History Main / VideogameGenres

* FlightSim: A game in which the player flies an airplane as realistically as possible.
* FullMotionVideo (InteractiveMovie): A game that is based around video clips, and the player must press buttons at the right time, choose the right sequence of clips, or play other games using the video as a backdrop. Sub-genre of an Adventure Game.

* {{Hack and Slash}}: A game that has the player character wield primitive, close range melee weaponry, and the goal is to kill as many enemies as possible.

* MinigameGame: A game that has a series of puzzles, challenges and games with very different requirements for defeating them.

* PartyGame: A Minigame Game in which two to four players compete against each other in a boardgame-like environment.

* FallingBlocks: A game in which blocks fall from the top of the screen, requiring the player to move and flip them so that they'll be arranged in a way to make them disappear, and if the blocks reach the top of the screen then the game ends.

* MascotFighter: Ultimate Showdown Of Ultimate Destiny is heavily featured.

* PlatformFighter: A fighting game that has great emphasis on maneuverability on dynamic stages.

* PuzzlePlatformer: A game that combines parts from Platform Games and Puzzle Games together.

* DrivingGame: A game in which the player drives a vehicle of some kind.

* {{MUCK}}: A Multi-User Text-Oriented Game that emphasizes roleplaying and player intervention.
* MultiUserDungeon ({{MUD}}) and [=MOO=]: An Interactive Fiction that allows multiple (perhaps thousands) players to play at the same time.
* {{MUSH}} (MultiUserSharedHallucination): A MUD that is just a series of rooms, with players given the bare minimum of interaction systems and let loose to create and manage their own roleplaying.

* RaisingSim: A game in which schedules for a game to process are applied, which in turn affects characters in the game, who then develop 'on their own' without constant user interference.

* {{Roguelike}}: A game that features DungeonCrawling with randomly-generated environments randomly stocked from a huge list of monsters and items, FinalDeath, AntiGrinding and is NintendoHard. Sub-genre of a Role-Playing Game.

** MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame (MMORPG): A game that has hundreds of players interacting with each other in the same world in real-time, which completing quests and leveling up. Sub-genre of a Role-Playing Game.

*** ConstructionAndManagementGames: This type of game focuses on elements like gathering and management of resources, construction, expansion, research and exploration.

* BeatEmUp: A game that has the player character use their fists against a large group of enemies. Sub-genre of an Action Game.

* BreakingOut: A game in which a paddle at the bottom of the screen bounces a ball to destroy blocks, and missing the ball results in the player losing a life.

* ConstructionAndManagementGames: This type of game focuses on elements like gathering and management of resources, construction, expansion, research and exploration.

* DigitalPinballTables: Computerized pinball games, whether replicas of PhysicalPinballTables or original boards with features that can only exist in software.

* InteractiveFiction: An Adventure Game in which the interaction is almost entirely text-based. Sub-genre of an Adventure Game.

* MazeGame : A game that takes place in a maze, and the player must either get from one side of the maze to the other, or clear it of every item that won't kill the player.

* PointAndClickGame: A game in which player interacts with the environment by moving the mouse cursor over areas of the screen and clicking on them.

* RacingGame: A game in which the player drives a vehicle of some kind and races against either other players or time.

* SpaceManagementGame: A game in which the player must figure out how to make the most out of as little space as possible.

* TimeManagementGame: A game in which the player must perform task such as serving food and changing baby's diapers as fast as possible.

* WrestlingGame: A game that simulates Professional Wrestling, with grapples, holds and throws.

* FourX (4X): A game that has four simple goals, which are eXplore, eXpand, eXploit and eXterminate. Sub-genre of a Strategy Game.

* ArtilleryGame: A game that tasks the player with successfully aiming at an opponent with a ballistics trajectory under various conditions.

* MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame (MMORPG): A game that has hundreds of players interacting with each other in the same world in real-time, which completing quests and leveling up. Sub-genre of a Role-Playing Game.

* RealTimeStrategy (RTS): A game that focuses on construction and control of a fighting force in battle that takes place in real-time.

** {{Massively Multiplayer Online|RolePlayingGame}}: A Role-Playing Game that has hundreds, thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of players all connected to it through the Internet.

* TowerDefense: A game in which the player defends a building from monsters using other buildings, sometimes with a unit or two as back-up.
* TurnBasedStrategy (TBS): A game that is about abstract mechanics of efficiently waging war, exploiting resources and controlling huge groups of combatants all at once.
* TurnBasedTactics: A game in which the player must control individual soldiers or vehicles.

* ActionRPG: A game that combines parts from Role Playing Games and Action Adventure Games together. Sub-genre of a Role-playing Game.

* DatingSim: A game in which the player courts at least one potential lover, and the player must keep track of every character's feelings about them and giving out presents, which will feel like a Role Playing Game.

