Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
People need a way to talk about the kinds of games they like to
play, and game retailers like to display similar games together. The
concept of
genre
helps them do this. A game's gameplay determines
its genre. Games can have identical settings and yet belong to differ-
ent genres, so a medieval role-playing game belongs to a different
genre than a medieval war game. Similarly, a construction and
management game can be set in any location and time period, but
it is still a construction and management game. For more informa-
tion about how the concept of genre differs from such issues as
setting, audience, theme, and purpose, read the
Gamasutra
article
“Sorting Out the Genre Muddle” (Adams, 2009).
In this part of
Fundamentals of Game Design
, you learn how to apply
the principles from Part One, “The Elements of Game Design,”
when designing games in each of the classic game genres. Chapters
13 through 20 examine the game world, gameplay, core mechanics,
user interface, and other elements of video games characteristic of
specific genres, using famous games as examples. Unfortunately,
there isn't room in this topic to cover everything. Part Two only
addresses the best-known and long-standing genres. Finally, Chapter
21 discusses a number of technical and social design issues unique
to online games.
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