Game genres you don't understand

[WeedWorm]

[rant]The worst people in these threads are the ones who lump all games of the same genre as being the same, i.e. "All FPS's are the exact same". So Halo, CoD, UT, Half-Life and Far Cry are all the same? Or RTS's. There is a huge difference between the likes of AoE, C&C, Dawn of War and the Civ series. Hell, theres even a fairly big difference between AoE 1, 2 and 3. Then the theres "I dont want to have to pay for second job" people, who dont get the appeal of MMO's. They argue that its all the same, point, click, click, click, point, click, click etc. We'll just leave the social aspect of it aside completely, shall we? [sarcastic] We wont acknowledge the fact that you can make a shit load of friends and have a laugh while doing all that pointing and clicking[/sarcastic]. Plus when a game boils down to it, arent they all just as repetitive? FPS's, go here, shoot these guys, go over there, shoot these guys etc. RTS's, get resouces, build a base, train an army (worthy of Mordor), beat the computer, next level, do it all over again. Why would anyone play a sim game? Maybe they dont have the time to learn how to become a pilot or train driver? Maybe they just cant become those things for some reason, ever think of that? Some people might like the turn based combat of JRPG's or the storys, as they usually have rediculous storylines, or they might just like the characters. Some people might like to play sports games because theyre not arsed playing IRL football. Or they might just want to sit down and watch their favouite team beat their rival team over and over again. As for fighting games, whats not fun about mindlessly beating the shit out of each other? Racing games without weapons? Hmm, maybe you just an ordinary race, where you can beat the computer and/or friends without the help of blowing them up and using just your own skill?[/rant]

 

[sarahvait]

I wouldn't say I don't understand any of genres; people's tastes just run differently. Western RPGs always bore me at first glance. I'm so tired of that overused fantasy setting. I can just watch Lord of the Rings if I wanted to see that stuff over and over. At least Mass Effect and Fallout 3 are shaking things up a bit.

I'm pretty much on the opposite side of the fence, I think. I've been into anime since I was in 2nd grade, and most of my first games were JRPGs. And personally, I'd rather follow the story of a ragtag group who includes a gay vampire wrestler and Princess Anatasia than play as some guy who's pretty much always alone killing orcs or talking to the same elves and gnomes I've seen in fifty other games. Most western RPGs just feel like an MMORPG to me, albeit with a quicker paced story and without a bunch of people I don't know bugging me to party with them.

Don't get me wrong; I'm aware that JRPGs are just as prone to repeat the same damn scenerio and themes over and over again (Final Fantasy, just stop...seriously. I don't care anymore). And if you asked me to list my top 5 favorite games, there would only be one JRPG in the list. But those are the stories I like and the characters I enjoy, so I supposed I'm inclined to be kinder towards them.

I also don't see the point of playing an MMORPG you have to pay for. There's tons of MMOs you can play for free that look just as good as WoW. They may not be as good, but at least I'm not paying for a retail version or +$10 for a monthly fee.

 

[-Seraph-]

^Oh dear god thank you. i am not the only sane JRPG player who sees the ignorance on these boards.

 

[MURPHYCHACHO]

Sports games. What the hell's the point? Just go out and play the real game. Sheesh.

Fighting games. I like my games to have the story be a pretty big part of the game. Fighting games usually don't have that. They give you a brief backdrop, some character backstories, and then pits you in a series of random fights. It's fun on multiplayer, but otherwise it's just not my cup of tea.

 

[Gotham Soul]

JRPGs, honestly. Some of the stories of these games are brilliant, but the gameplay itself is so tedious and mundane that I was hard pressed to come up with a reason as to why I'm simply playing it for the story.

Professional league sports video games confuse me as well. Well, maybe not, but I think that confuses me about them is why the fuck people buy the same thing over and over again (looking at you EA).

Also, I'll answer everybody's "Why do people like MMORPGs" question right here so we don't have to go through fifteen pages of it.

Ahem.

The reason why most people play MMORPGs is because of the community within the game and social interaction (remember that part) that the game's mechanics force you to go through. For example, you can get through to the level cap by yourself. But at the end, what then? Raids, group dungeons, things that require real people other than yourself. When you down a big boss or get, quote, "phat lewtz", you killed the boss or got the loot through cooperation and teamwork. Victories are sweetened and defeats softened because you did them with other people.

Just stop for a bit: do you really think that the people who play MMOs would continue playing if those MMORPGs were simply single player games?

And if you missed it, I'm simply clarifying for people why the people who play MMORPGs do what they do. If you don't like it, don't play it.

 

[frozenshad]

The reason why most people play MMORPGs is because of the community within the game and social interaction (remember that part) that the game's mechanics force you to go through. For example, you can get through to the level cap by yourself. But at the end, what then? Raids, group dungeons, things that require real people other than yourself. When you down a big boss or get, quote, "phat lewtz", you killed the boss or got the loot through cooperation and teamwork. Victories are sweetened and defeats softened because you did them with other people.

