Guide to Video Games

Video Games can be classified into categories such as: Action and Adventure, Simulation and Sports, Puzzlers and Party games.. Here are some popular Video Game Genres:

• Video Game Genres

• FPS (First Person Shooter): These games belong to the larger family of shooter video games. In these combat based games, the player uses a gun or other weapon in a first-person perspective. First-person shooters are different because in third-person shooter games the player can control the protoganist (main character) only indirectly, either from above or below. The game is designed so that the avatar (representation of the player in the game) uses ranged weapons (weapon that can engage targets at a distance beyond hand-to-hand combat) on different type of enemies. 3-D shooter games are much more realistic compared to 2-D games. First-person shooter games can have many levels with a multiplayer mode also.

  Here are some FPS games: Half-Life 2, F.E.A.R, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Team Fortress 2, etc.

  FPS games should not to be confused with Frames Per Second (FPS) that is an attribute of computing power. [The higher the number of frames per second, the smoother the game will run.]

• RPG (Role Playing Game): In RPG games the player controls (impersonates) a character who has a mission to accomplish in an imaginary world. The role of the Game Master (narrator and referee) is automated and the action of enemies and non-player characters (NPCs) is random. RPGs often have a central storyline in an artificial 3-D fantasy world.

  The first RPG "Dungeons & Dragons" game was inspired by fantasy literature. Here are some other (newer) RPG games: The Witcher, Elden Ring, Wasteland, Mass Effect, Star Wars, etc.

• MMOG (Massively Multi-player Online Game): MMOGs have a large number of players who compete and co-operate with each other while playing the video game online. MMOGRPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) is a sub-genre of MMOG that combines role playing into the MMOG.

  Virtual Economy (Synthetic Economy): It is defined as an emergent economy existing in a virtual world for exchanging virtual goods in an online game. Within a majority of the MMOGs created, there is virtual currency where the player can earn and accumulate money.

  Air Warrior, a multiplayer flight combat simulation game, was the first graphical MMOG.

• MOBA (Multi-player Online Battlefield Arena): These games belong to the larger family of strategy video games. In a MOBA game two teams compete to win on a predefined battlefield. The objective of the player is to acquire abilities and improve his strategy so that the opponent is defeated by the destruction of his military structure.

  Here are some popular MOBA games: League of Legends, Bleeding Edge, AirMech, Gigantic, etc.

• RTS (Real Time Strategy): RTS games allow all players to play simultaneously (ie. play in real time). RTS games are characterized by features such as resource-gathering, base-building, in-game technological development, and indirect control of units.

  Here are some popular RTS games: Age of Empires, Northgard, Driftland, Starcraft, etc.

• Hybrid (FPSRGP, MMOFPS, etc): games.

  Here are some Massively multiplayer online first-person shooter games (MMOFPS): World War II Online, Global Agenda, PlanetSide, etc.

• Game Pass - A Game Pass is a video game subscription service that grants access to a huge library of games for a defined period of time. Xbox Game Pass provides subscription services on Xbox consoles. Xbox Cloud Gaming provides subscription services on Android and iOS based devices. PC Game Pass provides subscription services on Windows based personal computers.

History of Video Games

The first video games appeared in the 1950-60s as simple games designed for the computer. Video Game Consoles and Arcade Machines for the general public started appearing during the 1970s. Personal computers became affordable since the 1990 and this played a major role in driving forward the video games industry. This period saw stiff competition between Nintendo and Sega and it was in the 1900s that the famous Nintendo's Game Boy platform appeared (first real handheld video game consoles).

(Difference between Video Game and Computer Game: Whereas a computer game is controlled by a computer, the video game is run on a console or arcade machine.)

The microprocessor technology continued to evolve, graphics cards for personal computers started to appear, and their was a shift towards optical media (CD-ROMs). This growth in technology saw the appearance of Sony's PlayStation and Sega in the console hardware space. By the late 1990s internet technology had become widespread and was incorporated into video games - computer games could now be played online. Microsoft's XBOX entered the console market in the early 2000s. In this period Nintendo developed the Wii console with motion-sensing controls.

With the appearance of mobile technology, in the period between 2000 and 2010, games started to be developed for mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.). There has been an exponential growth in the adoption of mobile games as most people became owners of at least one mobile device.

The computer games industry has a bright future as video games continue to become more engaging. Improvement in hardware and software has made it possible to develop virtual and augmented reality games. With high definition video at higher framerates, video games continue to become more realistic than before.

Gaming PCs versus Video Game Consoles

Some gamers prefer to use Gaming PCs rather than Consoles to play video games. This choice depends on various factors such as:

• What is your technical skill at using (and assembling) a PC?

• What is your Budget?

• Access to online multi-player functionality.

• Availability of Wireless controller function.

• Range of games available for each type of setup.

• PC games are usually cheaper than console games.

• Popular Video Games

• Virtual Reality - A VR (Virtual Reality) system makes use of simulation technology by which a player can interact with his game in a 3-D generated sensory environment. A person using virtual reality equipment can look, move around and interact in an artificially created world.

• Micro Console Games - Microconsoles typically use low budget computing hardware and are popular as home video game consoles. Many microconsoles are Android based digital media players that include a Gamepad. It is easy to download a microconsole game from an App Store (ex. Google Play) and play the game on television.

• Xbox Series X & 5 Consoles, Games & Accessories

• Mac Games & Hardware

• Linux Gaming Hardware

• Aksys Games

• Ubisoft Games

• Microsoft Games

Advantages of playing Video Games with Consoles

Consoles are easy to setup and operate. Consoles work out of the box and maintenance is easy since no hardware upgrade is required. You also have access to console exclusive games not available for the PC.

Advantages of using a Gaming PC:

When you choose to use a Gaming PC, you are free to decide how much to invest in your gaming machine. It is easy to invest or upgrade the following key components of a Gaming PC:

• GPU (Graphics Processing Unit): Video quality (HD, 4K) improves dramatically with high performance GPUs.

• RAM (Memory): More RAM yields better performance.

• Storage Hard Drive (Mechanical or Solid-State-Drive): SSDs are faster though a bit more expensive.

• Gaming Peripherals (wireless controllers, joysticks, steering wheels, etc.): When building a Gaming PC, you can pick and choose your Gaming Peripherals.

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