Video games
A video game is a game played using an electronic device with a visual display.
Often "video game" is taken in a narrow sense to mean those games played on consoles for television and similar handhelds. The term "video game" is often not considered to include computer games and coin-operated arcade games, both because historically the games in these three categories were very different, and also because the activity of playing these three types of games is different. See history of the video game for more information.
Video games are made by developers, sometimes individuals, but almost always a team consisting of designers, graphic designers and other artists, programmers, sound designers, musicians, and other technicians. Most video game console development teams number anywhere from 20 to 50 people, with some teams exceeding 100.
From time to time the term interactive is used to describe a video game. This term is often used by people in the movie and television industry who are not comfortable with the idea that they are involved in making video games. Usage: "We're a movie production company, and we're getting into interactive."
Video Game Market
Video games are very popular and the market has grown continuously since the end of the video game crash of 1983. The market research company NPD estimated that video game hardware, software, and accessories sold about US$10.3 billion in 2002. This was a 10% increase over the 2001 figure.
The video game market changes over the years as new video game consoles are introduced. This has happened in cycles of about 5 years or so, in which multiple manufacturers release their consoles within about a year of each other, then they and the video game publishers enjoy several years of game sales until technology has improved enough for a new cycle to begin. At that point, games for the old consoles generally enjoy some residual sales, but the video game public as a whole has moved on to the new generation of machines. The current dominant consoles are: Me, Myself and I
Top Video Games
The top 10 console video games in 2002 ranked by dollars of sales, according to NPD, were:
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, by Rockstar Games, for PlayStation 2
- Grand Theft Auto 3, by Rockstar Games, for PlayStation 2
- Madden Football 2003, by Electronic Arts, for PlayStation 2
- Super Mario Advance 2, by Nintendo, for Game Boy Advance
- Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, by Sony, for PlayStation 2
- Medal of Honor Frontline, by Electronic Arts, for PlayStation 2
- Spider-Man: The Movie, by Activision, for PlayStation 2
- Kingdom Hearts, by Squaresoft, for PlayStation 2
- Halo, by Microsoft, for XBox
- Super Mario Sunshine, by Nintendo, for GameCube
See 2002 in video gaming.
Video Game Criticism
From time to time, video games are criticized by some parents' groups, psychologists, politicians, and some restrictive religious organizations for glorifying violence, cruelty, and crime, and exposing this violence to children. It is particularly disturbing to some adults that some video games allow children to act out crimes, and reward them for doing so. Some studies have shown that children who watch violent television shows and play violent video games have a tendency to act more aggressively on the playground, and some people are concerned that this aggression may presage violent behavior when children grow to adulthood. These concerns have led to voluntary rating systems adopted by the industry, such as the ESRB rating system in the United States, that are aimed at educating parents about the types of games their children are playing (or are begging to play).
Critics of movies, television, and books as a group look down on video games as an inferior form of entertainment. This is probably because of the accurate observation that most video games have very little plot and even less character development—although there are some wonderful exceptions to the rule. In any case, a frequent counter is that this complaint is like complaining that playing a game of football doesn't have much plot or character development—that though video games include a narrative, they are really about acting in and against the world, and this type of entertainment is not primarily about passively seeing and hearing.
See also: video game controversy
Genres
All video games fall into one or more genres. A genre is a category which classifies what kind of content and game play a game is likely to contain. For example, a first-person shooter is likely to contain a great deal of action, will require quick reflexes and may contain graphic violence.
Below is an alphabetized listing of the main genres of video games and some examples of games for each genre. This list is by no means complete or comprehensive. Many of these categories are somewhat overlapping. GTA, for example, is an adventure, a shooter and 2D or 3D depending on version.
Adventure
Adventure games cast the player as the hero (or heroine) of a story in which the player participates. These games normally require the player to solve various puzzles and find various artifacts. Adventure games rose to popularity in the 1980s and early to mid-1990s.
- Colossal Cave Adventure
- Day of the Tentacle
- Full Throttle
- King's Quest series
- Legend of Zelda series
- Maniac Mansion
- Monkey Island series
- Sam and Max
- Star Fox Adventures
- Sentimental Graffiti
- The Dig
- Tomb Raider series
- Zork series
Educational
Educational games, as the name implies, attempt to teach the user using the game as a vehicle. Most of these types of games target young user from the ages of about three years to mid-teens (past the mid-teens, subjects become so complex (for example, Calculus) that teaching via a game is impractical).
