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Title: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 08, 2014, 11:45:08 PM Please refer to this post when adding Genres and Subgenres to entries.
Genres are in bold. This categorizes the entry in a broad way that makes lists on the site organized. Beyond that, a game's Genre describes the gameplay of a title which is important for listing the actual content of games. Subgenres are underlined. This is where you get into the specifics of the gameplay. The aim is to elaborate further on the title's gameplay. This is typically where confusion tends to arise so please use your judgement; especially on games that blur categorization. Use of multiple Subgenres is encouraged when applicable and should be separated by a " / " for consistency and clarity. Remember: almost every entry has at least one Subgenre. Please make sure to read the notes in italics. You'll see them set off by "*". They'll tell you about more in depth categorizing rules. NOT subgenres: "arcade" - Gaming establishments have existed for decades and housed a wide range of electronic games. To use it as a descriptive term is too vague. "space shooter" - Whether or not it takes place in space is irrelevant to the gameplay. Action Pure action games have gameplay based on real-time interactions that challenge the reflexes. There can be some text, story, or NPCs but they are never the main focus. For example, a game like Bayonetta is actually Action/Adventure because while Beat Em Up mechanics are at it's core, the game is much more complex and story driven. The primary appeal and challenge of the action genre is to test the player’s physical skills, such as timing, precision, or reaction speed. This can be done by aide of an onscreen character or object. In a nutshell, reaction time or reflex games, story elements are non-existent or there to provide context and not deepen the gameplay.Beat 'Em Up - The gameplay consists of advancing through stages while primarily using hand to hand/foot combat. - Streets of Rage, Turtles In Time, Final Fight, Simpsons Arcade, Etc. Hack 'N Slash - The gameplay consists of advancing through stages while primarily using blades to fight off hordes of enemies. - Golden Axe, Gauntlet, Etc. Swipe 'N Slice - Use of touch screen is required as you slice things on screen. - Fruit Ninja Snake - Variations of the classic game. - Centipede Side-Scroller - Similar to platformer but less jumping and platforms. You're still getting from A to B though. - Maze - The player must traverse maze-like levels. Gameplay is varied in this section. While strategy is required to play, do not add these games to that Genre. - Pac-Man, Ecco The Dolphin, Devil World Action Puzzle - You'll be running around or doing other actions to solve puzzles. - Katamari, World of Goo, deBlob, LIMBO Trajectory - Sort of like a reverse Tower Defense. - Angry Birds Breakout - The ball, the bricks, the paddle. - Arkanoid, Alleyway Pong - Rudimentary table tennis. - Color TV Game 15, Pong Consoles, Video Olympics Run 'N Gun - Combines platforming and shooting elements. May be listed under Platformer genre if shooting elements are very light. - Contra, Earthworm Jim, Alien Hominid, Jazz Jackrabbit, Metal Slug, Gunstar Heroes, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Etc. Adventure Adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve, with very little or no action. The gameplay typically involves gathering information and items as well as exploring to solve puzzles and advance the plot. If there is action, it is generally confined to isolated minigames. The gameplay revolves around the story elements. In a nutshell, games that require contextual problem solving.Text Adventure - The most classic Adventure Subgenre. You are required to input text in these games to advance. Not to be confused with Visual Novels which has you primarily reading text. - Zork, Many early text-based PC games, Etc. Puzzle - The problems presented to you are puzzles, which you solve to advance the plot. - Professor Layton Visual Novel - A Japanese gaming tradition. A choose-your-own adventure novel brought to life with branching paths, sprites, items, backgrounds and music. "Dating sims" belong here as "Visual Novel / Adult", not under Simulator. - Saya No Uta, Steins;Gate, Ace Attorney Series, Etc. Point & Click - You primarily interact with your environment, using a cursor to complete these games. - Sam & Max, Monkey Island, Jurassic Park on Sega CD, X Files, Leisure Suit Larry, Etc. Interactive Video - Games in this section utilize video to test the player in real time. - Night Trap, Space Ace, Time Gal, Dragon's Lair Choose Your Own Adventure - If an adventure game doesn't fall into any other Adventure Subgenre, you should use this. - Plumbers Don't Wear Ties Action-Adventure Action Adventure games engage both reflexes and problem-solving, in both violent and non-violent situations. They may require many of the same physical skills as action games, but also offer a storyline, numerous characters, an inventory system, dialogue, and other features of adventure games. Examples include Zelda, God of War, Tomb Raider, Beyond Good and Evil, Resident Evil, Hitman, GTA etc.In a nutshell, the game should have actiony, reaction time based gameplay but also have adventure elements with problem solving, inventory, NPCs, text and stories that influence your gameplay experience. No Subgenre - These game are pure Action/Adventure. - *The Legend Of Zelda First Person Third Person Survival Survival Horror - The gameplay focuses on surviving violent onsloughts of macabre enemies. - Resident Evil, DinoCrisis, Dead Rising, Alan Wake, Blue Stinger, Silent Hill, Etc. Sandbox Stealth - The main gameplay style has you sneaking around enemies. - Metal Gear, Splinter Cell, Mark of the Ninja Metroidvania - Metroidvania games generally feature a large interconnected world map the player can explore, though access to parts of the world is often limited by doors or other obstacles that can only be passed once the player has acquired special items, tools, weapons or abilities within the game. - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Wonderboy, Demon's Crest, Metroid, Steamworld Dig, etc. *The only Zelda game that is not Act/Adv is Zelda II. That is categorized as Genre: RPG Subgenre: Action RPG. Western RPG elements are present in these games but at its core, the Zelda formula is Act/Adv. If you think one of the side games isn't Act/Adv please let us know. Classic Shooter In a Classic Shooter, the player character engages in a lone assault, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. Games may include player characters on foot and a variety of perspectives. Shoot 'em ups call for fast reactions and for the player to memorize levels and enemy attack patterns.3D - StarFox, Wing Commander Single Screen (AKA Fixed) - Space Invaders, Asteroids Horizontal - Gradius, Parodius, Magical Chase Vertical - Galaga Rail/On-Rails - The game moves you through the stage and it's up to you to aim and shoot. - Sin & Punishment, Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles, House of the Dead, Dead Space Extraction Light Gun - Games that utilize a Zapper, Menacer, Guncon, SuperScope, Etc. - Duck Hunt, Time Crisis, ActionMax games, T2 Bullet Hell - Touhou Tube - Tempest Shooting Gallery - Like a Rail Shooter but fixed. Compilation For single titles that include multiple games of different genres. The only thing separating these games should be menus and not a whole other over-arching game. Let me make it clear that Party games are NOT Compilations. Party games have an overall competition connecting all the mini games and as such belongs under Game Simulator >> Party.Misc. Genres & Subgenres - Please put all the Genres and Subgenres in the Subgenre field. If all the games are of the same Genre, the entry should not be in this section. Instead, Compilation can be included as a Subgenre in this case while the common Genre is used. Demos - You can specify in the Subgenre that the title is a demo sampler. All rules in this guide apply just the same whether said title is a demo or not. Education *These games mix gameplay with teaching. Most of these are Early Childhood rated games. Please don't put stuff like recipe guides or language coaches in here. Software with no gameplay goes in Genre: Non-Game Subgenre: (Insert Use Here).Early Childhood - ABCs & 123s - Kid's shows liscenced games etc. Health - Bronkie The Bronchiasaurus, Captain Novalin Training - Brain Age, Big Brain Academy Language - Talkman Math, Language, Etc. - Lightspan PS1 games *Games with environmental messages attached can have Edutainment as a Subgenre. - Awesome Possum, Captain Planet Fighting Fighting games emphasize KOing your opponent- either human player or CPU. Use of 2D, 2.5D or 3D is reccomended when adding the Subgenre.1V1 - These games are the typical 2 characters on screen per match type. - Mortal Kombat, Godzilla, Virtua Fighter, Tekken, Bloody Roar, Killer Instinct, Etc. Tag Team - The matches can have you switch out multiple characters that you selected. - Marvel Vs. Capcom, Skullgirls Pro Wrestling - Games based on Pro Wrestling sports entertainment. - WWE, M.U.S.C.L.E., Pro Wrestling on NES, Celebrity Death Match, Def Jam Martial Arts - Certain martial arts are mainly simulated in the gameplay. - MMA, Bruce Lee Party Brawler - 2 - 4 characters fight on the battlefield. These games take on much of Super Smash Bros.' elements. - Smash Brothers, Playstation Allstars, Dream Mix TV World Fighters Fitness Games in this Genre are very much separate from simulations because they physically train your actual body. Please note, even though DDR has a calorie burning mode, that is not the main focus of the game and cannot be added here. The main selling point of the game should be getting fit.Meditation - Deepak Chopra's Leela Yoga - WiiFit Cardio - Zumba, Anything with a pedometer accessory Sports - NFL Training Camp, Kinect Sports Health - "For your health." - Glucoboy Game Creator Games in this section fuction mostly as applications for creating your own games. The Genre of game you're creating should be in the Subgenre section, as the main focus is making the game.Misc. Genres & Subgenres - Depends on what you're making. - RPG Maker, Fighter Maker, WarioWare DIY, Mario Maker Game Simulator The gameplay in these games are based off of other existing games of skill/chance that are usually not electronic.Trivia - Seen It?, You Don't Know Jack Board Game - Monopoly, Clue, Family Game Night Card Game - UNO Trading Card Game / Card Battle - Trading and Collecting Card Games - Pokemon Trading Card Game, Yu-Gi-Oh! Gambling - Caesar's Palace Game Show - Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Jeapordy! Etc. Party - The game's main focus is playing with friends. Different from a mini-game compilation in that it must have an overarching game to connect them. - Mario Party, Sonic Shuffle, Rayman Raving Rabbids, B.U.T.T.O.N. Pinball - Pinball on NES, Metroid Prime Pinball, Mario Pinball Land, Pokemon Pinball, Etc. Music/Rhythm The player must input or perform a series of commands or movements to the rhythm of music.No Subgenre - You're generally just hitting buttons to the beat. - Pop'n Music, Parappa the Rapper Dance - DDR, Dance Central, Just Dance Dance Simulator - No actual feet movement is required. - Space Channel 5 Karaoke - Karaoke Revolution, Singstar Instrumental - The type of instrument used can also be added as a Subgenre. (ie Guitar, Drums, Band) - Wii Music, Donkey Konga, Guitar Hero, Guitar Freaks, Taiko Drum Master, Samba De Amigo DJ - DJ Hero, Beatmania Non-Game There is no gameplay in these software entries. They have other uses but are not considered hardware. Due to sheer quantity, PC software will be held to higher standards for database approval.Trailer(s) - Demo discs with just trailers. If there are playable demos, please add to their respective Genre. Books - The King James Bible, 100 Classic Books, Story Books Reference Books - Encyclopedias, Dictionaries Cook Book - DS Cooking Guides Info - Similar to an Encyclopedia but with info on only one subject. Utility - Video Testing, Online Startup Discs, DSi Apps, PSP Media Manager, Notebooks, other tools/apps, Etc. Movie/Video - PSP Movie UMDs, GBA VideoNow, CDi Movie Discs Ambient Video - Software for background noise and video. - Aquarium HD, Fireplace Programming - BASIC Chatbot - A program that has AI converse with you. - Abuse Interactive Tour - A digital tour, often of a museum or real-life place. There is no gameplay to speak of, except for moving to sections and listening/reading info. Not a point & click game. Tech Demo - Software used to show off the technical capabilities of a platform. Fortune Telling - Taboo The 6th Sense Expansion - Software that exists to add content to an existing stand-alone title. Not playable by itself. No DLC please. Slideshow - Not video, just a power point type slideshow. - Various 3DO software Cheat - ActionReplay, GameShark Platformer The player is primarily tasked with jumping and maneuvering around objects.2D - Super Mario Bros., Gex, Bonk, Sonic, Donkey Kong Country, Etc. 2.5D - Mixes 2D and 3D - At the same time. Switching between them doesn't count. (That'd be 2D / 3D) - Kirby 64, Yoshi's Island, Tomba 3D - Super Mario Bros., Gex, Bonk, Sonic, Donkey Kong Country, Mirror's Edge Puzzle Games that test your mind. Include logical thinking and spacial interaction.Word - Crosswords Number - Sudoku Matching/Pairing - Bejeweled, Lights Out Action Puzzle (AKA Puzzle Platformer) - You'll be running around or doing other actions to solve puzzles. Please note, this Subgenre can be under Action or Puzzle; it depends on which elements take more priority in game. - Mario & Wario, Marble Madness, Spindizzy, Sokobon Hidden Object - Where's Waldo, I Spy Falling - Tetris, Dr.Mario, WildSnake, Tetris Attack, Wario's Woods, Panic Bomber Upwards - Bust-a-Move 3D - Some puzzle games can only be described as 3D. Perhaps it's like a Rubik's Cube type game; that would go in here. - Tetrisphere Racing A game where a race against computers or human players is the main focus. Vehicles are typically used. Monster truck rally-like games are also included here due to driving being a central gameplay mechanic.No Subgenre - Just classic car racing. - Gran Turismo, Forza Misc. Vehicles - Insert vehicle as the Subgenre. - Motorcycle, Jet Ski, Etc. F1/Grand Prix - NASCAR - Indy 500 Street/Drag - TestDrive, Need for Speed, Fast and the Furious Offroad - ATV, DiRT Futuristic - Star Wars Episode 1 Racer, Venetica Kart Racing - Characters in Go-Karts. Weapons are commonplace. - Mario Kart, Crash Team Racing, Diddy Kong Racing Combat - Akin to a monster truck rally; fighting in cars. - Twisted Metal, Vigilante 8 RPG This Genre has its roots in classic tabletop gaming. Battle systems are incorporated into the game that utilize numbers and sometimes chance. Common elements include character parties, leveling up, enemy encounter systems and extensive item lists. Please note, the name Role Playing Game is not a licence to call any game where you play as a character an RPG.Dungeon Crawler - The game is based primarily on traversing dungeons, opening chests, etc. - Dungeon Master MMORPG - RPGs with tons of human players playing alongside you. - WoW, LOTR Online Rogue - Randomly generated dungeons are explored. - Rogue Tactical (AKA Strategy RPG) - This RPG subgenre incorporates strategic gameplay such as tactical movement on an isometric grid. A distinct difference between tactical RPGs and traditional RPGs is the lack of exploration. Tactical RPGs instead emphasis on battle strategy. Usually the game will hop