Gaming

The gaming industry is one of the fastest growing markets in the world today. In 2019 alone the market was valued at USD 143.51 billion is projected to reach USD 371.76 billion by 2027. Helping this industry grow are various live streaming and chatting platforms that helps boost the popularity of gaming titles.

Video games are electronic games played on a computer, mobile device, or dedicated gaming console. These games are further categorized into different gaming genres which make it easier for gamers to quickly identify a particular game. A game will be classified into a particular genre based on its gameplay interaction and not on its narrative setting. This means that shooter games will still be classified as a shooter game even if there are fantasy elements involved.

Most popular video game genres worldwide

A video game can be classified into various genres. Video game genres are all about the gameplay characteristic and not about the storyline or setting itself.

Here are the most popular video game genres.

Action games

Action games are designed to challenge a player’s reflexes. It requires a good hand eye coordination as well as quick reaction time. Some of the popular titles in this category include Uncharted and God of War.

Action Adventure games

Action adventure games are a fusion between the action and adventure genre. It requires players to complete specific missions and goals. This type of genre is known for improving the thinking and strategy of players. Some of the popular titles in the action adventure category include Resident Evil and Grand Theft Auto.

Adventure games

Adventure games are games that involve a vast storyline with a lot of action and great visuals. This game involves a high level of physicality mixed with puzzle solving and obstacles. Some of the popular titles in this category include The Legend of Zelda and Metroid.

Battle Royale games

This is a new genre that is an offshoot of the first person shooters category. You can play this game as a team or solo. You are usually dropped in a map with other players. You will have to find weapons and other items to help you survive. The last man standing wins the match. Some of the popular titles in this category include Fortnite and PUBG.

Sports games

Sports games allows players to compete against each other or with the game AI. This type of game simulates real world sports such as basketball, football, or baseball just to name a few. Some of the popular titles in this category include the FIFA series and the NBA2K series.

Fighting games

Fighting games or beat em ups are games that allow players to compete against each other or the game AI. It usually involves combat between two or more players. This game needs a good hand eye coordination as well as reflexes with players able to chain attacks and perform various combos. Some of the popular titles in this category include Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter.

Role Playing games

Role playing games allow players to assume the role of a character in a fictional setting. In order to advance the story there are certain missions or quests that needs to be accomplished. Some of the popular titles in this category include Final Fantasy and Elder Scrolls.

Real Time Strategy games

Real time strategy games are games that allow players to play simultaneously in real time. The game usually revolves around securing areas on the map or destroying the opponent’s assets. It involves a lot of resource management, tactical maneuvering, as well as technological development just to name a few. Some of the popular titles in this category include StarCraft and Total War.

Multiplayer Online Battle Arena

Multiplayer Online Battle Arena or MOBA for short are games that involve to teams competing on a battlefield. Each player controls a specific character with unique battle abilities. The objective is to destroy the opposing team’s structures located at the opposite side of the battlefield. Some of the popular titles in this category include League of Legends and DOTA.

Racing games

Racing games is a type of simulation game that allow players to participate in a racing competition. Players often control fast paced vehicles and race on a track or map. Some of the popular titles in this category include Forza Horizon and Dirt Rally.

First Person Shooter games

A first person shooter game or FPS games are shooting games played in the first person perspective. The game will usually show the shows the protagonist’s arms at the bottom of the screen carrying a weapon. Some of the best titles in this category include Call of Duty and Halo.

Puzzle games

A puzzle video game is a game designed to emphasize puzzle solving. This game will challenge your problem solving skills which includes logic, pattern recognition, and word completion just to name a few. Some of the popular titles in this category include Monument Valley and Tetris.

Other game genres

Some of the other video game genres that are also popular around the world are as follows.

• Simulation games
• Survival games
• Platforming games
• Survival horror games
• Rhythm games
• Souls like games
• Multiplayer online role playing games

What is RPG

A Role Playing Game, or RPG for short, is a type of game where a player assumes the role of a particular character and participates or goes on a quest in a fictional world.

Role playing games have several things in common and these are as follows:

Able to improve your character over the course of the game by increasing the statistics or levels.

There is a menu based combat system that hash several choices of skills, spells, and active powers as well as an active inventory system with wearable equipment such as armors and weapons.

A main quest as well as optional side quests.

The ability to interact with elements of the environment or storyline through additional abilities.

Has different character classes that define the characteristics, skills, abilities, and spells of a character (e.g. wizard, thief, warrior, paladin)

Some of the best RPG titles include Chrono Trigger, A Bard’s Tale, and The Elder Scrolls Online.

Origin of role playing games

Computer based role playing games first made appearance in the 1970’s and got their inspiration from tabletop role playing game such as Dungeons & Dragons. While D&D requires a dungeon master to direct the gameplay, a video role playing game does not require one. This allows for complicated storylines as well as various items and upgrades to be easily implemented.

Types of Role Playing Games

The RPG genre can be divided into six different sub-genres each with their own specific differences.

Video game RPGs

With the success of the initial role playing games running on mainframe computers in the 70’s, video game consoles soon came into the market. Some of the first video game consoles such as Atari had several popular role playing games in their game catalog.

Single player RPG

This is a type of role playing game where the player controls one character and is played through one perspective. The player can customize their character class and assign several traits and attributes initially. This character will be able to increase his or her stats as the game progresses.

Massive multiplayer online RPGs

This type of role playing game combines elements of multiplayer and RPGs. You get to meet other players in this game and can team up or fight against them. The fight will usually happen in real time and requires a good internet connection as well as quick response battle skills.

Action RPGs

An action RPG is a role playing video game that emphasizes combat more than on character or story development.

