How Are Game Genres Named?
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- Опубліковано 15 чер 2024
- Alternate Title: A Linguistic Overview of (English) Game Genres: A descriptivist account of how English forms video game genre names.
An amateur linguistics video about the terms we use for Video Game Genres.
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Timestamps
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0:00 - Part 0: What's the deal with Game Genres?
2:08 - Part 1: What's the meaning of Game Genres?
5:37 - Part 2: How are Game Genre Names Structured?
10:22 - Part 3: What are Game Genres Named After?
13:03 - Conclusion: How Are Game Genres Named?
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I'm just going to start linking this video instead of ever having a "is this game a visual novel or not" argument ever again. thank you for doing my life an invaluable service
The first bit about the Japanese language using genres more like tag lines suddenly made my mind explode with the realisation that that’s why MGS comes with the Tactical Espionage Action just before the real name of the game.
Japanese genre names - let's add "action", "simulation", "role-playing game" or combination of those to anything
You are very cultured to know some of these games you've used clips on.
A highly interesting watch which makes a ton of good points about the way sentences and grammar are best constructed and along with the cultural biases and constructs which go into how we define works of art. Keep up the great work, and have a lovely day.
I didn't think about it, but a linguistic perspective is really productive (😉) for this worn-out subject. Great video.
You are physically incapable of making a video that's underwhelming in any way, great work as always
I loved watching this, thank you for making this. I really like the change in perspective and helping me think about how different languages approach categorization through the lens of video games. Keep up the great work!
Amazing video!
I find it fascinating how two different genres can overlap with mainstream usage of the perceived genre such as "arpgs/action rpgs". One being the Diablo-style hack & slash looters and the other being stylish cuhrayzee action games like DMC and Ninja Gaiden.
And I find it equally frustrating how mainstream usage of "fighting game" leads to a definition of "any game involving fighting" and desperately attempting to convince my friends that Persona 5 is not a fighting game.
Genre definitions are wonderful the deeper you go, such as learning the difference between a Nakige and Nukige. But the broad generalization of people unfamiliar with the genre can lead to some baffling comments like seeing Marvel's Spider Man(2018) recommended as a fighting game.
Yeah. This was a mostly a research-light topic for me, since it's based on a lot of my own linguistic intuition + digging up concepts from my first-year Linguistics textbook, but I did actually do a bit of reading on this kind of thing. I read a paper talking about this from a Library and Information Sciences perspective, and some of the issues in how broad as to be actively less useful for people trying to find the things they want on store pages and libraries ("Why Video Game Genres Fail: A Classificatory Analysis").
"In library and information science, one of the primary purposes of genre classification is to enable collocation and help users find similar items." - So if your store page is putting Super Mario Bros. and Grand Theft Auto as both "Action Games" - then people wanting Platformers or Third-Person Open World Sandbox Games aren't going to find it very useful to see them both presented in the same bucket.
I don't agree with a fair portion of the paper (like how it suggests that there's some kind of issue of confusion because "Halo" isn't considered an RPG when you play as Master Chief), but I thought it was useful to see what other perspectives had been written on this topic. (And the paper does include Prototype Theory and Family Resemblance in its suggestions for alternative approaches).
Something that I'd initially considered putting into the video was tying into how we talk about genres with the "cooperative principle"/"the gricean maxims". Basically the tendency people have in social communication where, we say as much information that is relevant, and don't say more than that. So, say, if I'm talking about "Marvel's Spider-man", I'll probably say "It's an Open World Superhero game" or something. "Open World" already implies "3D", and "Action-Adventure", and a bunch of other genre terms/aspects of the game experience that I could explicitly describe, but are already associated with the term.
I have to admit though, I've never encountered regular people calling anything like an RPG or Action-Adventure game to be a Fighting Game. It could just be my personal social circles, but I've never seen anyone generalize "fighting game" as meaning "any game with combat".
@Aquason ...you literally did that in this video.