you from battle area to battle area with prep sequences in between. - Fire Emblem, Shining Series, Langrisser, Master of Monsters, Ogre Battle, Vandal Hearts, Guardian War, Final Fantasy Tactics, Sakura Wars, Disgaea, Project X Zone Turn Based - The basic RPG Subgenre. Random encounters lead to taking turns fighting, leveling up, Etc. - Final Fantasy, Phantasy Star, .hack, MOTHER Action RPG - Incorporate Action Genre elements into gameplay such as real time combat. - Ys, Dragon Slayer, Tales of Destiny, Zelda II, Project X Zone Sandbox - Players are given a large amount of freedom and free-roaming environment. - Minecraft, The Elder Scrolls Creature Collector - Caught monsters make up your party and you fight with them. - Pokemon, Digimon Shooter The genre of shooting games commonly associated with the first person shooter. This genre extends to other non-classic shooting games and are usually more realistic in its gameplay.First Person - Call of Duty, Battlefield, Medal of Honor Third Person - Gears of War Tactical - First person shooters that demand realistic coordinated tactics. - SOCOM, Ghost Recon Arial Combat - Ace Combat, JASF Naval - Shipwreckers, BattleStations Mech - MechAssault, Gundam, Custom Robo Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 08, 2014, 11:45:23 PM Simulator These games range from offshoots of strategy games that are geared towards doing your own thing to straight emulations of real things.X Builder - Solve for X. - SimCity, Zoo Tycoon, Rollercoaster Tycoon, Spore Creature Creater Management - Government or business management. - Farm Simulator, *Football Manager Vehicle - Games that aim to simulate a cockpit or driving seat realistically. May contain combat. - Top Gun Life - Simulates people and the everyday things they do. - The Sims, Animal Crossing, Oregon Trail, **Harvest Moon Art - The game is about making works of art! - Mario Paint, Art Academy, Color a Dinosaur, Inchworm Animation, ACME Animation Studio Editing - Arranging video and audio. - The Sega CD Music Video Creator Games Magic - Master of Illusion Pets - Nintendogs, Kinectamals Space Flight - Psi 5 Trading Company, Star Flight Fashion - Games where the primary focus is shopping, designing clothing, modeling, doing hair/make-up or any combination there of. *Games where you play as the manager and not the player go in this section, not sports. **Harvest Moon is a strange game to categorize because it is a Life & Management sim as well as a RPG. It is foremost a simulater, however, as RPG elements are lighter. Sports Simply, games with sport-influenced gameplay. You take control of the player(s).Compilation - Wii Sports Baseball - MLB Bowling - Brunswick Bowling Boxing - Rocky, Punch-Out!!, Ready to Rumble, Don King Prize Fighter Cricket - Rugby - Swimming - Micheal Phelps: Push the Limit Extreme Sports - Skateboarding, BMX, SSX, Surfing, California Games, Etc. American Football - Please don't just add "Football" the US is not the only country in the world. - Madden, 10-Yard Fight Football/Soccer - FIFA Golf - Tiger Woods, PGA Tour Futuristic - Must be added along with the specific sport in the Subgenres. - Rocket League, Cyberball, Speedball 2100, Dead Ball Zone, Etc. Hockey - NHL, Gretzky, Stanley Cup Hunting - Cabella Archery - Link's Crossbow Training Fishing - Black Bass Lacrosse - Winter - Slalom, Skiing, Etc. Tennis/Badminton - Super Tennis, Mario Tennis Track & Field - Track & Field on NES Olympic - Sonic & Mario At The Olympics, Caveman Games X Ball - Games like dodgeball and wallball can go in here as well. - Super Glove Ball, Battle Dodgeball Billiards/Pool - Side Pocket, World Championship Pool Darts - Championship Darts Strategy Strategy games emphasize tactical combat management and gameplay. Note that employing strategies are part of many games but only specific games have Strategy as a main focus. Examples of games that shouldn't be in this genre: Pac-Man (Action), Zoo Tycoon (Simulator), Chess/Checkers (Game Simulator).RTS - Real time strategy games have you controlling your team while time passes in game. - Age of Empires, StarCraft MOBA - Multiplayer online battle arena games are based off RTS games but include action elements. - LoL, Dota 2 War - Artillery, missile trajectory, war management is emphasized. - WarGames MMORTS - Strategy games with many online players. - Real Time Tactics - These games get into the nitty gritty of war strategy with emphasis on actual fighting of units. - Total War Tower Defense - Simpler strategy games that have you defending a static point. - Plants Vs. Zombies Turn Based - The game operates like most strategy games but uses a RPG-like turn based combat system. - Advanced Wars, Godzilla 2 on NES, Sid Meier's Civilization Time Management Resource Management The Hardware Classes These should be simple to categorize. I've added examples of Subclasses for the sake of the guide.Acessory - Stylus, Cartridge Adaptor, Modem, Etc. Cables - AV, AC, Controller Extension, Link, Etc. Controllers - Turbo, Wireless, Dance Mat, Motion, Arcade Stick, Etc. Memory/Backup - Memory Card, RAM Expansion, Etc. System - Handheld, Bundle, Etc. Other Notes: *Subgenres assigned to Edutainment, Compilation and Demo may include the Genres listed above as well as the Subgenres. *Subgenre Modifiers may be used to elaborate on the game's perspective and other details. These include but are not limited to: 2D - Super Mario Bros., Bonk 2.5D (These games are mostly rendered in 3D but the gameplay operates in a left and right, 2D manner. This set path may twist and turn but primarily stays 2D on a 3D environment.) - Kirby 64, Super Smash Bros., Etc. Isometric (A 2D game with graphics that give it a 3D look.) - Marble Madness, Q*Bert, Sonic 3D Blast 3D - Super Mario 64 First Person - Portal Third Person - Dead Rising Top Down - Ikari Warriors, Total Carnage J (To denote Japanese RPGs (JRPGs)) - Hyperdimension Neptunia, Earthbound, Final Fantasy, Phantasy Star, Etc. Futuristic - Usually applied to Sports or Racing. In some cases, it can be used as a stand-alone Subgenre. College/Pro - Applied to sports. Side-scrolling - Applied to action games. Avoid pairing with platformers and run ’n guns due to redundancy. *When Genres are mixed to form the gameplay style or a game has strong elements of more than one Genre present, the Genre with most influence on gameplay is to be the main Genre, everything else should be under Subgenre. *Please pitch in with examples. There are many Subgenres that need more examples to be clearer as to what it's all about. If you think I missed any Subgenres, please suggest them. *If you think I am outright wrong on anything in this guide, please let us know and we can discuss as a community and perhaps get a tally going. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 25, 2014, 12:07:23 PM So can I get some feedback on this? Did I miss anything? Can we start using this guide? Can staff add the new Genres and fix the Breakout/Pong label?
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on May 25, 2014, 01:43:00 PM Sorry - somehow missed this. I'll take a look through when I get a chance.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on May 25, 2014, 02:22:28 PM I'm not a giant fan of "Shoot 'em up." How about something that better reflects the sub-genre like "Single Screen/Scrolling Shooter"?
I don't like a Genre called Adult. The other genres attempt to classify the type of game, but this is just about content. Perhaps an Adult sub-genre in the appropriate genres. For example: Bubble Bath Babes would be Genre: Puzzle Sub: Adult, while Hot Slots would be Genre: Game Simulator Sub: Adult. I've said it before, but I don't care for a Genre labeled Homebrew. As above, all the other categories attempt to categorize gameplay, where this one is about release date. I would propose putting homebrew games into their appropriate category with a sub-genre of Homebrew if people really want that info. All-in-all a thorough and solid start. Good job Flee. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: ae.tc on May 25, 2014, 04:19:13 PM ... I've said it before, but I don't care for a Genre labeled Homebrew. As above, all the other categories attempt to categorize gameplay, where this one is about release date. I would propose putting homebrew games into their appropriate category with a sub-genre of Homebrew if people really want that info. All-in-all a thorough and solid start. Good job Flee. agreed, great work here - am a big proponent of 'homebrew' releases, but the genre field should focus on the primary type of gameplay -- although information regarding homebrew & independent commercial titles is still important Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: SirPsycho on May 25, 2014, 04:40:04 PM I feel like the information about homebrew games should be reserved for a completely different field. There are some areas of the database that aren't utilized as much, like the Overview and Trivia section, that would be perfect for this information.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on May 25, 2014, 06:35:07 PM Or, perhaps, Release Type?
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 25, 2014, 09:03:46 PM I can always make a section of Subgenres that span many Genres and put Adult and Homebrew in there. They do seem to fit better in the Subgenre field. Seems like a pretty unanimous change. Any opposed to this? Also I like Shadow's idea of making Homebrew a release type cause that's really what it is.
As for the Shoot Em' Up dilemma, I can split it into the two that you suggested Duke. If anyone has a better way of splitting it up do tell. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on May 25, 2014, 09:51:13 PM After hearing it I really like the Release Type field for Homebrew. That would make a lot of sense.
As for the Shoot Em' Up dilemma, I can split it into the two that you suggested Duke. Honestly, I'd even be fine with both of them fitting in one sub-genre labeled "Single Screen/Scrolling Shooter" if that is simpler. That way it would cover everything from Galaga to Gradius. Thanks for doing all this work Flee, and being open to feedback. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 25, 2014, 10:07:03 PM Hmm I think shooter needs those modifiers, Horizontal and Vertical made into Subgenres. As well as 3D and single screen as Subgenres. That should cover all the space shooters and be easy to remember when adding a game.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 25, 2014, 10:09:55 PM Also this thread should be pinned and thanks Duke. ;D
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 25, 2014, 11:46:42 PM Also also I'll be making a to-do list in the second post soon to keep track of how far we are reworking this.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 26, 2014, 01:08:37 PM Added the To-Do list!
LETS GET SCRATCHIN http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKrETP9jC34 Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: ApolloBoy on May 26, 2014, 03:40:58 PM Everything looks good so far, but shouldn't wrestling games be considered sports games? Why is wrestling under the "Fighting" genre but not boxing?
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on May 26, 2014, 03:50:36 PM Wrestling is categorized as "sports entertainment", as least in terms of WWE. Traditional wrestling is considered "sports". So, it should be under sports as Apollo pointed out. ;)
Also, nice Jet Set Radio reference. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 26, 2014, 08:28:11 PM Why is wrestling under the "Fighting" genre but not boxing? Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on May 27, 2014, 07:52:54 PM I agree WWF/WWE/WCW/Def Jam Fight for NY/Celebrity Death Match/etc all belong under fighting.
The object of the games are not sport in the greco roman/olympic sense of the sport. (See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestling ) Even in the over the top boxing games(Don King Prize Fighter, Ready To Rumble, etc) they still (IMO) keep closer to the sport than "wrestling" games do. Same for the other sporting genres more or less. I feel that the pool is not a slight since you can play it in a bar was unfair. I feel darts is less of a sport than pool :P Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 27, 2014, 08:30:58 PM I mean Darts and Pool are technically sports, but I feel as a video game, they fit the bill of Game Sim very nicely. We're gonna need a tally on this. Sport or game of skill?
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on May 27, 2014, 08:53:33 PM Isn't the skill required what makes it a sport?
All sports require skill. Most are over all team skill. But golf/darts/pool/darts/boxing etc rest entirely on the skill of a single individual. Either to understand the physics of a drive/putt/shot/throw or how best to attack/defend against an opponent without getting knocked on your own ass. Also add Swimming as a sports sub genre. My recent sale of Micheal Phelps: Push the Limit forced me to remember that game. I would suggest just renaming "alternative" to "extreme". I have never heard Skateboarding, BMX, etc labeled as alternative but i feel most if not everyone is familiar with the "extreme sports" title. Finally Where do the "arcade" style sports games go? Hot Shots golf, Mario/Sega [insert sport], Megaman Soccer, Outlaw Golf/Volleball, Nicktoons MLB, NBA/NFL/FIFA Street, Freestyle Street Soccer, etc, etc Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 27, 2014, 09:15:04 PM IDK I guess it would be wise not to nay-say their inclusion as sports and just add them there to avoid this sort of semantic hoohah. I don't think many people would care about them being in there anyway.
As for sports with characters and stuff in them I would say just add them to their respective sport. A problem with adding "Arcade" as a subgenre modifier is that it opens a pandora's box of unorganization. Tons of arcade to home console ports would need this in the subgenre field with no clear lines on which games need this specified. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Boshamp on May 28, 2014, 12:40:15 AM I have watched WWE/Sports entertainment for years. I enjoy it...but fully understand what it is. If I had to classify it, I would say soap opera. ;)
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on May 28, 2014, 12:49:01 PM For Genres, do we feel pretty set to move ahead with that? I expect Subgenres to be iterated upon almost ad infinitum, but I can at least add/remove/change genres if we feel those are solid.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Boshamp on May 28, 2014, 02:56:04 PM I like the separation of Fitness and Edutainment, it is clear. I cannot find anything I would personally change or comment on for improvement
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on May 28, 2014, 03:18:45 PM I advocate that "Edutainment" be changed to Education or Educational. Not all "edutainment" games are entertaining, and it's just a buzz word to indicate it's an educational game. ;)
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on May 28, 2014, 05:49:41 PM I advocate that "Edutainment" be changed to Education or Educational. Not all "edutainment" games are entertaining, and it's just a buzz word to indicate it's an educational game. ;) I'm good with this. My vote would be to move forward with these changes. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 28, 2014, 06:04:02 PM Yeah education is better. Added task to list
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on May 28, 2014, 06:20:08 PM I took a look at the database to see what it would entail to change the genres...suffice to say that I am severe disappointed.
