Friday, December 18, 2009
Genre-Blending - Good or Bad?
Mixing and matching game categories is something I'm generally in favor of attempting, but I'm not always the biggest fan.
Since adventure games and RPGs were once almost synonymous (a very, very long time ago), I really don't have a big problem with games that mix elements of both. In fact, RPG elements in any game seem to mix pretty well.
But other game elements - especially action sequences - in an RPG (or adventure game) often piss me off. I mean, I like action games. I earned my stripes in the arcades. I've recently come to discover the joy that is Left 4 Dead. And I can put up with some arcade elements in an action-RPG. I gave up on Chrono Trigger when I had to chase the rat on the pipes. I nearly gave up on a couple of old Sierra adventure games when it came to arcade sequences. While I wasn't one of them, I know several people who gave up on Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines because of the heavy FPS sequences. I wasn't particularly fond of the boss-battles (especially against the Chinatown boss) or the zombies-in-the-graveyard segment, myself.
I generally love playing a mix of strategy and action, but only if it's executed well. This is a weird exception for me, as it would seem that the more cerebral strategy aspect would clash with the more action segments. But somehow, those get a pass by my brain, and the two generally compliment each other - particularly if its possible to dial down the difficulty separately in a single-player game.
As to genres in the conventional sense - setting / style genre for other media - I'm more open to it now than I used to be. Science fiction and fantasy? Sure. Fantasy and western? Go for it. Horror and cutesy anime? I'm there! I don't know if there's a really bad mix anymore. But for a few years, I was very much opposed to mixing powered battle-armor and laser swords in my fantasy. Heresy! But while I'm more relaxed and inclusive now, that doesn't mean I do not want some unsullied straight-up traditional settings.
So I ask you: What genre / category mixes don't work for you? What do? When is it appropriate for a game to break the boundaries of "category?" Is it always appropriate, and have games just been placed in arbitrary boxes now by marketing? What do you think?
You can answer here, or in the forum thread.
Labels: Game Design
- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 6:20 AM (Permalink)
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Puzzle quest is a blend of genres that just doesn't cut it for me, for just one reason: It was specially tailored to get "core" gamers to play bejewled.
The design came entirely out of a business standpoint: The creators saw a game for women that with a few changes here and there could be repurposed for an entirely new audience without changing much of the core mechanic, which is, matching 3 or more colored blocks.
Plus, the core mechanic is purely abstract, without any meaning behind it or correlation to the context the game will give it. You can make a barbie match 3 game, a godzilla match 3 game, etc, etc. It can be all these different things, but you'll always be doing the same: trying to find colored things that can possibly make a match with just one move.
And that's just lazy. Taking another game, changing the context and one or two mechanics to appeal to a new audience is just freaking lazy, at least how I've seen it done time and time again.
The design came entirely out of a business standpoint: The creators saw a game for women that with a few changes here and there could be repurposed for an entirely new audience without changing much of the core mechanic, which is, matching 3 or more colored blocks.
Plus, the core mechanic is purely abstract, without any meaning behind it or correlation to the context the game will give it. You can make a barbie match 3 game, a godzilla match 3 game, etc, etc. It can be all these different things, but you'll always be doing the same: trying to find colored things that can possibly make a match with just one move.
And that's just lazy. Taking another game, changing the context and one or two mechanics to appeal to a new audience is just freaking lazy, at least how I've seen it done time and time again.
Of course, it's kinda mentally lazy of the *consumers* if they'll eat up a particular kind of gameplay but only if it has this new skin applied to it...
Re Diego et al - that's funny. When I played Puzzle Quest, I felt like it was aimed toward me: a long term, diehard RPG fan who loves a little Bejeweled at work. Puzzle Quest was meant for me. That said, I didn't feel that it was executed very well. The Bejeweled was badly programmed and the RPG was badly balanced, and overall the story was complicated without containing anything.
For me, the rule is this - add any genre you want, but it must be easy unless it is a 'core' genre for your game. By 'core' I mean: genre in which you intend to market the game. So if it's an RPG with some FPS in it, and you will market it mostly to RPG players, the FPS had better be a cakewalk. It should also be short enough that if an RPG player who plays FPS also gets to it, they don't die of boredom and the inanity of your easy shooting.
If you make the 'surprise bonus genre' hard, you will lose your core-genre players right there.
For me, the rule is this - add any genre you want, but it must be easy unless it is a 'core' genre for your game. By 'core' I mean: genre in which you intend to market the game. So if it's an RPG with some FPS in it, and you will market it mostly to RPG players, the FPS had better be a cakewalk. It should also be short enough that if an RPG player who plays FPS also gets to it, they don't die of boredom and the inanity of your easy shooting.
If you make the 'surprise bonus genre' hard, you will lose your core-genre players right there.
# posted by 
: December 18, 2009 9:01 PM
: December 18, 2009 9:01 PM
Yes. Personally, I'm terrible at action games - "real-time" anything, actually (you youngsters don't know what it's like when you didn't grow up with this stuff). So if there's an action element to another type of game, it had better be very easy, or I'm going to be pissed.
But I really like the way Space Rangers 2 did it. Within the game, there are mini-games of different types. But they're all optional. At best, they break up the routine with something new. But if a player doesn't like them, it's easy enough to skip those assignments, with no downside.
It's a win/win for the player. And frankly, anytime a game lets ME decide how to play, that's great. I don't care about the game developer's preferences. If he can give players the option in a lot of this stuff, he's going to appeal to more people.
But I really like the way Space Rangers 2 did it. Within the game, there are mini-games of different types. But they're all optional. At best, they break up the routine with something new. But if a player doesn't like them, it's easy enough to skip those assignments, with no downside.
It's a win/win for the player. And frankly, anytime a game lets ME decide how to play, that's great. I don't care about the game developer's preferences. If he can give players the option in a lot of this stuff, he's going to appeal to more people.
The worst genre mixing I have endured so far was in Anachronox. I loved this game, but there was a part two-thirds of the way through where the gameplay suddenly becomes an arcade-inspired space shooter, instead of a freeform rpg. The arcade part almost made me pack the game away, but I'm glad I perserved and made it to the end.
-largemarge
-largemarge
# posted by : December 19, 2009 2:31 PM
: December 19, 2009 2:31 PM
mixing can be good if it is done throughout all the game, while it will likely be very bad if in a game of a genre suddenly appears just one completely different element.
survival horror games mix all the time action and riddles, and that is good because you expect it.
same thing about games like tomb rider, prince of persia, soul reaver, etc.
FF VII sometimes has a random sequence of gameplay completely irrelated to everything else, but it's also fine because there are so many of those that you get used to it and you accept it.
I'm trying to think of bad examples, and surprisingly the one that comes to my mind is... SMB! I'm talking about the world 7-4 of course, I guess you know what I mean.
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survival horror games mix all the time action and riddles, and that is good because you expect it.
same thing about games like tomb rider, prince of persia, soul reaver, etc.
FF VII sometimes has a random sequence of gameplay completely irrelated to everything else, but it's also fine because there are so many of those that you get used to it and you accept it.
I'm trying to think of bad examples, and surprisingly the one that comes to my mind is... SMB! I'm talking about the world 7-4 of course, I guess you know what I mean.
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