I've been wanting to discuss genres and video games for awhile and I wasn't sure how to bring it up until I had this moment a few hours ago to explain what I mean by what I'm asking.
So, I've been thinking a lot about the video game L.A. Noire from Rockstar; how it makes a love letter to the Noir Genre, and if it was successful or not in that endeavor. I would argue that, while it hits every beat of the classic film genre, the genre itself isn't modified to fit the format of a video game. For example, a bitter ending of a 90 min film vs. a 40-80 hour experience.
On the other hand, also from Rockstar games, Red Dead Redeption was a Western Genre game that wrote a similar love letter that L.A. Noire did. RDR hit very nearly every Western Genre trope you could possibly think of and wrapped it all into a bow. And, based on how big of a hit it was, it solidified that Western Games can work.
So, I pose the question, are there certain genres that simply do not work in the format of a video game? How would a genre need to be adapted to fit the medium? Are some genres simply better as video games than others? Are there reverse situations of (narrative, not gameplay) genres that work great as video games, but don't work as well in other mediums?
I've been wanting to discuss genres and video games for awhile and I wasn't sure how to bring it up until I had this moment a few hours ago to explain what I mean by what I'm asking.
So, I've been thinking a lot about the video game L.A. Noire from Rockstar; how it makes a love letter to the Noir Genre, and if it was successful or not in that endeavor. I would argue that, while it hits every beat of the classic film genre, the genre itself isn't modified to fit the format of a video game. For example, a bitter ending of a 90 min film vs. a 40-80 hour experience.
On the other hand, also from Rockstar games, Red Dead Redeption was a Western Genre game that wrote a similar love letter that L.A. Noire did. RDR hit very nearly every Western Genre trope you could possibly think of and wrapped it all into a bow. And, based on how big of a hit it was, it solidified that Western Games can work.
So, I pose the question, are there certain genres that simply do not work in the format of a video game? How would a genre need to be adapted to fit the medium? Are some genres simply better as video games than others? Are there reverse situations of (narrative, not gameplay) genres that work great as video games, but don't work as well in other mediums?