Just stop for a bit: do you really think that the people who play MMOs would continue playing if those MMORPGs were simply single player games?

thank you for posting, you win an interwebz

 

[Gotham Soul]

JRPGs, honestly. Some of the stories of these games are brilliant, but the gameplay itself is so tedious and mundane that I was hard pressed to come up with a reason as to why I'm simply playing it for the story.

Honestly then your playing the wrong JRPG's, the .Hack//G.U. Trilogy, FFXII, Golden Sun, Chrono Trigger, Dark Cloud (and 2), and Persona Series, The Tales Of series all have GREAT story along with great gameplay, and White Knight Chronicle is looking to be like that to.

I'm not saying JRPG's don't have tedious combat (Some do) I'm just saying there are some with great stories and great combat.

You're probably right on that count. As a general moral rule I don't buy JRPGs on a casual basis like I do with other games, I usually buy them if they become mainstream enough or by recommendation.

 

[PersianLlama]

Everyone has a genre they don't understand what's so great about it and so it doesn't bring any interest.

Personally mine are RTS, Sports, scrolling shoot em ups and Fighting games.

I love strategy games but I don't get RTS because it feels like real time Chess to me: muddled and confusing. I've heard Endwar is pretty cool but it doesn't spark any interest in me.

Sports games I don't think I will ever get because I'm not a hardened fan of any sport.

Fighting games are imperceptible to me because I will never get used to the lengthy combos that are required. The only fighter I've been into recently is Soul Calibur 4 which is kind of a noobish fighter but still entertaining.

Side scrolling shoot em ups where your little spaceship shoots a billion bullets on the screen while a billion enemies flood the screen and return fire with a billion bullets don't really interest me that much because they are mostly for highscore gamers and imo these games are only fit for mobile phones.

So what are the genres you don't get?

(Also you can try and convince me why I should try some of the ones above.)

I find Chess fun, which is probably why I enjoy RTS games.

I find Sports games pointless, I'd rather go out and play the sport. What I really hate about them is that the developers just release the same game every year. I wouldn't hate them as much if it weren't for that.

Fighter's I just find boring...

As for scrolling shootem-ups, not sure what makes them fun, but they are.

 

[likalaruku]

Mine are MMORPGS, shooters, sports, casual games, or anything set in space.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
MMORPG: Refuses to socialize unless trading, will not join your party.

Shooters: Unless it's Serious Sam. I'm sick of anything war themed. Sick of tanks & uniforms. I get too distracted by my desire to look at every environment & NPC design detail, that made Bioshock aggrivating. In RTSRPG, you study something before you attack, shooters don't give you time to think.

Sports: Bored in 5 seconds due to repetitiveness (this includes flight sims), unless it has funny glitches & bugs or lets me drive like an asshole & crash into things.

Casual Games: Serendipity or hidden objects games are okey for like 1/2 an hour before the music makes you sleepy & you start getting impatient to find things. Puzzle games are all the same game with different graphics. Time management games cause anxiety.

Space: Love fantasy, hate sci-fi, love swords & dragons, hate guns & aliens, love stone dungeons, hate metal spaceships.

 

[Fenring]

JRPG: to linear and have way too much angst.
Sports: Why don't you just play the real thing?
Simulator Games (with the exception of Flight simulator): just kinda seems boring.

 

[-Seraph-]

JRPG: to linear and have way too much angst.

There is nothing wrong with linearity as *shock* pretty much all games are linear, your just given the illusion of freedom. Angst...ANGST!!? is it so wrong for characters with legitimate reasons for being who they are? there is no angst, that is another misconception that has been passed around by JRPG hatred, well it's not as prominent as many think at least.

 

[Fenring]

JRPG: to linear and have way too much angst.

There is nothing wrong with linearity as *shock* pretty much all games are linear, your just given the illusion of freedom. Angst...ANGST!!? is it so wrong for characters with legitimate reasons for being who they are? there is no angst, that is another misconception that has been passed around by JRPG hatred, well it's not as prominent as many think at least.

'Legitimate reasons for being who they are', hmm.. I remember Mass Effect had a good or great reason for everything, and NO ANGST. I don't want to play a game to hear about how a character is emotional, if the story is good enough, the character won't need to be overly emotional, the player should empathize with him. And as to the linearity thing, I have yet to see a JRPG which gives me as much choice as KOTOR, Mass Effect, the Elder Scrolls Series, Fallout, or Fable. Although some may say the stories is pretty linear (which they are), the choice to be good or evil is a major thing for me. If I can doom a town by detonating a nuclear bomb, I sure want the choice to.

 

[frozenshad]

Simulator Games

This.
You know there is actually a game where you simulate driving a bus...
i mean COME ON!!!