Are there genres or subgenres you've never tried?

[dsheinem]

There are genres I generally like (shmups, FPS, racing, etc.) and genres I generally don't (wrestling, turn based strategy, point-n-click adventures, etc.), but over the years I have dabbled in pretty much every genre there is to the point that I feel confident expressing and supporting my opinions of them.

However, there are a few genres that I haven't ever really given a fair shot, and figured the same was probably true for some of you. These are the ones that came to mind for me:

MMORPGs - When WoW was really catching on I was at a point where I had pretty much stopped playing RPGs at all, so the idea of an all-consuming one that I had to pay for was the last thing I was looking for. Even though I've since gotten back into the genre, I still can't see paying monthly fees to do a bunch of quests in a story with no real ending...

Railroad games/Tycoon games - I am lumping these together, which maybe is the wrong thing to do...I'm not sure. I have played SimCity enough to know that it just isn't my thing, and I basically understand these games to take a similar principle and apply it to a specific endeavor, although I know thy are also different in...some way.

Flight Sims - Ok, I played my fair share of flight sims in the late 80s and early 90s, but haven't touched this genre in 20 years or more so it feels like I know nothing about it. Like the genre above, simulation stuff generally doesn't appeal to me (with the exception being something like a simulation racer).

Visual Novels - I think something like Ace Attorney fits here, as do a ton of anime based "games". I probably don't know enough about the genre to have an opinion, but I think of these as "choose your own adventure" in video game form...but with minimal or no actual game playing...

Music Games - I screwed around with Frequency once and with a GH-clone for the PC where you use the keyboard for a few minutes, but that's pretty much it. I have never clicked a plastic guitar, beat a plastic drum, sung into a game console mic, or anything of the sort. I love music, but I think of these games as the antithesis of what I like about music and musical performance. I don't know, I can't explain it very well - I just don't get this now-dying craze at all.


Anyway, maybe some genre aficionados can help make a case for trying something in those genres that people put down in this thread. Remember, this isn't a thread to list genres you have tried and don't like, it is to list those you haven't tried (and why).

[Flake]

I've never tried simulation style sports games - mostly because the very idea bores me. I don't think I'm a fan enough of any sport to pretend to be watching a real game.

Until recently I had never tried Survival Horror. After a brief weekend with Resident Evil for the GCN, I'm well aware of why I avoided the genre for so long: I get scared and I don't enjoy the feeling.

I've never tried MMORPG's. I lost a lot of friends when World of Warcraft came out. And I don't mean that in my usual humorous way. I wrote those mother fuckers off because of how they let their lives go to shit for that game - they got fat, they neglected their kids, they stopped coming to work and they let their personal relationships fall apart. Ever since then, I've never had any urge to play an MMORPG. I know that some people can play that game responsibly, but I think I got stuck with all the jerks that couldn't.

[Xeogred]

RTS - Outside of Starcraft, Total Annihilation, and Supreme Commander, I don't think I'd say I've really dove into this genre at all. Why? Well... frankly I'm pretty terrible at them, haha. Playing Starcraft online was never a fun experience at all, but it was fun with LAN parties. Same with TA and SC, had a lot of fun with those and friends and I absolutely loved those games (especially TA), but never really enough to dive more into the genre.

Jagged Alliance and the Syndicate games are two series I'm interested in that might fall under this genre though. I played a chunk of JA1 and it was really fun (got it for free from GoG awhile back), and Syndicate just looks cool to me visually and all.

Adventure/Point and Click - Gotta love this widescreen monitor preventing me from really enjoying The Longest Journey! I've been really wanting to dive into PC Adventure games for quite awhile, but it is pretty daunting as to where I could start, etc. I've always considered maybe checking out the Siberia series sometime since they look pretty cool, and Myst! I owned Shivers 2 growing up and liked it a lot, never finished it though. I think this is a genre I could enjoy, I just simply haven't really gotten around to it.

