Type of video game

A standard of video game indicates a whole of video games having common elements. The absence of consensus on the standardization of the kinds or criteria which define them, results sometimes in an inconsistency on the level of the classification of the plays. It is not always systematic and can vary radically according to the sources.

The present list - nonexhaustive - enumerates the terms the most common employees for the description of the types of video game. Each type is followed of a short description and examples of plays. The classification of the types of video game below is subjected to a personal interpretation, like any type of classification. Note that the type is related on the pictorial display, the interactions between the player and the play, on environment and more specifically to the Gameplay .

A majority of these categories overlap because of the subjective nature of many types. For example, the plays of the series Legend off Zelda comprise at the same time elements of action, adventure and play role. This overlapping is current in the world of the video games. Thus, Diablo , Vagrant Story or Baldur' S Spoils: Dark Alliance are roleplays and of action. As for the Survival horror such as the Resident Evil , they mix the roleplay and the Jeu of objective shooting. In the occasion, the topics of a play can define its type.

Action

Fights

Combat (or Baston)

The plays of combat put in scene confrontations between two misadventures in a closed space (boxing ring, arena). The player sees his adversary on side, as if he were a spectator. These types of plays stress the fictitious Martial arts, realities or (generally humanly impossible to imitate), or on any other form of confrontation without weapons such as the Boxe or the Lutte. Certain plays use weapons handled with the hands whose swords, axes, hammers, etc Parfois of the attacks can be carried remotely, it is enough to think of the attacks of energy based on the Chi. In addition, the passage of graphics from two to three dimensions did not change the style of play. One notes the appearance of the step on the side, which does not modify however basically the Gameplay of the plays.

Introduced in the middle of the Eighties, this kind was popularized by the launching of Street Fighter II . Nowadays, the plays of combat still are very appreciated by the amateurs of video games.

In order to play sets of engagements, the player generally needs good reflexes, of much of coolness , as well as a good memory since some gameplay offer many and long combos.

Several series such as Street Fighter , Virtua Fighter , Tekken , Drunk Calibur , Mortal Kombat , Dead gold Alive represent the kind by developing each different quality.

Happy them all

The Beat them all (or plays of combat with progression) are plays similar to the plays of combat, but what differentiates them, is that the players must fight many enemies while progressing in levels. It is often possible to play two players in co-operation, and to collect objects and no-claims bonus to facilitate the progression.

Some traditional of the kind: Double Dragon , Splatterhouse , Final Fight , Streets off Rage , Die Hardware Arcade , God off War , Viewtiful Joe and Devil May Cry .

Shooting

subjective Shooting

In the plays of subjective shooting (or FPS for first-person shooter ), the basic actions is the shooting and the displacement of the player, a weapon posts with the foreground of the screen and the player can interact with this one. The purpose of this prospect is to give the impression to be behind the hand and thus to allow strong a Identification. Graphics in three dimensions increase this impression.

Until Half-Life , the scenario does not have a great place in the play where it was the Jouabilité and the beauty of graphics which preceded. Each new generation of play creates besides technologies very last thing of returned real-time to come very close to the realistic ideal photorealist and physical simulations. The gameplay generally forces the player to show of reflexes and precision.

Some video games marked the kind, such as Doom , Half-Life , Unreal , Quake or Far Cry or more recently Gears off War

It should be noted that certain plays of subjective shooting such as Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, Quake III or Counter-Strike are playable only as a multijouor, network or on Internet.

This kind was during very a long time the prerogative of the PC to the detriment of the consoles. It will be necessary to await the arrival of Nintendo 64 and GoldenEye 007 before the play of shooting " with the first personne" standardizes itself on consoles of living room. As for the portable consoles, only Nintendo DS seems able to retranscribe almost with identical the feelings on PC, of share its handiness to the stylet and the touchscreen ( Metroid Prime Hunters initiates this kind of plays).

objective Shooting

The plays of shooting to the third nobody (in English, TPS for third-person shooter ) are centered on the exchange of shots and the combat, but contrary to the plays of subjective shooting, one controls a character seen of back although sometimes it is with a isometric Perspective. These plays sacrifice the precision to the profit of a greater freedom of movement.

