Entries in core mechanics (1)

Saturday
Dec032011

Game Genres: What've you got?

I'm building a list of genres for video games, or possibly for digital games. Either way I'm trying to start at the top level by focusing on the big conventions that organize around pillar verbs or core mechanics. to clarify I'm making a tool for thinking about game genre for design. It focuses on the pillar verbs that are intentionally built into games via core mechanics rather than the emergent verbs that best characterize the player experience. I have the highest regard for understandings of games focused on the player experience. After all, I've already spent a bunch of time studying players myself, and more importantly every designerworth their salt knows that players are highly unpredictable creatures, and at the end of the day there's no telling exactly what they'll make of your game.* In fact, that's exactly why this list is focused on choices that the designer makes. Here are the top level genres thus far:

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