What Genre takes the most "skill"?

[GloatingSwine]

Impossible question. Different genres require and test different skills. The skill required to play Mushihimesama Futari and not die every three seconds is not the same as the skill required to win World War 2 with France in Hearts of Iron.

And because those skills are so radically different, saying that one particular genre requires more skill than another is impossible. You can compare within genres which game requires more skill, because the skills being tested are largely the same, but not between genres.

 

[Space Spoons]

Definitely fighting games. Played at the highest level, it's very much like speed chess.

Of course, I think it needs to be said that any genre can require huge amounts of skill. The question is whether or not the genre in question sees widespread competitive play to necessitate that skill. After all, it doesn't take much effort to beat a child at checkers, but it can be mentally exhausting to play against someone who practices regularly and actively exercises strategies.

 

[Aeriath]

I'm saying RTS, probably because I seem to lack the skills to (most of the time) beat the computer on normal later in the campaign. This incompetence affects me at any level of play. My second choice was Fighters, because at the higher levels they need a mix of skill and reaction times but at lower levels even my sorry self can button mash and put up a better fight than I would in an RTS.

 

[Charisma]

I don't think high skill requirement is a trait of any one genre; all of them have produced games that require a lot of skill.

Generally I'd say competitive multi-player support is the component of any game that demands the most skill, for man's most formidable enemy is other men.

 

[BigDannyH]

RTSs? FPSs?

Has the world forgotten how difficult to master the arcade fighting game is?

Spot on!

I always thought of skill as the application of technique at the appropriate time. I'm sure that's the definition in sport. Surely RTSs are tactical rather than this definition of skill. Like chess.

Watching top level Street Fighter matches (or playing in very amateur ones) seems to fit the above definition. If RTSs are video games' answer to chess, then fighting games are their answer to table tennis.

Those top SF boys have unbelievable tekkers.

 

[C95J]

Probably FPS or strategy games.

 

[Eggsnham]

RTS, I think.

In a good and balanced RTS game, you have to plan and strategize (Strategy is in the genre's name) and know what you're doing with your resources so that you don't inadvertently cause the downfall of your own civilization.

 

[Kekon3]

I wanna be the guy?

 

[Et3rnalLegend64]

I would say bullet-hell shooters could fit in here as well. first you need to be able to recognize the patterns, then you need to have the ability to get into and stay in the patterns.

I can't believe I haven't thought of this yet. Possibly this because of the sensory overload potential of the genre, the rapid thinking required, and enough composure to have your fingers do exactly what your brain tells them to.

Of course, a more realistic answer would to say apples and oranges like some person above. I'm decent at bullet hell, but can't micromanage well enough to be a good RTS player or aim a crosshair properly in an FPS (I'm awesome at light gun games though). The required skills for those three genres overlap somewhat, but I lack something when it comes to the latter two.

 

[SeriousSquirrel]

I'd day RTS, but it's tough. Each genre has it's required skills sets and it could be said that in some ways there is no one genre that takes the most skill.

That being said, I went with RTS because it takes more specific skills than the others.

 

[Et3rnalLegend64]

I wanna be the guy?

Trial and Error Gameplay probably doesn't count as skill. Sure, it's hard as hell, but a lot of it is memorizing how this screen is gonna kill you in 20 different ways and how to get past it.

 

[Mafoobula]

One could posit that most every genre takes some modicum of skill; rather, it would be more worthwhile to point out which games in each genre takes the most skill to excel.

RTS: Starcraft II is the first game that comes to mind. I'm not exactly the most knowledgeable about RTS games, so please forgive me if I completely forgot about some other RTS game that makes SC2 look like Playskool's "My First RTS".

Fighting: Street Fighter, again, is the first title that comes to mind. You'll notice a distinct lack of suffix; that's because there are about 13 fractillion of them.

Sports: .... Not a damn clue. The sportiest game I've played would be SSX: Tricky, a game that is FAR from easy, but I'd wager there are still harder games.

And so on. I dunno, maybe I'm just wasting my time, but I think a topic like this deserves some deeper thought.

 

[sanguinator]

its hard to say because all genres require some extent of skill and/or strategy, and it takes some skill to actually use a strategy.

 

[lokun489]

Well you have to admit some games have different school; there are people who can't really play fatasy and I auto-suck at fps.

 

[esperandote]

Fighting games. Just take a look at how big fighting games tournaments are.

 

[hecticpicnic]

golden eye and halo 2 if your talking about reaction but you need a different kind of skill for rts's and fast paced beat'em'ups

 

[Ansem-The-Wise]

RTS's, because they require that one skill that I don't have: patience.

 

[darth gditch]

hmmmmm.......I would say probably action/adventure/platformers

You need problem solving, strategy, and twitchy reflexes.

But all genres have their difficulties and thus all require some degree of skill.

 

[The Austin]

Strategey games.