EDIT: Also disappointed in how attached files work, but essentially the database should be storing those off the ID value, not the string value. This means we'll need to update EVERY SINGLE ENTRY IN THE DATABASE rather than just changing the genre values. There isn't an emote strong enough to denote the sadness that I feel, so we'll go with this. :flamethrower: I can fix it with some DB string search/replace wizardry, but it makes me extremely sad to see that basic DB functionality doesn't exist on this site. Same with Console Names, and quite a few other string-based fields. EDIT EDIT: Did I mention that "Type" is also the Hardware column for hwtypes (e.g. System), which is a separate table for the Hardware? Wish I was at home right now to grab something cold from the fridge... :drunk: WEEKEND PROJECT Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on May 28, 2014, 07:23:55 PM Fitness and Game Creator genres added. I'll see about the renames later on.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on May 28, 2014, 08:55:21 PM Wow, tough to hear that the DB was built that way. I wish I was more familiar with SQL and could offer some help.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on May 28, 2014, 09:00:34 PM Again...it's not tough to "patch", but annoying as hell to fix.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 29, 2014, 12:25:59 AM Moved a big chunk of games to Fitness. Let me know if you find some more or a whole series/group of games needs moving.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 29, 2014, 12:27:07 AM Also, help me out with the Game Creator Genre, I only know the examples in the guide.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on May 29, 2014, 09:23:37 AM Well, there's a lot of iterations on RPG Maker:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RPG_Maker I thought about Garry's Mod, but I think that's more Sandbox? But Sandbox, in your list, is only under RPG... Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 29, 2014, 10:39:57 AM Garry's mod is mostly just a physics engine that you can import stuff into so I would classify it as an action game. Action/adventure >> action / sandbox / physics
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on May 29, 2014, 03:31:23 PM Curious... I saw this brought up on another site. How would you classify Borderlands?
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 29, 2014, 03:40:06 PM I've never actually played a game in the series but from what I gather, it's an action RPG with the action part meaning shooting. I would make RPG the Genre and Action RPG / 3rd Person Shooter the sub genre.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on May 29, 2014, 03:53:57 PM If a person were to search for Borderlands as a Shooter genre, which many arguably equate it with, they wouldn't find it. Does that make sense?
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 29, 2014, 03:58:10 PM Wouldn't they just search the name?
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on May 29, 2014, 04:01:33 PM What if I wanted to search for "Shooter" games on Xbox 360 for my next game to play? Borderlands wouldn't come up, as it's technically considered an RPG.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on May 29, 2014, 04:34:14 PM I would personally classify Borderlands as a Shooter. It may have RPG elements, but it's primary game mechanic is FPS.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on May 29, 2014, 05:58:47 PM ^ That's essentially what I'm getting at. Borderlands is just a prime example of the clouded genres that exist in today's games. Borderlands, by definition, is a role-playing game, but many people identify it as a Shooter since the RPG elements are integrated so well. Is it an Action RPG, or a Third-Person Shooter with RPG elements?
Should we support being able to support having multiple PRIMARY genres? Should we support having multiple subgenres? I hesitate on having multiple primary genres, as games should be statically cataloged by genres, but games aren't as clear cut as they used to be. Case in point: Microsoft allows a game to have up to 5 Genre specifications for Xbox One. Ryse, for instance, is officially cataloged according to the developer: Genre:Action & Adventure, Fighting https://store.xbox.com/en-US/Xbox-One/Games/Ryse-Son-of-Rome/02670f2e-1054-42c2-b16e-2dcf67d2c147 EDIT: Thread that reminded me about this: http://www.trueachievements.com/forum/viewthread.aspx?threadid=4530360 Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 29, 2014, 09:39:47 PM Ah well like I said, I've never played it. I didn't even look up gameplay footage so that's why my classification was off. So like it says in the guide, shooting is more prominent than the RPG elements so Action RPG is the Subgenre.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 29, 2014, 09:44:33 PM Should we support being able to support having multiple PRIMARY genres? For the sake of simplicity I'd say no. You can usually narrow it down to a primary one anyway. Only a few games get a perfect balance of main Genres.Should we support having multiple subgenres? We already do that. Tons of games have more than 1. In fact, it's necessary most of the time.Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: techwizard on May 30, 2014, 01:20:32 AM i was about to suggest multiple primary genres too but i was thinking instead of calling it that, why not a primary genre and an alternate genre?
for example borderlands could look like this on the game page: Primary Genre - RPG Primary Subgenre - ActionRPG Alternate Genre - Shooter Alternate Subgenre - First Person Shooter [why are people referring to it as third person? it's an FPS not over the shoulder :P] Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on May 30, 2014, 06:47:54 PM Yeah, sorry, it is an FPS - someone else mentioned third person in the other thread and it stuck in my head.
So, for NOW...since I'll likely get something done on this for the weekend, whether it's visible or not, one primary Genre? I plan on making Subgenre a field populated with a listbox rather than a string, so that we can standardize the Subgenre and discuss additions/deletions/modifications when needed. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on May 30, 2014, 06:56:45 PM So, for NOW...since I'll likely get something done on this for the weekend, whether it's visible or not, one primary Genre? I plan on making Subgenre a field populated with a listbox rather than a string, so that we can standardize the Subgenre and discuss additions/deletions/modifications when needed. I agree with this completely. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Boshamp on May 30, 2014, 08:04:24 PM That makes perfect sense.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on May 30, 2014, 08:30:48 PM So, for NOW...since I'll likely get something done on this for the weekend, whether it's visible or not, one primary Genre? I plan on making Subgenre a field populated with a listbox rather than a string, so that we can standardize the Subgenre and discuss additions/deletions/modifications when needed. I agree with this completely. I am not a huge fan of a "primary" and "secondary" genre in addition to "subgenre" for games. I can understand it has its usefulness with some games but it seems way too convoluted. Wouldn't it make more sense to standardize subgenres and make that field searchable? That way in instances of games that have "multiple primary genres" one would be chosen as the genre and someone could still search subgenre for RPG and find it. Or someone could search for 2D platformer subgenre and find it. Or Side Scrolling or vertical shooter and find them. etc, etc Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on May 30, 2014, 10:02:30 PM As I understood it, that is what he is describing. One choice for the Genre field, and the Sub-genre field becomes a list box instead of a open text field.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 31, 2014, 12:32:12 AM Got Misc. down to 10 pages. 8)
Those were the obvious ones. From here on out, I'm gonna have to look up gameplay videos and put my Google-Fu to the test. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on May 31, 2014, 01:00:19 AM What Duke said.
Flee, for Genre you could refer to established genres across other sites as well for reference, but Subgenre could be a pain. That's why it's not filled out as often, at least on Staff submissions. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 31, 2014, 01:09:57 AM Yeah, if I don't know, I leave it blank. I wouldn't want to submit inaccurate info. I'm mainly just trying to clear out the Genre so we can delete it soon.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on May 31, 2014, 01:05:29 PM Suggestion from Raidou, who read the thread and made a suggestion on a submission:
Quote Australian version of Pokemon Black. Have listed subgenre as 'Turn-based' in line with Flee's guide, however, I would like to suggest a 'Creature Trainer' (or possibly 'Collector') subgenre, since captured creatures do all the fighting and the plot centralises around capturing more and more creatures. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 31, 2014, 01:40:03 PM I think we can make Creature Collector a Subgenre. The main Pokemon games would be best described as Turn Based JRPG / Creature Collector. Also, down to 6 pages of "Unique". It really is much of the same as Misc. It's a bunch of Game Simulators, Art Simulators and Japanese releases.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on May 31, 2014, 01:51:55 PM What, you mean WarioWare isn't Unique? Or LSD?
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 31, 2014, 01:56:45 PM Well Warioware is Compilation >> Mini-Games. And LSD can go under Simulator >> Dream. That was intended use when they made it, if I recall. If not, Act/Adv >> Adventure / Surreal fits it too.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: nupoile on June 01, 2014, 06:53:32 PM I'm weighing in on this topic late, sorry.
I saw the original post right away and was thinking of how to respond because I really don't like the way RFG uses the term "homebrew." Editorializing here, I'll try and be brief :P As far as how RFG categorizes things, "homebrew" is not a genre. All the other genres relate to style of gameplay whereas homebrew refers to some weird combination of release date and motive. It is if we were categorizing vehicles using boats, planes, cars, trucks, motorcycles and "made in Germany" which would also include boats, planes, cars, trucks....the two things aren't the same grouping. I think we could come up with lots of examples were a game was created by people literally at home, not affiliated with a game studio originally sold in plastic baggies or the like which we do not call homebrew. There are examples of things we refer to as a homebrew but were created by paid employees of incorporated game companies, with full artwork and packaging. That doesn't make sense. The best example I could think of is a game that isn't in the DB yet ::) I'm sure we would call it (wrongly) a homebrew though. Dave Akers, a man who worked on games like Burgertime and Bump 'n Jump recently made a game called Paddle Party for the Intellivision. It was released by a company called Elektronite which is in the business of paying people to make games that they sell for profit. Intellivision itself is a company that is owned by an original employee that actively makes games for sale. How would this be a homebrew? It shouldn't be. My point is that we shouldn't use homebrew as part of the genre description. It doesn't fit. I don't really like the term at all for use in RFG's DB but if we must use it please make it it's own category. As in it's own line on a game description page. Since I'm trying to be concise I'll leave out some other points I could make, besides, I'll be surprised if people completely disagree.....I'm trying not to bring up Halo 2600 though (we call it a homebrew, why?) ;) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Akers http://elektronite.com/Games/Paddle_Party.htm Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on June 01, 2014, 07:11:38 PM I think we all pretty much sided with your argument on this. It's going to be a Release Type soon so that's good.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: nupoile on June 01, 2014, 07:16:32 PM Yeah, I think you did too. I just really wanted to make sure it was known I felt that way, and to make it clear for future readers of the thread.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on June 01, 2014, 09:26:27 PM Just to step in... when we made the Release Types, we had strongly considered making Homebrew a Release Type. However, at the time, we didn't want to jump into the pool with it, since it can become a slippery slope with other Release Types like License, Unlicensed, Pirate... Keep that in mind, folks. ;)
Not that I entirely mind adding new Release Types, but keep in mind how controversial some of these monikers can be. As Nupoile mentioned, Homebrew is not entirely Homebrew, but it should indicate that the game was released AFTER the lifespan of the console. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on June 01, 2014, 10:10:35 PM I agree that this is a slippery slope. There are commercially produced games outside of a consoles lifespan that wouldn't be considered homebrews (for example, Huge Insect from Sachen).
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on June 01, 2014, 10:53:31 PM Don't get me started on Sachen, considering that they had a combination of pirate and legitimate games for Game Boy...
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on June 02, 2014, 01:19:07 AM Uh, I'm just now contemplating the usefulness of a Breakout/Pong Genre. Why do we need this if Breakout and Pong games are all just Action games? Deletion worthy? I'm starting to think so.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on June 02, 2014, 06:31:53 AM It was initially there because there were so many of them. (If everything from the 70s ever gets added i wouldn't be surprised if it was over 1k entries from then alone)
But if you are going to have a BreakOut/Pong genre you might as well have a Maze genre. Just stick it as a sub genre ;) If subgenres are standardized and searchable (at one point in time every single field on a game page was going to be searchable) then it doesn't hurt anything and helps maintain a more streamlined DB. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on June 02, 2014, 12:38:10 PM Ok making this another task.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on June 02, 2014, 09:49:34 PM Just went through part of the list, and realized that quite a few are not quite fleshed out yet...
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on June 06, 2014, 10:10:51 PM Need opinions- should World Class Track Meet be in Fitness or Sports? The Japanese variants are Fitness because it's obvious that was the main selling point. Were the others marketed solely for use with the Power Pad?
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: techwizard on June 06, 2014, 10:27:25 PM i would take fitness to mean the player gets real exercise out of playing the game, and sports are simulators where you play something without the physical exercise part. if it was meant to be played with the power pad and marketed as a way to get in shape or something along those lines then i would go with Fitness. anything else and i would say Sports.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Boshamp on June 06, 2014, 10:29:55 PM I think that makes perfect sense, fitness to me means it was marketed directly as a means to stay in shape. While DDR and pretty much any Kinect title can wear me out, that wasn't there intention. ha ha
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on June 08, 2014, 10:49:10 PM Breakout/Pong has been sorted and is now empty. Fire when ready.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on June 09, 2014, 08:14:20 AM Removed. Let me know if it causes any issues on game submissions or anything else after it's been removed.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on July 05, 2014, 01:08:41 AM Made some important edits and corrections to the guide. Also very close to having Unique sorted completely.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on July 07, 2014, 01:17:34 AM Unique has been completely sorted. Removal is ready to go.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on July 07, 2014, 08:15:35 PM Removed as requested. Also, added Homebrew as a Release Type.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: mumboking on July 07, 2014, 08:59:27 PM Also, added Homebrew as a Release Type. Might as well show the release type on the pages while you're at it, or is it not worth doing?Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on July 07, 2014, 09:18:03 PM ^That would probably help with sorting. Also thanks Shadow.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on July 07, 2014, 11:25:46 PM Will all the current Homebrew genre games be switched over?
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on July 08, 2014, 12:04:32 AM My plan was to give all the titles sitting in the Homebrew genre their proper genres and change their release types to homebrew at the same time. That being said, making release type searchable would enable users to find homebrews once the genre is removed.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on July 08, 2014, 10:16:24 AM Flee...as a staff member, you can search for Release Types:
http://www.rfgeneration.com/PHP/staffadmin.php?action=gameedit;sa=edit I think we didn't make them public because they're not fully implemented yet. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on July 08, 2014, 10:44:08 AM Ah, I didn't notice that. Thanks for pointing that out.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on July 22, 2014, 10:57:25 AM I just noticed Fortune Telling was under simulator.
I edited some Fortune Telling/Astroligical symbol style earlier as Non-Game. Doesn't it seem like they would better fit there? I wouldn't consider entering a couple bits of information a Simulation game. Real reason i came here. Just used Genre: Action/Adventure Subgenre: Action, Strategy, Time Management For Cake Mama. Those Diner Dash style games certainly qualify as HEAVILY action based but i wanted to also see what others thoughts were on it. EDIT Diner Dash specifically is in the DB right now as Action/Adventure, Puzzle, Strategy, Misc, and Simulator. Misc is getting removed and i can't see why it would be in there as a Simulator either. Action, Strat and Puzzle i could all see an argument being made for. But puzzle IMO isn't really any more fitting than Simulator. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on July 22, 2014, 11:47:56 AM Honestly, I've been waiting to pull the trigger on having concrete options since I've not been given a list of specific subgenres for each Genre. If you guys could come up with that list, we can get moving on the standardization, and adding new subgenres would be a quick DB edit.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on July 22, 2014, 12:15:06 PM There is a pretty decent list going now. If you added a checkbox or multi select(like the "sub-regions") based on what it listed now wouldn't it be easy enough to add or subtract from that list in the days, months or years to come?