The plays of the series Grand Theft Auto are examples. Here are others: Blood Rayne , Rough Force , Heretic II , Jet Forces Gemini , Mafia (video game) , Magic Carpet , max Payne , Messiah , Oni , Tomb Raider , The Suffering …

Shot them up

The Shoot them up (a particular kind of plays of shooting) are characterized by an objective sight of the vessel or the character controlled by the player. This one must destroy enemies while dodging their shootings. This type of play requires above all good reflexes.

Generally, they are cut out in several levels with increasing difficulty, each one ending in a Boss. As from the years 2000, the majority of these plays of shooting passed to the 3D, but the Gameplay remained the same one.

The titles which marked the kind shot them up are inter alia Space Invaders , the series of the R-Type , Gradius and Thunder Force , as well as titles such as Radiant Silvergun or Border Down . Developers such as Cellar or Treasure Co. Ltd are specialized in this type of play.

The Rail shooter is a particular form of shot them up where the player does not control the movements, as in The House off the Dead or Time Crisis for example.

Infiltration

A Jeu of infiltration is a kind which was popularized at the end of the Nineties. Generally perceived like a sub-genus of the play of objective or subjective shooting, they however more stress the trick, the precision and the furtivity rather than the massive use of the firearms. Among the plays of infiltration, one can quote the plays of the series Thief , Metal GEAR , Hitman , Splinter Cell , and Beyond Good & Evil . Others refer more to the " kind; strategy in time réel" like the series Commandos . One can also quote the series of the Tenchu being held in Japan at the time medieval and which puts to you in the skin of a ninja charged to carry out missions of assassination.

Platform

In the plays of platform, the player controls a character to which it must make circumvent or avoid obstacles or traps, this mainly while jumping or while climbing. Initially, the character traversed the various levels with the horizontal one, but with the advent of the 3D in the world videoludic, the misadventure S can from now on move as good seems to them in an environment in three dimensions.

The plays of platform are one of the first types of plays having been sold on the computers. Their very great popularity near the players was undeniable, but this one decreased as graphics in 3D made their appearance in the sets of consoles and PC. Although the plays of platform in three dimensions are more pleasant for the eye, those, on the other hand, lost the simplicity of controls and the gameplay of the plays in 2D.

Generally, this type of play has coloured graphics pointing out the cartoons and uses sometimes the Concealment-shading , although many exceptions exist.

In addition to the capacities related to their displacements (to jump, run, climb, etc), the characters of plays of platform frequently have attacks allowing them to overcome their enemies, thus approaching the plays of action.

One finds like plays of platform Alex Kidd , Bombjack , Bubble Bobble , Castlevania , Contra , Crash Bandicoot , Donkey Kong Country , Kirby , Metroid , Mega Man , Prince off Persia , Rayman , Sonic , Spyro the Dragon , Super Mario or Toejam & Earl .

Arcade

In the plays of arcade the action is simple and fast these plays knew their hour of glory in the Eighties, they remain nevertheless very popular. They are plays of the kind Space Invaders , Asteroids , CAP-man , Missile Command , Galaxian . The modern plays of style arcade try to simulate the old plays themselves.

Sport

The video games of sport simulate many Sport S, such as the Golf, the Tennis, the Football, the Hockey, etc the majority of them, in particular Tony Hawk' S Pro Skater , propose to the player to directly direct the sportsmen, while others, such as the Trainer propose to the player to direct the trainer, the goal is then to lead a team to the victory, indirectly by the management of the food, of the physical drive, the development of tactics, etc… They are then plays of management. The players playing this kind of play are perceived rather like " casuals gamers" or occasional players by the players of FPS and the hardcores gamers because these plays are rather simplistic and really do not renew themselves, preferring to keep a formula which goes instead of innovating ( FIFA , PES ).

Race

The plays of race are one of the most traditional kinds. Sat on the seat of a vehicle (often a Automobile), the player must lead as quickly as possible to a finishing line while fighting against of others pilot to obtain a place on the podium, if it is necessary, or to carry out best time. This type of play draws its inspiration from the automobile sports real.

In a general way the scenario is not developed, with the profit of graphics and the realism of simulation or the gotten recreation. The player uses his reflexes enormously.

Series such as Gran Turismo , Ridge Racer and Toca Touring Because , Hake McRae Rally , or Sega Rally 2 knew one big hit.

