University of Alberta Genre Evolution in Video Games and a Framework for Analysis by Calen Henry A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Humanities Computing ©Calen Henry Fall 2011 Edmonton, Alberta Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission. Abstract The generic categorization of video games is fundamental to discourse about games, but specific developments surrounding game genres are not often discussed. As games have matured, there has been considerable genre cross pollination. Genre monikers have become complex and they differ from source to source. Originally genre categorization was straightforward and almost universal. Games were divided into simple categories. Many review outlets and academic works now list upwards of forty different genres for games and these differ from publication to publication. Many of these genre monikers are simply the combination of other genres. While there is a lack of agreement upon these specific terms, the result is clear: Video games are evolving beyond the current genre nomenclature. This evolution is acknowledged and glossed over at best and often entirely ignored and taken for granted. The history of literary genres, in particular the novel, parallels the video game case. Aristotelian genres were originally accepted as canonical and gradually opinion changed to accept literary genres as evolutionary, like video games. By looking at how genres names have evolved over the past two decades and tracing some of the history of literary genres I will make the case for a new way of looking at video games. This framework uses Mikhail Bakhtin’s work in The Dialogic Imagination (1981) to view video games through three different, but related lenses, Media History, Chronotope and Player/Game Interaction. Media History refers to the way earlier games and media works influence and are integrated into a video game. Chronotope refers to the specific time/space relationship present in a game and player/game interaction is the way in which a player interacts with a game to play it. These three facets create a framework that allows a relatively complete way to discuss games without relying on, but allowing for discussion of genres. Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 1 1. Video Game Genres ........................................................................................................................ 5 Introducing Genre ................................................................................................................................ 5 IGN Genre History ................................................................................................................................ 8 Gamespy and Gamespot’s Current Genres ............................................................................. 15 Genre Evolution ................................................................................................................................. 17 Electronic Software Association’s Essential Facts .............................................................. 21 Genre According to the ESA VS Game Journalism Sites .................................................... 29 2. Genre in Game Design Literature .......................................................................................... 30 Genre ...................................................................................................................................................... 30 Genre Taxonomies ............................................................................................................................ 32 Genre Evolution and Taxonomies .............................................................................................. 37 Genre Evolution ................................................................................................................................. 47 3. Game Studies .................................................................................................................................. 52 Game Studies Background ............................................................................................................ 52 Genre in Game Studies .................................................................................................................... 56 4. Genre Theory ................................................................................................................................. 64 The Romantic Period and Earlier ............................................................................................... 64 Beyond Romanticism ...................................................................................................................... 66 Russian Formalism ........................................................................................................................... 67 Baktin and Game Theory ............................................................................................................... 68 5. Analysis Framework ................................................................................................................... 73 The Media History ............................................................................................................................ 74 The Chronotope ................................................................................................................................. 78 Player/Game Interaction ............................................................................................................... 83 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................ 91 Bibliography............................................................................................................................................. 95 Video Games Cited ................................................................................................................................. 98 List of Figures Figure 1 IGN Genre Map Legend ......................................................................................................... 8 Figure 2 IGN Genres, 1998 ................................................................................................................... 9 Figure 3 IGN Genres, 2000 ................................................................................................................. 10 Figure 4 IGN Genres, 2002 ................................................................................................................. 11 Figure 5 IGN Genres, 2005 ................................................................................................................. 12 Figure 6 IGN Genres, 2007 ................................................................................................................. 13 Figure 7 IGN Genres, 2010/2011 .................................................................................................... 14 Figure 8 Gamespot Genres, 2005-2010 ....................................................................................... 15 Figure 9 Gamespy Genres, 2010 ...................................................................................................... 16 Figure 10 2004 Console Games (ESA, 2005) .............................................................................. 22 Figure 11 2004 Computer Games (ESA, 2005).......................................................................... 22 Figure 12 2005 Console Games (ESA, 2006) .............................................................................. 23 Figure 13 2005 Computer Games (ESA, 2006).......................................................................... 23 Figure 14 2006 Console Games (ESA, 2007) .............................................................................. 24 Figure 15 2006 Computer Games (ESA, 2007).......................................................................... 24 Figure 16 2007 Console Games (ESA, 2008) .............................................................................. 25 Figure 17 2007 Computer Games (ESA, 2008).......................................................................... 26 Figure 18 2008 Console Games (ESA 2009) ............................................................................... 26 Figure 19 2008 Computer Games (ESA 2009)........................................................................... 27 Figure 20 2009 Console Games (ESA, 2010) .............................................................................. 28 Figure 21 2009 Computer Games (ESA, 2010).........................................................................