Also adding that function would not remove the text currently entered in Subgenre fields (so they could still be standardized with limited further research) but would force the new standard on all new additions to the site. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Tynstar on July 22, 2014, 12:27:48 PM Pull the damn trigger already :)
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on July 22, 2014, 12:50:15 PM Pulling the trigger, for what I'm attempting to do, requires that all of the existing Subgenres are accounted for. It won't be an editable list - just a multiselect list, and new Subgenres would need to be added directly to the DB.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on July 22, 2014, 01:30:18 PM Quote Subgenre: Vapid Model Sim HAHAHAH http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/getinfo.pl?ID=U-132-S-11160-A& http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/getinfo.pl?ID=U-087-S-15930-A& Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on July 22, 2014, 01:39:19 PM Scott already fixed one of them.
I truly felt it was the most accurate description of the game after watching a 3 minute vid done by some chick at Mahalo(who apparently don't just do walkthroughs) Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on July 22, 2014, 01:53:28 PM I was tempted to just leave it, because it made it laugh. ;)
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on July 22, 2014, 02:09:28 PM I guess fortune telling would fit better under non-game. As for those waiting games, I'd say they fit good as strategy games.
Pulling the trigger, for what I'm attempting to do, requires that all of the existing Subgenres are accounted for. That might take a while. Alot of the subgenres that aren't on the guide are specific ones that I just haven't come across. Do you have a way of pulling a list of unique subgenres currently being used in the DB? With that list, it would just be a matter of looking through and pulling the legit subgenres out. The spelling doubles and unnecessary ones are just left out and deleted when the switch to selectable subgenres happens... Or something like that. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on July 22, 2014, 02:46:38 PM Yeah, I can pull a list, though I may need to tweak a couple DB queries until I can appropriately find the information I need.
I'm not a SQL wizard, but I'm sure I can find the right combination of joins and deduplication to make it work. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on July 22, 2014, 02:47:26 PM EDIT
Shadow posted while i was typing /EDIT Well that is kind of what my comment to SK was anyways. Unless he intends on doing something i am unaware of anytime there has been a change. Like the removal of a Genre or the addition of a Game Rating it hasn't populated on the pages or been removed from the pages. Anything that had that required a manual change. Like when "Misc." (a now unsearchable Genre that still exists in our database) became "Miscellaneous"(the still searchable genre in the database i am removing) http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/getinfo.pl?ID=U-016-S-02940-A http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/getinfo.pl?ID=U-040-S-00750-A http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/getinfo.pl?ID=U-016-S-08340-A http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/getinfo.pl?ID=U-016-S-08370-A http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/getinfo.pl?ID=U-00H-S-04740-A http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/getinfo.pl?ID=U-00H-S-04990-A http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/getinfo.pl?ID=U-00H-S-05230-A http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/getinfo.pl?ID=U-00H-S-04940-A http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/getinfo.pl?ID=U-048-S-01400-A I linked to those all of those games to save time from someone having to search in the future or forgetting they exist and need correcting... Again. I have not corrected them yet to make sure they were seen and to prove the point i was getting at. All of the entries were not dealt with in advance so when the "new" genre was added the "old" genre became unsearchable. I don't see how enabling the selectable subgenre limitations could lead to issues because the other fields (Game Rating, Rating Content Descriptors, Genre, Release type) have all had a multitude of items added and/or subtracted after the fact and it in no way disrupted what was already there. With the exception of them (initially)not being alphabetical. Which was probably just laziness on the person who added them at that time. Also had these limitations already been put in place there would a decent number of games already updated to conform with those new standards. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on July 22, 2014, 02:50:19 PM The issue is that you'd be unable to search for them, and I'd have to add in error handling for unknown cases. "Misc." was not my fault... ;)
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on July 22, 2014, 02:58:02 PM They could be searched for in the same way that the Release Types were searched for. (Assuming this is going to be searchable)
Do a search for an empty field. Open game page. If no subgenre add one. If subgenre entered before the switch update it to conform. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on July 22, 2014, 03:17:19 PM Expansion Packs - add under Non-game (DOES NOT COUNT FOR DLC/DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION)
Example Halo, Borderlands, etc had physical expansions released for consoles which required the base game. In addition to the endless number of PC expansion discs which required owning the base game. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: blcklblskt on July 22, 2014, 03:36:29 PM Expansion Packs - add under Non-game (DOES NOT COUNT FOR DLC/DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION) Example Halo, Borderlands, Red Dead Redemption, etc had physical expansions released for consoles which required the base game. In addition to the endless number of PC expansion discs which required owning the base game. I'm pretty certain Red Dead Undead Nightmare was a stand-alone title, at least on PS3. I'm pretty sure you didn't need RDR to play it. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on July 22, 2014, 03:39:12 PM ^ Correct. There are a few examples of that, including the Xtreme Legends versions of Dynasty Warriors/Samurai Warriors. Some, however, are just Key Discs that install the DLC or provide codes for the content itself.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on July 22, 2014, 07:02:12 PM Removed RDR from suggested titles
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on July 22, 2014, 10:00:09 PM Fortune Telling and Expansion added to non-games.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: techwizard on July 23, 2014, 12:28:59 AM I'm not sure i entirely agree with expansion packs being "non-game", or for that matter a genre/subgenre at all. shouldn't that be a release type? because "expansion" doesn't describe anything about the content of the game, it's only a method of distribution that requires a base game. some expansion packs can have substantial extra content added to the base game, usually much more than today's DLCs add, and i feel like "non-game" doesn't fit that very well.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on July 23, 2014, 11:46:17 PM Expansion is indeed a catch all term.
But how often does an expansion actually change the genre of the game it would be played with? Additionally Non-game/Expansion would be used only in specific instances and not for every expansion ever. My example of Halo 2 was a Multiplayer Mappack expansion. Borderlands contained some of the DLC story expansions on disc. In both instances (to my knowledge)you were required to instal those to your systems harddrive and use them in conjunction with the base game. Any example of an expansion that would not require the base game would not be a "non-game" such as the Undead Nightmare Pack which i was corrected on. I believe Lips or some other music games (DJRockBandGuitarHero Track Packs?) that could be played just from the disc. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on July 24, 2014, 11:08:39 AM Better example of Non-Game Expansion Pack:
http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/getinfo.pl?ID=U-115-S-13030-A It's a retail case with a code used to download content for the full game. Tomb Raider Underworld had a similar concept. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on July 25, 2014, 03:14:38 PM Chipping away! Added Education>>Language to guide.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on July 25, 2014, 04:30:53 PM I've recently come across a ton of other Non-Game stuff. GPS, Video/picture galleries, manga, comic books, videos, etc etc
Education is specifically going to be for items were it is educational game play right? Not things like dictionaries or encyclopedias or study guides? (Recently edited info for JP "games" that taught you how to pass exams to be a realtor, IT specialist, civil servant, etc) I recently swapped a bunch of PAL PSX games to edutainment. Example page http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/getinfo.pl?ID=E-061-S-06170-A For subgenres i think it is going to be nigh impossible to get every subgenre accounted for for every genre (because they can be so varied) but hopefully with enough of them people can have a good idea of what to use where. Especially those approving submissions or who are able to bypass the submission review process. EDIT Also Trajectory as action/adventure? Every "trajectory" game in the database (that i know of) currently has Puzzle as the genre. Thoughts? EDIT 2 Worth noting Rovio (and every other source on the internet i can dig up) says they are Puzzle Games. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on July 25, 2014, 04:55:10 PM I put trajectory under act/adv because I consider them action games. (Act/adv being split up into 3 different parts is going to be phase 2 of the restructuring) and your question about education: yes.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on July 25, 2014, 05:11:57 PM Split into the breakdown i had before?
Action - mindless actiony button games - Everything from Pong/Breakout to Pac-man and Asteroids to Adventure - Adventurey adventure games from Zork to Zork II to Visual Novels to Myst to other games with no action. Action/Adventure - Actiony button games with Adventure-ish qualities 1/3 of all games released since 1990? Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on July 25, 2014, 07:09:20 PM Just to clarify, Compilation should be SPECIFICALLY for games that were repackaged into a collection, and not for things like WarioWare.
The intention of requiring Subgenres to be added to the DB rather than a text entry is to have the opportunity to review the new Subgenre before adding it. In this case, the Submission Notes field can be used to indicate what the Subgenre should be if it doesn't match, or a Staff member can request a different Subgenre be added to accommodate. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on July 25, 2014, 08:45:45 PM Just to clarify, Compilation should be SPECIFICALLY for games that were repackaged into a collection, and not for things like WarioWare. I already moved the entire Warioware series to Compilations as well as a few other minigame titles that didn't qualify as Party games. Do I have to change all of them back? I really don't think there's a better fitting genre for them.Split into the breakdown i had before? Yeah pretty much. I just have to read up on Act/Adv some more because the only two examples I can think of are Zelda and Beyond Good and Evil. I really don't want to get into that before we're done with the current stuff because it's a whole 'nother can o worms.Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on July 25, 2014, 08:49:59 PM Minigames would be Action IMO anyways.
The only difference i could see that you came up with between Minigames and Party games is an overlying point system. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on July 26, 2014, 08:40:20 AM MISCELLANEOUS IS DONE!
QUICKLY DELETE IT BEFORE SOMEONE TRIES TO USE IT AGAIN! EDIT Also fixed of the "Misc." genre stuff that i previously linked to. /EDIT Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: blcklblskt on July 26, 2014, 09:24:18 AM Just to clarify, Compilation should be SPECIFICALLY for games that were repackaged into a collection, and not for things like WarioWare. The intention of requiring Subgenres to be added to the DB rather than a text entry is to have the opportunity to review the new Subgenre before adding it. In this case, the Submission Notes field can be used to indicate what the Subgenre should be if it doesn't match, or a Staff member can request a different Subgenre be added to accommodate. I agree with this. WarioWare is definitely not a compilation. All of the mini games are unique (well, unique to the series as some are recycled game to game), and I think it qualifies much more as action because you rely on quick button presses to win. To me, compilation is like those Atari classics games that compile a number of previously released games onto one or more discs. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on July 28, 2014, 10:52:01 PM MISCELLANEOUS IS DONE! QUICKLY DELETE IT BEFORE SOMEONE TRIES TO USE IT AGAIN! EDIT Also fixed of the "Misc." genre stuff that i previously linked to. /EDIT One game was approved with the Miscellaneous genre today. (Seriously WTF guys?) Another was in queue. Both of them have been edited and the genre is once again empty. Can the genre be removed before some lazy approver lets another one through? Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on July 28, 2014, 11:18:35 PM I'll do it first thing tomorrow.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on July 28, 2014, 11:25:55 PM Alright I can change WarioWare to action later on. As for trajectory, Puzzle or Action?
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on July 29, 2014, 07:20:03 AM Genre: Puzzle
Subgenre: Action, Trajectory Also: Art - The game is about making works of art! - Mario Paint, Art Academy, Color a Dinosaur, Inchworm Animation, ACME Animation Studio Editing - Arranging video and audio. - The Sega CD Music Video Creator Games Move from Simulator to Non-game genre? EDIT ALSO! Borderlands Genre - RPG Subgenre: Shooter It is most certainly a shooter. But unlike other games with "RPG elements" Level progression isn't a tacked on feature. You are required to level up to use weapons/armor/etc as well as to complete the main story and side quests. Is the general populous in agreeance? Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: techwizard on July 29, 2014, 06:45:14 PM Genre: Puzzle Subgenre: Action, Trajectory Also: Art - The game is about making works of art! - Mario Paint, Art Academy, Color a Dinosaur, Inchworm Animation, ACME Animation Studio Editing - Arranging video and audio. - The Sega CD Music Video Creator Games Move from Simulator to Non-game genre? EDIT ALSO! Borderlands Genre - RPG Subgenre: Shooter It is most certainly a shooter. But unlike other games with "RPG elements" Level progression isn't a tacked on feature. You are required to level up to use weapons/armor/etc as well as to complete the main story and side quests. Is the general populous in agreeance? i second this, borderlands is to me an RPG first, shooter second. especially with things like the unlockable character bonuses that improve things like weapon accuracy and damage. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on September 03, 2014, 11:45:27 PM Homebrew has been sorted. Standby for deletion.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on September 05, 2014, 03:25:37 PM On a semi-related note, some approvers have been adding Titles with "A" at the beginning and not properly formatting them as ", A". I recall fixing them before but now there's more in the DB. For shame.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on September 05, 2014, 04:40:23 PM I'm not sure if this belongs here, but would it be possible to standardize the publisher "RetroZone"? It's entered Retrozone, RetroZone, and RetroUSB. I believe that they are changing their branding over to just RetroUSB, but I'm not sure if that is what they should all be changed to.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on September 05, 2014, 05:23:54 PM On a semi-related note, some approvers have been adding Titles with "A" at the beginning and not properly formatting them as ", A". I recall fixing them before but now there's more in the DB. For shame. I saw one example you changed, and wasn't sure about that, considering it's part of the pun for the title. "A Mazing", to me, shouldn't be "Mazing, A" Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on September 05, 2014, 09:33:44 PM I saw one example you changed, and wasn't sure about that, considering it's part of the pun for the title. Ah, I wasn't sure about that myself. I'll change it back. It's tough to make the call sometimes. There's some foreign titles with "A " that I have to look into how to do."A Mazing", to me, shouldn't be "Mazing, A" I'm not sure if this belongs here, but would it be possible to standardize the publisher "RetroZone"? It's entered Retrozone, RetroZone, and RetroUSB. I believe that they are changing their branding over to just RetroUSB, but I'm not sure if that is what they should all be changed to. I'll take care of them. This thread might as well be a DB tip line for stuff like this too.Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on September 06, 2014, 11:24:06 AM Well wouldn't the older stuff still be in as RetroZone and newer stuff be RetroUSB?