- Carmen Sandiego series
- Giraffe
- Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing series
- The Oregon Trail series
- Robocode
- Star Wars DroidWorks
Fighting
Beat 'em up or fighting games emphasize one-on-one combat between two players, one of whom may be computer controlled. These games usually focus on martial arts, which are usually so dramatic and physically impossible as to be comical. Some of these games may also employ hand-held weapons in addition to or instead of performing combat gymanastics (such as some characters in Mortal Kombat). This genre arose in the mid-1980s and is still somewhat popular today.
- Darkstalkers series
- King of Fighters series
- Mortal Kombat series
- One Must Fall: 2097
- Power Stone series
- Street Fighter series
- Super Smash Bros. series
- Tekken series
- Virtua Fighter series
First-person shooters
First-person shooters (FPS) emphasize shooting and combat from a specific perspective. Most FPS's place the player behind a gun or other weapon with the player's "hand" holding the weapon. This perpective is meant to give the player the feeling of "being there." Most FPS's are very fast-paced and require quick reflexes. Because of the perspective, these games tend to be very violent.
Recent studies have shown that these types of game actually improve user's reflexes (as in reaction time). The same study showed that little time was needed (as little as a few hours) to see improvements in reaction times.
Game-controlled environment
- Area 51
- Duck Hunt
- Time Crisis series
- Virtua Cop
Player-controlled environment
- America's Army: Operations
- Battlefield 1942 series
- Call of Duty
- Day of Defeat
- Deus Ex
- Doom series
- Duke Nukem 3D
- Ethnic Cleansing
- GoldenEye
- Half-Life and modifications (Team Fortress and Counter-Strike and more than 100 others)
- Halo
- Hardwar
- Heretic and Hexen series
- Hired Guns
- Hitman series
- IGI series
- Marathon
- MechWarrior series
- Metroid Prime
- Medal of Honor series
- Perfect Dark
- Quake series
- Call of Duty
- Day of Defeat
- Operation Flashpoint
- Rainbow Six Series
- Red Faction
- Rise of the Triad
- Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force, Star Trek Elite Force 2
- Thief series
- Soldier of Fortune, Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix
- Special Force
- System Shock series
- Tron 2.0
- Under Ash
- Unreal series
- Wolfenstein 3D series
Platform games
Platformers, also called side-scrollers, view the game area from a side or "cutaway" perspective. In these games, the background or playing area smoothly scrolls as the player moves about, hence the name. These games are traditionally 2D, but some have employed 3D computer graphics effectively. Traditional elements of these games include running, jumping and some fighting. Side-scrollers were some of the first types of video games and are still popular today, usually with younger players.
- Castlevania series
- Captain Claw
- Contra/Probotector series
- Crash Bandicoot series
- Dig Dug
- Donkey Kong
- Jak and Daxter
- Kirby series
- Ghouls 'n Ghosts series
- Lionheart
- Lode Runner
- Metroid series
- Mega Man (RockMan) series
- Ratchet and Clank
- Rayman series
- Sonic the Hedgehog series
- Super Mario Brothers series
- Wario Land series
Puzzle
Puzzle games require the player to solve logic puzzles or even navigate complex locations such as mazes. Some of these games have become the most popular in the history of video games.
- Bomberman
- Bust A Move
- ChuChu Rocket
- Columns
- Cuyo
- Dr. Mario
- Eleventh Hour
- Mr Driller
- Seventh Guest
- Shanghai solitaire ("Mahjong")
- Snakes
- Snood
- Sokoban
- Tetris
- Tetris Attack
Racing games
Racing games are one of the most traditional of computer game genres. They typically place the player in the driver seat of a high performance vehicle and require the player to compete against other drivers or sometimes just time. Emerging in the early 1980s, this genre is still very popular today and continue to push the envelope in terms of graphics and performance.
Simulation style
- Gran Turismo series
- Grand Prix Legends
- TOCA Race Driver (it really stands between Simulation and Arcade racing games)
Arcade style
- Carmageddon series
- Final Lap
- F-Zero series
- High Octane
- Marble Madness
- Mario Kart series
- Midnight Club series
- Need For Speed series
- Out Run
- Pole Position series
- Project Gotham Racing
- Sega Rally series
- The Simpsons Road Rage
- Test Drive series
- Wipeout series
Rhythm games
Rhythm games challenge the player to follow sequences or develop specific rhythms. Some games require the player to tap out rhythms using a game controller or keyboard while others require the player to actually dance in sync to music. This genre arose in the late 1990s with the ever increasing popularity of rap music.
- Dance Aerobics
- Dance Dance Revolution
- Frequency
- Samba De Amigo
- Space Channel 5
- Spice World
- PaRappa the Rapper
- UmJammer Lammy
Role-Playing Games
Role-Playing Games (RPG) place the player in a fantasy or science fiction setting. Most of these games are similar to traditional role-playing games played with pencil and paper (such as D&D) except, in this case, the computer takes care of all the record keeping and deterministic elements such as die rolling. Most of these games have the player acting in the role of an "adventurer" who specializes in a certain set of skills (such as combat or casting magic spells). These skill sets are normally called classes and players can normally control one or more of these characters. Since the emergence of affordable home computers coincided with the popularity of pencil and paper role-playing games, this genre was one of the first in video games and continues to be exteremely popular today.
