If there’s anything we love on Hot Indie News, it’s taking it easy, and in these modern times, there's no better way to unwind than by playing video games. Why we like them on Hot Indie News? Because for the longest time, video games weren't mainstream, and we loved them for it. It is no wonder – video games have been increasing in popularity together with the complexity of our computer systems. Having that in mind, we have prepared this short introductory article just to show you have many types of video games there are in the industry – hope you like reading it as much as we loved making it!
The Genres
Beat 'em up (also known as brawler) is a video game genre featuring melee combat between the protagonist and an improbably large number of underpowered enemies. These games typically take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical or fantasy themes.
Hack and slash or hack and slay, abbreviated H&S or HnS, refers to a type of gameplay where focus is on combat with hand-to-hand weapons as opposed to guns. In other contexts, it is more general, and an archer or unarmed martial artist may participate as fully in a hack and slash game.
Maze game is a video game genre description first used by journalists during the 1980s to describe any game in which the entire playing field was a maze. Quick player action is required to escape monsters, outrace an opponent, or navigate the maze within a time limit.
A platform game (or platformer) is a video game which involves guiding an avatar to jump between suspended platforms, over obstacles, or both to advance the game. These challenges are known as jumping puzzles or freerunning. The player controls the jumps to avoid letting the avatar fall from platforms or miss necessary jumps.
First-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre centered on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through a first-person perspective; that is, the player experiences the action through the eyes of the protagonist. The first-person shooter shares common traits with other shooter games, which in turn fall under the heading action game.
Shoot 'em up (also known as shmup or STG) is a subgenre of the shooter genre of video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player character engages in a lone assault, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks.
Survival games are a subgenre of action video games that generally start the player with minimal resources in a hostile, open-world environment, and require them to collect resources, craft tools, weapons, and shelter, and survive as long as possible. Many survival games are based on randomly or procedurally-generated persistent environments.
A stealth game is a type of video game that tasks the player with using stealth to avoid or overcome antagonists. Games in the genre typically allow the player to remain undetected by hiding, using disguises, and/or avoiding noise.
Survival horror is a subgenre of video games inspired by horror fiction that focuses on survival of the character as the game tries to frighten players. Although combat can be a part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical action games through limited ammunition, health, speed and vision.
Other Kinds
Of course, these aren't the only video games out there – there are many other kinds. For example, you can divide the games into sport games, role playing games and so on. Some other video games simulate different aspects of real life, such as Second Life or when you play Casino Tropez. There are simply too many kinds to number, but we hope we have selected a good sample to spark your interest.
