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Why Do We Need Genre Labels?
Chad Awkerman | Feb 06, 2010 | Comments 7
As many of you may know from reading my past articles, I’m a huge advocate of Japanese RPGs. I’m quick to defend the genre, but I’m also not unreasonable about its flaws, even though what constitutes a “flaw” is widely subjective. In fact, I’m a huge fan of RPGs in general, regardless of origin. While other genres may be fairly black and white as to what is and what isn’t considered to be part of it, RPGs tend to have more gray areas than most, simply because it can be argued that nearly every game we play we take on the role of someone or something – from sports games to military shooters to platformers with a rolly-polly ball-type creature bouncing around the screen. Perhaps it can be argued that games like Dragon Age: Origins and Final Fantasy XIII are “real” RPGs because you have nearly full control over an individual character’s stats, leveling path, abilities and overall direction in a game, you aren’t just controlling a character through a story. However, is that all that sets those titles apart from, let’s say, Metal Gear Solid, God of War or Modern Warfare? Those games have a mix of RPG-like elements, as well, while not necessarily concentrating completely on the depth of individual character stats that straight RPGs may.
Needless to say, the gaming industry as a whole has taken a rather liberal stance toward what is considered an RPG and what is not. It seems to come down mostly to personal opinion. Do you consider Borderlands an RPG? It has more shooter elements than RPG elements, yet the loot whoring and character progression are of RPG origin. What about Mass Effect 2? The second title in the series seems to have progressed to a straight shooter with an amazing, engrossing story and intriguing character development, stripping away the game mechanics that brought about the first title’s classification. I can name a dozen other genre mash-ups that could be considered either/or when you confine them to a certain genre.
When we have these combinations of genres, we tend to create all new genres, just pulling names out of thin air to describe a game. The developer may coin the “new” genre and claim they’re the first to conceive of a game like that (in most cases they aren’t) or it may be labeled by the industry or consumer to best describe exactly what a title is. “Stealth action third-person shooter” is the genre MGS4 apparently belongs to, yet you never see any other title described in such a way (although Splinter Cell: Conviction might end up falling into this “genre”, perhaps?). Does it stand in a genre all by itself? Are the developers really that arrogant? It’s a third-person action game, make no mistake.
So, my inquiry is this: Do we really need a genre label to tell us what a game is? A game is supposed to be fun over everything else and, if it is indeed fun, who cares what abstract naming conventions we place on it. Does the fact that Konami came up with some random new genre off the top of their heads to describe the Metal Gear Solid franchise matter when the games are enjoyed by millions? Do those millions care about what genre their game is labeled when they’re having such a good time playing it?
Bioware stripped nearly everything that could be used to label Mass Effect 2 an RPG out of the game. It is basically now a third-person shooter driven heavily by story and character development. Most people consider “story” and “shooter” in the same sentence to be an oxymoron, because the “story” in shooters typically falls flat. People play shooters for the multi-player aspect usually, and the story is nothing more than a quick undertaking to pass the time when you have no one else to play with. I did consider the first Mass Effect an RPG, but I would have to admit that I don’t consider the second one the same. It’s a third-person shooter, straight up. Does that make the game any less fun for me? Should it? No, on both accounts. The game is quite possibly one of the best games I’ve ever played and, like I said, I’m typically more of a JRPG junkie than anything, and Mass Effect 2 is just about as far from that genre as you can get. To use a couple other examples, does the fact that Fallout 3 and Borderlands are, for all intents and purposes, first-person shooters, bother people who really enjoy the game and their deeper RPG elements? Doubtful. Who cares? Those games are fun!
I’ll admit that I have fallen under the group of people who balk at games like Borderlands being considered for “RPG of the Year” awards, because I don’t really consider it an RPG in the truest sense of the label, as applied to video games. (PnP RPG fans back off, we’re not talking about the origin of RPGs or anything outside the realm of the term as it is applied to modern video games.) Yet, the more I think about it, the more I realize that genre labels don’t really matter, to be quite honest. It would be nice if, on some level, the industry as a whole recognizes this fact. Perhaps it is the need to categorize things, to have some vague sense of organization. After all, during award shows like the shoddy Spike TV Video Game Awards, we wouldn’t have as many categories to waste time with if we didn’t specifically categorize titles into genres. It’s getting to the point I think Modern Warfare (or a similar title) will show up in the “RPG of the Year” category one of these days.
Although, I will have to say, one thing genre mash-ups do, at least for me, is interest me in widening out in my game playing. Perhaps I’ll try more shooters because of Mass Effect 2. Perhaps a shooter fan will try more story-driven RPGs because of it, as well.
So, I’ll turn this question over to our readers – does a game’s genre matter to you if the game itself is fun? As I discussed above, I’m getting to the point myself where it doesn’t matter. Some games I will like, others I won’t. It isn’t because of the genre necessarily, it is about what hooks me, what is fun for me, what just “works” for me. Naturally, it is all personal opinion and choice. That being said, let’s hear what you have to say on the matter, I can’t have the only opinion out there.
