Genre in Video Games

Video games are often divided up into different genres, much like film and television. 

Much like in film and television, genre helps to compartmentalise and organise the market of games to make it easier for consumers to find games that appeal to them. Individuals gamers can find games from genres that they enjoy, while filtering out genres that don’t interest them as much. Gamers can also specialise further through subgenre, finding niche games that appeal to their tastes.

Developers can also use genre to help them. By following trends in a specific genre, they can see what they might do in their own games to better perform in the market.

While not hard-set definitions for what a game must be, genre should be used as a useful tool to guide players and developers towards a common ground for what type of game they want to play or make.

For video games, many genres can be very broad, or very specific. Some may present a technical aspect of the game (eg. first person shooters) or rather a more thematic aspect (eg. Horror). Some of the most popular genres include:

-        Action games (First Person Shooters (FPS), fighting games, and stealth games)

-        Role playing games (RPGs) (Japanese RPGs (JRPGs), sandbox RPGs, and tactical/turn-based RPGs)

-        Strategy games

-        Simulation games (City builder games, job simulators)

-        Puzzle games

-        Sports games

Even within each of these subgenres, there are more specialised and niche sub-subgenres. Team-based shooters such as Overwatch or Team Fortress 2 have all of the hallmarks of any other FPS, but with additional rules that sets it apart as their own type of game.

 
Sources:
- Sandvox.io | Most Popular Gaming Genres In 2022

 

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