Sandbox RPGs

A sandbox RPG is a type of RPG that allows players to explore the world. This type of RPG tends to be the longest to finish as the world map is usually quite big and the quests can often be complicated.

Tactical RPGs

This type of RPG takes its inspiration form strategy games and requires good analytical and problem solving skills.

Roguelike RPGs

This is a subgenre of RPG video games that’s characterized by a dungeon crawl where you have to fight your way through the levels. This type of RPG got its inspiration from Rogue games in the 1980’s which is known for its turn based combat system.

Popular RPGs

Here are some of the popular RPGs available that you can try out.

Dragon Age

In this game, you role play as a rogue, warrior, or mage and join the Grey Wardens order. As you travel through the fantasy world of Ferelden, you work to beat the Archdemon.

Elder Scrolls

This action RPG mostly focuses on free gameplay and battles.

Deus Ex

This science-fiction RPG takes place in the year 2052, where several companies struggle to control the world.

Final Fantasy

This Square Enix franchise is a Japanese series of games. Each game features a new set of characters, locations, and plots.

Pillars of Eternity

In this dark fantasy game from Obsidian Entertainment, you start as a Watcher who can talk to people’s souls. The game also allows a lot of choice in character design, so you can play many times in the storyline.

Wasteland

Originally released in 1988 by Electronic Arts, this is an open-world sci-fi RPG with re-releases and sequels. The original game is heavily based on tabletop role-playing games, and it keeps getting bigger and more ambitious with each subsequent version.

The Witcher

The inspiration behind the popular Netflix series The Witcher, this open-world action RPG, which has a strong fanbase, tells the story of Geralt of Rivia. The game comes from Poland and started as a computer RPG.

Troubleshooting your RPG

One of the issues that you might encounter when playing your favorite RPG is when it freezes or crashes. Here’s what you need to do to fix this problem.

• Restart the computer.
• Try running the game as an administrator.
• Repair the game.
• Reinstall the game.

What is MOBA

A Multiplayer Online Battle Arena or MOBA is a game that is usually played by two teams of five players each. Before the game starts each player is allowed to select their character. Each playable heroes will have their own unique set of abilities, builds, and purposes, so it’s best for the team to know which characters work best with each other. Once the game starts each player will go to their designated lane and initially farm for gold from minions, jungle creeps, or by killing their opponents. This gold is useful to buy certain items needed to make your character stronger. The main focus of any MOBA game is to destroy the enemy base and to do this will require teamwork.

The very first MOBA game was released in 2003 and was a mod for the game Warcraft III. This mod became known as Defense of the Ancients, or DOTA for short. The game became quite popular that as early as 2005 esports tournaments on DOTA were already held with a large prize pool for winners.

Most popular MOBA games

Here are the best MOBA games that you can play right now.

League of Legends

League of Legends is a free to play game first released in 2009 and developed by Riot Games. The game allows you to control more than 140 characters each with a different role such as Marksman, Fighter, Tank, Assassin, Support, or Mage.

In this game, two teams of five players each occupy and defend their half of the map. During the game the champions become more powerful by collecting experience points, earning gold, and purchasing items. In Summoner’s Rift game mode, a team wins by destroying their “Nexus”, of the opposing team.

DOTA

DOTA 2 is one of the popular MOBA games that’s developed and published by Valve. It is a sequel to the original DOTA game and is played between matches of two teams with five players each. Each team occupies and defends their own side of the map. During a match players collect experience points and items for their heroes to successfully defeat the opposing team’s heroes in combat. A team wins by being the first to destroy the other team’s “Ancient”.

Smite

Smite is one of the most popular MOBA games developed and published by Hi-Rez Studios. The game is played in the third person perspective where players control a god, goddess, or other mythological creature and take part in combat.

Troubleshooting MOBA games

One of the common issues that you might experience with your League of Legends or DOTA game is when it lags. This is the delay in the reaction of the game server to your keyboard or mouse command. The higher the lag the more time it will take for your hero to react which might cost you the game.

Here’s what you can do to fix this lag in your MOBA games.

• Turn off your computer.
• Unplug your Modem and Router from the power source.
• Wait for a minute then plug your modem and router back into the power source.
• Wait until the lights turn back on.
• Turn on your computer.
• Reconnect your computer to the internet.

If you are playing the game on a Wi-Fi connection then here’s what you can do to improve the internet

• Disconnect other devices connected to the Wi-Fi router while you are playing DayZ. This will allow your computer to use the maximum internet bandwidth.
• Move your computer closer to the router.
• If you are using a dual band router try to connect to the 5Ghz band instead of the 2.4 GHz band.

For other game related issues you can try to restart the computer or reinstall the game.

What is FPS game

A first person shooter or FPS games is a type of video game that is played form the point of view of the player’s character. This is one of the most popular video game genre today where players shoot down their enemies from the first person perspective.

FPS games can be played in different game modes such as mission or quest mode, and multiplayer mode. The mission mode is usually played by a single player and involves battling through different game levels or missions. The multiplayer mode is usually played online where multiple gamers can participate. There are various forms of multiplayer mode such as Deathmatches, Capture the flag, Team deathmatch, Search and destroy, Base, and Last man standing.

Some of the best first person shooter include Doom, Quake, Half Life, and Counter Strike.

Troubleshooting your FPS game

One of the common issues that you might experience when playing a first person shooter game is lag. This is usually the delay in the reaction of your character which can usually lead to your defeat.

This lag is usually caused by a bad internet connection so the best way to fix this is to refresh your internet connection.

• Turn off your computer.
• Unplug your Modem and Router from the power source.
• Wait for a minute then plug your modem and router back into the power source.
• Wait until the lights turn back on.
• Turn on your computer.
• Reconnect your computer to the internet.

Frequently Asked Questions