Types of Genres 

Genre Name	Genre Description	Genre Example
Adventure	These games allow the player to take the role of a protagonist in an interactive storyline, typically driven by exploration and puzzle-solving. This genre focuses on the storyline allowing it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media, including literature and film. Almost all Adventure-type games are designed to be single player, emphasising on storyline and its characters. Notable games include: •       Fahrenheit •       Heavy Rain •       L.A Noire •       Escape From Monkey Island	Fahrenheit Predecessor to Heavy Rain, Fahrenheit is an engrossing videogame with breathtaking storytelling and characters designed for adult players with high-replayability as a result of multiple endings. While the graphics aren’t best in the world they are also not the worst. Quantic Dream have accomplished what they set out to by producing a game that integrates narrative and gameplay so tightly that it seems almost inseparable. Fahrenheit is undoubtedly one of the finest games of it’s generation.
Action-Adventure	A hybrid genre and perhaps the broadest genre out of all Videogames. For example, Adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve with little or no action. Any action is normally confined to isolated minigames. In terms of Action games, the gameplay is based on real-time interaction that challenges the player’s reflexes. Thus, Action-Adventure games engage the player in both reflexes and puzzle-solving, in both violent and non-violent situations. Notable games include: •       Legend of Zelda •       Grand Theft Auto •       Hitman •       Tomb Raider	Prototype 2 Prototype 2 extends the experience of becoming the ultimate shapeshifting weapon. A viral outbreak has killed Sgt. James Heller's family and transformed him into a EVOLVED. Powered by revolutionary shapeshifting powerr, you must hunt, kill and consume your way across New York to take revenge on the man responsible: Alex Mercer. Prototype 2 might not be perfect and there are a few things which need to do a better job next game, like the lack of variation in missions but is nonetheless one of the most visceral, spectacular and brutal sandboxes out there.
Survival Horror	First dubbed in Japan with the release of Resident Evil (1996), Survival Horror is a subgenre of Videogames inspired by Horror Fiction in which it focuses on the survival of the protagonist and attempts to scare the player(s). Although combat can be used as part of gameplay, these games are typically designed with limited health and ammunition in order to create a feeling of helplessness in the player. They are also challenged to find items that unlock the path to new areas, solve puzzles at certain locations and react to unexpected enemy attacks. Notable games include: •       Resident Evil •       Silent Hill •       Fatal Frame •       Forbidden Siren	Silent Hill 2 Players assume the role of James Sunderland, who receives a cryptic letter from his deceased wife beckoning him to meet her in Silent Hill-- A location of special importance to the couple. The mystery of the letter compels James to return but he is quickly thrown into the surreal horrors and all-too-real dangers of Silent Hill. Rarely has sound, vision and control worked in perfect synchronization with one another and it’s gripping characters/storyline leaves players wanting to play again and again. Silent Hill 2 stands strong as a Survival Horror game and is considered one of the best Survival Horror games ever released.
First-Person Shooter	These type of games focus on “behind-the-scenes” of the protagonist in a first-person perspective using firearms and projectile weapon-based combat. An FPS is typically fast-paced and require actions be to be performed reflexively by the player. These type of games share common traits with other Shooter-types, which fall under the category of Action games. •       Call of Duty •       Modern Warfare •       Half-Life •       House of the Dead	Far Cry 3 After being stranded on a tropical island, Jason Brody is introduced to a savage paradise where lawlessness and violence are the only sure thing. Here, plays dictate how the storyline in Far Cry 3 unfolds, from the battles they chose to fight to the allies or enemies they make along the way. Far Cry 3 is an amazing game featuring stunning visuals and gameplay, while Ubisofts’ use of FPS action and Openworld gameplay really hits the mark.
Roleplaying	Originally starting out as “Pen and Paper”-based games like Dungeon and Dragons. Here the player assumes the roles of the protagonist in a fictional setting where they have the responsibility to act out these roles within a narrative. In an electronic format, an RPG typically allows players to control a character of team of characters who undertake quests and sidequests following a long storyline. Most can include capabilities that advance gameplay using statistical mechanics. While these often share rules and settings with their tabletop RPG-counterparts, they typically emphasize on character advancement more than collaborative storytelling. •       Pokémon •       Final Fantasy •       Elder Scrolls: Skyrim •       Fallout	Fallout 3 Set in the aftermath of a world-wide nuclear war, Fallout will challenge you to survive in an unknown and dangerous world. You will take the role of a Vault-dweller, a person who has grown up in a secluded, underground survival Vault. This game has too many strong qualities to adequately list them all. Atmospheric, darkly humorous, with memorable characters, meaty RPG elements, and possibly the best and most satisfying videogame ending of all time. Sixteen years on, the original Fallout remains the best entry in the franchise. Perhaps the strongest aspect of Fallout is that it is ideal for RPG newbies yet at the same time provides a depth of role-playing that veterans can really get stuck into. It also has the best replay value of any game I've experienced to date.
