We’ve Seen FPS/RTS/RPG… What Could Be Totally New Genre?

We all hear about those fancy FPS/RPG/RTS/whatnot games that are published using a certain pattern (I’m making a small exaggeration here): they look darn good, they have invented one new trick and have cool physics.

Now as we’ve seen those happen… what could be a totally new genre?

Is it so that everything there is has been invented?

What about game based on sound control… like where visuals would not play a big role? Or could there be a simulation that would go much deeper than the current things… like a simulation that could help examine how human cloning (or whatever scientific stuff) happens. This is really tough, and I feel like this is too much to even think. I feel like everything has been already invented… and that new things are “just” combination of old. Or old things applied to new things. (Nothing wrong with this approach, as long as the end result equals Fun)

What could be a totally new genre?

Juuso Hietalahti


  1. Yeah

    Dota is it’s own genre now.

    The Dota genre!

  2. DotA created a new genre. It’s a mod for WC3. We call it “Role-playing strategy” with my friends.

    As usual, new genres get created by devs who care more about making great games than $$.

    DotA now has spawned into several commercial games:
    Heroes of Newerth
    League of Legends

    and DotA’s main designer got hired by Valve a few months go. He’s leading a team there, apparently to make a standalone DotA type of game.

  3. Educational games are something I’m working on, and something of a dialogue system and dynamic gameplay system that could be seriously interesting. However, I’m not sure that either of those would give way to “new genres” so much as change the major focus. Perhaps finding novelties and new sub-genres is easier to do.

  4. Éducational games will be big. Actual game designer with talent will make them and they will approach all game genres from a different angle; what can we teach with this genre while making it even more fun to play.

  5. I think you’re more likely to see a) hybrid genres where two genres are blended, b) modernized genres where new technologies are used to bring something up to do and do new things with it, c) user-centric games/social games/user-content games.

  6. @Sargon: good point. Wii has somewhat brought different “genres”… well, at least it has approached genres differently.

    By the way… mouse and tetris reminded me that me + couple of guys were doing a mouse controlled tetris. It was sort of cool new experience to play it.

  7. Perhaps games are closely related to the input and output device. After the mouse was introduced to the PC, all sort of mouse related game appeared. But there is only much type of gameplay control you can get from a mouse.
    A genre is a game that not only is new, but also it make sense to make a lot of variety of clones of it.
    Tetris is an innovative game, but it’s not much of a genre, since the types of games you can base on it are limited.
    FPS is a genre, you can make billion of types of game only based on the FPS control. And notice, the genre is based on the type of control, point to aim, and click to shoot. In first person.
    I would think genres are closely related to the control scheme.

  8. @Ovo – got akismet-trapped, now availablle (it’s pretty picky about posts with links I see)

    @hermitC: that RPG point is sortof excellent. I think the answer is “boooring!!”. But… nevertheless I’d like to play those “neutral roles”. Don’t care about hacking & slashing… all I want is to sell goodies to those heroes. :) Dungeon Keeper was pretty cool (there’s now board game called Dungeon Lords with bit similar idea), you’ve played Evil Genius?

    @Lumooja: hmm, I think… I’ve seen something like that. Can’t remember exactly what it was but have seen something like that.

  9. A game where you have to find information from the internet to solve puzzles in the game. The game auto-updates the riddles also from the internet, so you have to find new information each time you play the game. Sometimes the game also changes information on the internet, and then they happen also in real life.

  10. RPGs commonly have one or more heroes, fighting through hostile environments while upgrading their skills and equipment. Why can’t we play as the weapon shop owner? Why not be king of one of the cities?

    Brawlers are similar. Let’s be the boss of the very-bad-dudes gang and organize lootings and kidnappings.

    Did you ever wonder who build those dungeons deep in the ground beneath the city? I want to be that architect and see how the heroes are trapped in the depths of my invention.

    I’m not sure if this “anti-pattern” leads to any new genres. Dungeon Keeper is the best known game using it AFAIK. Anyhow, new problems lead to new solutions.

  11. I posted a link yesterday about the game Musaic Box but my post never registered. The game isn’t completely amazing but I was really please to play something so fresh and it felt very original.


  12. Hmm, it’s indeed tough.

    There are actually some sort of “virtual tables” (I actually once created something like this using javascript) available, where the players can upload any items and stuff on the table. And then move them. There are no rules… just options to use.

    Think of it as having a “virtual deck of cards online – but you make up the rules”.

  13. A game where the player writes the rules/ makes up the physics. Oh wait that’s where you’re developing games, not playing them.

    It’s hard to think of new genres, all the things I think of I can already think of a game that exists like it. And then a lot of things exist under the very broad genre of “puzzle”.

    A game that I’ve wanted to make for a while (though it is really a sandbox) is some sort of way to play any card game with your friends online. No built in rules except that you can decide what cards no-one can see, everyone can see, or only one person can see.

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