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GENRES IN COMPUTER GAMES: AN APPROXIMATION

Benjamin Sterbenz



 

Scientists have been interested in digital games since the 1970s, when computer games began to conquer home consoles and PCs. Since then, many aspects have been examined — with one big exception: the question of what actually defines game genres has remained more or less unanswered so far. When authors deal with genres in computer games, this usually happens casually - some researchers even claim that games cannot be classified in principle because they are constantly changing.


Media, developers, but also researchers like to use terms such as role-playing games, first-person shooters or simulation — but what exactly this means and why a game can be assigned to a specific genre often remains unclear. This book fills that gap and explores the area. The historical development of computer games is discussed, since the corresponding genre designations were established at the same time as pioneering works were published. The development of computer games is also closely linked to technical progress. Subsequently, the use of the genre term in the media, non-fiction books and by game developers is presented and examined.


Finally, the handling of genres in science is analyzed. All relevant classification models are described. Based on these, central aspects for a meaningful classification can be identified. Based on the findings, a possible order can be derived that can be helpful for the discourse on genres in computer games.

 

PUBLICATION DETAILS

LANGUAGE

BINDING

EDITION

ISBN

YEAR

PAGES

German

Hardcover


9783940317995

2011

128

OTHER NAMES

  • Genres in Computerspielen — eine Annäherung

 

TAGS


Publishers: #VerlagWernerHülsbusch (Verlag Werner Hülsbusch)

Languages: #German

Format: #Hardcover

Accessibility: N/A

Year: #Year2011

Genres: #GameStudies


Companies:

N/A


Public Figures:

N/A


Games:

N/A


Misc:

#VWHGameStudies (VWH Game Studies)

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