- Alternate Reality series
- Arc the Lad series
- Arcanum
- Astonia game online
- Bahamut Lagoon
- Baldur's Gate series
- Bard's Tale Series
- Breath of Fire series
- Brg_StaySafe
- Chrono Trigger series
- Dark Age of Camelot
- Diablo series
- Dragon Quest series (AKA Dragon Warrior series)
- Drakengard
- Dungeon Master series
- The Elder Scrolls series
- EverQuest
- Final Fantasy series
- Fire Emblem series
- Kingdom Hearts
- Might and Magic series
- Neverwinter Nights
- Phantasy Star series
- Pokemon series
- Radical Dreamers
- Roguelikes: Rogue, Hack, Nethack, Moria, Angband et al.
- SaGa series
- Seiken Densetsu series
- Star Wars Galaxies
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- Suikoden series
- Tales series
- Ultima series
- Wasteland
- Wild Arms series
- Wizardry series
- Ys series
- Yu-Gi-Oh series
- Xenogears-Terms
Serious
Recent times have seen the emergence of a new genre called serious games. Serious games are targeted at adults and teach them real-world concepts via games. These games are contracted by large companies (such as Wal-Mart) to supplement their educational budget. For example, a game that teaches a manager how to run a Wal-Mart Supercenter may cost $1 million to develop, as opposed to having all the managers attend seminars that cost $20 million. As with traditional computer games, serious games are designed to be engaging, fun and competetive so that users will be encouraged to continue playing (and therefore learning from) them.
Serious games are too new have had a significant effect on the game industry and, since most are developed specifically for one client, they are not released for retail sale to the general public. However, many large corporations are starting to leverage the educational and financial benefits of serious games over traditional professional training.
Shooters
Shooters emphasize shooting enemies, whether they be human, alien or insect. These game usually employ a top-down or fixed side perspective. These games have a fixed playing area and the player has limited mobolity. Most of these games can be played (though not completed) in a matter of minutes. Some of these games do not even have a formal ending; instead they just get progressively harder. Another of the earliest genres, these types of games have fallen in popularity though they still have a strong hobbiest following.
Shoot 'em ups
Scrolling shooters or "Shoot 'em ups" emphasize fast-paced shooting or shooting and running. The targets may be intelligent or non-intelligent (as in Asteroids). This genre is somewhat muddled. For example, at what point does a shooter become a shoot 'em up? Another very early genre which has a mixed following today.
- Asteroids
- Bangai-O
- Earth Defense Force
- Gradius series
- Ikaruga
- Mr Heli
- Project-X
- R-Type series
- Radiant Silvergun
- Raiden
- Raptor
- Sinistar
- Smash TV
- Spacewar (Not a true shoot-em-up. 1962 multiplayer deathmatch.)
- Star Fox series
- XPilot
- Zaxxon
- Zero Wing
Simulation
Some do not consider simulations to be games at all, but rather "digital toys" or "software toys." Indeed, this is how Will Wright, the designer of the most popular video game of all time, The Sims, describes his games. These games aim to similate a specific activity (such as flying an airplane) as realistically as practically possible, taking into account physics and other real-world limitations. Some require a great deal of reading before the game can even be attempted, while others include a simple tutorial. Some of these types of games, such as flight simulators, have a limited following, while others, such as The Sims have an enormous following, including those who don't consider themselves "gamers."
- Ace Combat
- Dynasty Warriors
- FlightGear
- Microsoft Flight Simulator series
- Silent Hunter
- The Sims
- SimAnt
- SimCity series
- SimFarm
- Sim Park
- SimEarth
Sports
Sports games emulate the playing of traditional physical games such as Baseball, Soccer, American football, Boxing, Golf, Basketball, Ice hockey, Tennis, Bowling, Rugby, etc. Some emphasize actually playing the sport, while others emphasize the strategy behind the sport (such as Championship Manager). Others satarize the sport for comic effect (such as Arch Rivals). This genre emerged early in the history of video games and remains popular today and is extremely competitive, just like real-world sports.
- All Star Baseball 2003
- Arch Rivals
- Backyard Sports series
- Championship Manager
- Electronic Arts NHL series
- Hardball series
- Knockout Kings series
- NBA Jam series
- Rumble in the Rink
- Tecmo Super Bowl series
Strategy
Strategy games focus on careful planning and skillful resource management in order to achieve victory. Classified as "thinking games," these products are targeted at teens and a more mature audience. Most of these games are turn-based as opposed to realtime, but there are some that are realtime or mix the two types of play (such as X-Com). This genre has had a consistent following since the mid-1980s.