This might be my new favorite video on youtube.
NEW VIDEO LETS GOO. love ur shit dude!!
I'd never heard of Zachlikes before watching this video but considering the example you use is Opus Magnum I'll probably love them
Come over to board games - we have things like "worker placement" and "tableau-builders" (not to mention Eurogames and Ameritrash).
Man not only do you make these wonderfully descriptive videos on a topic that matters a lot to me, you pick such amazingly deep cuts to back them up. How often do you get to see Super Mario Galaxy contrasted with *Arm Joe* of all things
Just to clarify, the thing about japanese audiences disliking the term jrpg isn't really the case, thats mostly another prime example of excutives being clueless about their own adience, I don't think I ever such claims from the mouth of a japanese FAN, only from small minority of higher-ups involved in the production of mainstream games
Heck, even some of them actually LIKE the term
That's good to know. When I was researching it, I was relying on interviews of Japanese game devs and stuff like the nico nico encyclopedia which mention a negative impression towards the term. In my mind, I imagined being a Japanese game dev in 2009, Final Fantasy 13 gets a pretty lukewarm reception, and you're checking the overseas reaction when you first encounter the term "JRPG", so you get the sense that the term implies that games are "samey", "old fashioned", or "formulaic".
Linguistics always fascinates me and I loved this breakdown of genre titles, but also I did not expect to be reminded of The Art of Theft or fuckin' Shift. Did you know Shift got sequels beyond Shift 2? I JUST found that out
Seeing people respond to some of my favourite niche games I included is probably one of my favourite parts of this video.
On the note of game genres named after influential works, most of them tend to fade over time or have alternative descriptors. Roguelike for example can often be taken to mean "procedurally generated" or "randomly generated" since that's the element of Rogue that they draw the most inspiration from. "Zachlike" is a term I've never heard before this video, but if push came to shove I would have described Zachtronic games as "programatic puzzle games." But Metroidvania has it really rough. There just isn't a concise way to capture the back-track heavy, power-up based, opening up of a previously restrictive world which that particular genre is based on. Like, Banjo-Kazooie is clearly not a Metroidvania, but honestly a strong argument could be made that Banjo-Tooie is. How do you reconcile briefly the similar elements between La-Mulana and Banjo-Tooie without just falling back on a shorthand reference to games that prominently featured those elements before?
substituting "roguelike" with "procedural generated", is not really accurate. there are many games with procedural generation that aren't "roguelikes". .such as Starfield and No Man's Sky. .
procedural generation is not the only defining feature of a roguelike. it also has to have permadeth, making one start over whenever they die and usually is turn based, but there is a subgenre "action roguelike".
and then there is "roguelite", which is a game in the roguelike style, but might not have permadeth or it does have permadeth but also has "meta-progression" like unlocking new equipment or stat upgrades for the next run so you're not having to start from scratch every time
@@Femaiden I won't debate this too vigorously other than to say that the term has become extremely diluted which is why I say that most often the feature being aped is the procedural generation. In reality there are very few games that are like Rogue.
@@metalsonic8888 all i'm saying is all roguelikes have procedural generation, but not all game with procedural generation are roguelikes. the actual definitions have been debated for ages, i'm just saying those 2 terms are not interchangeable.
like all cognac is brandy, but not all brandies are cognacs
@@Femaiden Fair enough. "Interchangeable" was the wrong word and I edited my original comment. Nonetheless, I stand by my assertion that often times when someone uses the descriptor "roguelike" to describe a game that what they mean is "procedurally generated."
In Poland we call games like Monkey Island adventure game, games like Diablo hack n slash and games like Devil May Cry slasher game.
so it's not just la-mulana... this whole time i accepted its obtuse genre name was a deliberate and fitting choice LOL
I was not expecting to be reminded of Socrates Jones today
You can bet I'm excited for the upcoming sequel.
This was good work. Good job.
This is a 2D video linguistic definitional video on games nomenclature . I like this genre.
