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Video Game Genre

Blaise Cedrick Gomez

Video games have evolved from the very first computer game “pong”, today video games are classified by either the type of game play (e.g. adventure, simulation, strategy etc.) or by gaming flatforms (e.g. PC, PSP, NDS, Wii, Arcade mobile phone etc.)
In this article I will be discussing the different video game genres so the next time somebody tells you he or she is into MMORPG you would not think it is some kind of military weapon.

Action

Figure 1 Open Arena an open source First Person Shooter that is exclusively available for the PC flatform  (Wikimedia.org, 2008)

Contrary to popular belief video games that are under this genre is not all about violence and fighting. There are game titles considered as “Action” games because they involve fast-paced movements. Examples of such games are Arkanoid and Atari’s Bareakout. “Maze” game titles like “Pacman” is also considered an action game. These games do not necessarily have the “M” (mature) ESRB rating like other action games.
Then, there are games that live up to what the genre implies. These are titles that gives emphasize and a majority of the game time to fighting and killing computer opponents and/or other human players using a Local area network (LAN) feature or a Massive Multiplayer Online gaming service. Such games include Shooter games (like Halo 2, Doom, Counter-Strike and Half-life series) and Fighting or Combat games (like the Street fighter and Super Smash Brawl Bro. series).
Although action game elements are usually blended into other game genres, one of the most prominent features of Action games is that they contain a more comprehensive set of attacks, like in fighting games, and/or weapons.

Adventure

Figure 2 A screen shot of Lucas Art's Monkey Island (Content.Answers.com, 2008)

Adventure games are probably one of the oldest video game genres that are available for almost all gaming flatforms. An adventure game usually involves exploring a universe or world where the player is given a specific set of tasks to complete in order to progress in the game. Lucas Art’s Monkey Island is an example of an adventure game, in this game, players find themselves in a fictional Caribbean island where they are instructed to find and collect items to progress in the game. There are also 3D versions of adventure games like “Myst” which has basically the same gaming principles.

Board Games

Figure 3 Screen Shot of  Ubisoft's Chess Master Game (Wikimedia, 2008)

Board games like Chess, Monopoly, checkers and many others have found their way in gaming flatforms. One of the most popular board game titles is Ubisoft’s Chessmaster series and Hasbro’s Monopoly. These games do not necessarily deviate much from their traditional counter parts but some features have been added.
In some chess games for the PC, there are computer opponent AI that are based on the database of popular chess masters like Karpov, Fischer, Kasparov and even IBM’s Deep Blue chess computer. Not only can you play against the master of chess but you can also learn from them by viewing some of the greatest games played by the masters.
Most of the newer versions of board games now have better animation and more realistic looking sprites to enhance the gaming experience. Some like the PC version of such board games because they can play Chess and Monopoly even though they are alone, some do not like the idea of playing the digital versions of board games.

Card Games

Figure 4 Solitaire in Windows Vista (John David Head, 2008)

Like board games, card games are also popular among today’s gamers. Most Windows users would probably remember playing Solitaire and Spider, just like their board game counterparts card games that are digitized did not deviate too much from the original card games. Poker, Black Jack, Solitaire and Baccarat and even bridge has made their debut in gaming flatforms. 
The Card game genre is not violent at all, in the sense that compared to action games, they do not contain fight scenes and killing opponents, however, some card games that have made their debut in gaming flatforms are usually casino card games like Poker and Black Jack. These games could introduce the concept of gambling to minors and develop a gambling addiction for the mature gamers.

Strategy

Figure 5 Red Alert 2 depicting an invasion of France. (img.gamespot.com, 2008)

When most gamers hear the words “strategy game” the first gaming titles that come to mind are the Command and Conquer series, Red Alert series and Dawn of War. These games share one main idea, players must defeat a computer or human player by building a base, creating an army and weapons and wipe out all hostile forces.
Here players take place in skirmishes held in a “world” where resources can be found to fund your army, options like building structures are also a common feature of strategy games. Players are normally asked to choose a “tribe”, “group” or civilization to lead or command, although the tribes have different strengths and weaknesses it is always balanced in a way that one tribe could not always be stronger than the other. This ensures that each player will have an equal chance of attaining victory.

Role Playing Games (RPG) and Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG)

Figure 6 Character Creation Stage in World of Warcraft (HowStuffWorks.com, 2008)

Role playing games is game genre where players assume the roles of their character types (the ones that they chose during the character creation stage of the game). For example, in games where there are healer character types, players who have chosen to be healers have “moves” that can heal in battle, in some games they could also inflict damage but they are most useful as healers than combatants. The character of players also usually gain “experience levels”, the rule of thumb is the higher your character’s level is, the more powerful it is. Players start with characters having a level one experience and earn “level ups” or increase their experience levels while they progress in the game.