General Strategy
- Alpha Centauri
- Battle Isle series
- Chaos,Lords Of Chaos,Rebelstar series
- Civilization series
- Etherlords series
- Fire Emblem series
- Galactic Civilizations
- Heroes of Might and Magic series
- Master of Orion series
- Space Empires series
- Stars!
- VGA-Planets (for play-by-email)
- WarLords series
- Worms series
- X-COM series
Real-time (RTS)
- Age of Empires series
- Age of Mithology
- Black & White
- Command and Conquer series
- Commandos series
- The Corporate Machine
- Dark Reign
- Dune series
- Empire Earth
- Europa Universalis series
- Myth series
- Populous series
- Railroad Tycoon
- Red Alert
- StarCraft series
- Syndicate series
- Total Annihilation
- Warcraft series
Survival Horror
Survival Horror games focus on fear and attempt to scare the player via traditional horror elements such as undead, death, blood and gore. Many of these games include first-person shooter elements.
- Alone in the Dark series
- Resident Evil series
- Silent Hill series
- System Shock series
Third Person Shooters
Third Person Shooters (TPS) employ a specific perspective for the player. This is normally just behind the game character, but it is sometimes an isometric perspective. Many of these games are classified in other genres as well (such as Tomb Raider).
Traditional
Most popular board games, card games, and the like have been computerized to some degree or another. For example, more than 600 freeware board games are available written in Zillions. Computer game programs can be worthy opponents and can help you improve your skill at traditional games.
- Chess, Checkers, Othello (a.k.a. Reversi), and Backgammon have world class computer programs.
- Mah-jongg and related games are immensely popular in Japan.
- I-go, popular in Asia.
- Magic: The Gathering has had computer versions for some time.
Notable People
- Ralph Baer -- Inventor of the Magnavox Odyssey, the first video game console
- John Carmack -- Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake, ... (Id Software)
- Chris Crawford -- Eastern Front (1941), Balance of Power, founder of the Computer Game Developers' Conference, pioneer of interactive storytelling
- Richard Garriott (a.k.a. Lord British) -- creator of Ultima series and founder of Origin Games
- Satoru Iwata -- president of Nintendo
- Hideo Kojima -- Metal Gear Solid series, Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hands (Konami)
- Koji Kondo -- music composer for Mario and Legend of Zelda series (Nintendo)
- Ken Kutaraji -- President of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.
- Shigeru Miyamoto -- Donkey Kong, Mario, Legend of Zelda, ... (Nintendo)
- Hironobu Sakaguchi -- Final Fantasy series, and Chrono Trigger (Square Enix)
- Kou Shibusawa -- producer of Sangokushi series and Nobunaga_no_ yabo series
- Warren Spector -- System Shock series, Thief series, Deus Ex, (Origin Games, Looking Glass Studios, Ion Storm)
- Koichi Sugiyama -- music composer for Dragon Quest series (Square Enix)
- Hirokazu 'Hip' Tanaka -- President of Pokemon Co. and music composer for Metroid, Kid Icarus, and Super Mario Land
- Toshiro Tsuchida -- Front Mission series
- Yuka Tsujiyoko -- music composer for Fire Emblem series, Paper Mario, and part of Tetris Attack (Nintendo, Intelligent Systems)
- Nobuo Uematsu -- music composer for Final Fantasy series and Ehrgeiz (Square Enix)
- Will Wright -- programmer and game designer of SimCity series and The Sims series (Electronic Arts)
- Hiroshi Yamauchi -- former president of Nintendo and predecessor of Satoru Iwata
- Gunpei Yokoi -- inventor of the Gameboy and Wonderswan
See also
- video game console
- console manufacturer
- Videogame Timeline
- video game controversy
- console emulator
- MAME
- ZSNES
- fan translation
- list of NES games
- list of SNES games
- video game developer
- video game publisher
- video game music
- game programmer
- game designer
- list of computer and video games by name
- list of computer and video games by category
- list of free game software
- enhanced remake
External links
- Open Gaming Center: the Wikipedia of Computer Gaming (NEW) http://open-gaming-center.com
- A Game Documentation and Review Project: http://www.mobygames.com/
- BBCNews, 28 May, 2003, Video games 'good for you'. Keen video gamers now have one more excuse to keep on playing
- Video game developer e-zine: http://www.gamasutra.com/
- Open Gaming Foundation: http://www.opengamingfoundation.org/
- http://www.download-game.com