Filed Under: Editorials • Featured
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Does a game’s genre matter? That is a tough question. I think genre’s will always be around in some shape or another, but overall I’m thinking maybe they aren’t as important as we think in day-to-day gaming. I believe each video game stands on its own as a work of art and although many labels can unite them under different branches overall they should be looked at each from a unique perspective.
Whenever I want to watch some exciting movie on Blu-ray with my friends, I don’t choose a romantic comedy.
Seriously? Why do we all have names? We’re all people, right? Why do cops identify people by their race? We’re all humans, right? With all due respect this is a dumb article that could have been conceived only by someone who was high.
Games do fall into different categories/genres. Everybody has specific genre/s and tastes that they find enjoyable. I for one loathe RPG’s. I would never play a game like Fallout, Final Fantasy, Borderlands, Mass Effect or Oblivion. This is not just because i chose not to like these games, it’s because i’ve played similar types of games and found them quite unbearable. So in the absence of these labels you so much despise, it will be harder for me to pick games i’ld enjoy, just as it would be for a cop to find a suspect without information on his race.
@T: You do make a point, however that wasn’t really my point. My point was basically why do we need genre labels if a game is fun? Sure, I ranted a bit about how I feel certain games are mis-labeled and what not.
It’s actually people like you I was aiming the article toward. You say that you choose not to like RPGs because you’ve played similar games before and haven’t liked them. While I’m not denying that that is your experience, I’m challenging you and counter with the fact that I dislike shooters in general, yet I do enjoy games like MGS4, Mass Effect and Borderlands. I don’t discount the whole genre because I found some or the majority of titles in it non-conducive to my gaming palate.
Taking that a step further, I inquired why we need genre labels when the ultimate purpose for games themselves is to be fun for the player. Who cares if a game is a shooter, an RPG, an FPS, a platformer or whatever. As long as the game is fun, it shouldn’t matter.
While I do see some merit in categorizing games for certain purposes, it is often highly subjective matter, and that fact makes me wonder why every game isn’t labeled an RPG. I have issues with slapping a genre label on a game and leaving it at that, just for the sake of categorization.
I wasn’t necessarily saying that we should get rid of genres altogether.
That is a very sound response, Chad. This is a very interesting question you bring up. Video games are evolving at an amazing rate, and as things change, new areas always come up. With painting or movies, there were long stretches of times before things like noir or cubism existed. At first, they were probably thought of as detective movies and wierd crap, respectively.
The amazing part of video games is that if you’ve been around for more than half of the past three decades, you’ve seen a mode of entertainment evolve at a faster rate than any other before, so there is going to be a great deal of redefining. And I don’t think you could ask this question at a better time considering the impact Mass Effect 2 is having, with other current titles like Borderlands or Fallout supporting your interest.
Good article with good questions. Appreciated.
@Chad. Fun is subjective. Like i said before, everyone has their own tastes. What you consider fun isn’t necessarily fun for me. From your perspective all these games can be considered RPG’s but i beg to differ. I didn’t choose to not like RPG’s, i’m just not a fan of all these grinding, leveling up, customizing, slow combat and numbers popping up all over the screen. Gives me a headache.
The part i hate most in the GoW series or Ninja Gaiden series or Infamous are when you have to choose what weapon or moves to upgrade. I still enjoy those games though and won’t call them RPG’s but i’m sure you can now imagine how repulsive i’ld find games where doing these things were of a higher priority.
Hmmmm, very interesting question, but somewhat obvious. If I’m understading your question correctly your asking why should a genre matter if the game is fun correct?
My point on this is that no, if you take fallout 3 and call it an arcade fighting game, its still going to be one of the most fun games in recent years (possibly of this generation), however calling it that would not describe it. Genres are used to give the player an idea as to what they are going to be playing. Example: If you went out and got Heavy Rain on release day (with no prior knowledge of its gameplay exept what your READ in a mag article), expecting to get a slower mystery type game revoling around a very indepth story, and instead you found it to be a 3rd person shooter similar to Gears of War, though the game may still be a good 3rd person shooter, you would find yourself dissapointed I’m sure. I don’t think we use genres to “limit” what I game is considered but more to educate people on the experiene they will have. If Infinity Ward announced that MW2 instead would be an “RPG”, however they released the same game that’s in stores now, you may have been hesitant in buying it because you may have wanted a “fps”. The idea of MW2 having things such as “magic, swords, level caps, quest/missions, and other things MOST COMMONLY found in an RPG game such as Oblivion may turn you off of that game. Not because it may be bad, but because your not interested in games like that. It’s all about what you find FUN in a game and playing games with similar aspects.
Lastly, yes I think if we introduced “mash-up” genres it would only help us gamers. I have a friend who loves “fps” and loves “rpg” games. He plays MW2 like an addiction and can’t wait for the release of FFXIII, however when I tried to get him to play Fallout 3 or Borderlands, he was surprisingly turned off and did not like either. So if another game which the media made seem like just an RPG was to come out, when it was really a “shooter RPG”, my friend may buy it and be highly upset because its not what he would find fun.