I would assume they have their branding somewhere on the product. Your not going to go back and make Pac-Man on NES Namco Bandai Games are you? Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on September 06, 2014, 02:54:33 PM ...or, for that matter izret, it's Namco Bandai outside JP and Bandai Namco inside JP...
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: SirPsycho on September 06, 2014, 03:03:49 PM My Tales of Xillia 2 says Bandai Namco.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on September 06, 2014, 05:01:49 PM [img width=550 height=779]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-115/bb/U-115-S-08400-A.jpg[/img]
Logo says "Bandai Namco", but as you can clearly see, the Publisher listed on the back is NAMCO BANDAI Games America. Same with the Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate copy that was released last week. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on September 06, 2014, 07:05:05 PM To be clear, I only fixed the capitalization. Publisher name of course shouldn't be updated if the company changes its name later on.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on September 07, 2014, 10:46:28 AM Progress update: The Adult Genre is almost done. There's only Japanese titles left. The vast majority of these should be Adult Visual Novels. Edutainment still has to be renamed. That's about it. Before we move on to part two, I'll look through the thread once more to fix the games/series people wanted changed.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: SirPsycho on September 07, 2014, 02:19:48 PM I just checked the entirety of my Tales of Xillia 2 copy and it doesn't say Namco Bandai anywhere on it. Everywhere the company is listed it is labeled as the reverse, Bandai Namco. Even the inside sleeve with the warranty information lists the company as Bandai Namco Games America Inc. multiple times. Either they're flip flopping the name or there's a misprint somewhere.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on September 07, 2014, 02:38:10 PM Must be a 2014 change then - it was Namco Bandai on the 2013 Tales of Xillia.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: SirPsycho on September 07, 2014, 02:53:49 PM Maybe they're going for uniformity since the logo could be seen as confusing to people?
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on September 07, 2014, 03:53:04 PM The logo's always been Bandai Namco, but it was carried over as Namco Bandai due to how the Japanese was translated. The same's the case with Koei Tecmo, as it's Tecmo Koei outside of Japan right now. Likely, they're fixing the translation issue now that the merger has been finalized and they can change their legal name to match the logo.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on September 07, 2014, 05:52:56 PM I thought I heard recently that they went global with Bandia Namco in all territories for uniformity of brand. I don't recall where and am too lazy to look for a source, but it's worth looking into.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: ApolloBoy on September 08, 2014, 05:13:23 PM Logo says "Bandai Namco", but as you can clearly see, the Publisher listed on the back is NAMCO BANDAI Games America. Same with the Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate copy that was released last week. I just use "Bandai Namco Games" to keep everything consistent in the DB.Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on September 08, 2014, 05:21:29 PM "Bandai Namco Games Inc. (BNGI) (株式会社バンダイナムコゲームス Kabushiki Gaisha Bandai Namuko Gēmusu?) is an arcade, mobile and home video game publisher, based in Japan. The company also publishes video, music and other entertainment products related to its video game IPs. It is the product of a merger between the video game development divisions of Bandai and Namco. Originally referred to in the West as Namco Bandai Games, the company was internationally renamed as Bandai Namco Games in January 2014.[3]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandai_Namco_Games I would assume the rebranding would be potential cause for variants. Should be easy enough to correct the mistakes since anything before 2014 would be Namco Bandai. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: ApolloBoy on September 24, 2014, 12:44:57 AM I don't know if I've said this before, but I'm actually rather pissed off that the "Breakout/Pong" genre is gone. Anyone else with me?
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on September 24, 2014, 12:51:14 AM I liked that genre and the idea of Maze for the Pacman style games and its clones.
I think many of the "classics" could get lumped into their own genres safely and pulled out of Action/Adventure catch all. Breakout/Pong could eliminate thousands and thousands of titles from Action. Maze too. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on September 24, 2014, 03:31:50 AM There weren't that many titles in it when I sorted it. Everything's gonna be a lot tidier when we sort act/adv anyway.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: ApolloBoy on September 29, 2014, 03:19:46 PM There weren't that many titles in it when I sorted it. Everything's gonna be a lot tidier when we sort act/adv anyway. There were still a number of titles that belonged to that genre, and it also makes zero sense for Pong-like games such as Video Olympics to be counted as "Action/Adventure". If nobody has strong objections, I'd like to reinstate the "Breakout/Pong" genre and fix all the titles that used to be under that genre.Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on September 29, 2014, 04:40:04 PM I know Pong isn't Action/Adventure. It's there temporarily. Part two of the restructuring is going to focus on the Act/Adv Genre only. It needs to be separated into 3 separate Genres: Action, Adventure and Action/Adventure.
Action: Games of reflex and reaction and the such. Pong goes here. Adventure: Interactive stories. Point n clicks etc. Action/Adventure: combines elements of both like Zelda, Beyond Good & Evil etc. When it gets divided, Pong and breakout easily fit as subgenres under the Action Genre. Please understand. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: ApolloBoy on September 29, 2014, 05:28:50 PM Please understand. Still not buying it.Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on September 29, 2014, 07:56:54 PM I don't know what else to tell ya. But if we make breakout/pong a genre again, we can make one for a bunch of other subgenres like survival horror, fps, etc. I'm not against it but we need to decide as a whole what we want to do.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on September 29, 2014, 09:32:37 PM I'm with Flee on this one...
Pong and Breakout are Subgenres of Action, much like Survival Horror can be. GameFAQs even lists Pong under Action->General. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on September 29, 2014, 10:56:41 PM Repeated reference of other websites to support decisions made here isn't exactly a great working platform.
Copy pasting info from source to source is part of the reason why when something is wrong in one place it is wrong every place. That and the broad generalizations and super generic info used on many websites. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on September 30, 2014, 12:09:56 AM Alright, so there's no definitive source for how game genres are classified. I'd say that leaves it up to the community to decide. I really think that's best. Wikipedia is super broad with their genres and TOO detailed with Subgenres IMO. They have shooters as a subgenre of action and other things that don't match up with how our Genres are divided. So that leaves us at what we were doing before: I try my best to organize everything and we take tally for any changes or updates.
Speaking of change: The Shooter Genre is the other Genre that is extremely bloated. I think it could be split in two. Something like Shoot em' Up and Shooter. Shoot em up can be for games that usually have movement on 2D planes and Shooter is for 3D planes. The exceptions: Isometric and Light Gun goes in Shooter and Run n Gun stays in Action. A little complicated but it's just an idea. Let me know what you think. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: techwizard on September 30, 2014, 01:44:22 AM i'm with those saying pong/breakout should be a sub-genre, not it's own genre. otherwise if that was it's own genre then there would be other things that didn't make sense like a "Doom" genre with all FPS in it.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on September 30, 2014, 09:26:06 AM Ultimately, it's up to you guys.
Yes, izret, I'm aware that copy/pasting information around the net is what leads to bad information ending up everywhere. I just wanted to point out that it can technically fall under Action as a Subgenre, but unlike movies, games don't have definitive Genre/Subgenres yet, even amongst Microsoft and Sony when it comes to what they offer for publishers. Pong/Breakout doesn't technically belong any of the STANDARD Genres except Action. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: ApolloBoy on October 02, 2014, 10:56:40 AM i'm with those saying pong/breakout should be a sub-genre, not it's own genre. otherwise if that was it's own genre then there would be other things that didn't make sense like a "Doom" genre with all FPS in it. On that note, Izret did propose a separate genre for FPSes, which is great considering they're lumped in with things like SHMUPs and light gun shooters.Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: techwizard on October 03, 2014, 12:00:40 AM i'm with those saying pong/breakout should be a sub-genre, not it's own genre. otherwise if that was it's own genre then there would be other things that didn't make sense like a "Doom" genre with all FPS in it. On that note, Izret did propose a separate genre for FPSes, which is great considering they're lumped in with things like SHMUPs and light gun shooters.i feel like that wouldn't be as big a problem if sub-genre was a dropdown filter in the database search just like genre. then in searches you could narrow it down to which specific type of shooter you were looking for. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on October 03, 2014, 04:59:50 AM An approver removed "party brawler" as a subgenre from both my smash bros game additions. Party brawler is in the guide and nobody has said a thing about it. They instead got submitted as "Vs". "Vs" makes absolutely no sense to me. Of course you're versing, it's a fighting game. "Vs" does nothing to define the gameplay. Stop using it.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on October 03, 2014, 06:48:30 AM Console Region Title Database Type Submitter Approver Date
3DS North America Super Smash Bros. For Nintendo 3DS Games Page Edit Flee Flee 2014-10-3 05:55:28 3DS North America Super Smash Bros. For Nintendo 3DS Games Variation Addition Flee ApolloBoy 2014-10-2 21:49:11 Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on October 03, 2014, 08:57:00 AM i'm with those saying pong/breakout should be a sub-genre, not it's own genre. otherwise if that was it's own genre then there would be other things that didn't make sense like a "Doom" genre with all FPS in it. On that note, Izret did propose a separate genre for FPSes, which is great considering they're lumped in with things like SHMUPs and light gun shooters.i feel like that wouldn't be as big a problem if sub-genre was a dropdown filter in the database search just like genre. then in searches you could narrow it down to which specific type of shooter you were looking for. That's the intent, if we can narrow down things. Right now, it's too much in transition. Also, why did you submit to the queue rather than directly using your staff permissions? Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on October 03, 2014, 08:39:48 PM Also, why did you submit to the queue rather than directly using your staff permissions? I didn't notice I had the option to "Add" rather than "Submit" now. D'oh. Thanks for that. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on October 03, 2014, 08:42:17 PM You can also submit directly from the game info page.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on October 06, 2014, 02:15:24 AM Semi-related database question: How should we write out titles with multiple games? There's no consistency in the DB.
Mario/Duck Hunt Mario / Duck Hunt I was doing the first but the second looks cleaner. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: ApolloBoy on October 06, 2014, 12:50:37 PM The second method is better.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on October 06, 2014, 01:53:49 PM I concur.
EDIT Like everything i am sure there will be exceptions though. Don't always assume a / needs spaces in front and behind. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on October 06, 2014, 03:07:34 PM Sure, if a title is visibly written a certain way, a / can go where the packaging says. To be clear I'm talking solely about games that have multiple titles with nothing in between. Titles with '+' or '&' or '-' are just written out that way of course.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on October 06, 2014, 03:17:41 PM Getting off-topic, but many games artificially have ":" or "-" in their titles. Just sayin'...
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on October 06, 2014, 03:36:19 PM That's another thing we need a consensus on. If a title has a subtitle in it, should we add a colon even if it's not present on the packaging? I say we should, just cause it looks cleaner.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Boshamp on October 06, 2014, 03:40:10 PM I would agree that it looks cleaner and should be done. But if it is, we would still want to make sure the search system can work without it. So if someone searches for Baten Kaitos Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean instead of searching for the same title with the added ":", it doesn't come up showing "No Results" if they leave the ":" out.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on October 06, 2014, 03:41:43 PM Aware I need to fix the search. Don't worry about the title breaking it.
It SHOULD be a simple fix, but the PHP method changed and I need to look into it before modifying it. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Boshamp on October 06, 2014, 04:04:58 PM I noticed some titles work around the search issue by having multiple Alternative titles. Is that not the correct method for addressing the issue with the search specifics?
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on October 06, 2014, 04:33:20 PM For now, that works...
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on November 03, 2014, 07:58:29 PM Warioware fixed. Homebrew still has to be deleted.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on November 03, 2014, 10:30:12 PM Also a reminder to myself, in step two we need to look into and discuss:
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on November 05, 2014, 03:30:31 PM Adult has been sorted and I need a cold shower.
At this point we need Homebrew and Adult deleted and Edutainment renamed to Education. Waiting on staff. ;D Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on November 05, 2014, 05:02:36 PM I'll do it today. No pun intended.
Also, Homebrew Adult Edutainment seems like a depressing genre. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on November 05, 2014, 06:59:18 PM Homebrew Adult Edutainment could be an exciting genre should you have one (or more) willing participant(s).
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on November 06, 2014, 04:14:13 PM Just wanted to mention it didn't get done last night, but not due to lack of want. The university changed their policy and blocked ports on their guest Wi-Fi, so I couldn't even log into work let alone RFGen. I'll try to get the credentials I need for tonight.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on November 06, 2014, 08:32:19 PM 1590 Edutainment titles? Damn.
All done, sir. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on November 07, 2014, 02:22:23 AM Great, thanks! I'll start up the next part soon. Some research needs to be done first.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Ack on November 07, 2014, 09:30:16 AM I have a question about the genre list, mainly about a few that I consider "traditional games" but am unsure of the subgenre they would fit in. What sort of subgenres would be applied to games like Shanghai(or other Mahjongg games), Go, or Chess? Chess in particular interests me because you mentioned it specifically in the description of the Strategy genre.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on November 07, 2014, 09:41:50 AM Genre: Game Simulator
Subgenre: Board Game Fairly certain on that one, but I'll let Flee confirm. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on November 07, 2014, 10:21:37 PM Yeah, Game Sim is a fit for pretty much any video games simulating tabletop games. The chess comment does bring up a question of weather a chess video game should be Strategy or Game Sim, but I'm sticking with Game Sim for all board games regardless of the gameplay elements. I think for the sake of tidiness, this is a good idea.