* EasternRPG: A usually Japanese game that tends to have a linear plot and a party of pre-defined characters written into said plot.

* FightingGame: A game that has a martial arts duel. Sub-genre of an Action Game.

* {{Metroidvania}}: A game that combines parts from Adventure Action Games and Platform Games together.

* MultiplayerOnlineBattleArena (MOBA): A game that has teams of players competing with each other, typically using the point-and-click interface of a Real Time Strategy; but, unlike RTS games, players control only one Hero Unit instead of a military-industrial complex.

* PlatformGame (Platformer): A game that is about leaping over or onto enemy characters and between platforms of varying heights.

* StealthBasedGame: A game in which the player character is too weak to take enemies head-on and must actively hide from them. Sub-genre of an Action-Adventure Game.

* StrategyRPG (SRPG): A game that is a Role Playing Game, but it plays like a Turn Based Strategy or Real Time Strategy.
* SurvivalHorror: A game that features overwhelmed protagonist(s), oppressive atmosphere and a need for careful management of resources (ammo, health, etc.). Sub-genre of an Action-Adventure Game.

* VisualNovel: Even though people equate this with "Dating Sim", they are not the same. Unlike Dating Sims, Visual Novels are more like Adventure Games that allow you to choose your own adventure and get different endings based off of your choices. Sub-genre of an Adventure Game.
* WesternRPG: A North American or European game that features a customizable featureless protagonist.

* {{Massively Multiplayer Online|RolePlayingGame}}: A Role-Playing Game that has hundreds, thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of players all connected to it through the Internet.

* RetrauxGames: A game that uses intentionally outdated graphics for a nostalgic effect.

* RomanceGame: A Japanese game in which the primary goal is to establish a romantic relationship between the Player Character and one or more of the [=NPCs=].

* FullMotionVideo (InteractiveMovie): A game that is based around video clips, and the player must press buttons at the right time, choose the right sequence of clips, or play other games using the video as a backdrop.

* StealthBasedGame: A game in which the player character is too weak to take enemies head-on and must actively hide from them.

* VisualNovel: Even though people equate this with "Dating Sim", they are not the same. Unlike Dating Sims, Visual Novels are more like Adventure Games that allow you to choose your own adventure and get different endings based off of your choices. Sub-genre of an Adventure Game.

* BetaTest: A development version of the game, built to test how the various components of the program interact with one another and the computer. Some developers have an "Open Beta" process, giving access to a pre-release version of the game to the general public (or playtesters selected from a public pool) for more extensive testing.

* HGame: A game that has features sex or heavy fanservice.

* RolePlayingGame (RPG) see also TabletopGames (Tabletop RPG): A game in which the player controls a character or party of characters in a statistically abstracted way.

* ArcadeGame: A game that is a dedicated machine that requires coins to operate. In genre terms, a session of the game can be played in a few minutes, typically involving fast action, and can be learned while it is played.

* {{Pinball}}: A game in which the player has a (usually) metal ball in a playfield and the player gets to smash it around using (usually) two moving arms, called flippers.

* MultiUserDungeon ({{MUD}}) and [=MOO=]: A Multi-User Text-Oriented Game that is so automated that a player could play alone if s/he wished. Sub-genre of a Role-Playing Game.
* Multi-User (MU*) Text-Oriented Games: An Interactive Fiction that allows thousands of players to play at the same time.
* {{MUSH}} (MultiUserSharedHallucination): A Multi-User Text-Oriented Game that is just a series of rooms, and players are given the bare minimum of interaction systems, and the players must create and manage their own roleplaying.

* [[MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame Massively Multiplayer Online]]: A Role Playing Game that has hundreds, thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of players all connected to it through the Internet.

* [[MuseumGame Museum Game]]: A game that is primarily about paying tribute to or heavily referencing a franchise or company's past.

* [[TacticalShooter Tactical]]: A game that resembles a First Person Shooter, but it features realistic magazines, realistically damaging bullets, Squad Controls, Subsystem Damage, cover mechanics, situational awareness aids, mission planning and no jumping allowed. Sub-genre of an Action Game.

* Turn Based: When the player and the computer take turns in making moves.

* [[{{Shareware}} Shareware Game]]: A game that can be played to a certain extent without purchasing it. Buying the game will allow the player to play it to completion, instantly picking up exactly where they left off upon purchase without the need to install anything.

* MascotFighter: A game that has four characters fighting each other, trying to knock each other off the stage, items and weapons will randomly appear on the stage, and Ultimate Showdown Of Ultimate Destiny is heavily featured.

* RomanceGame: A Japanese game in which the primary goal is to establish a romantic relationship between the Player Character and one or more of the NPCs.