Activity - Game Invaders: The Theory and Understanding of Computer Games - page 76

CALCULATING GENRES

We are going to use GIL' s AG profi ling ability to calculate genres. It's actually quite
easy. First we'll tell how to do it and then we'll take a look at what the results can
tell us about game genres.
In essence the technique is easy: to calculate a genre we analyze a set of games
that are representative of that genre. In fact, GIL will give you an average profi le
and twitch factor for any selection of games, including a representative sample of
RPGs, for instance, but the analysis we're going to do now will be a bit more subtle.
Activity profi ling of genres not only helps to better understand particular game
classifi cations and gameplay itself, but it also acts as a measure that can be compared
throughout all the genres present in the GIL software. By defi ning genres based on
their activity group levels of importance, they can be measured against each other so
their relative relationships can be calculated based on hard data, rather than opinion.
The outline for this analysis process is as follows:

1. D e fi ne the genres to analyze.
2. Select games that characterize each genre.
3. Record each activity group that registers for each game.
4. Record the levels of importance for each activity group (high, medium, and
low, only taking the fi rst fi ve highest low activity groups to reduce any
margin for error).
5. Calculate the most common activity group levels of importance for each
genre (high, high/medium, medium, low/medium, and low).
6. Compare each genre 's common profi le against all others by scoring those
that match on activity and level of importance (1

= matching activity group;

2 = half a match, e.g., high/medium and medium; 3 = full match, e.g.,

medium and medium).
7. Finish with a matrix of genre relationships enabling a genre map to be
produced.

We'll go through each of these in a little more detail.

(1) Defi ne the Genres to Analyze

This analysis uses all twelve genres used to kick start GIL's activity group hunt,
although action shooter has been changed to shooter , beat -' em - up is now fi ghting ,
racing has been more broadly defi ned as driving/piloting/crewing , and rhythm action
is rhythm action/music/party.
Genres selected for comparison are therefore:

• Action adventure
• Adventure
• DPC