Industry A Discussion on Genres

[Raine]

Genres are one of those things that everybody sort of accepts out of necessity, but don't necessarily always agree on the application of. In very recent news the distinction between "WRPG," "JRPG," and the more nebulous "Action-RPG" was called into question following an interview with a prolific Japanese developer. The ancient divide between console-style RPGs (Dragon Quest) and computer-style RPGs (Wizardry) has also resulted in, essentially, two radically different viewpoints and approaches towards adopting the same core game idea for almost as long as gaming has been relevant. But, all are called the same thing in casual discussion.

This of course applies to other types of games as well. What exactly qualifies as a game belonging to the subcategory of Metroidvania became more hotly contested as indie developers got avenues to self-publish their works. A single game, Rogue, gave birth to a subgenre named after it: The Rogue-like. Which then saw that very specific gameplay hook married to countless different genres, creating a hodgepodge of interesting - and horrifying - concepts that don't necessarily all appeal towards fans of Rogue itself.

So, GWF, I ask you simply: Do you still find genre designations to be helpful in modern game discussion/purchasing? What are some of your most (and least) liked genres, and how has the blurring of lines affected your perception of them?
And why does everyone, myself included, suck so badly at Real-Time Strategy anyway?

 

[The Flame]

I never paid much attention to genres just because I feel like a lot of things can be so broad or confusing and most games belong to several different genres at once. Wtf is an Adventure game? What's the difference between sandbox and open world? Is it a roguelike or a roguelite? I don't tend to like shooters, but I love games like RDR or Uncharted because it isn't the main focus. People will call Civ an RTS just because it's easier to say than turn-based strategy game. Because of all of this, my favorite genre is good game .

But on a more serious note I learned that I really enjoy roguelikes because Binding of Isaac became one of my favorite games of all time when I finally got around to trying it. I love the randomness and replayability of it. I love that no run is the same and that at any moment you can suddenly find yourself in one of those stupidly overpowered runs where you just steamroll everything in sight. There's so much variety. My favorite games are those that lean closer to luck than sweaty competition but still require some level of skill or strategy that you will acquire over time. Different genre, but I love Mario Party for the same reason.

Because of my love for D&D, I've also recently discovered that CRPGs are a thing and they seem really cool as well. So far I've only played Divinity 2, but I'm excited to try others at some point. It's the next best thing if you don't have a reliable tabletop group to play with.

 

[Ravenfreak]

Dude I hate real-time strategy games, so don't fret if you think you suck at them because honestly I do too, lol. Anyways the different RPG genres really do matter to me as a gamer, I do better with turned based RPGs, and I suck at hack n slash ones. I love platformers and RPGs the most though, the first game I ever played was a platformer after all. (Sonic 1 on the Genesis/Mega Drive.)

 

[Raine]

Wtf is an Adventure game? What's the difference between sandbox and open world? Is it a roguelike or a roguelite? I don't tend to like shooters, but I love games like RDR or Uncharted because it isn't the main focus. People will call Civ an RTS just because it's easier to say than turn-based strategy game. Because of all of this, my favorite genre is good game .

Hah, yeah, I absolutely agree on some of the highest-order naming things. Like "Action" - aren't basically 95% of games action-y? That's not helpful!

"Not-quite-FPS" is something I've definitely noticed with a lot of players too. Something like a BioShock where, yes, it's in first-person and you do/can shoot, but that's not really what the game's about or how you approach it. And so they'll like BioShock, but hate something like Halo or Call of Duty. Or the inverse.

Because of my love for D&D, I've also recently discovered that CRPGs are a thing and they seem really cool as well. So far I've only played Divinity 2, but I'm excited to try others at some point. It's the next best thing if you don't have a reliable tabletop group to play with.

Good news is you've got several lifetimes worth of solid campaigns/games to work through! I've tried dipping my toes in a couple of times, including a brief trial run of Divinity, but I'm not quite certain the style is for me. Need to give some of the bigger, more universally acclaimed ones - again, like Divinity lol - a proper and thorough go to know for certain.

Dude I hate real-time strategy games, so don't fret if you think you suck at them because honestly I do too, lol. Anyways the different RPG genres really do matter to me as a gamer, I do better with turned based RPGs, and I suck at hack n slash ones. I love platformers and RPGs the most though, the first game I ever played was a platformer after all. (Sonic 1 on the Genesis/Mega Drive.)

I think it's the micro-management that gets me the most. There's a certain speed that'll start tripping me up as well though; I can do something like Growlanser just fine all day, I can fake it 'til I make it with something like Brutal Legend, but my eyes glaze over and I drool into the keyboard well before we reach Starcraft.

RPG distinctions are super important for me as well, but I've been neck deep in the genre for around 25 years at this point. I can just look at a couple seconds of gameplay and immediately know whether or not I'll hate it and generally which of the subcategories it'll fall into. Not so much for your average Final Fantasy, Fallout or Elder Scrolls fan, I suspect.

 

[VashTheStampede]

I still consider myself an "RPG guy" because there's nothing more cozy to me than a nice turn-based JRPG. But amongst my friends I've become known as the "Roguelike guy" because of the hundreds of hours I've put into Binding of Isaac, Hades, and the like.

I started calling FPS games "Halodooms" and platformers "Mariosonics" to annoy people, so I really appreciate this thread.

 

[Crystal]

So, GWF, I ask you simply: Do you still find genre designations to be helpful in modern game discussion/purchasing? What are some of your most (and least) liked genres, and how has the blurring of lines affected your perception of them?
And why does everyone, myself included, suck so badly at Real-Time Strategy anyway?

Nope. I look at the games themselves these days, watch trailers, videos, etc. I don't game enough these days anymore to worry about genres, just if a game seems fun.

 

[The Eye in the Sky!]

I used to be a JRPG guy but I've since become tired of the tropes and the length of them. FFXVI is an outlier that I had to try.

I'm way more into the cinematic 3rd person on-rails game. GoW, Uncharted, games like that. High Fi Rush was a surprise awesome game this year. I like my games under 20 hours long when possible.