What Genre takes the most "skill"?

[Delock]

I'd say each one is completely different, but if there's two genres that have required me to be fully aware no matter the difficulty, it would be RPGs and horror games.
Horror is self explanitory (everything is trying to kill you), but RPGs aren't thought of that much as being hard, despite the fact that this is the genre that made multiple saves necessary.

What's that? You didn't level out all your characters and decided to focus on one party? Sounds like it's time to split the party up. Oh... turns out that the skill set you selected sucks. Time to start over. Mmm, turns out that you can't go back to town and restock after that boss, as you've just been captured/the town is under attack. Pray or reload your save. Make absolutely certain you've got these spells, or the boss will destroy you.

I'm reminded of why strategy guides were necessary back in the day.

Runners up: Stealth, for obvious reasons again, and Platforming, a harsh, unforgiving genre.

 

[Dastardly]

The discussion itself will go nowhere, as there are not clearly defined terms that everyone is expected to use.

For instance, what do you MEAN by "skill?" What is the definition, or at the very least DESCRIPTION of what constitutes "skill?" Is this physical skill (like reflexes, endurance, or hand-eye coordination)? Is this mental skill (intelligence, knowledge, memorization, or reaction speed)?

Different genres highlight different aspects of the "skills" I just listed. Some, however, might not consider "memorization" to be very skillful--which would leave out a big portion of the "skill" in fighting games, which revolve around memorizing special moves and combos. Others might discredit reflexes, as some of that can be attributed to a disparity in hardware or software effectiveness between opponents.

Basically, there are two camps showing the most here:

Camp A, in which "skill" is largely physical. They tend to favor FPS and fighting games, citing that a person has to have good reflexes and muscle memory. The other camp will simply claim it's all rote memorization (of combos and character-specific strategies), and isn't inherently skillful.

Camp B, in which "skill" is largely mental. They tend to favor RTS games (and, to a lesser degree, also fighting games), citing that a person has to know the tools they have, when to build what, what to use where, and be able to react to any opponent on-the-fly. The other camp will simply claim it's all about rote memorization (of the units and their foils), and isn't inherently skillful.

In both cases, people will claim that the game requires skill because playing against a human opponent means an infinite number of possible strategies with which to contend. And, when the opposing side makes the same argument, both camps will claim that while it's POSSIBLE to have infinite strategies, there inevitably arise two or three that everyone uses--the ones that distill the game mechanics down to the lowest-common-denominators (offense, defense, and speed, usually).

 

[The Stonker]

Farmvill.

 

[Amphoteric]

Easily Real time strategy games. You have to manage time, resources, build order, your army and know exactly what your opponent is doing at the same time. If you can't multitask you will be destroyed in a competitive RTS match.

 

[MaVeN1337]

id say rts's followed by competative fps's

That sounds good to me.

 

[snow]

RTS takes most skill.

FPS is mostly reaction time and is very luck based.

I disagree about what you have to say about FPS, but then again you may be talking about casual play.

But of course, I do agree that RTS takes a lot of skill, the slightest mistakes can be very costly, for example, this one game of SC2 I ended up losing because of the misplacement of ONE unit. I was ever so sad...

For me FPS is alot about being at the right place at the right time, shooting in the right place at the right time. And ofcourse how fast you can aim your mouse at someone coming out of the corner.

I respect that, there are moments where you just happen to be in a spot where your enemy randomly chucks a grenade and is now scraping bits of you off of the wall with a shovel. Even more so when you're in a public server and there's 20 some people from the other team doing just that.

For the most part though, I was doing competitive play for a little while, and happened to be labeled as clan strategist in 2 clans for 2 different games. On that level of play, there is a lot of organization, planning, and practice to be had with not only yourself, but your team as well.

That and, well, in CoD4 specifically, there are tiny little details with the guns that REALLY make a difference if you know about them and actually make use of them. The Skorpion for example has very little recoil, if not any recoil at all when aiming down the site, so it ends up becoming one of the best long range weapons that isn't a sniper rifle. I've actually been kicked and banned from a lot of servers because people thought I was hacking.

That's just one lil tidbit of happy funstuffs though. There is so much to learn about that game that only a small portion of the community knows about. With that knowledge of the game, reaction time, although is really good to have, doesn't seem as important is it would normally, and luck, well... Luck happens, and happens in EVERY genre just about, but for fps games and rts games, I try to rule it out.

 

[zehydra]

Whatever you're bad at.

 

[Alden Hou]

i'd say rts games, starcraft 2 is freaking hard to play, everyone is some korean dude with 300 hotkeys a minute speed, while i'm clicking like 2 keys and using my mouse, rts requires a balance of strategy, recon, and speed, which in my opinion is incredibly hard to balance.

 

[Ryuo]

I'll go with RPG Grid-Based Tactics. Fire Emblem and Tactics Ogre are just a few (of many) of the good ones. (As much as I love Disgaea it doesn't count on the fact that little skill is required after the first 10 minutes of the game.)

