03. Goals and Genres

Video Game Development: Goals and Genres A. Babadi 1 of 38

In The Name Of God

Video Game Development

Amin Babadi

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Isfahan University of Technology

Spring 2015

Goals and Genres


Outline

Game development goals o Are there any goals other than entertainment?

Game genres o Association with different goals

o Combining genres


Goals

Why do you want to create a game? o Entertainment,

o Education,

o Support,

o Market,

o Build a social community, or

o Get players to work up a sweat?


1. Entertainment

It is a common assumption that games should be developed purely to entertain the players.

Many people play to escape from the stresses of daily life, or to relieve boredom.

Some games specifically allow players to become someone new, to role-play as characters, some of their own creation.


1. Entertainment

Most games are created for entertainment purposes only.

A billboard advertisement for GTA V in Los Angeles, September 2013.


2. Social Communities

Social interaction is one of the motivating factors for playing games.

Travian players can create and join alliances whose members support each other economically and militarily.


3. Education

Educational games are those created to teach while they entertain.

Are edutainment games designed mainly for children?

Can we say that all games are educational “by accident?”

Oregon Trail teaches American history as players journey into the West.

A simple math game by Quiz-Tree.com


4. Recruitment & Training

A lot of military, government, and even for-profit corporations use games for recruitment and training purposes.

America’s Army was the first online simulation game used as a military recruitment tool.

In HumanSim, textbooks and lectures are replaced with interactivity and serious fun.


5. Health & Fitness

Games created for health and fitness include: o Psychological therapy,

o Physical rehabilitation, and

o Even exergames (a sub-category specifically related to fitness).

Many exergames are commercial products such as: o EA Sports Active,

o Wii Fit,

o Dance Dance Revolution, and

o Dance Central.

Re-Mission is a medical game, which gives children with cancer a sense of power and control over their disease by battling cancer cells.


5. Health & Fitness

The Re-Mission video game was released for teens and young adults with cancer in 2006.


6. Consciousness & Change

These games are sometimes termed “games for change”. o They might be created by non-profit, political, and/or religious groups

o They try to raise awareness of certain beliefs, attitudes, values, lifestyles, and causes.

September 12: A Toy World focuses on the civilian casualties of terror attacks.

Peacemaker is a simulation game which simulates the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.


7. Aesthetics & Creativity

Eliciting creative expression or aesthetic appreciation from players, or expressing or sharing artistic ideas.

In Flower, the player controls the wind, blowing a flower petal through the air using the movement of the game controller.


8. Marketing & Advertising

Marketing a product or service to consumers.

Advergames are specifically designed as advertising tools.

They are mostly online games based on Flash or Java.

Wooly Jump is a free online game for advertising the popular Shaun The Sheep series.


Genres

Game genres are categories based on a combination of subject matter, setting, screen presentation/format, player perspective, and game-playing strategies.

Some people focus on playing one particular genre.

Certain genres are more playable on particular platforms.


1. Action

Almost every arcade game (e.g. Pac-Man) is an action game.

The goal of most action games involves quickly destroying your enemies, while avoiding being destroyed yourself. o Simpler gameplay,

o Real-time interval.

Action sub-genres: 1. Platformer

2. Shooter

3. Racing

4. Fighting


1.1. Platformer

The platformer action sub-genre focuses on: o Players moving quickly through an environment,

o Often jumping and dodging to avoid obstacles, and

o Sometimes collecting items along the way.

Super Mario Bros. is one of the best selling video games of all time.

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag


1.2. Shooter

The shooter action sub-genre focuses on: o Combat between a player and the other characters,

o Usually shooting with guns and other weapons.

Killzone 3 Doom is a 1993 science fiction horror-themed first-person shooter video game.


First Person Shooter (FPS)

In FPSs, the player has a first-person perspective and cannot see his/her character onscreen.

Killzone 3 (2011)


Third Person Shooter (TPS)

TPSs allow players to see their characters, along with the rest of the game world.

Gears of War Judgment (2012)


FPS vs. TPS

What are the differences?

Which one seems more immediate?

Which one gives the player more degree of freedom?


1.3. Racing

Games in the racing sub-genre involve: o The player’s vehicle racing one or more opponents,

o Attempting to make the vehicle move as quickly as possible.

