Genre Defining Games

[4RM3D]

Speaking of game genres can be a tricky thing. For example, when a game is a RPG, it really doesn't say much. Even if you go into a sub-genre saying a game is a wRPG or a jRPG it still doesn't say much. And it doesn't help most games try to incorporate RPG elements into their games (and often fail). To make matters worse there isn't even a clear definition of what RPG (games) really means. So basically based on genre you don't really get a clear picture of what to expect of a game, with the exception of a few clear-cut genres.

Well, enough of that rant. Wouldn't it be nice if we could talk about game titles instead of game genres. I mean when a game is released and it's called a Diablo clone then everyone pretty much know what to expect.

A few more examples of genre defining games:
- The Elder Scrolls (e.g. Skyrim)
- Grand Theft Auto
- Final Fantasy
- CoD: Modern Warfare

And the list goes on...

The question is two-fold: what are your genre defining games and do to think there is merit in using these game to label (new) genres?

 

[upgrayedd]

Bit early on the Skyrim Call, Would have had much more luck saying Oblivion, We've hardly seen a wave of Massive Fantasy RPG's After Skyrim, its the best one however Oblivion is the one your looking at

 

[FalloutJack]

'Ere, lemme give this a try.

I think that Shin Megami Tensei games and the like (especially including Persona games) properly define RPGs as some of their best overall. This is the series which all others may be judged by to me.

I believe the Fallout games fulfill all the necessary requirements for action games with RPG elements, regardless of whether or not it's in the first, the third, or (in the case of Fallout 1 and 2) the second person view.

I consider Blazblue the definitive, well-rounded, and uniquely-weird representative for 2D fighters and probably Soul Calibur games for 3D.

Portal and Portal 2 remain awesome puzzle champion.

Anyway, moving on...I think that genres are really breaking all the time. The lines are blurring fast. Persona 3 and 4 break up your fighting, item-collecting, and so on with social activity in a manner that is unlike RPGs overall...and part of the appeal. Fallout has always been hard to define because it's in flux, it's tongue-in-cheek, and it has some features that can't be found in any other game. I think concretely-defined genres are going to be harder and harder to manage as time goes by.

 

[Bostur]

With RPGs it's hard to do, since they go back so far and the term has changed so much. The original would probably be Rogue or PnP D&D. Many modern RPGs have more in common with shooters in terms of gameplay than their turn-based ancestors. A case that begs the question, are we talking about genres defined by gameplay mechanics, or genres defined by the style of storytelling?

For some other genres it's easier, but not flawless.

Populous - God Sim
|-SimCity - God Sim with economics.
|-Dune 2 - RTS

Civilization - 4x

Maze - 3D dungeon crawling
|-Doom - 3D dungeon crawling with shooting


It will probably end up more like a tree than a list. The tricky part is when branches cross over, Elder Scrolls inherits from both Rogue and Doom.

 

[Full]

FPS's have to go to Halo, at least for the modern era. Mainstream console wise, that is. It was the first to have regenerating shields, a two gun limit, and was a front-runner riding along with the wave of FPS's giving an ass about telling some kind of (at least scripted) story. IMO, Half Life, Metroid Prime, and Medal of Honor, I'd say, are in that same car.

 

[StBishop]

I believe this is relevant.

http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/aesthetics-of-play

It talks about how event though Mass Effect 1 was a third person cover based shooter with some RPG mechanics shoehorned in, we all know that it's really an RPG.

Just like we all know that Skyrim played as an archer isn't an FPS, even though that's what you're doing - shooting, in first person.

Just like we know that Uncharted isn't the same as God of War, even though they're both action adventure games (and they're in the same category of action adventure, despite one being a cover based shooter and one being a hack/slash-'em-up).