Game Styles, Innovation, and New Audiences: An Historical View

Abstract

From the earliest times, it’s been possible to discern clear genre divisions among games, genres based on a collection of game mechanics. The pattern can be seen even in games of the Neolithic, and continues with digital games today. Since the inception of games as a commercial industry (in the 18th century), it also appears that new genres have, over time, attracted new audiences; in recent years, the rise in development cost has reduced publishers’ willingness to experiment with games sufficiently innovative to potentially create new game genres, which may be a risk to the industry’s long-term health.