1. Based on slides by Rolf Lakaemper (Temple)
Game Genre
CSE
Based on slides by Rolf Lakaemper (Temple)

2. Genres
ADVENTURES

3. Solving of puzzles, finding various artifacts Sub-genres: Textbased
Adventure Games cast the player as the protagonist of a story in which the player participates
Solving of puzzles, finding various artifacts
Sub-genres:
Textbased
Graphical
Action

4. Textbased Adventures: First adventures
Genres
Textbased Adventures:
First adventures
Typical use of verb-noun phraser
Earliest titles: ‘Hunt the Wumpus’ (G. Yob, 1972, Basic Game) and ‘Adventure’ (W. Crowther, 1972)

5. Genres
‘Hunt the Wumpus’
Essentially, you're wandering through a network of numbered caves, looking for the Wumpus; when it's nearby, you'll smell it, and you can try to kill it by shooting into one of the caves that's near you. If you wander into the same cave as the Wumpus, you die. Other hazards include bats--which pick you up and dump you somewhere else--and pits, which kill you.
source code !

6. Genres
…or ZORK (1981)

7. Genres
Hybrid Text / Graphic
The Hobbit (1982)
spectrum emulator

8. Graphical (point and click) Interface
Genres
Graphic Adventure
Graphical (point and click) Interface
Introduced by Sierra Online’s King’s Quest 1984
Lucas Arts: Maniac Mansion 1987

9. King’s Quest I (by Roberta Williams)
Genres
King’s Quest I (by Roberta Williams)

10. The only commercially successfully remaining action genre
Genres
Action Adventure
The only commercially successfully remaining action genre
Reflex Based as well as puzzle solving
Most prominent: The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo, 1986 (US: 1987 on NES)

11. Genres
Legend of Zelda, NES 1987

12. Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Game Cube 2004
Genres
Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Game Cube 2004

13. Genres
Educational Games
Attempt to teach the user using the game as a vehicle
Mostly target young users
Growing market !
…can also teach programming on a very high though entertaining level, e.g. ‘Robot Wars’
Best known: ‘Carmen Sandiego’

14. Genres
Example: ‘Alpha Beth’ 1985
PLAY

15. Genres
Fighting (Beat’em Up)
Emphasize on one-on-one combat between (two) players
Usually focus on martial arts
Usually as dramatic and physically impossible as comical
Sophisticated interfaces !
Early title: ‘Way of the exploding fist’, Melbourne House 1985 PLAY!

16. ‘Way of the exploding fist’,
Genres
‘Way of the exploding fist’,
Melbourne House 1985, Sinclair Spectrum Version

17. ‘Mortal Combat: Deadly Alliance’,
Genres
‘Mortal Combat: Deadly Alliance’,
Midway,2002, XBOX

18. Genres
First Person Shooter
Emphasize shooting and combat from a specific perspective, most of them place player behind hand/weapon
Tend to be scaringly violent
3D effect is usually enhanced by 3D-sound
Most prominent: DOOM, Quake, HALO
First title: …

19. Genres
Battlezone, ATARI, 1980

20. Genres
DOOM
Id software,1993

21. Genres
HALO
Xbox,Bungie Studios,2001

22. (Massive Multiplayer Online Games)
Genres
MMOGs
(Massive Multiplayer Online Games)
Subscription based virtual worlds for thousands of players to interact together
Titles: Ultima Online, Everquest, World of Warcraft, etc.

23. Genres
Everquest

24. Platform Games Probably the best known genre, ‘the’ computer game
Genres
Platform Games
Probably the best known genre, ‘the’ computer game
Running, jumping etc. on 2D or 3D platform
‘Side-scrollers’, usually (2d) from a side perspective.
Most prominent: Mario Brothers, Donkey Kong, Lode Runner, Sonic, …

25. Genres
Jumpman
1983, ATARI 400

26. Genres
Donkey Kong
Nintendo, 1981

27. Genres
Mario Bros
Nintendo, 1983

28. Genres
Super Mario Bros
Nintendo, 1985

29. Genres
PUZZLE Games
Require the gamer to solve logic puzzles or navigate complex locations such as mazes.
Genre crosses frequently with adventure and educational games
Titles: Tetris, Sokoban, Boulderdash,…

30. 1985 Alexey Pazhitnov, Vadim Gerasimov
Genres
Tetris
1985 Alexey Pazhitnov, Vadim Gerasimov

31. Genres
Boulderdash
1987 Databyte

32. RACING GAMES Place player in the driver seat of vehicle
Genres
RACING GAMES
Place player in the driver seat of vehicle
Emerging in early 80s
Extremely popular
Various input devices
Titles: OutRun, MarioKart,…

33. Genres
OutRun
SEGA, 1986

34. Genres
MarioKart Double Dash
Nintendo, 2004

35. Genres
Role Playing
Player acts as adventurer who specializes in certain skills
Emerged from board (pencil&paper) role playing games
Usually science fiction or fantasy setting
Titles: Ultima, Diablo, …

36. ULTIMA 1 1980 Written in basic 3000 lines of code
Genres
ULTIMA 1
1980
Written in basic
3000 lines of code
Memory takes less than one texture in current version…

37. Genres
ULTIMA 1, 1980

38. Genres
ULTIMA 9, 1999

39. Fixed Shooters The classic 2D shooters
Genres
Fixed Shooters
The classic 2D shooters
Space Invaders, Galaga, R-Type, …

40. Genres
Space Invaders
Galaga

41. Genres
Simulation
Aim to simulate a specific activity (e.g. flying an airplane / running a company) as realistically as possible
Usually time consuming to play, huge manuals etc.
Titles: Little Comp. People, MS Flight Sim., The Sims, Medieval,Warcraft,…
The SIMS is the most popular game ever !

42. Little Computer People
Genres
Little Computer People
Activision, 1985, C64

43. Genres
The SIMS
Bill Wright,Maxis, 2000

44. Sports simulation, of course.
Genres
Sports
Sports simulation, of course.

45. Genres
Winter Games
EPYX, 1983,C64

46. Strategy Focus on careful planning and skillful resource management
Genres
Strategy
Focus on careful planning and skillful resource management
Thinking games
Often turn based
Usually war strategy
Titles: M.U.L.E., Civilization, War Craft,…

47. Genres
M.U.L.E
EA, 1983

48. Sid Meier, Microprose,1991, DOS
Genres
Civilization 1
Sid Meier, Microprose,1991, DOS

49. Genres
WarCraft III
Blizzard, 2003, PC

50. Genres
Traditional
Board Games
Card Games
ETC