Genres of Video Games
There are dozens of video game genres out there if not hundreds. These genres are based off a multitude of factors but not limited to their gameplay mechanics, objectives, and players experiences. Action games focus on fast paced combat and reflexes, with games like Call of Duty or Battlefield. Another genre is Adventure which emphasizes exploration and puzzle solving with games like Last of Us or Legend of Zelda for example. Role-Playing Games or RPG for short are games which are heavily narrative based with a world that tries to fully immerse the player into the world, where players try to level up and make choices throughout the story. Some popular examples of RPG’s are the Elder Scrolls Series and the Mass Effect series. Simulation games try to replicate real world activities like governing a city or flying a plane. Popular simulation games are Microsoft Flight Simulator or Cities Skylines. The last genre we are going to go into are sports and racing games. These games focus on the competitiveness of racing experiences or playing sports like Football or Basketball. Some popular sports and racing games are the 2k franchise or Forza.
Multiplayer games are an umbrella term for a multitude of different genres like first-person shooters like COD, or a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) with are team battlers like League of Legends. Horror games try to evoke terror and tension through atmosphere and limited resources while sandbox style games give an open world and unlimited resources. Some examples of horror games are the resident evil franchise, and some examples of sandbox are Garry’s Mod. However, these genres are not as cut and dry as just one game = one genre. Just like movies or songs, these genres can mix and match and combine for these games. These hybrid games allow for such genres such as action-adventure RPGs like Skyrim or The Fallout series which just make the game much more vibrant and worldly.