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

I don't know about genres but the 2 most skill based games I've played are Metal Gear Online (Where it's not unheard of to have around where 100% of kills are head shots)

I love Metal Gear Online for the skill it takes to play the game. You CAN actually play the game other ways than just shooting for the head; you can become a expert shielder and shotgunner and forgo getting good at headshots completely. And, if you have near 100% of your kills from headshots, you're playing the game wrong; you should be able to rack up at least 10% of your kills from auto-aiming. MGO is my favorite online shooter this gen because of the different tactics you can use to do well.

---

Does "skill" actually have anything to do with playing smart or strategizing? I ask this because if you look up the definition of skill, it pretty much refers to getting physically good at something. So, in my opinion, it takes no skill to play chess because there is no physical skill in actually playing the game; you don't have to get good at moving the chess pieces around. Chess is all about out playing your opponent on a mental level. I am in no way putting down games that emphasize thinking and strategy, I prefer games to require both thinking and the physical skill of executing exact and precise controller actions.

I would say the genre that requires the most skill is the fighting genre. I would say shooters like Metal Gear Online which require aiming precision to get good at are high on the list as well. I would say RTSs don't require that much skill because it's all about getting resources and strategizing. I've never played a RTS so please enlighten me on how I'm wrong on certain points; the genre just has never interested me much. Doesn't a RTS just require you being very detail oriented, getting the right resources, and placing your troops at the right spot and everything? Of what I know about RTSs, there is no time in the game that is similar to executing that perfect combo in a fighting game or letting off that perfect shot in shooter.

 

[StriderShinryu]

Fighters, easily. Reading all the FAQs and knowing all the strategies in the world won't help you if you don't have the skill and mental ability to execute under pressure, and in a fighting game you're pretty much always under pressure.

A well balanced RTS would likely be up there as well but in an RTS I would say that overall tactics and understanding could partially compensate for lacking skill.

 

[kintaris]

I'd say fighting, FPS and RTS are all games that can test skill. Fighting requires quick reactions and a decent memory, FPS (a good FPS) requires skill in tactics, reactions and in the online community good people management. RTS requires pretty much all of the above, but I don't think that should edge it above the others because of course you have the advantage over the other genres in having a detailed GUI and usually a lot of text warnings about developments on the field to help you multi-task, which takes the edge off a bit. RTS campaigns normally unfold at a much slower pace than your average Tekken bout and Halo standoff, too, allowing you more time to juggle more elements.

Easiest genre has to be the platformer. Unchanging levels and enemy positions and usually no online element to introduce anything random. That being said, achievements and trophies nowadays stretch the skills of even the platformer player to complete things in record time or without dying, so there is still skill even there.

On the whole I'd say there's more pressure to be skilful in games than ever before, despite the rise of the casual game.

 

[Mass B]

probably RTS games, especially if you play online, and games like Fire Emblem. Really old games seem to be a lot harder, too, and they require a certain amount of finesse to complete, and a knowledge of the game that comes from experience.

 

[GloatingSwine]

Impossible question. Different genres require and test different skills. The skill required to play Mushihimesama Futari and not die every three seconds is not the same as the skill required to win World War 2 with France in Hearts of Iron.

And because those skills are so radically different, saying that one particular genre requires more skill than another is impossible. You can compare within genres which game requires more skill, because the skills being tested are largely the same, but not between genres.

 

[Space Spoons]

Definitely fighting games. Played at the highest level, it's very much like speed chess.

Of course, I think it needs to be said that any genre can require huge amounts of skill. The question is whether or not the genre in question sees widespread competitive play to necessitate that skill. After all, it doesn't take much effort to beat a child at checkers, but it can be mentally exhausting to play against someone who practices regularly and actively exercises strategies.

 

[Aeriath]

I'm saying RTS, probably because I seem to lack the skills to (most of the time) beat the computer on normal later in the campaign. This incompetence affects me at any level of play. My second choice was Fighters, because at the higher levels they need a mix of skill and reaction times but at lower levels even my sorry self can button mash and put up a better fight than I would in an RTS.

 

[Charisma]

I don't think high skill requirement is a trait of any one genre; all of them have produced games that require a lot of skill.

Generally I'd say competitive multi-player support is the component of any game that demands the most skill, for man's most formidable enemy is other men.

 

[BigDannyH]

RTSs? FPSs?

Has the world forgotten how difficult to master the arcade fighting game is?

Spot on!

I always thought of skill as the application of technique at the appropriate time. I'm sure that's the definition in sport. Surely RTSs are tactical rather than this definition of skill. Like chess.

Watching top level Street Fighter matches (or playing in very amateur ones) seems to fit the above definition. If RTSs are video games' answer to chess, then fighting games are their answer to table tennis.

Those top SF boys have unbelievable tekkers.

 

[C95J]

Probably FPS or strategy games.

 

[Eggsnham]

RTS, I think.

In a good and balanced RTS game, you have to plan and strategize (Strategy is in the genre's name) and know what you're doing with your resources so that you don't inadvertently cause the downfall of your own civilization.