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emech
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 Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 5:20 pm Post subject: Genre labels |
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Forums are great places for conversations. The "what made you" threads here-in provide oppurtuntites to share happyness, anger and news. Sometimes though something makes you think. Perhaps a "what made you think today thread"?
For me today it was this:
http://www.gameinformer.com/blogs/members/b/shootist2600_blog/archive/2011/11/22/video-games-are-obsolete.aspx
Summary: The strength in game genre labels is that they they conjure a specific image of gamers’ participatory role in the games that we play. But when they fail to portray the full extent of gameplay elements, such as in Portal or Bioshock, such a labeling system has to be re-evaluated on the merits of its descriptive qualities. Nevermind that such labels conjure an image of the industry.
Whether literature, drama or film, for example, all share a common language when referring to their respective art. Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, etc. These are all applicable for our medium as well, and perhaps we would be better served adopting these labels when referencing our games as well.
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Benza
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| Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 5:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Whether literature, drama or film, for example, all share a common language when referring to their respective art. Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, etc. These are all applicable for our medium as well, and perhaps we would be better served adopting these labels when referencing our games as well. |
That's a horrible idea, games aren't defined by there story lines they're defined by how they play. If I tell you lump Halo, Mass Effect, Starcraft, all under "Sci-Fi" It's not giving you an accurate idea of what the game is. For the most part those trapping are just superficial side aspects of the game and not really integral.
I mean by that logic, we'd classify Starcraft, Warcraft, Comand and Conqure all as completely separate genres. So if someone liked that style of game they'd kind of be fucked if trying to pick a new game.
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ObsoletE
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| Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 5:52 pm Post subject: |
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i do this already - but combined with their gameplay genre.
Fantasy RTS, Sci-Fi Shooter, Modern FPS, Horror RPG... etc. etc.
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Benza
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| Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 5:59 pm Post subject: |
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the thing is you argue that the argument is that the current genre titles are obsololete in the wake of games like portal or bioshock.
How is FPS/Puzzler insuffucient to describe portal? Hell how is FPS insufficent to describe Bioshock? It's a first person shooter, you shoot at people from a first person cammera. If it conjures to mind COD and Halo and that's an inacruate depiction of bioshock that's not the fault of the genre title. That's more a fault of our preconceived notions.
The typical titles like horror, suspense etc are no more obsoloete to be fair.
I mean is your highness a stoner commedy or fantasy? Is Pineapple Express an action movie or stoner commedy? Is Event Horizon Sci-fi or Horror? etc etc.
Even then using the typical media's descriptive terms put Portal into a genre, is it sci-fi, horror, commedy?
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