Need for Speed: Rivals was released for Microsoft Windows, PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2013

The Need for Speed (2004)


1.4. Fighting

Many fighting games are two-person games in which: o Each player controls a character to fight the opponent,

o They are often viewed from a side perspective, and

o Each session often lasts only an average of 90 seconds.

Mortal Kombat (1992) Mortal Kombat (2011)


2. Adventure

Characteristics of adventure games include interactive story, exploration, collecting, puzzle-solving, navigating mazes and Decoding messages. o Adventure games are usually turn-based.

Beyond: Two Souls is an interactive drama action-adventure game for the PS3 console, released in 2013.

Syberia (2002)


3. Action-Adventure

It’s the only hybrid genre that has distinguished itself as an accepted genre. o Quick, reflexive movements as the character hunts down enemies

o Conceptual puzzles and story elements

Watch Dogs is an upcoming 2014 open world action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft (2014).

Resident Evil (1996)


4. Casino

Addiction can be a motivation to play games.

Electronic versions of popular games found in casinos!

The addiction motivation is closely tied to gambling. o Many online versions of this genre are run by online gambling sites.

Solitaire (2001) Solitaire (2009)


5. Puzzle

A pure puzzle game focuses on: o Solving a series of puzzles without controlling a character,

o There is little or no story surrounding puzzle games, and

o Either real-time or turn-based.

Minesweeper(2009) IBM PC version of the Tetris (1986)


6. Role-Playing

Role-playing games (RPGs) are characterized by: o Containing strong storylines,

o Containing player-characters that improve through the game, and

o Emotional connection between players and their characters.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) Fallout (1997)


7. Simulation

Simulations (also called sims) attempt to replicate systems, machines, and experiences using real-world rules.

They can be used for: o Training and recruiting by military and government institutions, or

o Sheer entertainment purposes.

Simulation sub-genres: 1. Vehicle Simulation

2. Sports & Participatory Simulation

3. Process Simulation (Construction & Management)


7.1. Vehicle Simulation

The player usually operates complicated vehicles such as jet fighters, ships, or tanks. o Highly accurate,

o Right down to the equipment controls and user manual

Flight Simulator X: Acceleration (2007) Flight Simulator 3.0 (1998)


7.2. Sports & Participatory Simulation

Participatory simulations engage the player to experience the simulation as a participant within it.

The sports genre is a type of participatory sim.

FIFA 14 (2014) FIFA 97 (1997)


7.3. Process Simulation

Process simulations involve real-world systems or processes. o These games are also known as construction and management sims

(CMS), god, or toy games.

o This type of sim focuses on the ongoing maintenance of a system.

Sim City(2013) Sim City Classic (1989)


8. Strategy

Strategy games have their origin in classic board games such as chess.

Players are required to manage a limited set of resources to achieve a particular goal. o Most strategy games take place in a military setting.

o The player’s character is relatively unimportant.

o The player’s resources become central to the game experience.

Strategy sub-genres: 1. Turn-Based Strategy (TBS)

2. Real-Time Strategy (RTS)


8.1. Turn-Based Strategy (TBS)

In TBS games, player deals with discrete decisions such as: o What types of resources to create,

o When to deploy them, and

o How to use them to the best advantage.

Battle for Wesnoth (2003) Total War: Rome II (2013)


8.2. Real-Time Strategy (RTS)

It’s surprising how popular RTS games have become!

One set of resources might flourish while others fail because the player can’t feasibly focus on all sets at once.

Rise of Nations (2003) Command & Conquer: Generals 2 (2013)


9. Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO)

MMOs are sometimes called persistent-state worlds (PSWs).

The most important MMO development issues: o Maintenance,

o Continuous production of game content,

o Balancing social interaction with immersion, and

o Players’ misbehavior.


9. Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO)

There are several variations under the MMO umbrella: o MMORPGs,

o MMOFPSs, and

o MMORTSs.

World of Warcraft (2006) Battlefield Play4Free (2010)


The Significance of Goals & Genres

Determine the goal of the game.

Identify a subset of genres that might best address that goal.

For example, if you want your game to teach players how to fix a car, an obvious genre match would be process simulation game. o Is this the only possibility?

Think about it!


References

Novak’s textbook,

Wikipedia, and

Some other sources on the Internet.

03. Goals and Genres

Engineering

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