own amusement park, city, or town. The last major genre that should be taken into classification is strategy. These games require skillful thinking and planning to achieve victory. Strategy games allow the player (through a godly world view) to control units of troops and build towns to defeat and conquer another player or computer. These games allow the player to start from the bottom up and create an army to defeat the opponent. These games can take the form of medieval based time or futuristic time but the object of the game is always the same none the less. One can see that there are many different genres one can classify videogames with but the five major genres as explained above are the most important. However there are many other categories as well. Every year videogames are becoming more and more diverse and new genres are still to be created.