While usually in Polish most of video game genre naming is either taken directly from English or translated English names, there are some that are noticibly different. What's more interesting is that in a case I'm remembering, the names we use in Polish are still English words just used in a different manner.
For example games like Diablo or Path of Exile are pretty much always referred to as "Hack and slash"
Games like Devil May Cry or God of War are referred to as "Slashers"
And not gonna lie, the way English speakers refered to them was kinda confusing for me initially. Especially with things like "character action".
this is very good video
I do like the use of the term "JRPG" to describe a _style_ of RPG rather than just its country of origin, however it still does feel strange to do so for non-Japanese games. I would probably describe Undertale as a "JRPG-style RPG", as annoying as that is to see.
Exactly! Dark Souls is made in Japan, but it's more similar to a western RPG. So much so that many JRPG fans (myself included) look at it and go "not for me, thanks" because the style between it and something like Persona 5 is wildly different.
i never thought of "JRPG" being "negative", but rather making a distinction between Easter and Western "Styles" of RPG. JRPG tend to have that same "look" about them, with anime and manga looking main characters, overworld maps with random encounters, distinctive soundtracks, turn based combat, and they all follow a similar formula, whereas Western style tend to be more experimental and action oriented, but then, i don't really know how to define the genres. i can usually tell the genre by looking at it. I know the names of the genres, and i can usually tell what genre a game belongs to but can't really explain "how" i know it. .
As far as non-indicative/foreign names go, I think "Cultivation" games/Xianxia are sufficiently distinct to qualify, thiugh its definitely a newer genre to English.
These videos were so good! 😢
Genres are just brief easy descriptions or introduction of the main gameplay, sometimes themes, goal, settings and visuals in games. Even sites and forums within the same language may variate with their game classifications.
You usually summarize the game's type as an introduction but it's different than the game's profile that list each of its genres or whatever individually. If a game is introduced as a 4D horror romance anime RPG shooter adventure action fighter martial art game, it doesn't make it into its own single genre.
It's different than other media classification of genres since games are more flexible as there are so many more directly interactive content such as gameplay features and mechanics rather than some fixed work you read, listen or watch to.
Great video, I wished it was made 6 years ago and it would save 2 lessons in my game dev course to teach us (and not teach very well) what are game genres and types.
Didn’t know the term Blobber existed. Sounds like a really obscure term no one uses. I thought everyone just would call them what they are. First-person grid/block maze RPGs. Actually I think I just made up the grid/block maze bit to make it even more specific.
Ur underrated af, this was really fun to watch
Scientific taxonomy is clearly a language (highly based on latin). Just a formal one, that only consist of noun phrases.
My simple explanations:
First person shooter- you are using a first person perspective and it concentrates on shooting
platformer- the game emphasizes platforming
horror- the game emphasizes scary things
sports- self explanatory
racing- obvious
adventure- also obvious
point and click- adventure game emphasizing mouse usage
graphic adventure- named to distinguish from the text adventure, as graphic adventure games had visuals
action adventure- an adventure game emphasizing action such as combat
slasher- self explanatory
hack and slash- obvious
science fiction- obvious
simulator- attempt to create an interactive program which attempts to replicate the existence of its focus material
I have none for roleplaying. All I can say is that a Japanese RPG emphasizes turn-based combat while a Western RPG combines RPG elements with action games.
Awesome stuff
super interesting video!
Not something you would think of often
Nice
0:20 orthodoxly I'll call them visual novel, [cinematic-] adventure game, [first person-] action adventure game.
I didn't look forward but I immedietly see two problem here.
The distinction of nerative-focus game with limited interactivity to visual novel and adventure game is kind of arbitrary. Historically it's more about the eastern and western fandoms for them being seperated. Today it would be more about production values (I know almost knowing about clan, so maybe it's not even a stright visual novel)
The second is obviously the arbitrary and unreleted use of "adventure", again there is some east vs west terminology involved, but also adventure being very easily applied to most video games, and a "x-like" effect with the original [colossal cave] adventure
12:38 So disappointed that ‘character action’ took off instead of ‘spectacle fighter’
Always felt that was the better term
cool video
banger.