Updated guide to be clear on this. ...Now I'm off to go check if any of the chess games in the DB are under Strategy. (I bet there are) Update: There are a ton. There's even one under Sports. We might need some opinions on what stays in or out of this Genre. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on November 08, 2014, 10:35:08 AM It's a Board Game, so leave it under Game Simulator. No need to muck with the type of Board Game.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on January 12, 2015, 12:54:36 AM Genre Restructuring Part 2: Electric Boogaloo We still have a few things to address, namely Act/Adv. Wikipedia has some good genre definitions but it does state that they're also not universally agreed upon and broad. Nonetheless I think it's still a good idea to break up some of the genres to not have all the entries lumped up into the same ones. So I'm proposing the following guidelines, starting in this post with Action and Adventure. Action Adventure Doing away with the idea of having "Action/Adventure" encompass this huge area of games. Instead "Action Adventure" is now referring to a wide genre that includes both action and adventure elements but doesn't include pure action or pure adventure games. This can be challenging to organize at times but I feel that it's important to have for organizing purposes. Action Adventure games engage both reflexes and problem-solving, in both violent and non-violent situations. They may require many of the same physical skills as action games, but also offer a storyline, numerous characters, an inventory system, dialogue, and other features of adventure games. Examples include Zelda, God of War, Tomb Raider, Beyond Good and Evil, Resident Evil, Hitman, GTA etc. Subgenres: First Person Third Person Survival Horror Sandbox Stealth In a nutshell, the game should have actiony, reaction time based gameplay but also have adventure elements with problem solving, inventory, NPCs, text and stories that influence your gameplay experience. Action Pure action games have gameplay based on real-time interactions that challenge the reflexes. There can be some text, story, or NPCs but they are never the main focus. (Think Mario 64 or Banjo Kazooie- if those small Adventure elements weren't there, the gameplay style wouldn't change.) Subgenres: Beat'Em Up Hack N' Slash Swipe N' Slice Snake Run N' Gun Platformer Maze Action Puzzle Trajectory Breakout Pong In a nutshell, reaction time or reflex games, story elements are non-existent or there to provide context and not deepen the gameplay. Adventure Pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve, with very little or no action. If there is action, it is generally confined to isolated minigames. The gameplay revolves around the story elements. Subgenres: Point & Click Choose Your Own Adventure Visual Novel Text Interactive Video In a nutshell, games that require textual problem solving. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on January 12, 2015, 01:06:50 AM I would argue Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie have more of a story line than Limbo does.
Technically Limbo has no story... ;) Also Limbo is a 2d sidescrolling puzzle platformer. So if you DO want it in Action/Adventure you need at least platformer as a subgenre. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on January 12, 2015, 01:11:16 AM Addressing the Strategy RPG dilemma, I think we need to keep it under the RPG Genre since the only real thing that makes it a contender for the Strategy genre is the way you move around the battlefield and how the story progresses.
Tactical RPG This RPG subgenre incorporates strategic gameplay such as tactical movement on an isometric grid. A distinct difference between tactical RPGs and traditional RPGs is the lack of exploration. Tactical RPGs instead emphasis on battle strategy. Usually the game will hop you from battle area to battle area with prep sequences in between. Examples: Fire Emblem Shining Series Langrisser Master of Monsters Ogre Battle Vandal Hearts Guardian War Final Fantasy Tactics Sakura Wars Disgaea Project X Zone Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on January 12, 2015, 01:16:49 AM Just curious how far off this differs from other sources...are we starting to wander off too far, or is there other information we could use as a modifier instead?
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on January 12, 2015, 01:17:02 AM ^Disgaea?^
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on January 12, 2015, 01:19:04 AM Technically Limbo has no story... ;) You're right, it should be in action, my bad.Also Limbo is a 2d sidescrolling puzzle platformer. So if you DO want it in Action/Adventure you need at least platformer as a subgenre. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on January 12, 2015, 01:24:34 AM Just curious how far off this differs from other sources...are we starting to wander off too far, or is there other information we could use as a modifier instead? Most of this is pretty much Wikipedia content I agreed with. The pages all pointed out that it's still up for debate though. One of the things I changed was having a platforming adventure subgenre under Act/Adv which I think needlessly complicates things.^Disgaea?^ AddedTitle: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on January 12, 2015, 01:35:21 AM Alright. I know Genres are still a hotly-debated topic in games, unlike movies.
If it helps, Genres are now specified upon submission for Microsoft and Sony consoles when they're submitted to first-party, though they haven't standardized across the two (which makes no sense to me). Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on January 12, 2015, 01:58:14 AM The third and hopefully last item is that of the Shooter Genre's bloatedness. The way it works right now is if the main thing you do is shoot, in it goes (with the exception of Run N Gun which is under Action because of large gameplay differences) So I'm going to propose a split that divides the classic styled ones from the modern.
Shoot 'Em Up In a shoot 'em up, the player character engages in a lone assault, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. Games may include player characters on foot and a variety of perspectives. Shoot 'em ups call for fast reactions and for the player to memorize levels and enemy attack patterns. Subgenres: Vertical Horizontal Single Screen or "Fixed" Bullet Hell Tube Rail Shooter Light Gun 3D Shooter The genre of shooting games commonly associated with the first person shooter. This genre extends to other non-classic shooting games and are usually more realistic. Subgenres: First Person Third Person Tactical Arial Combat Naval Mech Let me know what you think! Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on January 12, 2015, 02:29:49 AM Cute 'em up?
WTF does that even mean?!?! EDIT Looked it up. No just no. That is not a real subgenre. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on January 12, 2015, 02:34:22 AM Cute 'em up? But how could you possibly say no to this?WTF does that even mean?!?! EDIT Looked it up. No just no. That is not a real subgenre. [img width=700 height=395]http://i.imgur.com/Am4D4xg.png[/img] If it really bothers you I can take it off. Wouldn't be a big deal. ;D Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on January 12, 2015, 02:36:42 AM All the others are descriptive of how the game actually plays.
"Cute 'em up" is a shitty reference to the characters art style only. I clearly should go to sleep because it offends me much more than it should lol EDIT lol you removed it before i posted. EDIT2 Any examples of "3D" Shmups? Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: techwizard on January 12, 2015, 02:38:13 AM i don't see any glaring issues with your recent updates, keep up the good work! i'm sure action/adventure will never stop being debated, but i like the way you're going with it.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on January 12, 2015, 02:41:12 AM Any examples of "3D" Shmups? Starfox, Wing Commander, Star Wars Arcadei don't see any glaring issues with your recent updates, keep up the good work! i'm sure action/adventure will never stop being debated, but i like the way you're going with it. TY!Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: SirPsycho on January 12, 2015, 09:05:52 AM Panzer Dragoon!
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shadow Kisuragi on January 12, 2015, 11:26:58 AM Cute 'em Up is an actual legit subgenre, though it's mainly centered around Japan. I don't think it should exist in our database though (too specific).
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on January 12, 2015, 11:48:20 AM "Cute 'em ups" feature brightly coloured graphics depicting surreal settings and enemies.[7] Newer, particularly Japanese, cute 'em ups may employ overtly sexual characters and innuendo.[26] Cute 'em ups tend to have unusual, oftentimes completely bizarre opponents for the player to fight, with the Parodius franchise being a perfect example.
That is not a description of genre it is the description of an art style. "Hmmm that game is cel shaded. Lets call it a Cel 'em up" "Three D 'em up" "Black 'n' white 'em up" "Spaceship 'em up" "Alien Spaceship 'em up" "Blow up the aliens intestinal tract 'em up" "Hide behind destructible shields 'em up" Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: MaterialHandlerMike on January 13, 2015, 11:07:29 PM "Blow up the aliens intestinal tract 'em up"= Abadox?
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on January 13, 2015, 11:28:30 PM THE DEADLY INNER WAR!
Loved that game :P Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on January 13, 2015, 11:35:25 PM <old man rant>I don't like that games that were traditionally always called "shooters" have now been bumped to "shoot 'em ups" because FPS games have become more prevalent.</old man rant>
It's not a battle I am willing to fight, though. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on January 13, 2015, 11:39:38 PM Any suggestion on better terminology?
I agree with you but Classic Shooters vs Modern Shooters seems too wordy for a genre... OR DOES IT!?!?!? EDIT Yeah i guess it still wouldn't be great. Things like Duke Nukem and Wolfenstien in Modern vs something like Otomodious Excellent in Classic would probably increase confusion from an outsider looking in(or new user) perspective. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on January 13, 2015, 11:44:30 PM I feel ya. But I couldn't think of any other naming convention that makes sense. If anyone has better names then go ahead. We also have the option of just leaving the whole genre by itself. Problems tend to rise up when you take what was originally a subgenre of Action and make it its own thing.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on January 13, 2015, 11:47:40 PM I agree with you but Classic Shooters vs Modern Shooters seems too wordy for a genre... Yeah i guess it still wouldn't be great. Things like Duke Nukem and Wolfenstien in Modern vs something like Otomodious Excellent in Classic would probably increase confusion from an outsider looking in(or new user) perspective. Yeah, classic and modern is a bad idea because games aren't just new and old, it's a whole spectrum. Same thing goes for "Arcade" as a subgenre. There are things like DDR, Hydro Thunder etc. that are arcade games. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Izret101 on January 13, 2015, 11:51:43 PM No i certainly like the division.
Asteroids, Missile Command, Gradius, Rtype are all shooters Call of Duty, Halo, Battlefield, Borderlands are all shooters The definition of Shooters is just SO broad. I think you've done a great job splitting "classic" style versus "modern" style Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on February 20, 2015, 11:33:40 PM Ok, so it seems the changes sat well with most.
Also: Action/Adventure renamed to "Action Adventure" for better clarity. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 26, 2015, 03:20:17 AM Note to Shadow: When this goes down, just make three new Genres ("Action Adventure", "Action", "Adventure") instead of making two and renaming one. This will help greatly because that way we can just sort and completely empty out "Action/Adventure". Also this is going to take forever so don't bother making "Shoot 'Em Up" yet.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shepy on December 09, 2015, 11:37:50 PM Bump. This was a good idea.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Shepy on December 13, 2015, 12:42:36 AM How would you classify Clu Clu Land?
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on December 13, 2015, 01:44:38 AM How would you classify Clu Clu Land? The internet is telling me it's primarily a Puzzle game so that's the Genre. It's definitely an Action Puzzle game by looking at gameplay. That would be the subgenre.Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on February 19, 2018, 12:20:22 AM make three new Genres ("Action-Adventure", "Action", "Adventure") instead of making two and renaming one. This will help greatly because that way we can just sort and completely empty out "Action/Adventure". Still waiting on this and the Shoot 'Em Up genre. :^) Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: MetalFRO on February 19, 2018, 09:23:29 AM Any suggestion on better terminology? I agree with you but Classic Shooters vs Modern Shooters seems too wordy for a genre... OR DOES IT!?!?!? EDIT Yeah i guess it still wouldn't be great. Things like Duke Nukem and Wolfenstien in Modern vs something like Otomodious Excellent in Classic would probably increase confusion from an outsider looking in(or new user) perspective. Or get more specific, i.e. First-Person Shooter (Wolfenstein), Scrolling Shooter (Gradius), Third-Person Shooter (Gears of War). Perhaps those could be the sub-genre, with "Shooter" being the primary genre. It'd be nice to be able to search the database with that level of specificity. I would love to be able to pull out all of the shmups and have a master list to help me with my collection efforts for that particular type of game. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on February 19, 2018, 01:17:39 PM Or get more specific, i.e. First-Person Shooter (Wolfenstein), Scrolling Shooter (Gradius), Third-Person Shooter (Gears of War). Perhaps those could be the sub-genre, with "Shooter" being the primary genre. That’s what the database is currently like. Except classic shooters are also lumped into the genre. That’s what is going to be alleviated by making a separate Shoot em Up genre for more arcadey games.Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on February 19, 2018, 08:03:02 PM Ugh. I hate the term shoot 'em up. Now that I have that out of my system - carry on.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on February 20, 2018, 01:29:12 AM "Classic Shooter" and "Shooter" might be better naming options now that I think about it.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on February 20, 2018, 01:51:02 AM Also, I'd advocate for segmenting Act/Adv even more. Action is such a large genre and we already have subgenres of it like Rythm and shooter as genres. Why not go for broke?
I think making Platformer and Survival Horror genres would be a good choice. Thoughts? Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Schlibby on February 24, 2018, 12:00:30 PM Platformer is definitely a good one.
Survival horror I would probably class as a sub genre of action/adventure in most cases. I often think simple arcade games could do with their own genre too. Stuff like Mario Bros, frogger, pac-man etc don’t seem to particularly fit the categories already there Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on February 24, 2018, 12:49:59 PM Those all fit the Action genre, as most arcade games do.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on March 10, 2018, 02:42:37 AM Ok, let's keep this project rolling. Please address any concerns or suggestions with the following list. I'm hoping this will get implemented after the leadership change is all nice and settled. Here's a breakdown of the Genres:
Current Staying Genres Compilation Demo Education Fighting Fitness Game Creator Game Simulator Rhythm Non-Game Puzzle Racing RPG Shooter Simulator Sports Strategy Genres to be Added Action-Adventure Action Adventure Platform (Adding these to the DB will help divvy up the extremely bloated Act/Adv Genre. It will take quite some time to sort through Act/Adv and empty it into these 4 but I think it will be worth it.) Classic Shooter (Now, most sites do not go this route, but I think dividing the Shooter genre into two distinct ones will help specify the gameplay as this genre as a whole has very much evolved over the years. Classic Shooters will consist of third person shmup-like games, run n guns and pretty much all 2D and top down shooters. Shooter will keep first and third person shooters, anything realistically military based, survival, and mechs.) Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on March 10, 2018, 02:57:03 AM Also, I've been throwing around the ideas of Survival and Sandbox. The problem is, categorizing some of these games can be tricky. I'd place Rust in Survival, but Minecraft could be both. As for PUBG and Fortnite, I'd keep them as shooters with the Subgenre of Battle Royal. I also think the amount of games don't justify their own Genre yet. These decisions could come later though. I really just want to settle the previous post because it's been sat on for a couple years now.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on March 10, 2018, 03:59:57 PM OK, trying to get caught up with this. Action/Adventure already exists, but I see where you are going with the other additions. I think I would prefer "Platformer" over "Platform," but that may just be me. Can you describe to me a situation that would clearly call for a division of "Action" or "Adventure" instead of the combination?
