Game Genres

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Game Genres

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Games, puzzles, and toys

• A game is usually thought to be a competition
  between two or more players
• A puzzle is something to be solved by a single
  player
• A toy is something to be manipulated and played
  with, having no real goal
• In this course, the goal is to design and
  implement something that's fun to use, regardless
  of what you want to call it

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Classification of games

• There is no "standard" classification of games
• It isn't worth arguing about how to classify a
  particular game
• But classification does help us to
• talk about games
• determine the requirements of a game

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One way of classifying games

• Action -- emphasis is on hand-eye coordination
• Strategy -- logical thinking and planning
• Adventure -- exploration and puzzle solving
• Role-playing games -- character growth, combat
• Sports -- modeled after "real life" sports
• Simulations -- mimic something in "real life"
• Puzzles -- problem solving
• Classic -- computer versions of older games

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Action games

• Also called "twitch" games
• Many are First-Person Shooters (FPS)
• Rely more on hand-eye coordination and good
  reflexes than on story or strategy
• Examples Quake, Unreal, Tekken, Mortal Kombat,
  Oddworld, Tomb Raider
• Depend heavily on animation, graphics, AI
• People generally prefer to play against other
  humans over a network

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Strategy games

• Emphasize logical thinking and planning
• Often emphasize resource management
• Many "war" games are in this category
• Examples Empire, Civilization, Heros of Might
  and Magic, StarCraft, Age of Empires
• Strategy games may be Real-Time Strategy (RTS) or
  turn-based
• Graphics are pretty important, as is an AI

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Adventure games

• Adventure games "involve the player in a journey
  of exploration and puzzle-solving"
• Often there is a linear ("scripted") storyline
• Nonlinear storylines add replay value but can be
  a lot more work
• Examples Zork, Loom, Grim Fandango, Myst, Riven,
  and hundreds of others
• Attractive graphics are important
• Most important a good story!

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Role-playing games

• Similar to adventure games
• Characters typically have statistics (health,
  strength, agility, wisdom, etc.)
• Emphasis on character development, conversation,
  and combat
• Huge fantasy worlds and epic quests are common
• Examples Diablo, Final Fantasy VII, Everquest
• Graphics and network play are important

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Sport games

• Emphasize realism, fast action, and strategy
• May be instructional in nature
• Examples the NHL series, WWF Warzone, PGA
  Championship Golf, NFL Blitz
• Realistic graphics and realistic physics are
  important
• AI is sometimes important

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Simulations

• Emphasis is on logical (not graphical) realism
• Usually an emphasis on optimization and resource
  management
• Many have no predefined goals (and are "toys")
• Examples Hammurabi, WWII Fighters, Wolf, Armored
  Fist, SimCity, SimAnt, SimFarm, SimEarth,
  Populous The Beginning, various flight
  simulators, The Incredible Machine
• Most important aspect is the underlying logic

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Puzzles

• Emphasize logic and lateral thinking
• Usually single-player, with no opponent
• Examples Solitaire, Minesweeper, Tetris, OIC,
  Simon, Parappa the Rapper, Fool's Errand, Bubble
  Trouble
• Programming requirements are usually light
• Originality is very important

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Classic games

• These include card games, tile games, word games,
  board games, some arcade games
• Games in the "classic style" are fine
• Already-taken examples Lines of Action,
  Connections
• AI is very important, since you are typically
  playing against a computer opponent

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"Educational" games

• Any game can have educational value
• This shouldn't be a classification in itself, for
  example, Gravitation Ltd.
• Unfortunately, most "educational" games are of
  the form, "The troll demands to know what 25 is
  before you can cross the bridge"
• It's very difficult to combine "fun" with
  "education"--but if you can do it, that's great!
• Why is this a separate category?
• Boredom!

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"Games for girls"

• Some games are marketed as "for girls"
• So--are all the rest of the games "for boys"?
• Yes, violence appeals to more boys than girls...
• ...but some women I know really like Doom
• A fun game can be fun for everybody
• Some programs do address women's concerns, such
  as Virtual Makeover, but not games
• Don't "talk down" to anybody

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What kind of game should you do?

• What will be fun?
• You should implement a game that you think will
  be fun, both for yourself and for other people
• What do you want to learn more about?
• If there are certain things you want to learn
  more about (animation, networking, artificial
  intelligence, etc.), that might influence the
  kind of game you do
• How much work do you want to do?
• You don't want to get in over your head--it's
  better to do one thing well than many things badly

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What will be fun?

• Different games appeal to different people
• Your instructor will try to be genre-neutral...
• ...with one caveat your game must be original
• don't do checkers or chess
• but "classic-like" games are OK
• You want other people to like your game
• You can't please everybody, but try to please
  somebody!

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What do you want to learn about?

• You may want to learn more about networking
• You may want to learn more about animation
• You may want to learn more about non-Java topics
  art, graphic design, music, creativity, etc.
• The instructor will try to give you a basic
  introduction to all these topics and more, but
• ...this is not primarily a lecture course
• You are expected to learn what you need, as you
  need it

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How much work do you want to do?

• Some kinds of games are more difficult to
  implement than other kinds of games
• Within reason, it's OK to tackle a simpler game
• It's better to do one thing well than to do
  everything badly
• Other students will be evaluating your work, so
  you want to do a game that's comparable to what
  other people are doing
• Just don't get in over your head!

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Reality check

• We are going to work in teams
• You don't have full control over the kind of game
  your team does
• I will hand out a survey and attempt to form the
  best possible teams, based on your interests and
  skills
• but don't expect me to satisfy everybody
• Be prepared to make some compromises
• If you don't compromise, you aren't a team player

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The End