This is where we currently stand with respect to our available genre categories:
Action >> General
Action >> Arcade
Action >> Beat-’Em-Up
Action >> Fighting
Action >> Platformer
Action >> Rhythm
Action >> Shooter >> First-Person
Action >> Shooter >> Light Gun
Action >> Shooter >> Shoot-’Em-Up
Action Adventure >> Survival Horror (NOTE: This should be renamed as Survival because not all Survival games are horror themed. This was a serious error.)
Adventure >> General
Classic - don’t know what this is, but it’s not a generally accepted genre
Miscellaneous (Other)
Miscellaneous >> Edutainment
Miscellaneous >> Exercise - should be renamed Exercise / Fitness
Miscellaneous >> Party - should be renamed Party / Mini-games
Puzzle >> General
Racing >> General
Role-Playing >> General
Role-Playing >> Massively Multiplayer
Simulation >> Flight
Simulation >> General
Sports >> General
Strategy >> General
As you can see, most are very broad definitions while others pertain to just a small percentage of games. There are some important omissions, but the following is the most egregious and comprises a huge number of games:
Action Adventure: Games with elements of both action (reflex, timing, button-mashing) and adventure (puzzle-solving, inventory management) games - a hybrid of the Action and Adventure categories.
Also, I’m going to keep hammering on the following definitions until everyone gets it:
Adventure: Games that require primarily logic and problem-solving to complete in the context of a narrative, with little (if any) action game mechanics.
Examples: Myst, Proteus, Gone Home, Heavy Rain , Shadowgate, The Secret of Monkey Island, Zork, Enchanter
Beat-'Em-Up: An action game where the player must fight a large number of enemies in unarmed combat or with melee weapons.
Examples: Double Dragon, Final Fight, Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, Viewtiful Joe, Devil My Cry
Shoot-'Em-Up: Shooting action games in a 2D overhead, side, or top-down perspective against a large number of enemies while dodging their fire.
Examples: Gradius, R-Type, Deathsmiles, Smash TV, Geometry Wars, Super Stardust Delta, Space Invaders, Galaga, Ikaruga