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on March 10, 2018, 06:58:18 PM Can you describe to me a situation that would clearly call for a division of "Action" or "Adventure" instead of the combination? The fact that Pong and Monkey Island are currently in the same all-encompassing genre is telling me we should be more specific. Pure action games are basically arcade games where you move around without much in the way of story based game mechanics. Adventure games cover text adventures, point and click, walking simulators, visual novels and the like. Action-Adventure are games that draw heavily from both genres. GTA, Zelda, survival horror games and many more fit here.Action/Adventure already exists I know, it's just that creating a new genre is going to make the process of reviewing everything in the current Act/Adv and sorting it to the proper genre, eventually emptying it and deleting it simpler. You could suggest to not move Act/Adv games from their current spot but if I take several days to do this (which is most likely the case) it's going to be easier to pick up where I left off. I hope you get what I mean, I know my words can be a little convoluted. :laugh:I think I would prefer "Platformer" over "Platform," I really don't mind. Wikipedia says Platform is the actual name and Platformer is the alternative but I can see both.Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: MetalFRO on March 13, 2018, 01:13:20 PM Classic Shooter (Now, most sites do not go this route, but I think dividing the Shooter genre into two distinct ones will help specify the gameplay as this genre as a whole has very much evolved over the years. Classic Shooters will consist of third person shmup-like games, run n guns and pretty much all 2D and top down shooters. Shooter will keep first and third person shooters, anything realistically military based, survival, and mechs.) As a connoisseur of shmups and all things classic shooty bang bang pew pew, I thank you. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on March 13, 2018, 07:29:08 PM You've answered my questions, Fleabitten, and I see where you're going. If you want to take on this project and see it through, go for it.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on March 13, 2018, 09:50:12 PM Sounds good, thank you for the feedback everyone and thanks Duke.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on April 15, 2018, 02:47:46 AM Made some big revisions to go along with new genres. Remember discussion is always open for any disagreements.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Raidou on May 01, 2018, 12:04:07 PM A couple of suggestions regarding Sports subgenres:
-change "Soccer/Football" to just "Soccer". It looks neater, and having a subgenre with a "/" in it is visually confusing when "/' are also used to separate subgenres. Also the term, "Soccer", is common enough that people know it even if they live in a country where soccer is the principle football code. -add "Australian Football" to the guide as this sport is prone to inconsistent naming. "Australian Football" is the sport's formal title but it is generally called Australian Rules, Aussie Rules or some variation thereof (when it isn't called football, footy or AFL). Also, minor point, but "Titles using foreign alphabets should be translated and used as the main title" should be "Titles using foreign alphabets should be transliterated and used as the main title". Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on June 04, 2018, 01:42:00 AM A couple of suggestions regarding Sports subgenres: Noted and I'll update to reflect soon.Now I'd like to pose the question: Rail Shooters, Classic or Regular? Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Raidou on June 04, 2018, 05:23:50 PM Aren't on-rail shooters always lightgun (or faux-lightgun)?
the only game I can think of that's on-rail that doesn't use a lightgun (or lightgun substitute) is Star Wars Kinect, and that's only because the kinect is a faux-lightsabre rather than a faux-lightgun. Regarding the "Shooter" genre, I think it needs to be renamed (Modern-Shooter? Free-Roaming Shooter?) as I have seen a few submissions that used the "Shooter" genre instead of "Classic Shooter". Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on June 05, 2018, 12:21:47 AM Aren't on-rail shooters always lightgun (or faux-lightgun)? Nope, Starfox, Sin and Punishment, Pokemon Snap and GalGun to name a few are considered Rail Shooters.Quote Regarding the "Shooter" genre, I think it needs to be renamed (Modern-Shooter? Free-Roaming Shooter?) I see your point but I don't know if it would make sense to call Wolfenstein 3D "Modern". I feel that calling modern shoot em ups "Classic" in genre makes more sense. I don't feel the same for modern rail shooters, thus the question I'm posing. Quote as I have seen a few submissions that used the "Shooter" genre instead of "Classic Shooter". It's an early work in progress. Very few games have been brought over to Classic which should be there. Plus, people are still submitting and approving to erroneous genres.Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on June 05, 2018, 09:25:32 PM Now I'd like to pose the question: Rail Shooters, Classic or Regular? I'm afraid I don't understand the question. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on June 05, 2018, 11:10:52 PM Now I'd like to pose the question: Rail Shooters, Classic or Regular? I'm afraid I don't understand the question. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on June 06, 2018, 02:57:51 PM I wouldn’t say that Rail Shooters constituted a genre on its own.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on June 06, 2018, 03:55:29 PM That's not really what I'm implying. I'm asking if it should be Classic Shooter or Shooter.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on June 06, 2018, 07:40:03 PM Now I get it... you have to speak slowly to your elders sometimes. ;)
I'd put it under Shooter, as I don't think it fits with the idea of classic scrolling shooters. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Raidou on June 15, 2018, 07:31:11 AM Question:
Do the Blood Bowl games count as "Sport", "Strategy" or "Game Simulator"? People tend top categorise it as Sport, but it's based on the miniature board game by Games Workshop. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on June 16, 2018, 12:14:50 AM That's a good question. The "Game Sim" genre is specific to our site, as far as I know. It basically exists to easily categorize a number of games that have analog equivalents. (which I find useful and am definitely for keeping around) There are however many instances of these games fitting into better defined genres. e.g.: D&D to RPG, Risk to Strategy. Keeping that in mind, I'd put Blood Bowl down as a Strategy game; especially since typical sports games are generally more geared towards action/simulation of a real-world sport.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Raidou on July 08, 2018, 03:36:25 AM Suggestion:
The "Tube" subgenre should be renamed to something like "Planar" or "Fixed Plane 3D". "Tube" is used to describe Tempest, however, there are a few games that use this gameplay style but often on a flat plane. For example, Hyper Void and Polybius do have tube sections but a lot of the action is on a flat plane. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Schlibby on July 08, 2018, 06:00:19 AM Why is "Demo" a genre? We already have demo as a release type and it gets added as a variant title. Surely the genre would always be either compilation for a multi game demo or the genre of the game its demoing for one game.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on July 08, 2018, 11:17:04 AM Why is "Demo" a genre? We already have demo as a release type and it gets added as a variant title. Surely the genre would always be either compilation for a multi game demo or the genre of the game its demoing for one game. Some software is literally just demonstrations - no gameplay. I can't think of any for a console, but can for computers. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Schlibby on July 08, 2018, 01:30:24 PM Why is "Demo" a genre? We already have demo as a release type and it gets added as a variant title. Surely the genre would always be either compilation for a multi game demo or the genre of the game its demoing for one game. Some software is literally just demonstrations - no gameplay. I can't think of any for a console, but can for computers. Wouldn’t the genre in that case then be non-game. And video demo (or similar) as sub genre Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on July 08, 2018, 05:23:45 PM I've always thought it was excessive to have Demo as a Genre, Release Type and Variation Title. I think we'd be fine getting rid of the Demo genre, as we'd still track which is which internally via release type and through the search bar via variation title. Genre is supposed to indicate gameplay, after all.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Raidou on August 01, 2018, 03:53:58 AM This guide is pretty good, but I think it would be improved by including more examples for major series, as people get confused which category a game series falls under. Yes, that includes myself at times.
For example, submitters will categorise Mega Man games as "Platformer (2d)", "Action (Run n Gun)" or "Shooter". Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on August 11, 2018, 05:40:38 PM I've always thought it was excessive to have Demo as a Genre, Release Type and Variation Title. I think we'd be fine getting rid of the Demo genre, as we'd still track which is which internally via release type and through the search bar via variation title. Genre is supposed to indicate gameplay, after all. I'm fine with getting rid of the Demo genre as long as the edits are made to switch the release type if appropriate. This guide is pretty good, but I think it would be improved by including more examples for major series, as people get confused which category a game series falls under. Yes, that includes myself at times. For example, submitters will categorise Mega Man games as "Platformer (2d)", "Action (Run n Gun)" or "Shooter". I always think this is helpful. Feel free to add them to the wiki. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Schlibby on August 11, 2018, 05:59:26 PM Ok. I’ll look to getting rid of the demo genre on all entries currently using it. Then it can be deleted as a genre.
Might take a while though. But of a long term goal Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on August 22, 2018, 12:18:57 AM Going back to the Rail Shooters shouldn't be Classic Shooters question, there's a bit of vagueness to be addressed. First of all, many light gun shooters (still under classic) use a on-rails gameplay, especially later arcade ports like House of the Dead. I think leaving light gun games out of Classic would be the least messiest option. I know Duck Hunt is classic by all means but we're going to have to draw lines somewhere. Come to think of it, we have Starfox defined as a classic shooter, yet it's basically on rails, albeit primarily 3rd person. (I still think we should have gone with Shmup and put only scrolling/top down shooters there but whatever.) Anyone care to weigh in on this?
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on August 22, 2018, 10:24:45 PM I think light guns fall under the Classic heading as light gun games and the tech are classic, not the games themselves per se.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Raidou on August 27, 2018, 10:23:52 AM Going back to the Rail Shooters shouldn't be Classic Shooters question, there's a bit of vagueness to be addressed. There's a lot of vagueness. The vagueness seems to come from where the turning point is between the mechanics that define the "Classic Shooter" and the "[modern] Shooter". I've generally used the concept of free movement to differentiate the two (which itself isn't perfect, as there are some old school arcade games with full movement). From that perspective, I don't have qualms about having on-rail light gun games as "Classic Shooters", as they are essentially shooting galleries that move from time to time. I think leaving light gun games out of Classic would be the least messiest option. I know Duck Hunt is classic by all means but we're going to have to draw lines somewhere. It's not just Duck Hunt-- you'd be pretty much taking out most of the Shooting Gallery games out of the Classic Shooter genre. Personally, I think that any game with "Light Gun" listed as a subgenre must be accompanied with another subgenre (usually "On-Rails" or "Shooting Gallery"). For example: House of the Dead = On-Rails Light Gun Point Blank = Shooting Gallery Light Gun Vampire Night 2= On-Rails I think light guns fall under the Classic heading as light gun games and the tech are classic, not the games themselves per se. Definitely agree that light gun games need to remain classic, as they are one of the earliest examples of a video game genre. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Schlibby on September 11, 2018, 05:46:48 AM Ok. I’ll look to getting rid of the demo genre on all entries currently using it. Then it can be deleted as a genre. Might take a while though. Bit of a long term goal Just to bring this one up again, I think if we are going to phase out Demo as a genre then the guide at the start of this thread should reflect that. E.g. state it is a legacy genre no longer to be used. And then refer to using the following genres: - Compilation if a mix of games - A standard genre if 1 game or all games are the same genre - Non-game if video only Section would probably then be removed in the future when all use of the "Demo" genre is gone and the genre removed from the list Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on September 11, 2018, 02:48:14 PM Those edits will need to be made to the wiki. I'd like to move away from using forum posts for policies and standards because they are not (easily) searchable.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Schlibby on September 11, 2018, 03:37:02 PM Those edits will need to be made to the wiki. I'd like to move away from using forum posts for policies and standards because they are not (easily) searchable. Is this genre guide on the wiki? Couldn’t see it there Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on May 24, 2019, 02:28:30 PM I know we're already in the middle of changing stuff but just putting this out there: "Alternative Sports" as a genre. We can group extreme sports, pro wrestling, futuristic and games of skill that are debatively sports into this genre. I think it would be for the best.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Duke.Togo on July 25, 2019, 06:40:24 PM Yeesh, I've seemed to miss things. If we added Alternative Sports as a genre and started moving some of these things around, I think it may be confusing to users with not much upside. Pro Wrestling is already under the fighting genre, and in my mind it fits better there than under something called alternative sports. That's my two cents.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: tactical_nuke on July 25, 2019, 11:56:46 PM Alright, I was going to suggest promoting certain subgenres to genres, since we can't search subgenres, but I guess that's off the table.
Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: Schlibby on July 14, 2020, 10:18:05 AM I'm not sure that Hack n Slash is under the right genre. For reference, this is the current entry, and the entry for beat em up, which sit under Action.
