genre and sub-genre

[soera]

I personally think the only way to make it as simple as it should be is to not have the sub options at all. Cause once it starts, its going to be a flood gate of stuff basically making every game its own seperate sub-genre.

RPG
Sports
Shooter
Action
Adventure
Fighting
Platformer

Do we really need much more than this?

[foxhack]

Yes. You can't just leave out the following:

Puzzle (Tetris, Dr. Mario, Columns.)
Strategy (Command & Conquer, Sim City, X-Com)
Rhythm (Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero, Rock Band)

They're already on the database... this isn't as simple as it seems.

[disgaeniac]

I personally think the only way to make it as simple as it should be is to not have the sub options at all. Cause once it starts, its going to be a flood gate of stuff basically making every game its own seperate sub-genre.

RPG
Sports
Shooter
Action
Adventure
Fighting
Platformer

Do we really need much more than this?

The more I think about it...the more that I'm starting to think that *ANY* sub-genres will quickly end up being more trouble (and , naturally, creating lots of arguments/debates about "what goes/doesn't go where...and why")...which will, in turn, take time, focus, & effort away from other things that are more worthy & important of the...time, effort, and focus/attention.

IDK the best "Answer/Solution" -but- I'm thinking maybe a site-wide consensus/discussion/vote on making sure that any & all
 MAIN
 genres are represented & accounted for (or, easy enough to add later, if originally over-looked)...may well be the best, least troublesome, and simplest & most stream-lined way to go.

You all owe me another 2 cents...again!

[ko1ru]

I personally think the only way to make it as simple as it should be is to not have the sub options at all. Cause once it starts, its going to be a flood gate of stuff basically making every game its own seperate sub-genre.

RPG
Sports
Shooter
Action
Adventure
Fighting
Platformer

Do we really need much more than this?

The more I think about it...the more that I'm starting to think that *ANY* sub-genres will quickly end up being more trouble (and , naturally, creating lots of arguments/debates about "what goes/doesn't go where...and why")...which will, in turn, take time, focus, & effort away from other things that are more worthy & important of the...time, effort, and focus/attention.

IDK the best "Answer/Solution" -but- I'm thinking maybe a site-wide consensus/discussion/vote on making sure that any & all
 MAIN
 genres are represented & accounted for (or, easy enough to add later, if originally over-looked)...may well be the best, least troublesome, and simplest & most stream-lined way to go.

You all owe me another 2 cents...again!

I agree with Soera and Disgaeniac. 

There are really only two solutions:  1.  Stick with broad and simple genres (no sub-genres needed) or 2.  List every imaginable sub-genre.  I think the best way to be thorough and cover all bases is to have a complete list of basic genres.  That way it's less of a headache for everyone involved. 

EDIT:  Also, Foxhack is right: puzzle, strategy and rhythm (or music) should be included.  Along with simulation and racing (and possibly survival horror and education?).  That would round out an all-inclusive list of genres, I think.

[soera]

Just went to Ebay and did a quick copy/paste of their genres of games and this is what was there:


Action/Adventure(233,229)

Arcade(4,069)

Battle(3,010)

Board Games(3,218)

Casino & Cards(4,661)

Educational/Trivia(9,810)

Fighting(23,078)

Flight(5,273)

Music(18,380)

Pinball(1,663)


Platformer(23,145)

Puzzle(22,166)

Racing(39,367)

Role Playing(42,237)

Shooter(57,925)

Simulation(28,596)

Sports(94,958)

Strategy(24,298)

Virtual Pet(2,638)

[disgaeniac]

Just went to Ebay and did a quick copy/paste of their genres of games and this is what was there:


Action/Adventure(233,229)

Arcade(4,069)

Battle(3,010)

Board Games(3,218)

Casino & Cards(4,661)

Educational/Trivia(9,810)

Fighting(23,078)

Flight(5,273)

Music(18,380)

Pinball(1,663)


Platformer(23,145)

Puzzle(22,166)

Racing(39,367)

Role Playing(42,237)

Shooter(57,925)

Simulation(28,596)

Sports(94,958)

Strategy(24,298)

Virtual Pet(2,638)

This looks fine, but, I question the "Action/Adventure" being combined as one genre...shouldn't it be "Action" *AND* "Adventure" as the 2 'Main' genre categories?