A popular sub-genus of the plays of race is the play of race of combat which introduces various obstacles and the possibility of using weapons to defend themselves and/or attack. The series of the Mario Kart and that of the WipEout are examples.

Often, two words are used to indicate a play of race:

Arcade, where the player has a vehicle whose control does not reflect reality (examples: to pass a pin to 300 km/h in skid, to fire a missile etc) Ridge Racer , Mario Kart , Burnout , Out Run belong to this kind.
Simulation, where the player must lead in the most realistic possible way to carry it. Gran Turismo , Toca Touring Because , GTR , Forza Motorsport , Need for Speed .

Venture

Traditional

The plays of adventure are to some extent the first video games with being sold on the market, while starting with Colossal Undermines Adventure in the years 1970. This type of play was made known with the plays of the series Zork and finally reached a certain degree of popularity in the years 1980 and this, until the middle of the years 1990. The player incarnates a protagonist of the history which must generally solve enigmas and Casse-tête using various objects. The first plays of adventure were textual (ventures textual or interactive Fiction). In those, the player used his keyboard in order to enter of the orders such as “taking the cord” or “to go to the west” and the computer describes to him what occurs.

When the use of graphics became more current, the plays of textual adventure little by little left their place to visual (for example, an image of this place) the substituent thus textual descriptions become quasi superfluous. These plays of adventure with graphics still use however the input of texts. Moreover, there exists always a community of authors and active players of interactive fiction, although the presence of large commercial companies is rather rare.

The increasing use of the mouse of computer is at the origin of the plays of adventure of the type “Point-and-to click” where it is not necessary any more for the players to use orders. The player can, for example, to click using the cursor on a cord in order to collect it.

At the end of the years 1990, this type of play suffered from significant drops of its popularity where the exits of mass market became rare, so much so that several people claimed that the play of adventure had died. However, in 2005, the plays of adventure seem to reappear their ashes with plays such as Trace Memory , Fahrenheit , Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Dreamfall . The big games of adventure off include the titles Day the Tentacle , the plays of the series King' S Quest , Space Quest and Police Quest , and the series Monkey Island . On another side, certain plays of adventure are centered on the action like Full Throttle , introducing other styles of gameplay .

Here of other examples of plays of adventure: Alone in the Dark, Disc-world, Eternam, Flashback, Gabriel Knight, Grim Fandango, Leisure Follows Larry, Little Big Adventure, the odyssey of Munch, Myst, Mythe, Police Quest, Runaway, Retour On the Mysterious Island, Sam & max Hit the Road, Syberia, The Legend off Kyrandia, The Longest Journey.

Role

The video games of role (also called RPG, Role Playing Range) propose to the player to incarnate a character, and to direct it through a scenario generally of Fiction. They are directly inspired by the roleplays on table.

The final objective is to give the impression to look at a interactive Film.

The environments are very varied from one play to another, but a topic frequently used is that of the Heroic fantasy, in particular in the equipment (swords, shields,…) and the imaginary one (magicians, monsters, etc).

The Rogue-like are the first to be born, in the years 1980. Graphically simple, they take as a starting point the video game Rogue .

A few years later, Final Fantasy , Dragon Quest and other series mark this type of total play which is the video game of role.

With the passing of years, the roleplay, usually called RPG ( Role Playing Range in English), was divided into several sub-genera. Among them the action-RPG is (roleplay of action) which interferes at the same time the Jeu adventure and the roleplay, such as for example, in the series Seiken Densetsu where the engagements are in real-time and when characters, weapons and magics gain experiment.

There are other sub-groups such as the Tactical RPG (roleplay tactical) and the simulation-RPG (roleplay of simulation) which are characterized by displacements often similar to those of a set of failures ( Final Fantasy Tactics , Disgaea , Hoshigami ) and sometimes limited to a given zone ( Phantom Brave ). In a tactical-RPG , the Gameplay is based on the decision tactics which the player must make during the engagements. It can in a certain manner being considered as a mixture between traditional roleplay and Strategy game with the turn by turn.

Lastly, the Dungeon Role Playing Game , as its name indicates it, is held primarily in keeps on levels where the difficulty is progressive.

With the beginning of the expansion of Internet, at the end of the years 1990, a new type of roleplay appears, MMORPG. Known mainly to be a video game of role Multijoueur, it also innovates by setting up universes continuously functioning (24h/24) called " worlds persistants". EverQuest and Old Dark off Street pedlar , are two very known examples.