Beat 'Em Up - The gameplay consists of advancing through stages while primarily using hand to hand/foot combat. - Streets of Rage, Turtles In Time, Final Fight, Simpsons Arcade, Etc. Hack 'N Slash - The gameplay consists of advancing through stages while primarily using blades to fight off hordes of enemies. - Golden Axe, Gauntlet, Etc. I would say Golden Axe and gauntlet fits under Beat em Up (not so sure the split between the two subgenres is just weapons vs no weapons). For me I think of hack n slash being newer stuff like devil may cry, bayonetta and dynasty warriors. And I would classify those as Action/Adventure. This seems to be how the majority of these games are classified in the database at the moment too. Take maybe the best known of the hack n slash games, Devil May Cry. Theres much stronger story that you would often see in a lot of Action games. A decent amount of exploration and some puzzle solving. So for me that definitely falls in the Action/Adventure category. Theres a lot of grey areas in genres and a lot is opinion based. So happy to hear other people's opinions on this. Title: Re: Genre & Subgenre Guide Post by: eder on June 21, 2022, 06:06:58 AM Please refer to this post when adding Genres and Subgenres to entries. Genres are in bold. This categorizes the entry in a broad way that makes lists on the site organized. Beyond that, a game's Genre describes the gameplay of a title which is important for listing the actual content of games. Subgenres are underlined. This is where you get into the specifics of the gameplay. The aim is to elaborate further on the title's gameplay. This is typically where confusion tends to arise so please use your judgement; especially on games that blur categorization. Use of multiple Subgenres is encouraged when applicable and should be separated by a " / " for consistency and clarity. Remember: almost every entry has at least one Subgenre. Please make sure to read the notes in italics. You'll see them set off by "*". They'll tell you about more in depth categorizing rules. NOT subgenres: "arcade" - Gaming establishments have existed for decades and housed a wide range of electronic games. To use it as a descriptive term is too vague. "space shooter" - Whether or not it takes place in space is irrelevant to the gameplay. Action Pure action games have gameplay based on real-time interactions that challenge the reflexes. There can be some text, story, or NPCs but they are never the main focus. For example, a game like Bayonetta is actually Action/Adventure because while Beat Em Up mechanics are at it's core, the game is much more complex and story driven. The primary appeal and challenge of the action genre is to test the player’s physical skills, such as timing, precision, or reaction speed. This can be done by aide of an onscreen character or object. In a nutshell, reaction time or reflex games, story elements are non-existent or there to provide context and not deepen the gameplay.Beat 'Em Up - The gameplay consists of advancing through stages while primarily using hand to hand/foot combat. - Streets of Rage, Turtles In Time, Final Fight, Simpsons Arcade, Etc. Hack 'N Slash - The gameplay consists of advancing through stages while primarily using blades to fight off hordes of enemies. - Golden Axe, Gauntlet, Etc. Swipe 'N Slice - Use of touch screen is required as you slice things on screen. - Fruit Ninja Snake - Variations of the classic game. - Centipede Side-Scroller - Similar to platformer but less jumping and platforms. You're still getting from A to B though. - Maze - The player must traverse maze-like levels. Gameplay is varied in this section. While strategy is required to play, do not add these games to that Genre. - Pac-Man, Ecco The Dolphin, Devil World Action Puzzle - You'll be running around or doing other actions to solve puzzles. - Katamari, World of Goo, deBlob, LIMBO Trajectory - Sort of like a reverse Tower Defense. - Angry Birds Breakout - The ball, the bricks, the paddle. - Arkanoid, Alleyway Pong - Rudimentary table tennis. - Color TV Game 15, Pong Consoles, Video Olympics Run 'N Gun - Combines platforming and shooting elements. May be listed under Platformer genre if shooting elements are very light. - Contra, Earthworm Jim, Alien Hominid, Jazz Jackrabbit, Metal Slug, Gunstar Heroes, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Etc. Adventure Adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve, with very little or no action. The gameplay typically involves gathering information and items as well as exploring to solve puzzles and advance the plot. If there is action, it is generally confined to isolated minigames. The gameplay revolves around the story elements. In a nutshell, games that require contextual problem solving.Text Adventure - The most classic Adventure Subgenre. You are required to input text in these games to advance. Not to be confused with Visual Novels which has you primarily reading text. - Zork, Many early text-based PC games, Etc. Puzzle - The problems presented to you are puzzles, which you solve to advance the plot. - Professor Layton Visual Novel - A Japanese gaming tradition. A choose-your-own adventure novel brought to life with branching paths, sprites, items, backgrounds and music. "Dating sims" belong here as "Visual Novel / Adult", not under Simulator. - Saya No Uta, Steins;Gate, Ace Attorney Series, Etc. Point & Click - You primarily interact with your environment, using a cursor to complete these games. - Sam & Max, Monkey Island, Jurassic Park on Sega CD, X Files, Leisure Suit Larry, Etc. Interactive Video - Games in this section utilize video to test the player in real time. - Night Trap, Space Ace, Time Gal, Dragon's Lair Choose Your Own Adventure - If an adventure game doesn't fall into any other Adventure Subgenre, you should use this. - Plumbers Don't Wear Ties Action-Adventure Action Adventure games engage both reflexes and problem-solving, in both violent and non-violent situations. They may require many of the same physical skills as action games, but also offer a storyline, numerous characters, an inventory system, dialogue, and other features of adventure games. Examples include Zelda, God of War, Tomb Raider, Beyond Good and Evil, Resident Evil, Hitman, GTA etc.In a nutshell, the game should have actiony, reaction time based gameplay but also have adventure elements with problem solving, inventory, NPCs, text and stories that influence your gameplay experience. No Subgenre - These game are pure Action/Adventure. - *The Legend Of Zelda First Person Third Person Survival Survival Horror - The gameplay focuses on surviving violent onsloughts of macabre enemies. - Resident Evil, DinoCrisis, Dead Rising, Alan Wake, Blue Stinger, Silent Hill, Etc. Sandbox Stealth - The main gameplay style has you sneaking around enemies. - Metal Gear, Splinter Cell, Mark of the Ninja Metroidvania - Metroidvania games generally feature a large interconnected world map the player can explore, though access to parts of the world is often limited by doors or other obstacles that can only be passed once the player has acquired special items, tools, weapons or abilities within the game. - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Wonderboy, Demon's Crest, Metroid, Steamworld Dig, etc. *The only Zelda game that is not Act/Adv is Zelda II. That is categorized as Genre: RPG Subgenre: Action RPG. Western RPG elements are present in these games but at its core, the Zelda formula is Act/Adv. If you think one of the side games isn't Act/Adv please let us know. Classic Shooter In a Classic Shooter, the player character engages in a lone assault, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. Games may include player characters on foot and a variety of perspectives. Shoot 'em ups call for fast reactions and for the player to memorize levels and enemy attack patterns.3D - StarFox, Wing Commander Single Screen (AKA Fixed) - Space Invaders, Asteroids Horizontal - Gradius, Parodius, Magical Chase Vertical - Galaga Rail/On-Rails - The game moves you through the stage and it's up to you to aim and shoot. - Sin & Punishment, Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles, House of the Dead, Dead Space Extraction Light Gun - Games that utilize a Zapper, Menacer, Guncon, SuperScope, Etc. - Duck Hunt, Time Crisis, ActionMax games, T2 Bullet Hell - Touhou Tube - Tempest Shooting Gallery - Like a Rail Shooter but fixed. Compilation For single titles that include multiple games of different genres. The only thing separating these games should be menus and not a whole other over-arching game. Let me make it clear that Party games are NOT Compilations. Party games have an overall competition connecting all the mini games and as such belongs under Game Simulator >> Party.Misc. Genres & Subgenres - Please put all the Genres and Subgenres in the Subgenre field. If all the games are of the same Genre, the entry should not be in this section. Instead, Compilation can be included as a Subgenre in this case while the common Genre is used. Demos - You can specify in the Subgenre that the title is a demo sampler. All rules in this guide apply just the same whether said title is a demo or not. Education *These games mix gameplay with teaching. Most of these are Early Childhood rated games. Please don't put stuff like recipe guides or language coaches in here. Software with no gameplay goes in Genre: Non-Game Subgenre: (Insert Use Here).Early Childhood - ABCs & 123s - Kid's shows liscenced games etc. Health - Bronkie The Bronchiasaurus, Captain Novalin Training - Brain Age, Big Brain Academy Language - Talkman Math, Language, Etc. - Lightspan PS1 games *Games with environmental messages attached can have Edutainment as a Subgenre. - Awesome Possum, Captain Planet Fighting Fighting games emphasize KOing your opponent- either human player or CPU. Use of 2D, 2.5D or 3D is reccomended when adding the Subgenre.1V1 - These games are the typical 2 characters on screen per match type. - Mortal Kombat, Godzilla, Virtua Fighter, Tekken, Bloody Roar, Killer Instinct, Etc. Tag Team - The matches can have you switch out multiple characters that you selected. - Marvel Vs. Capcom, Skullgirls Pro Wrestling - Games based on Pro Wrestling sports entertainment. - WWE, M.U.S.C.L.E., Pro Wrestling on NES, Celebrity Death Match, Def Jam Martial Arts - Certain martial arts are mainly simulated in the gameplay. - MMA, Bruce Lee Party Brawler - 2 - 4 characters fight on the battlefield. These games take on much of Super Smash Bros.' elements. - Smash Brothers, Playstation Allstars, Dream Mix TV World Fighters Fitness Games in this Genre are very much separate from simulations because they physically train your actual body. Please note, even though DDR has a calorie burning mode, that is not the main focus of the game and cannot be added here. The main selling point of the game should be getting fit.Meditation - Deepak Chopra's Leela Yoga - WiiFit Cardio - Zumba, Anything with a pedometer accessory Sports - NFL Training Camp, Kinect Sports Health - "For your health." - Glucoboy Game Creator Games in this section fuction mostly as applications for creating your own games. The Genre of game you're creating should be in the Subgenre section, as the main focus is making the game.Misc. Genres & Subgenres - Depends on what you're making. - RPG Maker, Fighter Maker, WarioWare DIY, Mario Maker Game Simulator The gameplay in these games are based off of other existing games of skill/chance that are usually not electronic.Trivia - Seen It?, You Don't Know Jack Board Game - Monopoly, Clue, Family Game Night with inshot para iphone (https://www.inshotpc.net/inshot-ios-iphone/) Card Game - UNO Trading Card Game / Card Battle - Trading and Collecting Card Games - Pokemon Trading Card Game, Yu-Gi-Oh! Gambling - Caesar's Palace Game Show - Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Jeapordy! Etc. Party - The game's main focus is playing with friends. Different from a mini-game compilation in that it must have an overarching game to connect them. - Mario Party, Sonic Shuffle, Rayman Raving Rabbids, B.U.T.T.O.N. Pinball - Pinball on NES, Metroid Prime Pinball, Mario Pinball Land, Pokemon Pinball, Etc. Music/Rhythm The player must input or perform a series of commands or movements to the rhythm of music.No Subgenre - You're generally just hitting buttons to the beat. - Pop'n Music, Parappa the Rapper Dance - DDR, Dance Central, Just Dance Dance Simulator - No actual feet movement is required. - Space Channel 5 Karaoke - Karaoke Revolution, Singstar Instrumental - The type of instrument used can also be added as a Subgenre. (ie Guitar, Drums, Band) - Wii Music, Donkey Konga, Guitar Hero, Guitar Freaks, Taiko Drum Master, Samba De Amigo DJ - DJ Hero, Beatmania Non-Game There is no gameplay in these software entries. They have other uses but are not considered hardware. Due to sheer quantity, PC software will be held to higher standards for database approval.Trailer(s) - Demo discs with just trailers. If there are playable demos, please add to their respective Genre. Books - The King James Bible, 100 Classic Books, Story Books Reference Books - Encyclopedias, Dictionaries Cook Book - DS Cooking Guides Info - Similar to an Encyclopedia but with info on only one subject. Utility - Video Testing, Online Startup Discs, DSi Apps, PSP Media Manager, Notebooks, other tools/apps, Etc. Movie/Video - PSP Movie UMDs, GBA VideoNow, CDi Movie Discs Ambient Video - Software for background noise and video. - Aquarium HD, Fireplace Programming - BASIC Chatbot - A program that has AI converse with you. - Abuse Interactive Tour - A digital tour, often of a museum or real-life place. There is no gameplay to speak of, except for moving to sections and listening/reading info. Not a point & click game. Tech Demo - Software used to show off the technical capabilities of a platform. Fortune Telling - Taboo The 6th Sense Expansion - Software that exists to add content to an existing stand-alone title. Not playable by itself. No DLC please. Slideshow - Not video, just a power point type slideshow. - Various 3DO software Cheat - ActionReplay, GameShark Platformer The player is primarily tasked with jumping and maneuvering around objects.2D - Super Mario Bros., Gex, Bonk, Sonic, Donkey Kong Country, Etc. 2.5D - Mixes 2D and 3D - At the same time. Switching between them doesn't count. (That'd be 2D / 3D) - Kirby 64, Yoshi's Island, Tomba 3D - Super Mario Bros., Gex, Bonk, Sonic, Donkey Kong Country, Mirror's Edge Puzzle Games that test your mind. Include logical thinking and spacial interaction.Word - Crosswords Number - Sudoku Matching/Pairing - Bejeweled, Lights Out Action Puzzle (AKA Puzzle Platformer) - You'll be running around or doing other actions to solve puzzles. Please note, this Subgenre can be under Action or Puzzle; it depends on which elements take more priority in game. - Mario & Wario, Marble Madness, Spindizzy, Sokobon Hidden Object - Where's Waldo, I Spy Falling - Tetris, Dr.Mario, WildSnake, Tetris Attack, Wario's Woods, Panic Bomber Upwards - Bust-a-Move 3D - Some puzzle games can only be described as 3D. Perhaps it's like a Rubik's Cube type game; that would go in here. - Tetrisphere Racing A game where a race against computers or human players is the main focus. Vehicles are typically used. Monster truck rally-like games are also included here due to driving being a central gameplay mechanic.No Subgenre - Just classic car racing. - Gran Turismo, Forza Misc. Vehicles - Insert vehicle as the Subgenre. - Motorcycle, Jet Ski, Etc. F1/Grand Prix - NASCAR - Indy 500 Street/Drag - TestDrive, Need for Speed, Fast and the Furious Offroad - ATV, DiRT Futuristic - Star Wars Episode 1 Racer, Venetica Kart Racing - Characters in Go-Karts. Weapons are commonplace. - Mario Kart, Crash Team Racing, Diddy Kong Racing Combat - Akin to a monster truck rally; fighting in cars. - Twisted Metal, Vigilante 8 RPG This Genre has its roots in classic tabletop gaming. Battle systems are incorporated into the game that utilize numbers and sometimes chance. Common elements include character parties, leveling up, enemy encounter systems and extensive item lists. Please note, the name Role Playing Game is not a licence to call any game where you play as a character an RPG.Dungeon Crawler - The game is based primarily on traversing dungeons, opening chests, etc. - Dungeon Master MMORPG - RPGs with tons of human players playing alongside you. - WoW, LOTR Online Rogue - Randomly generated dungeons are explored. - Rogue Tactical (AKA Strategy RPG) - This RPG subgenre incorporates strategic gameplay such as tactical movement on an isometric grid. A distinct difference between tactical RPGs and traditional RPGs is the lack of exploration. Tactical RPGs instead emphasis on battle strategy. Usually the game will hop you from battle area to battle area with prep sequences in between. - Fire Emblem, Shining Series, Langrisser, Master of Monsters, Ogre Battle, Vandal Hearts, Guardian War, Final Fantasy Tactics, Sakura Wars, Disgaea, Project X Zone Turn Based - The basic RPG Subgenre. Random encounters lead to taking turns fighting, leveling up, Etc. - Final Fantasy, Phantasy Star, .hack, MOTHER Action RPG - Incorporate Action Genre elements into gameplay such as real time combat. - Ys, Dragon Slayer, Tales of Destiny, Zelda II, Project X Zone Sandbox - Players are given a large amount of freedom and free-roaming environment. - Minecraft, The Elder Scrolls Creature Collector - Caught monsters make up your party and you fight with them. - Pokemon, Digimon Shooter The genre of shooting games commonly associated with the first person shooter. This genre extends to other non-classic shooting games and are usually more realistic in its gameplay.First Person - Call of Duty, Battlefield, Medal of Honor Third Person - Gears of War Tactical - First person shooters that demand realistic coordinated tactics. - SOCOM, Ghost Recon Arial Combat - Ace Combat, JASF Naval - Shipwreckers, BattleStations Mech - MechAssault, Gundam, Custom Robo I think than Run 'N Gun is best play of action, i have played many hours and never get bored. |