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Genre is a précis that offends many in all industries which
revolve around the creation of an individual product. Obviously,
every sector of the entertainment industry is captured by this
ideal; movies, music, television, books, comic books and, of course,
videogames. The difference between the aforementioned sectors and
that of videogames is simply one of epoch. Videogames are still a
relatively youthful industry by comparison and, whilst movies, music
and television have developed clear-cut lines (which, of course, can
be blurred in the same way as videogames) to where their respective
genre traits fall, the videogames industry still seems to leave
little resolved, maintaining an air of incestuous squabbling as
opposed to the free-form, forward-thinking attitude of it’s peers.
It may quite obvious that every videogame production
for at least the last ten years has been borne of the developers
influence by a previous title, it’s also quite apparent that the
influence for these recent titles is inherently limited. As the
industry birthed, videogames tended to resolve around a single
ideal, objective or procedure. Very few could argue that the
Platform genre began with Super Mario Bros., or that a game
labelled as a Racing title would offer just that – racing.
However, games are becoming infinitely more diverse, complex and
creative in their exploitation of these traditions. The common genre
headings of Beat-‘Em-Up, Shoot-‘Em-Up, Racing, Platform, Action,
Strategy and Sim can’t offer the insightful analysis they once
did.
Even heading back to what is commonly addressed as the
videogames heyday, more-often-than-not by those who feel they’ve
been pushed to the wayside simply by the industry finding a voice,
the 16-Bit era was fuelled by titles attempting to either merge
these pre-formatted genres, or break them down into sub-genres
dictated by further player involvement or appreciation. What had
previously been noted as Beat-‘Em-Up divorced, and became either a
One-On-One Beat-‘Em-Up or Scrolling Beat-‘Em-Up. Top-Down
Shooter, Scrolling Shooter, Top-Down Shoot-‘Em-Up, Scrolling
Shoot-‘Em-Up. The differences between the games offered clearly
denoted a titles’ placement in a more diverse system. However, in
the eleven years since 16-Bit development was superseded, even this
extended list of cataloguing simply doesn’t invite the kind of
unique offerings that are generated through a love of the medium.
As we enter the third-generation of videogames development,
we can see the innovation gap closing. Those longing for another Super
Mario64 have got a long wait. 2D games still provide 
bountiful sprouts for videogaming fun – look no further than
recent releases such as NEW Super Mario Bros. or the Viewtiful
Joe series – and 3D videogames still have plenty of untapped
resources, as the likes of Fahrenheit go someway to proving
that videogames can offer emotive responses as well as reactive.
However, the time in which a single title can be seen as wholly
revolutionary have passed. Minor refinement and progression is now
the insider scoop – whether the mainstream audience recognise this
progression, or even as progression, or not – titles such
as Test Drive: Unlimited, offering it’s unique Massively
Open Online Racing experience, and Saints Row define a time
in which the best of what we’ve got to offer is simply reinvention
of genres we’ve previously experienced - and here, comes the
biggest question; the newest genre kid on the block. The Grand
Theft Auto-clone, as it’s most commonly known, can surely
not be regarded as a clone ten-years after inception. Creating a
genre is a level of respect that can never be stricken from the
series, however, offering every title in the same field since as a
mere cash-in on the success story is not only disrespectful to the
genre, but also a hindrance to the industry as a whole. What would
happen if every Platform title released over the last twenty-odd
years was considered a clone of Super Mario Bros.? I will
concede that, for a short while in the 1980’s, this was the case,
however, thankfully, the videogames press of the time – limited as
it was – decided the industry deserved more maturity than this,
and had to find a label for which following games could fall under.
Free-Roaming Criminal Sim. That’s the future ideal. But,
harder than creating this classification, is deciding exactly what
fits-the-bill. The True Crime series is obviously a
contender, but here you play as the good guys, although still
proceeding with a fairly hefty level of destruction. The
Simpsons: Hit & Run offers somewhat of a conundrum, as
although featuring a Free-Roaming element and Missions structured in
a  very similar fashion to that of the 3D Grand Theft Auto
offerings, crime was relatively low on the agenda. Destroy All
Humans! offers this freeform play in a freely explorable
environment, however in a non-continuous fashion. Saints Row
is the first Next-Generation offering that’s perfect to
fit-the-bill, and does so with flair, but where do the likes of Crackdown,
Just Cause and even Dead Rising fit-in? Even Animal
Crossing is a series that offers entirely freeform play, in an
entirely Free-Roaming environment, freely accessible from the word
go, although the criminality is reserved for the Non-Player
Characters only, and even then only a solitary unscrupulous fox.
The lines are blurred by an industry revolving around
expansion, updating, reinvention and repackaging. Genre itself is an
ideal which is simply a necessary evil, although how necessary it
actually is can be defined by the lack of it’s presence at retail;
while DVDs and CDs maybe classified by genre, the common stockist of
videogames instead prefers a simple alphabetical categorisation. The
need is with that of the public, and the media. Boxing a game into a
label defined purely by its roots maybe restrictive, but adds a
distinctive degree of ease to the proceedings. But then, maybe
it’s time to stop taking the easy route?
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