MMORPG's - In this case, I've played several. Never once have I paid to play any game though, as I always joined up with some friends on free servers or whatnot. RO (sadly, lol), WoW, Anarchy Online, and several others throughout the years I can't remember. All in all, I think I've played enough of this genre to pretty much write it off for me personally. I've never really gotten into these games and whenever I did, it was always just me going off and doing things alone. So yeah, I'm not a team player when it comes to RPG's I guess, haha. I'm just not into it. You could say I'd rather play a traditional JRPG/WRPG for the single player experience over this stuff, or if there's a game that's going to take away my time for several months on end, it can only be Doom and it's infinite WAD's.

Simulators - I dunno... Sim City, Tycoon, Flight Sims, etc, simply put none of this stuff sounds interesting to me at all. However the funny thing about RTS's is that my favorite part about them is building stuff... usually not fighting or micromanaging. So who knows, maybe I could get into Sim City / Civilization or something?

WRPG's - Nowadays I do like to distinguish the difference between Western RPG's and Japanese RPG's. But unlike some people I won't pick sides here! That said, I grew up on JRPG's, but now there are a lot of WRPG's that I'd like to check out eventually, old or new. It's hit or miss for me though really. I'm not big on extremely text heavy based games (played a little of Planescape which comes to mind here), but yeah. I've played the original Fallout's and they were pretty cool. Not a lot though, so there's still a lot of games here I'd like to check out sometime.

[jfrost]

Until recently I had never tried Survival Horror. After a brief weekend with Resident Evil for the GCN, I'm well aware of why I avoided the genre for so long: I get scared and I don't enjoy the feeling.

Same here. I don't ever watch horror movies either. (The last time I did I laughed the whole time, though. So, either way, the movie fails: either it scares me and I don't enjoy it, or it's too ridiculous and I don't enjoy it.) The concept of setting myself up to be scared of something doesn't make sense to me. The only survival horror game I've played was Resident Evil on the PS1 and I was always tense with the stupid camera angles, I didn't enjoy it at all.

I don't think I've ever given the FPS genre a fair shot. I've played a bajillion hours of Borderlands, but that's it. I used to play a lot of CS back in the day too, but I don't know. I don't think it counts for modern FPSs. I don't even try to play more recent games, really. I can't really put my finger on what puts me off.

The only MMORPG I've played was Ultima Online, and it wasn't for very long. Actually, when every one of my friends was playing, they tried to explain to me that I was supposed to leave the game macroing during the night (when I didn't pay continuously for the dial-up connection). I didn't see the point of having the game play itself so I'd have more stuff when I woke up, so I didn't bother. I guess I haven't really tried the MMORPGs out there because this is what got stuck in my mind.

[ja_le_co]

Card Battle games -- Never played card games (like Magic), so the thought of playing a video game card game isn't a thrilling prospect. I have a predisposed negative view towards them, and really should try playing one just to broaden my horizons a bit.

[NeverGoBak]

Flight Simulation. Wouldn't have thought of that one if you hadn't brought it up. I can't think of anything else though, there's been a game I've loved in plenty of genres, and I'd like to think I've given them all fair shots...

I've just started my first Point&Click adventure game recently, and I'm enjoying myself(Sam & Max Hit The Road, that is.)


There are a good amount of games I've only played one of though.

PMD: Blue/Darkness are the only Rogue-Like games I've ever played, and Nintendogs is the only Pet Simulator. Pretty sure Lock's Quest is the only real Tower Defense and Resident Evil 0 my only Survival Horror forte...

Unless it comes with the diversity of PMD, or the creativity and plot of Lock's Quest, I can't say I'm up for more. I certainly don't want any more of the other two genres though, Survival or Pet.


EDIT: Oh, and "Don't Take It Personally Babe, It Just Ain't Your Story" is the only Visual Novel, totally up for more I guess.

[MidnightRider]

Until recently I had never tried Survival Horror. After a brief weekend with Resident Evil for the GCN, I'm well aware of why I avoided the genre for so long: I get scared and I don't enjoy the feeling.

