My Video Game Views
Before I write anything else, I want to make one thing clear: I read articles and watch videos about video games far more often than I play them. Therefore, a great number of opinions and beliefs I have are based on information that I have found but not experienced directly, so it is possible that I am wrong. On the other hand, I also love video games, to the point where I can learn about them instead of playing them, so I also think I am uniquely able to judge them. I leave it to you, dear reader, to judge for yourself the validity of my statements.
I think video games are great. I mean, why else would I call my site "Video Game Enthusiast" if I didn't think they were great? I feel like video games provide opinions that I can't obtain in reality, and that is an exciting prospect indeed. I personally feel that video games provide me a balance between playing make-believe and reading novels. With a device in reality that can better represent fantasy worlds, I can more easily lose myself into sweet dreams, and I can change the outcome through my actions without relying solely on my mind to keep that dream consistent. I know not all games would fall under this explanation, but it is what I immediately think when I hear the words "video game." However, I know I cannot express everything I want to here (I might get booted off this server and expelled from the university), nor can I illustrate all the games that I want to (I literally have hundreds that I could go through). By expressing what I can in the limited amount of time that I have, though, I hope that you, dear reader, might just grow to love video games just a little bit more.
Anyways, although I would like to call myself a video game enthusiast, I admit that I like some genres more than others. I primarily am interested in RPGs (role-playing games) and both turn-based and real-time strategy games. Any sort of action or adventure game generally interests me as well, especially if they involve exploration. First- and third-person shooting games are just plain fun, regardless of whether they are person-based or vehicle-based. I also have a fondness of text-based adventures and interactive fiction, even though we have supposedly evolved passed them.
Still here? Good, now allow me to explain why I like these genres. I am an inquisitive and curious person, so I really like exploring things. Both RPGs and adventure games typically involve a healthy amount of exploration, so I am enraptured by being in some new world or environment. Even if these are uninspired or clichéd, I often find myself examining details, such as textures, technical prowess, artistic design, and dynamism of the environment. I'm constantly wondering if what I see on the screen is what the designers intended for me to see and thinking about the effort that it took to make these scenes. I also really enjoy collecting random things, so it should come as no surprise that the games I like often have these as a major selling point. Epic stories are a particular weakness of mine and "journeys" (i.e. leveling up, building up stats, learning new skills, meeting new characters, etc.) keep me engaged and interested.
Conversely, though, there are some genres that I want to beat the living crap out of do not like very much.
Sports games are largely ignored by me, and I flinch every bloody time I hear that a new rhythm or music game is released.
Although they are not a genre, with a few noticeable exceptions, I start frothing at the mouth at the mention of any game based on any existing license.
Why this hatred, I hear you asking. Why? Well, it's because they go against what I believe in video games.
Sports games do not innovate as much as the other genres of gaming, nor are they particularly creative in their design.
They also tend to stick with the same tired formula again and again while being one of the most recognized genres of gaming.
Moreover, thanks to their very nature, it might even be difficult to do anything different.
I mean, honestly, how many different ways can you play basketball, football, or any other sport?
As for rhythm or music games, well, I guess it's partially due to myself not caring about music that much and partially due to their tendency to stick to the same formula over and over again.
Games based on an existing license, however, piss get to me the most.
These are games that are based on books, movies, television shows, comics, or some other commercialized thing, and they are often lackluster and hype-driven.
In other words, they are generally games of poorer quality that people will still buy because it is based on something that is familiar to them, regardless of their quality.
This, in turn, encourages developers and publishers to stick with the boring and overly-advertised route.
As someone who loves seeing new and creative things, this is an absolute outrage to the ever-continuing evolution of video games.
Of course, there are also genres that I neither love nor hate to any real extreme degrees. MMORPGs (massive multiplayer online role-playing games) do not interest me that much because of the massive multiplayer aspect of it, as I am a rather reserved individual (even online). However, I also cannot discount the massive environments and wide variety of characters, items, and places that these games have, so I straddle the line between caring and uncaring when it comes to these games. Platforming games also seem hit-or-miss; the quality of platform games depend on what other genres and gameplay elements they bring in (they're somewhat infamous for this). Fighting games are entirely dependent on how competitive they are, the AI, the balance of the roster, and the number of gameplay options available. There are probably a whole bunch of other genres that I have not mentioned, but I don't want to nitpick that much, so I'll ignore them.
One last thing: genres are not definitive of the quality of a game.
Despite my veneration and scorn of various gaming genres, I acknowledge that I cannot judge a game solely on its genre.
I will also acknowledge that others will have different opinions about gaming genres, and that's cool as long as you keep your mouth shut.
Still, I would not be honest about my enthusiasm for video games without providing you, dear reader, about the kinds of games I play.
After all, even though a large number of people lump all video games as some sort of singularly definitive category, it is just as diverse as movies or television shows.