Continues from previous post
Two aspects come to my mind in regards to the classification of interactive simulation games in general, videogames in particular, from the point of view of a player: the first being the game's outline, the second being the required skills.
The outline of a videogame (I can't find the right words, it's something like the game's concept, but not considering the mechanics) is what is generally understood at first glance by an uneducated/inexperienced player: 'in this game you have to shoot down aliens to save the human base', 'you have to match items of the same color as fast as possible, to make the most points'. See it as the shortest summary of a game that doesn't use genre definitions or references to other games. An outline doesn't usually specify how the game is played, but is often the primary draw for a casual buyer.
Regarding required skills, what I wanted to say is just that interactive games have a certain balance of 'action' and 'strategy'. An 'action game' is one where you have to think little, but fast: this translates to good reflexes and the ability to quickly acknowledge your situation in the simulated world. A 'strategy game' has you thinking about your next moves most of the time, giving you a reasonable (if not unlimited) period of time to plan your actions.
Pure 'action' and 'strategy' games are rare, as most videogames have a healthy mixture of both: this is both because extremisms can make a game not fun to play (becoming a chore to play because of repetitive mindless shooting or too complex resource management), and because accessibility usually suffers from it. Incidentally, Action Games and Strategy Games are also two macro-genres for videogames (although typically they're not used as a dichotomy).
That's all for now. Maybe I'll get back to this topic later on.
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