Games come in many ways.
Some games are for racing. Some are for sports. Some are for puzzles. You can pick what you like to play. It is fun to find a new game. Do you have a favorite kind of game?
Games have different ways to play.
Some games are for racing. Some are for sports. You might play a puzzle game too.
Genres group games by how they work. A shooter game is still a shooter. This is true even if the setting changes.
One game can have many kinds. A game might have a story and action. This makes it fun to play.
New kinds of games appear all the time. New tools help make them. It is fun to find a new game.
A video game genre is a way to group games. This grouping is based on how you play them. It is not based on the story or the art. For example, a shooter game is still a shooter. It stays a shooter even if the setting changes.
One game can belong to many genres at once. A game might have action and a deep story. This can make the game more fun. Some games use role-playing. This means you grow your character as you play. This can be added to many other types of games. It gives players a reason to keep playing.
New genres appear as technology gets better. Better memory and 3D graphics help make new ways to play. In the past, people used different names. For a while, people called first-person shooters "Doom clones." Now, we use the new name more often.
Some people group games by the machine you use. They might call them mobile games. Others group them by how many people play. These are not true genres. A true genre is about the way you interact with the game.
A video game genre is a way to group games together. This grouping is based on how you play the game. It does not look at the story or the art. A shooter game is still a shooter game. This stays true no matter where the game takes place.
One game can belong to many genres at once. This can make the game very interesting to play.
Genres work by looking at how a player interacts with the game. You can use descriptive names to show the goal or the view. For example, a first-person shooter uses a first-person view. This means you see the game through the eyes of the character. You might also see terms like side-scrolling or top-down. These words tell you how the camera moves.
These names help players know what to expect.
People have tried to group games for a long time. In 1981, a catalog for the Atari Video Computer System used eight headings. These included names like Space Station and Combat Zone. In that same year, a book called How to Master the Video Games used different groups. It listed things like maze and reflex games. Later, Nintendo used eight series for the NES in 1985. They had groups like Action, Sports, and Educational.
New technology helps create new ways to play. Better memory and 3D graphics make new genres possible. In the late 2000s, small indie developers made new kinds of games. This happened because they used new ways to sell games online. Some names even change over time as they become popular. For a while, people called shooters "Doom clones" after the game Doom. By the year 2000, the name first-person shooter became much more common.
It is easy to confuse genres with other ways of grouping games. Some people group games by the machine you use. These are called mobile games or browser games. Others group them by how many people play together. These include multiplayer or massive online games. These are not true genres because they do not describe the gameplay. A true genre tells you about the actual experience of playing.
A video game genre is an informal way to classify games based on gameplay mechanics. This classification focuses on how a person actually plays the game. It is distinct from the setting or the story of a game. For example, a shooter game remains a shooter regardless of its time or place. This differs from books or films, where the genre often relies on narrative elements. Because players participate directly in games, the genre must reflect that interactivity.
Genre names often describe the goals, the protagonist, or the perspective of the player. A first-person shooter is a specific subgenre of the broader shooter category. It uses a first-person perspective to show the player's actions. Other descriptive prefixes include "top-down," "side-scrolling," "real-time," or "turn-based." These terms explain the visual or mechanical nature of the experience. Some games even combine multiple genres in complex ways. The game Grand Theft Auto III combined shooting, driving, and roleplaying. This made it difficult to classify using standard existing terms.
Classification can vary in its level of specificity. Some reviews might use a broad term like "action." Other reviews might use a very specific term like "baseball." This creates a spectrum of categorization. Some games also incorporate elements from the role-playing genre. These elements include storytelling and character growth. Adding these to an action or strategy game provides an incentive beyond mere survival. This demonstrates how different gameplay mechanics can overlap and enrich one another.
History shows that attempts to categorize games have evolved alongside technology. In 1981, an Atari Video Computer System catalog used eight headings. These included Skill Gallery, Space Station, and Combat Zone. That same year, Tom Hirschfeld's book categorized games by types like maze or reflex. Early home computer publications also established categories based on best-selling software. Softalk used genres like strategy, adventure, and fantasy from 1980 to 1984. Meanwhile, Computer Gaming World expanded from three categories in 1981 to six by 1989.
Nintendo also played a major role in game classification. When launching the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985, they required all games to be approved. This helped them maintain control after the video game crash of 1983. Nintendo classified NES games into eight major series. These included Adventure, Action, Sports, Light-Gun, Programmable, Arcade, Robot, and Educational. By the time of the Super NES, they had retired some series. They added new categories like RPG & Simulation and Puzzle to match changing tastes.
New technology continuously allows for the emergence of new genres. Improvements in memory and the transition from 2D to 3D graphics changed everything. New peripherals and online functionalities also created new ways to play. In the late 2000s and 2010s, indie developers sparked a revival of experimental gameplay. They used independent digital distribution to reach players directly. This was important because large publishers often focused on low-risk, "triple-A" titles. This shift allowed for the birth of many new, experimental genres.
It is important to distinguish true genres from other types of classification. Some people group games by the hardware used, such as mobile or browser games. Others group them by the mode of play, like multiplayer or massively multiplayer online (MMO) games. These are not considered true genres. They describe the platform or the number of players rather than the gameplay itself. Similarly, classifying by narrative style, such as science fiction, is generally not used for genres. The only major exception in narrative is the horror genre.
Market data shows how different genres have performed over time. For example, action games have remained a major force in sales. In the Softalk data from 1980 to 1984, action games accounted for 61% of the list. By 2018, the ESA data showed action games at 26.9% of sales. Puzzle games have seen a decline in physical sales recently. However, they remain the most popular genre on mobile platforms worldwide. These numbers show how player preferences and market strategies shift alongside technology.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (1)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🔬 Go deeper
More advanced topics to explore
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.