“And What Do You Play?”: A Few Considerations Concerning a Genre Theory of Games

Abstract

In game studies, the notion of genre remains largely unexplored; the academic discourse seems to be governed by terms that have been established by the specialized press since the 1980s. This poses the question how game genres are constituted, how they work on different levels, and which approach a genre theory of computer games should be taking. There exists a broad variety of genre definitions according to characteristics like form (the rules of the game; major gameplay elements; e.g., jump’n run) and content (fantasy, science fiction); however, these different notions only get reproduced and not analyzed in game studies. Most publications simply adapt the popular notion of certain genres to apply to their object of research. The few attempts that have been made to develop a genre theory of computer games are apologetic at best. In this chapter I want to map out what genre-defining instances there are for computer games, in which way they function and influence our notion of game genre, and which approach a genre theory of computer games should be taking. To clarify the volatile notion of genre and its meaning for games, interdisciplinary genre theories from literature to film and television studies will be used.