One generally distinguishes two great groups from RPG :

the " japonais" : Clearly inspired by the culture Manga or even Japanese woman, the Japanese rpg ( Final Fantasy , Phantasy Star ,…) generally present coloured an enough and rather merry graphic aspect. Very linear, he exploits definitely more the feelings, the scenario, the musics or the personality of the characters put in scene. A particular category, called Eroge (for erotic range ), gathers the plays presenting of the topics or the erotic scenes.

l'"américain" : Much nearer to the roleplay on table, the American rpg ( Oblivion , Diablo , Baldur' S Spoils ,…) propose to the player a total freedom in the universe presented. The aspect personality is often put at the variation like often the scenario, or at least lets the imagination of the player take care of this point.

Survival horror

A video game known as Survival horror or video game of horror, stresses the fear and fear while trying to frighten the player via traditional elements of fiction of horror such as atmospheric disturbances, the topic of death, vampires, blood and the morbid one. Certain plays include also elements of play of subjective shooting.

The basic principles of the kind were introduced by Alone in the Dark and to a lesser extent by System Shock . The kind was then popularized by the series Resident Evil. Other notable plays in the kind include Silent Hill , Project Zero ( Fatal Frame ) or more recently Forbidden Siren and Condemned which borrows the formulas of films of horror in order to increase the immersion, and in this way, the fear of the player.

Reflection

The video games of reflection lead the player to solve headaches ( Sokoban ,…), of the enigma S, to generally sail through complex places such as Labyrinthe S. Plus this kind of play makes reflect and requires time. It often incorporates elements of the plays of adventure (examples: The Lost Vikings , Katamari Damacy ,…).

Many a traditional plays of reflection was carried on machine readable medium, as one can see it with the sets of failures such as XBoard , Crafty , GNU Chess , etc and the card decks. The adversaries programmed by computer are often opponents of size, that thus makes it possible to the player to improve his talent with the traditional plays.

Puzzle

The Jeu of puzzle is a play of reflection specialized in the Puzzle S, with objectives such as aligning objects according to one or more precise forms.

Some plays of arcade, in particular Tetris and its alternatives, are usually described as being plays of puzzle, in spite of their principle which rests on coordination eye-hand and the reflexes, rather than on the thought and logic.

Among the plays of reflection, one finds in particular Bomberman , Boulderdash , Columns , Deadly Rooms off Death (DROD), Dr. Mario , Goblins , Jeux of concepts , Kuru Kuru Kururin , the Manor of Mortevielle , Lemmings , Mr. Driller , Puzzle Bobble , Puyo Puyo , Puzzle Fighter , Qix , Sokoban , Tetris , The Incredible Machine , Toki Tori ,…

Management

In the plays of management, the player plays the part of a planner or of an owner having to manage and build buildings providing of food, a shelter, medical care, a spiritual resourcing, leisures, an economic growth, etc the success of this company is closely related to its talent of manager evaluated according to the fluctuation of the profits and the satisfaction degree of the inhabitants of its city. When there is a rise in the capital and that the individuals enjoy a lifestyle improved as for their housing, their health and their goods, that means that it achieved its goal to conclude the destiny of its city or the place of which it with management. Although the principal goal is to have a strong economy, it also falls to the player to ensure a certain military development so that its city can be a place of safety and peace. What has just been described belongs to the sub-genus " building set ".

Another subdivision is the " plays of divine simulation " where the player has, with equal of God, of the capacities of which it is used for in order to intervene divinement in the life of the characters to the screen. Black & White is an example.

Generally, the plays of management are quite simply plays in which the player is responsible for the whole of the life and the destiny of the characters or a place.

Here some examples of plays of management:

Have-Train, Airline Tycoon, Caesar, Civilization (Civilization), Colonization (Colonization), Pharaon, SimAnt (Ants), SimCity (City), Sims, Topic Park, Transport Tycoon, RollerCoaster Tycoon, Zeus, Zoo Tycoon

Strategy

In a Strategy game, the player generally has a known objective: to increase its space domination, to fight one or more enemies on a playing field, to make thrive an entity, etc the stress is not laid on the address of the player but on the planning of the action (strategic Tactique or ).

