History Main / GameplayRoulette

* ''VideoGame/{{Incoming}}'' is pretty consistent about making you blow poop up, but how you do it changes constantly in the Story mode. A mission might make you play as a defense turret, an helicopter ferrying supplies around, a tank, a jet, and then go back to the turret again. This also applies to a lesser extent to its spiritual predecessor, ''Darklight Conflict''.

That's Gameplay Roulette, in a nutshell; the trend of some games or franchises to switch up their gameplay in a frequent basis. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools Done well, it will provide a dose of variety and flexibility in order to avoid stagnation. Done badly, it might be perceived by fans as a desperate attempt from creators to try to either keep the present formula fresh or look for new genres that can fit into the series]].

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cloud_11.jpg]]

[[quoteright:320:[[VideoGame/FrogFractions https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/on-mars-teaches-typing_8875.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:320:Isn't [[BlatantLies learning math]] fun?]]

* Many European computer games of the 8-bit era (particularly those from the Spanish publisher Dinamic, e.g. ''VideoGame/AfterTheWar'', ''Army Moves'', ''Freddy Hardest'') came in multiple parts, each of which would load separately and offer a different style of gameplay, often even with a different-looking title screen and status bar. These disparate parts would be linked together by an ExcusePlot and passwords given in between.

* ''VideoGame/TheImpossibleQuiz''. Usually, it's a straight quiz game (accounting for some bizarre logic), but then you have to do things like help Dr. Eggman mutilate VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog's corpse, stroke a cat, or clip toenails.

* Creator/{{Konami}}'s ''Knightmare'' (''Majou Densetsu'') series for the UsefulNotes/{{MSX}} started with a top-down VerticalScrollingShooter. The second game, ''VideoGame/KnightmareIITheMazeOfGalious'', was a platform-based ActionAdventure. The Japan-only third game, ''Shalom'', was an EasternRPG.

* The UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}} game ''Awesome'' plays as a ''VideoGame/ThunderForce''-style arena shmup during standard space battles, in asteroid fields, and when landing on a planet, then changes to an ''VideoGame/AfterBurner''-style third-person rail shooter for boss battles, and finally to overhead run 'n gun gameplay a la ''VideoGame/IkariWarriors'' on the planet surfaces.

* ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'' consists of multiple shorter stories containing different gameplay elements (''Spring Breeze'' is a short remake of ''Kirby's Dream Land'' that adds [[PowerCopying Copy Abilities]], ''[=Dyna Blade=]'' has a world map, ''Gourmet Race'' is a foot race against King Dedede, ''The Great Cave Offensive'' has {{Metroidvania}} elements and is the closest the series got to a true {{Metroidvania}} until ''Kirby & The Amazing Mirror'', ''Revenge of Meta Knight'' has a darker atmosphere and timed gameplay, and ''Milky Way Wishes'' disables the ability to gain Copy Abilities from inhaled enemies but adds power-ups that let you transform into specific Copy Abilities anytime you want. There is also a BossRush, and minigames featuring completely different gameplay). The UsefulNotes/NintendoDS remake, ''Kirby Super Star Ultra'', adds even more sub-games (Revenge of the King is a remake of the original ''Kirby's Dream Land's'' Extra Game, Helper to Hero is a BossRush featuring the PlayerMooks, Meta Knightmare Ultra has you go through most of the original platformers again as Meta Knight, and The TRUE Arena is a BossRush featuring the bosses created for the remake), and adds three new minigames (the original minigames, complete with their original graphics, are unlockable).

* ''VideoGame/MazinSagaMutantFighter'' for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis regularly switches between a decent BeatEmUp for the stages and a mediocre one-on-one FightingGame for the end boss battles.

Interestingly, Bill Williams, the man who designed ''Bart's Nightmare'', created many Gameplay Roulette games for UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers. ''VideoGame/AlleyCat'' was about a cat who had to jump into the windows of a house and perform various cat-like tasks such as catching mice, knocking a bird cage off a table and chasing the bird, drinking milk out of saucers guarded by sleepy dogs, and other things. Though the core gameplay didn't really change. However, a more drastic change occurred in ''Necromancer''. The first level had you planting trees and protecting them from evil spirits and creatures. The second had you navigating a dungeon with the ability to summon the trees you had planted and protected previously. The third had you engaging in a fight against a wizard of some sort.

