Gaming’s Lesser Known Genres

From humble beginnings, gaming has come a long way since the days of pong and asteroids. Not unlike films, strides in technology has helped push the gaming industry to new heights. Since the birth of gaming, the industry has managed to branch off into many distinct genres. In the year 2012 the market is full of puzzle games, action adventure games, shooters, simulations, RTS’s and RPGs. But there are some lesser known genres that are silently pushing the gaming medium towards that of an art form. Taking what we know about the world, about gaming, about ourselves and flipping it on its head.

DOCUMENTARY GAMES:
Documentary games are games designed to put the player into the roll of historical figure or situation of any given historical event in order to teach the gamer or present an alternate perspective. Some Documentary games include Super Columbine Massacre RPG, JFK Reloaded, and Escape from Woomera.



ART GAMES:
Art game are games that often use a unique mechanic or unconventional look to evoke emotions or ideas in their audience. Some art games are defined as such for their unique visual esthetic where as others are defined by unique game play (or lack of there of). Some art games include Every Day The Same Dream, Ico, and Flower



ARG’S:
ARG is an acronym that stands for Alternate Reality Game. The premise of an ARG is that there is more going on in our daily life than most people are aware and that the player is one of the few that realize it. Becoming a player in an alternate reality game is possible by simply realizing it exists. ARG’s never admit that they are in fact games thus blurring the line between the game world and reality and allowing for puzzles that would be considered by many designers as much to hard for conventional games. Some examples ARGs include Year Zero, I Love Bees, and more recently, the Watch Dogs DOT Connexion ARG.



EXPERIMENTAL GAMES:
Experimental games are games created strictly to test the limits of what we view as video games, they use unconventional mechanics and test new ways to portray narrative or execute game play. One example of an experimental game is the half life 2 mod known as Dear Esther. Dear Esther is a type of exploration game that takes place on an island. As the player explores certain areas of the island, segments of narrative are delivered to the player through audio narration. Game play is virtually non existent but the player still receives a full narrative experience and has something to think about well after the game is over.

-Brice