The player is often in the place of a God or of a Général, seeing the whole of its units since the sky and giving orders to each one of enter they. It can launch the production of new units to reinforce its army or to replace those which fell to the combat. It is possible to generally create buildings, to make evolve/move its technological knowledge,…

There exist two quite different types of strategy game, those which are held in real-time, and those which are held with the turn by turn.

The strategy games with the turn by turn are the first video games of to be developed strategy. As in the sets of failures and in the card decks, each player plays each one his turn. Thus, the parts of Freeciv , Civilization , Worms 3D , Advance Wars , Heroes off Might and Magic ,… can be very long.

The strategy games in real-time (also called RTS), as their name indicates it, allow the participants to play at the same time. The speed and the address are very important here and the parts become faster than in " turn by tour". This type of play was born with the development of data processing, in the years 1990 ( Dune 2 is one of the first). Thereafter, several series of video game marked the kind, such as Command & Conquer , Warcraft , Age off Empires , StarCraft and Cossacks like more recently Dawn off War drawn from the famous set of figurines Warhammer 40.000 .

Others

Massively multijouor (MMOG)

The online games massively multijouor, the roleplays on line massively multijouor, the plays of shooting on line massively multijouor are virtual worlds in which potentially thousands of players can interact the ones with the others by the means of a network like Internet. The majority of these plays function on the principle of the subscription, but the new generation functions mainly by the purchase only once of the play, then, it there not more fees for the time spent on line. The roleplays on line massively multijouor (MMORPG) appeared in second half in years 1990, like a commercial and graphic alternative of the textual plays of adventure multijoueurs ( Multi-User Dungeon ; MUD) which existed since 1979. The concept massively multijouor was quickly combined with other “traditional” types of video game.

the roleplays fantasy on line massively (fantasy MMORPG) are currently most popular of the roleplays on line. Ultima Online , EverQuest , Final Fantasy XI , Lineage , World off Warcraft and Runescape are some among most popular.

the roleplays of Science-fiction on line massively (sci-fi MMORPG) represent more a small portion of the market of the roleplays on line. One of the first examples of this type is Anarchy Online . Many of other plays of this kind exist, as the space play of science fiction EVE Online which is a notable example.

the plays of shooting on line massively multijouor are a category of video game which combines the Gameplay of a Jeu of subjective shooting with a great number of simultaneous players. PlanetSide , Control Monger and Gunz is some examples. These plays are sometimes called MMOFPS ( massively multiplayer online first-person shooter ).

Simulation

The plays of simulation aim at simulating the feeling of control of a vehicle, such as for example a Avion in the most realistic possible way. They take in particular into account the physical factors and the others limiting of reality. Several plays of this kind require a thorough reading of the handbook whereas others require only one simple tutoriel. Flight Simulator is almost undoubtedly the most known flight simulator. Here a list of examples:

Ace Fights (aerial combats), Combat Flight Simulator (aerial combats), Dawn Patrol (aerial combats), Elite (space simulation), Falcon, FlightGear (Aviation), Flight Simulator (Aviation), Flying Corps (aerial combats), Freelancer (space simulation), I-War (space simulation), IL2-Sturmovik (aerial combats), Mechwarrior (simulation of robot), Privateer (space simulation), Red Baron (aerial combats), Silent Hunter (underwater), Starlancer (space simulation), Steel Battalion (Simulation of robot), Grand Prix Legends and GTR, (simulation of car)

Rate/rhythm and music

The video games of rate/rhythm are generally plays of arcade, of which the goal is to follow a sequence of movements or to respect a particular rate/rhythm. Certain plays require that the player uses a controller of special play. This kind appeared in the Années 1990 in parallel with the increase in the popularity of the Musique rap, the success of Dance Dance Revolution and finally the vulgarizing of the video games.

Amplitude , Beatmania IIDX , Donkey Konga , Pop' N Music , Taiko No Tatsujin , In the Groove , Para Para Paradise , Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution can be regarded as being typical examples of this kind.

Occasionally, the music forms integral part of the Gameplay. It is in particular the case of Rez, Lumines and Meteos.

Unclassable

The classification of certain plays proves to be difficult, which is resulted by an absence from classification. Here a short list of inclassés plays: Drunk The NOMAD , Animal Crossing , Creatures , Pacman , Pong , Jet set Radio .

Simple: Computer and video range kinds

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