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Episode 8 – Genre Theory
In the eighth episode of Meaningful Play, we reflect on our favourite kinds of games, and quickly realise that genre is quite complex in game studies. We discuss what genres are comprised of, how they are established, and how they change. In particular, we consider the role that genre has in games compared to film, noting that it communicates theme and mechanics, and so game genres are often difficult to pin down. We share games that stood out because of their ability to cross genre boundaries, such as Portal and Doki Doki Literature Club. Finally, we consider the usefulness of genre – while games are constantly crossing boundaries, genre is important in marketing, and can help players understand their own preferences. Genre is also quite important for certain players who want to experience certain kinds of play.
Games:
Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Beyond: Two Souls, Bioshock,
Children of the Nile: Alexandria, Detroit: Beyond Human, Doki Doki Literature
Club, Dragon Age: Origins, Elder Scrolls, Grand Theft Auto, Heavy Rain, Life is
Strange, Mini Ninjas, Portal, Shadow of Mordor, Super Mario Bros, Watchdogs
(series).
References:
Buchanan, I 2010, Oxford dictionary of critical theory, Oxford University Press, New York.
Chandler, D & Munday, R 2016, A dictionary of media and communication 2nd edn., Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Clarke, RI, Lee, JH & Clark, N 2017, ‘Why video game genres
fail: A classificatory analysis’, Games and Culture, vol. 12, no. 5, pp.
445-465.
Costikyan, G 2005, ‘Game styles, innovation, and
new audiences: An historical view’, in DiGRA 2005: Changing views – worlds
in play, Vancouver, pp. 1–5, accessed October 13, 2016, from
<http://www.digra.org/wp-content/uploads/digital-library/06278.11155.pdf>;.
Doherty, SM, Keebler, JR, Davidson, SS, Palmer, EM
& Frederick, CM 2018, ‘Recategorization of video
game genres’,
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting.
Faisal, A & Peltoniemi, M 2015, ‘Establishing
video game genres using data-driven modeling and product databases’, Games
and Culture, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 20–43.
Pinchbeck, D 2013, DOOM: SCARYDARKFAST,
University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.
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By Sian Tomkinson and Heather Blakey
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In the eighth episode of Meaningful Play, we reflect on our favourite kinds of games, and quickly realise that genre is quite complex in game studies. We discuss what genres are comprised of, how they are established, and how they change. In particular, we consider the role that genre has in games compared to film, noting that it communicates theme and mechanics, and so game genres are often difficult to pin down. We share games that stood out because of their ability to cross genre boundaries, such as Portal and Doki Doki Literature Club. Finally, we consider the usefulness of genre – while games are constantly crossing boundaries, genre is important in marketing, and can help players understand their own preferences. Genre is also quite important for certain players who want to experience certain kinds of play.
Games:
Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Beyond: Two Souls, Bioshock,
Children of the Nile: Alexandria, Detroit: Beyond Human, Doki Doki Literature
Club, Dragon Age: Origins, Elder Scrolls, Grand Theft Auto, Heavy Rain, Life is
Strange, Mini Ninjas, Portal, Shadow of Mordor, Super Mario Bros, Watchdogs
(series).
References:
Buchanan, I 2010, Oxford dictionary of critical theory, Oxford University Press, New York.
Chandler, D & Munday, R 2016, A dictionary of media and communication 2nd edn., Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Clarke, RI, Lee, JH & Clark, N 2017, ‘Why video game genres
fail: A classificatory analysis’, Games and Culture, vol. 12, no. 5, pp.
445-465.
Costikyan, G 2005, ‘Game styles, innovation, and
new audiences: An historical view’, in DiGRA 2005: Changing views – worlds
in play, Vancouver, pp. 1–5, accessed October 13, 2016, from
<http://www.digra.org/wp-content/uploads/digital-library/06278.11155.pdf>;.
Doherty, SM, Keebler, JR, Davidson, SS, Palmer, EM
& Frederick, CM 2018, ‘Recategorization of video
game genres’,
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting.
Faisal, A & Peltoniemi, M 2015, ‘Establishing
video game genres using data-driven modeling and product databases’, Games
and Culture, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 20–43.
Pinchbeck, D 2013, DOOM: SCARYDARKFAST,
University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.