[soera]

It does make for a really large category ... but at the same time, some of the other categories can be moved into other stuff. Virtual pet, for example, could be classified as "garbage" and as such, you could also place alot of other genres in there (music, pinball, flight, education, casino, battle, racing, shooter, simulation, sports, strategy).

[disgaeniac]

It does make for a really large category ... but at the same time, some of the other categories can be moved into other stuff. Virtual pet, for example, could be classified as "garbage" and as such, you could also place alot of other genres in there (music, pinball, flight, education, casino, battle, racing, shooter, simulation, sports, strategy).

True...

[ko1ru]

It does make for a really large category ... but at the same time, some of the other categories can be moved into other stuff. Virtual pet, for example, could be classified as "garbage" and as such, you could also place alot of other genres in there (music, pinball, flight, education, casino, battle, racing, shooter, simulation, sports, strategy).

LOL!

I think

Action
Adventure
RPG
Shooter
Survival Horror
Sports
Strategy
Simulation
Fighting
Racing
Puzzle
Platformer
Arcade
Music
Educational
(and maybe Board/Card and Trivia?)

should just about cover it.  Thoughts?   

[rachel]

Depositing my two cents--clink, clink!

The categories of games I have the most difficulty adding to the database are:

 - Digital storybooks (e.g., Chop Suey for PC, Wanwan Aijou Monogatari for Casio Loopy)
 - "Productivity"/"Utility" games (e.g., Sparkle Snapshots 3D for 3DS, perhaps art games like Mario Paint)

If it's possible to add a category or two to cover these OR to suggest an existing category that is a good fit, that would be great.

[disgaeniac]

It does make for a really large category ... but at the same time, some of the other categories can be moved into other stuff. Virtual pet, for example, could be classified as "garbage" and as such, you could also place alot of other genres in there (music, pinball, flight, education, casino, battle, racing, shooter, simulation, sports, strategy).

LOL!

I think

Action
Adventure
RPG
Shooter
Survival Horror
Sports
Strategy
Simulation
Fighting
Racing
Puzzle
Platformer
Arcade
Music
Educational
(and maybe Board/Card and Trivia?)

should just about cover it.  Thoughts?   

I like.

I was thinking a possible "Multi"/"other" (or a better word if someone has one) for games that are commonly argued about & disputed over where they belong (something like games w/ equal amounts of elements from 3 or 4 (or more:) different "Main" genres...

[ko1ru]

... I was thinking a possible "Multi"/"other" (or a better word if someone has one) for games that are commonly argued about & disputed over where they belong (something like games w/ equal amounts of elements from 3 or 4 (or more:) different "Main" genres...

Agreed.  Having "Other" available as a "genre" may just cover all the... well, other stuff. 

[disgaeniac]

... I was thinking a possible "Multi"/"other" (or a better word if someone has one) for games that are commonly argued about & disputed over where they belong (something like games w/ equal amounts of elements from 3 or 4 (or more:) different "Main" genres...

Agreed.  Having "Other" available as a "genre" may just cover all the... well, other stuff. 

Exactly!

(In the hopes of simplifying things:)

[desocietas]

When I was originally thinking of the site having genre/sub-genre, I was thinking more along the lines of being able to assign more than one genre to a title.  We can keep it simple with the broader genre names but allow users to add at least one other genre on if they wanted to.

Puzzle Quest -> puzzle + rpg
Rhythm Thief -> rhythm + adventure
Walking Dead -> adventure + survival horror

I worry that being too specific with the subgenres will just 'cause a lot of work and confusion and take the cataloging away from its more simpler roots.  If we get too specific with these, then why not include other details about the game like number of players, system requirements, screenshots, etc.

[scott]

Ya I think the reason the genre listings have taken so long is because it's really confusing.

I do like the idea of being able to just add multiple genres to the game listings, such as puzzle+platformer, rather than having a set genre of Puzzle Platformer.