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The genres for computer games are not to be confused with those that apply to books or films. Game genres tend to refer to the type of gameplay a player can expect to find in the game, rather than the theme. Some games draw elements from more than one genre, which can become confusing for those with no knowledge of the variety of genres available.

This article will give an overview of the genres for games. Hopefully by the end of this article you will have a better understanding of the variety of genres there are for games.

Action

This genre focuses primarily on action, as the name implies. Players will be kept moving and will have to battle opponents that will become increasingly hard as the game progresses. The emphasis here is on the conflict element of the game, the player will constantly be in combat with something.

Adventure

The adventure genre focuses on puzzles, which are designer to keep the player on their toes. The puzzles are can range from simple to complex. The games in this genre tend to have a strong focus on story. The games in this genre vary from being text based adventures, where you input commands such as "Use" or "Talk", to almost novel like games such as Phoenix Wright.

Beat em Up

This genre focuses on fighting; the player is pitched into a one on one battle against the computer, or another player. Sometimes the battles can involve more than one player.

First Person Shooter

The first person shooter (FPS) genre is one of the most popular genres in the games industry at present. The player plays the game from a first person perspective and completes missions in the game that usually involve shooting something. There are various puzzles they will have to complete too during the course of the game.
God Games
The player acts as a god in these games, the actions they make affect the creatures they are charged with looking after. A good example of this type of game is Black and White.
Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO)
This game genre is for any game that allows large amounts of players from different locations across the world to play with each other online. A sub genre of this game genre is the MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) which has proved to be extremely popular in the mass market.

Platformer
A genre that is dying out at the moment or used in combination with other genres, the Platformer game allows the player to jump and climb their way through levels while collecting items and defeating enemies. The characters in these games

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