* Among ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' [[VideoGame/MinecraftAdventureMaps adventure maps]], the ''Diversity'' series is known for containing 10 mini-maps of varying genres in each map. Each one includes a [[AdventureGame story-based adventure branch]], a [[PlatformGame parkour branch]], a dropper branch[[note]]Fall from a great height while avoiding obstacles to make it to the safe zone at the bottom[[/note]], an [[MultiMookMelee arena branch]], a [[PuzzleGame puzzle branch]], a [[WideOpenSandbox survival branch]] with standard ''Minecraft'' gameplay, a [[PopQuiz trivia branch]], an escape branch[[note]]Escape from a large dungeon full of traps and puzzles[[/note]], and a [[FinalBoss boss battle branch]] at the end. The first two maps also have a [[MazeGame labyrinthian branch]], while ''Diversity 3'' swaps it out for an Elytra branch based around [[PassThroughTheRings flying through rings.]]

* ''VideoGame/TheUltimateStuntman'', an obscure unlicensed NES game by Codemasters/Camerica.
* ''VideoGame/TheUltimateStuntman'' switches between being a driving game, a platformer, a wall climber, a bomb disposal puzzle, and gliding segments frequently.

* {{Creator/Konami}}'s ''Knightmare'' (''Majou Densetsu'') series for the UsefulNotes/{{MSX}} started with a top-down VerticalScrollingShooter. The second game, ''VideoGame/KnightmareIITheMazeOfGalious'', was a platform-based ActionAdventure. The Japan-only third game, ''Shalom'', was an EasternRPG.

* One of several reasons that the ''VideoGame/StarFox'' series hasn't been as strong since ''[[VideoGame/StarFox64 64]]'' is that the gameplay has been constantly changing from RailShooter in the [[VideoGame/StarFox1 original]] and ''[[VideoGame/StarFox64 64]]'', ActionAdventure in ''[[VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures Adventures]]'', ThirdPersonShooter in ''[[VideoGame/StarFoxAssault Assault]]'', and RealTimeStrategy in ''[[VideoGame/StarFoxCommand Command]]''. ''Adventures'' itself, in addition to being action-adventure, also goes through the usual rail shooter when Fox travels between Dinosaur Planet and its satellital regions, in which gameplay adds elements of DungeonCrawling (this is also true for the Force Point Temples and Krazoa Palace). ''VideoGame/StarFoxZero'' brings back the traditional gameplay seen in the first two games, but the unconventional controls received mixed reactions.

* ''{{Transformers}}'' suffers from this trope somewhat, with its myriad attempts to pump out specialized lines for specialized fans: the ''Alternators'' and ''Titanium'' lines for collectors, ''Go-Go-Gobots'' for preschoolers, etc. It has also not had a consistent genre for its video games, spanning from platformers to {{Fighting Game}}s to Action/Adventures.

* The ''VideoGame/ShiningSeries'' was originally a first person dungeon crawler. Then it turned into a TurnBasedStrategy franchise before releasing one more first person game and deciding it wanted to be a action RPG. Even the action RPG games bear little in common with each other. It later turned into a fighting game.

** ''Sonic 2006''. There were three "main" gameplay styles, with Sonic focusing on running, Silver focusing on exploration/level manipulation, and Shadow having a blend of running and combat, but each character had two "Amigo" characters who play occasionally switched to. Sonic had Tails and Knuckles, Shadow had Rouge and Omega, and Silver had Blaze and Amy.

** ''Army Moves'' (Dinamic) had Stage 1 as a ShootEmUp in a jeep driving from left to right, Stages 2-4 as a ShootEmUp in a helicopter flying from right to left, and Stages 5-7 (on the second load) switch to foot-soldiering action with a little platforming.
** ''Savage'' consisted of three levels: a side-scrolling action level, ''VideoGame/SpaceHarrier''-style running-towards-the-horizon, and a flying exploration level.

* Parodied by Creator/ProZD in "[[https://youtu.be/=W1ZKcZbi1rg games that think more gameplay mechanics equals more fun]]".

* The levels of ''VideoGame/AbobosBigAdventure'' are each based on specific NES games -- [[VideoGame/DoubleDragon Double Drabobo]], [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros Super Mabobo]], Urban Chabobo (''Urban Champion''), [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI Zeld Abobo]], [[VideoGame/ProWrestling Pro Wrabobo]], [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic Mega Mabobo]], [[VideoGame/{{Contra}} Contra Abobo]], and [[VideoGame/PunchOut Punch Abobo]]. In Pro Wrabobo in particular, the first half of the level is based on ''VideoGame/BalloonFight''.

* The ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' series is notorious for this effect:

->'''[=ProZD=]:''' Man, the shooting in this is really well-executed, I love how it feels.\\
'''Egg guy:''' It's time for egg delivery! Can you deliver sixty eggs?\\
'''[=ProZD=]:''' I don't want to.\\
'''Egg guy:''' Too bad, it's mandatory, and if you run out of time you have to start over!
-->-- '''Creator/ProZD''', ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1ZKcZbi1rg games that think more gampelay mechanics equals more fun]]''

->'''ProZD:''' Man, the shooting in this is really well-executed, I love how it feels.\\

'''ProZD:''' I don't want to.\\