The Gamer's Quarter

[SFC]

I was thinking about something. An early Atari arcade development policy had been that they couldn't make develop a new game if the concept had been used. Hence the development of games like Marble Madness, where the creator behind it (I forgot his name), said he was trying to think up something new.

Today, we see a solid set of genres, which are endlessly worked on.

I've only seen a few new genre developments over the years. GTA3 was one (at the time), Katamari is another. Nintendogs is actually just tamagotchi on another level.

And so I pondered, are we to continue seeing utterly new styles of game, or is the industry slowly wedging itself into a cul-de-sac?

What other genre developments have you seen, or would like to see? Perhaps you have your own ideas?

I find that once I played a really great soccer/FPS/puzzle/strategy/etc game, I don't feel like playing anything similar for quite some time. Hell, sometimes just one really massive RPG is enough for me in an entire year! I prefer something not previously tried.
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TGQ rocks

[xvs07]

Was thinking about this in the shower, having just had a too-vivid dream inspired by Gauntlet, War of the Monsters, and Videodrome in equal parts.

Short, stupid answer: Yes, we'll see genre-breakers happen in nearly direct proportion to their profitability divided by man-hours of work. Once every year or two we'll see something commercially backed with a decent budget, a la Katamari, Animal Crossing, DDR, or SotC but because of that whole risk-profit thing, only small, independent devteams will be able to fit into that dicey niche of new-and-different for very long. A big team is probably a hindrance to that fresh-idea feeling because it's damn difficult to cram 20 to 40 personalities into a game and have any of their personal styles emerge with any distinctness. However, I suspect we might eventually see the corps start hiring small, elite teams for the express purpose of dreaming up new hit genres, but hell, they might exist already. Doesn't mean we'll hear from them.

Less summarily, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm sick to the teeth with genres. Whether they sell with the masses anymore or not, they don't sell with me by and large. I like 2D fighters and kart racers well enough, but I doubt I'll ever buy another (MMO)RPG, FPS, RTS, scrolling shooter, or 3D platformer. I sometimes find myself drawn in by the theme, but I'm almost always repulsed by the thought of actually playing.

When I look back to my early years with the Sega Master System, Apple IIgs, and the arcade at the pizza parlor across town, there are some names that come back: Gauntlet, Crystal Castles, Thexder, Alex Kidd, Fantasy Zone, Bard's Tale, Ghost House, My Hero, Double Dragon, Marble Madness. Each of them stands in memory as clearly as when I first played them, and that's not entirely due to emulation and nostalgia. Each was unique because the teams were small and the pressure to profit was low, which allowed (or, in the case of Atari, forced) artists to do what they do best: innovate.

In response to the second question, I think my dream this morning proved to me that I want more unique, more quirk, more weird, more game logic. I want symbolism and representationalism back, whether photorealistic or not. I don't want my games to make sense within the confines of the offscreen world. I want brand new systems of logic to learn. I want rock-solid play mechanics dressed up with pretty eye candy.

Also, off topic, I want games that offer simultaneous same room and online multiplayer.

[dessgeega]

[simplicio]

I'm gonna stretch and say Every Extend was a new genre.

And was Jet Set/Grind Radio made in the mold of GTA or vice versa?

[B coma]

DM pretty much nailed why we don't see a whole lot of genre-busting in the current videogames model, or at least attempts to bust genres.

But more importantly -

I just woke up from a wonderful dream.

I was playing a game that no one had ever dare make before: a Competitive Bookshelf Pushing Competition. Although the dream began from the viewpoint of pressing buttons and watching my characters pick up books from the shelf (a la Dragon Quest VIII) it didn't take long for me to become my avatar if you know what I mean.

hi!_some! _
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Here, my mindblowingly bad ASCII art shows a 2D slice of the playing field. The arena in question for this match was the Corporate Bookstore venue.

I began my round conservatively enough. My opponent (let's call her Claire) Claire was a well respected female in the circuit (yes, it's co-ed league), and she began with a calculated coolness no doubt a result of her victory over me in the previous match. But I wasn't going to be defeated again, here.

I began the match with a risky technique: rapidly rearranging the books from a mid to top shelf to provide enough room to dive through my shelf to the other side of hers. It paid off, since there were no faults called.

I made no hesitation. While still arranging herself, she just began to see her own mistake as I jumped on her shelf, pulling it backwards and all of the contents on top of me. The crowd exploded as this signified the conclusion of the match! In my fury I ran over to a shelf of Nintendo DS boxes and pulled that down as well - seemed as customary a thing to do as dumping Gatorade on coach.

I heard the announcer commentary:


"Whoa, that certainly was an exciting finish for him!"

"Yes, the crowd always loves it when they leave a mess to be picked up!"

"But was it good enough? Let's go to the ref for a decision!"


Just then, my friend woke me up from my glory with a telephone call. I'll fight you again Claire! I WON'T EVEN PRETEND to know what the rules of the game are though.