There are also Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games, they are almost the same with RPGs the only difference is that MMORPGs are played online, where people around the world can interact and play with other gamers from the other side of the world. The “world” that players enter now suddenly becomes more realistic because they meet other players and “maps” or sections of the fictional world are larger.
World of Warcraft, Ragnarok and Khan are only a few of the popular game titles under the MMORPG genre. These games have been popular locally; in fact, they were one of the reasons why computer rental shops with DSL have been very popular in the country.

References
Content.Answers.com. (n.d.). “The_Secret_of_Monkey_Island.PNG”. Retrieved September 22, 2008, from <http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/e/ef/The_Secret_of_Monkey_Island.PNG>.
Head, J.D. (n.d.). “solitare-vista.jpg“. Retrieved September 22, 2008, from <http://www.johndavidhead.com/jhead/johnhead.nsf/dx/solitare-vista.jpg/$file/solitare-vista.jpg>.
Howstuffworks.com. (n.d.). “world-of-warcraft-2.jpg”. Retrieved September 22, 2008, from <http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/world-of-warcraft-2.jpg>.
Img.gamespot.com. (n.d.). “red_alert2_screen003.jpg”. Retrieved September 22, 2008, from <http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/images/screenshots/gs/strategy/red_alert2/red_alert2_screen003.jpg>.
Wikimedia.org. (n.d.). “OpenArena-rocket.jpg”. Retrieved September 22, 2008, from <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/OpenArena-Rocket.jpg>.
Wikimedia.org. (n.d.). “Chessmaster_10_screen1.jpg”. Retrieved September 22, 2008, from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Chessmaster_10_screen1.jpg.

Video Games and Violence

Blaise Cedrick Gomez

According to an article published in msn.com (2008), the Thailand Government has released a document containing the top ten most “dangerously violent” games today. This, after a teenager (Palawat Chinno) told the authorities that he killed a taxi driver just to see if it was as easy as it seemed in the video game that he was playing (Grand Theft Auto).
The list also included popular game titles like, God of War, Resident Evil 4 and Hitman: Blood Money. In this article, I would like to point out what element of these games made them qualify as “dangerously violent” games.

Blood! blood give me some blood- because of the advancements brought about by more powerful graphics hardware processing and better Computer Generated Image (CGI) technology, more realistic visual effects are now a common feature of modern games.
This means that if you hit someone in the game or shoot them in the leg, you will not see just ordinary red sprites that look like blood, what you will see is blood shooting out of the amputated limbs. It is realistic, convincing and alarming; because of the realistic effects of such games, some players are tempted to recreate them in the real world; the realistic effects of games also gives them the experience of killing people (or in some cases mutants and aliens) without facing the consequences in the real world.


Hit him with that errr… shovel- games of today are more interactive in the sense that players can now pickup a vase, a knife and any other objects in the virtual world and use it. In games like Grand Theft Auto and Hitman, this idea is used to help the players find a weapon or tool; something as common as a crowbar or a bottle of wine can be used as a weapon. In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, ordinary items like golf clubs and fire extinguishers as used as weapons against the police of even the innocent civilians.

Kill ‘em all!- since video games now have a more interactive environment, players can now interact with civilians found in the streets of the virtual world. This is great, because it gives players a feeling of having a genuine environment, when you bump into a civilian they will be mad and when you talk to them they actually say something. However, this also means that you can hurt civilians without having any reason to do so. Nothing will stop you from picking up a crowbar and beat up an old woman you found in the walking in the street or running over a couple of civilians in the road.

The idea of “Kill ‘em all” is also taken to the next level by game titles like God of War and Resident Evil 4. In these game titles, there are scenes where the player is trapped in a room full of enemies and the only way to escape alive is to kill all the enemies.
One of the biggest problems caused by game titles like Grand Theft Auto, God of War, Resident Evil 4 and Hitman: Blood Money is that players assume the roles of the protagonists of such games. In some cases, the players also absorb the violent tendencies of such characters like Kratos of God of War or Agent 47 of Hitman: Blood Money. With realistic graphics, the freedom to do anything and get away with it, and scenarios that can provoke violent tendencies, these games are in my opinion, one of the best training games for future criminals.







 References
Ahuja, Ambika (2008, August 8). Thailand tags 10 games violent after murder. Retrieved September 22, 2008, from <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26095324/>
Wallpaperz.net. (n.d.). “God-of-War-2-PlayStation-2-1258.jpg”. Retrieved September 22, 2008, from <http://www.wallpaperez.net/wallpaper/games/God-of-War-2-PlayStation-2-1258.jpg>.