From Battle Royales to Third-Person Shooters, these are the games that helped create entirely new genres.
Yes, they sometimes oversimplify complex works for the purposes of classification.
Thats especially true of gaming.
Many of us have been alive for most of the notable history of video games.
Today, were going to take a look at the birth of some of those genres.
Some are world-famous, while others have been forgotten and never really got the full credit they deserved.
However it happened, these are the games that helped create entire genres.
Well, it’s possible for you to trace those roots back to 1984sKung-Fu Master.
The origins of that genre are subject to some debate.
However, that game only vaguely resembles a true fighting title.
For some time, most FPS games were simply referred to as DoomClones.
However, the first-person shooter genre is much older than that.
1973sMaze Waractually laid out a pretty clear blueprint for what first-person shooter games would become.
That wire-frame title even let players compete against each other over (obviously limited) video game networks.
That game allowed players to easily share a visually rich (relative to its time) fantasy world.
It even introduced or refined now-common MMORPG social concepts like guilds.
It is, at the very least, a shockingly early example of an advanced concept.
Every MMORPG that followed built upon it in some way.
However, Im giving the nod to 1985sIsland of Kesmai.
The game even supported what we would now consider to be MMORPG expansion packs.
Tracking the origins of this genre is a fascinating exercise in interpretation.
Even still, I think this honor belongs to theDefense of the Ancientsmod forWarcraft III.
Thats why I have to go with the more popular opinion and give this honor to 1981sDonkey Kong.
Thats to say nothing of the countless games that feature puzzles as a core piece of their overall experience.
That distinction is incredibly important in this instance.
However, my vote goes to Konamis 1982 game,Loco-Motion.
Of course,Tetriswas the biggest game-changer of this particular genre.
There was even a minor combat element to this experience.
The concept of real-time competitive strategy would only evolve from here thanks to revolutionary 80s titles likeHerzog Zwei.
However, that definition could apply to something like 1980sAdventureor even text-based adventure titles.
Early CRPGs also offered overworld areas that could be explored with relative freedom.
Thats why I think this honor has to go to 1984sElite.
I also have to give a shout-out to 1985sMercenary: the game that was pretty muchGrand Theft AutobeforeGTA.
However, the Survival Horror genre is much older than that.
Yet, it is that emphasis on sneaking and avoidance that ultimately defines the Stealth genre.
Once again, tracing the origins of this genre is tricky.
However, I have to give the nod to Hiroshi Suzukis 1979 game,Shoplifting Boy.
However, developers started playing with the concept of such adventure games long before that.
Its that perspective that proves to be a crucial qualifier when identifying the origins of this genre.
Devastators was basically Konamis attempt to turn the third-person shooting segments from Contra into their own game.
