Paperboy Genre Query

[BIG D]

If you couldnt use ACTION as a genre, what genre would you give Paperboy the game?

[hero2billions]

simulation or rpg

[pacman000]

Shooter. (You're trying to hit targets with a projectile.)

[BIG D]

Simulation does have merit, rpg might be a stretch

 

shooter is probably the closest but should it refer to driving or racing?

Maybe it should be a main then sub genre like

 

driving shooter

or racing shooter

[Flojomojo]

Driving! You control your bike with simulated handlebars.

 

Or, "arcade," because of from whence it came.

 

(Alternate answer: genres are bullshit, who cares)

[BIG D]

I put arcade along with action as meaningless genres that dont really describe the game properly

[Tanooki]

Third person shooter? The whole thing in this game is to dead eye little mail boxes and wreck anyone or anything in your path with your extra ammo in the form of added picked up paper bundles.

[x=usr(1536)]

Isometric shooter, similar to Zaxxon in its use of perspective.

 

'Shooter' is generic enough that the type of player (person, anthropomorphic figure, vehicle, etc.) doesn't really matter in relation to the description, IMHO.

Edited February 21, 2018 by x=usr(1536)

[Austin]

Just "arcade" is best for it. It's a unique game that doesn't really fit into a single specific genre.

[pacman000]

I put arcade along with action as meaningless genres that dont really describe the game properly

I might agree with action, but arcade brings something specific to mind: short, tough levels designed to be addictive enough for players to pop in another quarter when they loose a life. Focuses on achieving a high-score, not on completion.

[BIG D]

Ok I should probably elaborate on this.

I am currently putting together a book on video games aimed at both young and old.

I decided early on that I wasn't going to use Action as a genre because then I would need to have a sub genre.

This sub genre would in 99% off the time explain the game perfectly rendering the action part pointless.

 

That said there are games that don't fit this mold ie: Paperboy, Rampage, Marble Madness... etc.

Rampage and Marble Madness could be shoe horned into beat em up and puzzle respectively.

 

I'm worried that if I use Arcade as a genre that it would confuse because these games were found in the Arcades, making this a meaningless genre like Action.

Am I over thinking this?

[pacman000]

No problem leaving out action or arcade as genre; it's just a classification system. Your book = Your system.

[BIG D]

Problem is I still need a genre to put it under

[hero2billions]

How about miscellaneous, as there are other games that defy all genres.Put me down for a copy at any rate

[BIG D]

How about miscellaneous, as there are other games that defy all genres.Put me down for a copy at any rate

Ha will do, fyi It's a sega master system book, I asked this question here because more people would know of paperboy than in sega forums.

I have decided to choose between the following genres: Shooter, vehicular combat or simulation.

I was thinking about Arcade but in the sms library of games this would be the only game that would be classified that, so I am determined to find a different more specific genre

[Inky]

I think driving / shooter works. It's really a hybrid.

[zzip]

If you couldnt use ACTION as a genre, what genre would you give Paperboy the game?

The "Take some mundane task and turn it into a game" genre that was popular in the 80s

[Bill Loguidice]

It has elements of driving, stunt, target, strategy, and simulation (the latter mostly in its arcade format). I think that's why "action" is the best descriptor for this type of game. It's lazy, but is the easiest way to simply describe a real-time game like this with diverse elements to it.

[spacecadet]

That said there are games that don't fit this mold ie: Paperboy, Rampage, Marble Madness... etc.

Rampage and Marble Madness could be shoe horned into beat em up and puzzle respectively.

 

Marble Madness is definitely a maze game, not a puzzle game. It's the same genre as Pac-Man. I've seen some people use maze as a subcategory of puzzle, but that always confuses me because they don't have a lot in common with each other.

 

But, I do agree with those who say a lot of early arcade games don't fall neatly into any genre. Marble Madness, though, is pretty clearcut IMO.

 

Paperboy is one of those that has elements of a lot of genres but doesn't belong to one. I'd actually call it a simulation. Maybe an action simulation if you want to be specific.

[zzip]

Marble Madness is definitely a maze game, not a puzzle game. It's the same genre as Pac-Man. I've seen some people use maze as a subcategory of puzzle, but that always confuses me because they don't have a lot in common with each other.

These days, anything that isn't a shooter, racer or RPG seems to get labelled as a "puzzle platformer" or something

[BIG D]

 

Marble Madness is definitely a maze game, not a puzzle game. It's the same genre as Pac-Man. I've seen some people use maze as a subcategory of puzzle, but that always confuses me because they don't have a lot in common with each other.

 

But, I do agree with those who say a lot of early arcade games don't fall neatly into any genre. Marble Madness, though, is pretty clearcut IMO.

 

Paperboy is one of those that has elements of a lot of genres but doesn't belong to one. I'd actually call it a simulation. Maybe an action simulation if you want to be specific.

Its was a toss up between Driving Shooter and Action Simulation but I think Im going to lean towards the latter as its not really a driving game but a riding game. Having Action in front of simulator seems to work well.

[Nebulon]

I have a hard time calling it a shooter.

 

I'd have to go with (comedic) simulation.

[Major Havoc 2049]

Paperboy belongs in the job simulation category. Kinda like the bus driving, train conductor, farming and truck driving games.

[Bill Loguidice]

Paperboy belongs in the job simulation category. Kinda like the bus driving, train conductor, farming and truck driving games.

 

But those are pretty much accurate simulations. Paperboy pares the job down to stylized action segments. I mean, I get the comparison, but I don't think it's simulation enough to truly qualify.

[BIG D]

I do like (comedic) simulation, someone on another forum suggested "VEHICULAR COMBAT" any thoughts?