Are arcade games a genre?
Question from Man Bytes Blog
Should all arcade games (from Tetris to Time Commandos) be exclusively considered as a separate genre when analyzing game design?
I think that's an interesting question. I can't deny that arcade games definitely require a different focus than normal games, as arcade games aren't designed to be an epic 40 hour long adventure, but are intended to be a stand in the arcade playing the one game for 5-10 minutes at the cost of money.
I don't think I would call it a separate genre. Although genre is defined as a vague category, game genres are generally defined by their playstyle. Arcade games do share playstyles with many genres, and that's why I can't call it a genre. R-Type is a scrolling shooter, Ridge Racer is a racing game, House of the Dead is a railroad First Person Shooter. Arcade games have too many other genres inside it to be called a genre itself.
I considered calling it a sub-genre of every other genre. But imagined pictorally that's a bit stupid tagging every single genre in existance with 'Arcade' sub-genre.
So looking towards the top of the genre tree my mind has created led me to Platform. Platform can determine how a game is designed. You don't design games for the DS the same way you would for the PC. Although the general game may be similar (and you even have ports from one platform to another), the way you interact with the game is different.
I think that's the key point of Arcade games, the interaction is different. Arcade games interaction starts with Inserting a Coin, playing an unforgiving and punishing game for 5 minutes, getting killed or losing then inputting your name to the scoreboard.
So in conclusion.
Arcade game design should be analysed differently to other games, the interaction is different and its lifespan is different. Those alone greatly impact how a game is designed.
However Arcade itself isn't a genre, but a platform.
Having written all that I now feel rediculous because my Dare to be Digital entry a couple of years back (Bathroom Buccaneers), my team and I labelled it as an Arcade Naval Shooter, despite being designed for PC and Xbox 360.
Pandora's box has been opened.
Should all arcade games (from Tetris to Time Commandos) be exclusively considered as a separate genre when analyzing game design?
I think that's an interesting question. I can't deny that arcade games definitely require a different focus than normal games, as arcade games aren't designed to be an epic 40 hour long adventure, but are intended to be a stand in the arcade playing the one game for 5-10 minutes at the cost of money.
I don't think I would call it a separate genre. Although genre is defined as a vague category, game genres are generally defined by their playstyle. Arcade games do share playstyles with many genres, and that's why I can't call it a genre. R-Type is a scrolling shooter, Ridge Racer is a racing game, House of the Dead is a railroad First Person Shooter. Arcade games have too many other genres inside it to be called a genre itself.
I considered calling it a sub-genre of every other genre. But imagined pictorally that's a bit stupid tagging every single genre in existance with 'Arcade' sub-genre.
So looking towards the top of the genre tree my mind has created led me to Platform. Platform can determine how a game is designed. You don't design games for the DS the same way you would for the PC. Although the general game may be similar (and you even have ports from one platform to another), the way you interact with the game is different.
I think that's the key point of Arcade games, the interaction is different. Arcade games interaction starts with Inserting a Coin, playing an unforgiving and punishing game for 5 minutes, getting killed or losing then inputting your name to the scoreboard.
So in conclusion.
Arcade game design should be analysed differently to other games, the interaction is different and its lifespan is different. Those alone greatly impact how a game is designed.
However Arcade itself isn't a genre, but a platform.
Having written all that I now feel rediculous because my Dare to be Digital entry a couple of years back (Bathroom Buccaneers), my team and I labelled it as an Arcade Naval Shooter, despite being designed for PC and Xbox 360.
Pandora's box has been opened.