Pu...er...uhm... I'm probably the same way, but I stopped trying with those games because of the R.C. controls. That was always irritating, the genre was in 3D from the getgo, if I press left, make the character move toward the left. Not holding up to move forward.

Conventional Sports as well: Sports always bored me, unless I can break something, like the rules, or the other teams players....

Conventional Racing: I can't stand reaching checkpoints or trying to make the left circle before everyone else. Let me screw with/destroy the other cars and we're talking.

War/Realistic FPS's: Kinda enjoyed 'em back in the early to mid 90's when they seemed more like contra in first person view, but not really since, and even now, I'm not fond of searching 3D(or "3D") worlds for any object, let alone key cards.

Flight Sims: Just never caught my interest

Shmups: see Flight Sims. Kinda hope to change this one a little though.

Text Aventures/Interactive Fiction: ....and the lack of interest streak keeps rolling

[Gamerforlife]

I have tried MMORPGs on very rare occasions, never of my own choice though. Usually it was because someone talked me into it and I did it a friendly gesture. No one has ever talked me into staying with one though so I still consider them a genre I have little experience with

I don't play sports games at all, unless it's arcade style, comical or just something very accessible like NBA Jam, SSX Tricky, Tony Hawks Pro Skater, Sega Soccer Slam, etc. or those really simplistic ones from the NES days or wrestling titles. I've never played any serious sports title however. I tried a Madden game once and had no idea what the hell I was doing.

I don't play serious racers, but have enjoyed a few of the more accessible ones in my life like Ridge Racer Type 4, Wipeout XL and Crash Team Racing. Nothing like a Gran Turismo though

I think date sims and visual novels are the only games I have little to no experience with as well as sim titles like Sim City. I did play an entry in the Sims series on the PS 2 once though and found it quite difficult to manage everything. Most of my inexperience is probably in PC games. I've played one RTS game in my life(Starcraft)and have never played any of those build your own stuff sort of games like those Rollercoaster Tycoon titles.

I have not played a lot of farm sim titles like Harvest Moon, unless you count something like Viva Pinata.

I have almost no experience with periphal based music games like Dance Dance Revolution other than playing Guitar Hero once at a work event.

I also haven't played a great deal of western style rpgs other than Bioware games. I tried Elder Scrolls Oblivion once and didn't enjoy it

I haven't played Card Battle games, but I was once a serious Magic the Gathering Player so I feel no interest in playing those types of video games as I've already experienced the real thing. I also never play any of those gotta catch em all type rpgs like Monster Hunter or Pokemon

Aside from that, I think I've tried everything at least on the console side of things and arcade games

[NeverGoBak]

Would the Yu-Gi-Oh games count for the card game thing? I've played the hell out of those games .

[J T]

I've never played a DotA game before, or MOBA, as they are beginning to be called. I know League of Legends is free, but I just haven't felt like installing it. Rumors of snarky and juvenile social circles plus impenetrable difficulty have been a barrier.

I've only dabbled lightly in the RTS world, which is unusual for a person that primarily does his gaming on the PC, but it's the truth.

Never touched a railroad game or a Tycoon game. I tried, but had install problems I couldn't resolve.

Until recently I had never played a hidden objects game or a room escape game. I have now tried them and it's really not my style.

I've never spent more than a few hours in an MMO. They just seem to require such devotion that I'm put off before I begin. I played a little bit of Guild Wars and a little bit of Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine, but that's about it.

I've largely avoided the time management games too, like Diner Dash.

I avoid a fair amount of casual games really. I feel a sense of physical revulsion at the cutesy bobble headed and cow-eyed look of most casual fare. Really, I can't even look at Miis or Xbox 360 avatars or just about anything made for your mom on Big Fish games. I died inside a little when I played Kinectimals. It all makes my stomach upset. I'll play this stuff at social functions, but I almost never self-select these kinds of games.

I also avoid some real hardcore gaming stuff. A title like Gary Grigsby's War in the East I know is supposed to have AMAZING depth and I want to play it for the PC gamer cred it would buy me, but in actuality, I'm not really interested.