13:57 TOUHOU 8
1:43 what is that game? it looks interesting and i couldn’t quite hear what you said it was called
"Acceleration of SUGURI 2" - If you're interested in any of the games shown, I included a subtitle track that was just the games/videos I sourced things from.
@@Aquason thank you!
cool
bro really did just refer to lego city undercover as a "GTA clone"...
...and they're not entirely wrong, though that game definitely encompasses more genres than just "GTA clone" (most notably "collect-a-thon").
Hah, I chose Lego City Undercover because it felt a fun, unexpected, and unconventional example (after showing off Watch Dogs and Sleeping Dogs and Saints Row earlier). And it's less that I see it as a GTA clone, and more that others have called it that. Google "Lego City" and "GTA Clone" and there's about 3,000 results.
Ok
but where's the "Strand Type" game?
Personally, I prefer "Noby Noby game". But there's honestly not enough games for people to really talk about that as a specific, recognizable style of game. I can think of three examples of that kind of asynchronous shared goal with people's creations interacting with each other: Noby Noby Boy, The Tomorrow Children, and Death Stranding.
@@Aquason Mathewmatosis reference spotted???
On a more serious note, I would like to point to a subsection of a larger game; the Ishgardian Restoration in Final Fantasy 14. As part of the 3rd expansion, player characters with leveled crafting and gathering classes would cooperatively compete to try and help restore a city that had been ravaged by 1000 years of war, culminating in a new area for player housing once the restoration had been finished.
XIV as a whole is hardly a Strand game, but in much the same way it uses the Roguelike/lite genre to create a game within the broader MMORPG with its Deep Dungeons, the Ishgardian Restoration was a worthy subgame
Tactical Espionage Action
So according to your rubric, an Otome game should be translated as "teen romance visual novel".
As another point of comparison, I've heard a professional translator of otome games liken them to Twilight or other YA fiction targeted at that teen girl demographic. Just in terms of the types of story and scenarios involved. Main character is a (teen/young adult) girl, heavy theme of romance with anime guys. And they're not just Visual Novels, something like Tokimeki Memorial Girls' Side is a dating sim, and if I google "otome games with gameplay", there are people who will chime in with less typical examples that have puzzles or strategy or rpg gameplay.
@@Aquason But that would make them "teen romance puzzle/strategy/RPGs" instead. But at the same time there's some games that would somewhat qualify in this genre like Hunie Pop and the Fire Emblem series.
Not exactly. Otome games, as the genre term is used, doesn't usually include games with male protagonists. It's getting into the fact that genres are fuzzy concepts, but most people wouldn't consider Fire Emblem a Otome game for instance. It's generally seen as Romance-focused story of girl and boy(s) + only female protagonist + targeted at a female audience. The male target demographic equivalent is usually seen as "bishoujo games" or "gal games".
If I needed to translate the term, I might go with "teen girl romance games",
@@Aquason Considering how romance is usually marketed towards women, is the title of "teen girl romance game" redundant?
@@danielhuelsman76 Generally when I think of "Romance game" there are so many dating sims and visual novels featuring romance targeted towards males, that it can be worth specifying.
waaaaaah canceled my long ass comment by accident T_T
JRPG and Metroidvania are dumb terms.
I'm guessing you're not on board with "Souls-like" either.
@@Hieronymus-Pseudonymous Action adventure games
@@guffingtonrealthere’s a lot of not souls like that fit in action adventure
@@philltheotherguy1868 Is your game an action adventure game?
1: Is action involved?
2: Do you go on an adventure?
If both these are correct, it is an action adventure game.
@@guffingtonreal and if that game is similar to dark souls, it’s a souls like