Classification of computer and video games

Have you ever wondered how many genres of games there are? If not, this article will suit your taste, because in it we will consider the most popular genres of games among players, both online and single player games.

Strategy games

The strategy game is a popular genre of computer games in which planning and strategic thinking are key to achieving victory.

The point of such games is to manage some resource, which must be converted into an advantage over the enemy with the help of an operational plan developed taking into account the changing situation.

Common resources in military strategies are troops (individual characters, units, or armies) and position, which should be developed and used to gain advantage and victory. In economic strategies, the emphasis is on the development of the economic infrastructure of the party controlled by the player.

Modern strategic games, as a rule, combine both military and economic characteristics (gathering resources, training troops).

There are also online strategies that are only for playing on the Internet. Among them are browser games and games that require the use of the game-client.

There are turn-based strategy games and real-time strategy games.

Turn-based strategies

Turn-based strategies are games in which the players perform their actions in turn. Dividing the gameplay into moves separates it from real life and deprives the game of dynamism, as a result of which these games are not as popular as real-time strategy games.

On the other hand, the player has much more time to think, while making a move, nothing rushes him, which allows him to devote more time to planning.

Real time strategy

In these strategies, the players perform their actions simultaneously. They appeared a little later than turn-based, the first game of this genre to become famous was Dune II (1992), the plot of which is based on the work of the same name by Frank Herbert.

Even then, the general principles of real-time strategies were formed:

• the economy in the game is auxiliary in nature and is aimed at collecting resources, the economy is based on "buildings" that can be built and destroyed;
• "Buildings " produce units and conduct research. Some buildings can attack the enemy;
• unit - any combat unit (infantryman, tank, plane, ship) that can usually attack other units and buildings and destroy them. Units have parameters, the most important of which are "hit points", damage done, armor (which reduces the damage received to a unit), speed;
• the collection of resources is carried out by special units in specially provided places, after which they are transferred to a special building at the base and can be spend on research, unit production, etc;
• resources can be of different types (for example, gold, wood, money, metal, coal) and are spent on the construction of units and buildings (it also takes time);
• all buildings and units have a vision radius beyond which they cannot "see ";
• the player can see what is happening only in those territories that fall within the view range of his buildings and units. The areas in which player have not been are black so called "fog of war".

The most popular RTS series: Warcraft, StarCraft, C&C.

Global strategies

The most complex strategies in which the player controls the state. In his hands is not only war and the economy, but also scientific progress, the development of new lands and diplomacy. These games are divided into historical, fantasy and space games. The most famous representatives of the genre: Civilization, Master of Orion, Total War series.

Wargames

Wargame is not a genre, but a characteristic of a particular game, which says that you do not have to count money in it, most of the playing time you will fight by all available means. Despite the complete absence of the economy, players can easily improve the quality and quantity of their squads, skillfully managing the two most important game resources - territory and time.

Shooters

Shooting games are a genre of computer games in which the player's success depends to a large extent on his reaction speed and ability to make tactical decisions quickly. The action of such games develops very dynamically and requires tension of attention and quick reaction to the events taking place in the game. In this case, as the main means of progress in the game, as a rule, any weapon is used.

The most iconic representatives: Half-Life, Counter Strike, Doom, Wolfenstein.

MMORPG

MMORPG is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (usually in the fantasy genre) in which players can interact with each other in the game world. They can help each other in completing tasks, exchange things, bargain, fight in duels. The player is offered a fictional character who can be controlled.

Many MMORPGs have a division into the types of game servers:

• PvE is a player against the outside world. The player mainly interacts with the game world, improving the characteristics of his hero, getting him the best equipment, killing strong monsters;
• PvP is player versus player. The main role is played by confrontation, communication and exchange of game items between players;
• RP - role playing games. In them, you need to create a story for your character, come up with a name that would correspond to the story developed by you (player).

Quests

Quest Games is an adventure game (walker), one of the main genres of games that require the player to solve mental problems to advance through the plot. The plot can be predetermined or give many outcomes, the choice of which depends on the player's actions.

The first "progenitors" of quests appeared in the early 1970s, when programmer and speleologist William Crowther developed a program called Colossal Cave Adventure for the PDP-10 computer. The game interface was based on text only.

With the development of computer technology and the emergence of home computers, characterized by a developed graphic system, the quest genre also received further development.

Quests acquired the first graphic illustrations of what was happening, which at first were purely decorative. The player still controlled the character's actions by entering sequences of commands on the keyboard, and the image remained static and served only to stimulate the player's imagination.

Simulators

Simulators are software or devices that simulate the control of a device. They can be used for both educational and entertainment purposes.

Simulation games of cars, ground combat vehicles, spaceships, aircraft, helicopters, submarines and surface combat ships, trains are widely known. There are also a number of real-life simulation games.

The main principle of the simulator is to accurately reproduce the features of a certain thematic area (for example: a car simulator should reproduce the physical features of cars as accurately as possible). A computer steering wheel is used to play computer car simulators. Fans of car simulators call themselves simracers.

Car simulators are divided into two directions:

• arcade simulators (for example, the Need for Speed series). These games are designed to have a good time, so the controls are greatly simplified;
• realistic (e.g. rFactor, Live for speed, iRacing, Gran Turismo, Project Cars). These games convincingly mimic the behavior of cars and are only available to skilled drivers. Even those who participate in real races use car simulators for training and entertainment.

Economic simulators

Economic simulators are strategies in which the military side is absent in principle, so the player is only required to improve the economy (and this is much more difficult than in non-economic strategies). Sometimes there are rivals (competitors) in them, but military action still does not take place in such a game. Economic simulators are a very specific genre, these are games for an amateur.

Casino and gambling

Casinos and gambling include representatives such as:

• Blackjack,
• Roulette,
• Poker,
• Online slots,
• Baccarat,
• And many others.

The main feature of this direction is the ability to win money for winning the game. For example, you can win at slot machines a jackpot combination, which will grant you real 5 000 000 dollars.

Online economic games

In connection with the general global development of the Internet, economic online games are gaining strength. Such games represent a kind of world with their own rules and laws, in which the player is given the opportunity to engage in active commercial activities: to build trading and industrial enterprises and structures, to develop natural resources, conduct active financial and banking activities within the gaming space.

The gaming turnover of players in such games sometimes reaches several tens of thousands of dollars. All kinds of natural resources, commercial real estate, banks and even entire companies are bought and sold in such games for real money.

Fighting games

Fighting is a genre of video games that simulate hand-to-hand combat of a small number of characters within a limited space called an arena.

Fighting games are similar to Beat ‘em Up games, but there are differences between them. So, in most fighting games, the player does not need to move along a long level and cannot go outside the arena, and the battle consists of an odd number of separate rounds and is not continuous.

An important feature of fighting games is their focus on competition, rather than cooperation between players, which makes games in this genre suitable for esports championships. Usually, fighting games provide the player with the opportunity to fight in a one-on-one mode against a computer opponent or another player, less often - they allow three or four opponents to fight simultaneously in the same arena.