Real-Time Strategy	A subgenre of Strategy-based games RTSs are typically defined revolving around a number of goals, including resource collection, base and unit construction and engagement in combat with either other player or AIs. Emphasis is often put on managing logistics, resources and production. Objectives provided can be very demanding and complex, requiring the player to think smart and logically. •       Age of Empires •       Age of Mythology •       Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds •       Dune	Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds is a real-time strategy computer game set in the Star Wars universe that uses the same gameplay mechanics and Genie engine in Age of Empires and Age Mythology. In this RTS the Player takes command of the Galactic Empire or Rebel Alliance, and other Civilizations in intense, real-time campaigns that will determine the final outcome of the galaxy. Galactic Battlegrounds is a fun and solid game despite it’s dated graphics, offers exactly what the dedicated Star Wars follower wants: To re-enact the drama and excitement of the Star Wars’ universe. Completely worthy of the Star Wars legacy.
Fighting	In fighting games the goal is simple in that players typically fights other players or AI in some form of one-on-one combat. Characters in these games tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of multiple rounds, which take place in an arena. In fighting games the player can execute a number of different moves such as blocking, counter-attacking and chaining attacks known as “combos”. ·          Tekken ·          Soul Calibre ·          Street Fighter ·          Virtual Fighter	Super Smash Bros. Series SSB is a series based on the Fighting genre but is considered far less on the traditional sense when compared with other Fighting games. Instead of the traditional health bar, Players are given “Damage Meters” which increase throughout the battle. The higher it rises, the further the Player gets damaged and susceptible to being knocked out the stage. Sending other Players off stage is the key to scoring in this game whether it is down, up or on either side of the stages. SSB makes use of a variety of iconic Nintendo characters, like Mario, Link and Pikachu. Each game has a different feel and aesthetics, with varying preferences and tastes amongst it’s fans. Many consider the second iteration Melee for the Game Cube to be the most tightly polished and advanced having high speed and combo potential which gave rise to tournaments and competitive layers still to this day.
Platform	This genre often requires the protagonist to run and jump between surfaces (i.e. platforms) to reach the end, whilst avoiding objects and enemy-characters in a limited time-slot. Platform games originate from the Side-scrolling genre in the early 1980s. •       Super Mario Bros. •       Sonic the Hedgehog •       Meatboy	Bloody Trapland Bloody Trapland is a colourful, high-paced and trial-and-error platformer game filled with dozens of dangerous traps and leap of faith-style jumps. The gameplay is different and unique, in that there are no enemies or bosses to defeat, or keys to collect to go forwards. It’s objective is simple; Get to the end without dying! Though challenging, Bloody Trapland is a very frustrating game if you are playing by yourself but it is a great, fun game if you have at least one person to play with you. As a result anyone can enjoy, where they are a casual player or even a hardcore gamer.
Stealth	This is a type of genre in which the player must focus on stealth and subterfuge in order to avoid and overcome the enemy. Games in this genre forces players to remain undetected by hiding, using disguises, and/or avoiding making noise. In some games the player are also allowed to choose between a stealthy approach or directly attacking the enemy head on, perhaps rewarding them for greater levels of stealth. This genre normally employs espionage, counter-terrorism and rogue themes, with the protagonist being identified as special forces operatives, spies, thieves, assassins and ninjas. Some games have combined stealth game elements with those of other genres, such as first-person shooters and even platform games. •       Assassin’s Creed •       Dishonoured •       Thief •       Metal Gear Solid	Dishonored This game was a breath of fresh air back in October 2012, its time of release. It made stealth different and more engaging, ironically more realistic in its fantastical, dystopian world. Whereas games like Splinter Cell use shadows to hide from enemies, Dishonored uses the simplest mechanic; line of sight. It is all the better for it, as the game is a blend of stealth and action, while favouring the former over the latter. As for the gameplay, it is relatively simple but engaging. From a first person perspective, you are given a limited assortment of weaponry, ranging from a sword to a crossbow by way of a pistol. What makes everything better though is the roster of so called supernatural abilities. The game also has multiple endings for what is overall a riveting storyline about betrayal, revenge and redemption. The endings all hinge on whether you slaughter everyone or sneak past, leaving them all untouched and unaware. It directly affects the so called Chaos system and missions can and often will play out differently depending on your actions during the course of the adventure.
Point-&-Click	This is a subgenre of Adventure games but distinct themselves from Text-Adventure games. Gameplay here is revolutionized by making use of visual perception and a point-and-click interface, e.g. where the player interacts with the game environment and objects using an on-screen cursor. In many of these games, the mouse pointer is context sensitive in that it applies different actions to different objects. •       Clock Tower •       Five Nights at Freddys •       Grim Fandango •       Phantasmagoria	Five Nights at Freddys In this game the player takes the role of Mike Schmidt-- A night-shift security guard working at a restaurant called Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Here, the player must survive the night-shift (Midnight to 6:00 AM) and avoid getting caught by the animatronics (Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie the Rabbit, Chica the Chicken and Foxy the Pirate Fox) who roam the facility. The player can do so by keeping an eye on the animatronics via a network of security cameras but also have a limited amount of power. FNAFs has been praised by critics and players alike for being a unique take on the Point-and-Click Survival Horror subgenre, with a particular emphasis on its simplistic design and gameplay that largely contributes to its’ overall feeling of fear and paranoia.