Let's go on with the managing genre. Here the main mechanics are managing statistics and parameters, analyzing and planning. They usually make long-term operations. The control is middle but they can get to complex. And the experience is mostly cognitive as they consist on analyzing and solving problems. There are also contents on the experience at a more emotional and motivational level. The target is variated but it usually consists of adults of both genders. The setting, always diverse, can be realistic and also include more cartoonish and illustration grades. The story plays a secondary role and it's basically meant for a single player although there are multiplayer options as well. The gameplay style is more simulation as they want to recreate in a realistic way management situations, but they can adjust gameplay so that it can be more or less demanding, that is, more arcade or more casual. As examples we have Sim City, Theme Park or PC Fútbol. Strategy games share some elements with managing games. There are analyzing and planning mechanics, but also mechanics of characters and items improvement, exploring, battling, etc. There are also long-term operations. The control is middle but it can also be very elaborated. The experience is quite similar as there is a big part of analyzing and planning, so it works a lot at a cognitive level, and there are also motivational, emotional and social elements mostly regarding the online mode. The target is diverse, teen and adult of both genders, and there is also a specific target of players very used to this genre, specialized, hardcore gamers. The setting can be very variated. From realistic to sci-fi environments and also medieval fantasy. The story has a very important role, similar to the adventure games'. About the kind of players, it is quite balanced between individual and multiplayer, although multiplayer is winning influence. The gameplay style is usually simulation, as it wants to recreate in a realistic way the situations analysis, the problems solving and, basically, the strategies application, although it is very usual that the gameplay ends up having a more arcade style or even a hardcore one. There are also more affordable styles such as casual. As examples, we have sages such as Civilization, Age of Empires or Starcraft. In the social or life simulation genre, there are elements of managing and strategy such as manipulating statistics and parameters, and analyzing and planning, but also design and customization elements and talking to your own characters. Control is much easier. The experience is a bit focused towards the social and emotional terrain. It is focused to a young and adult audience, although some specific video games can be focused to a more childish or pre-teen audience. They usually target a female audience, although it is played by both genders. We can find two specific groups, one is more specialized and the other is a bit more casual. The setting is diverse, in realistic environments, with a more social cut, and others that have a much more cartoonish style. The story has a low or secondary importance, more at a support level. These games are usually played both individually and at a multiplayer level, although the multiplayer part is becoming more important. They look for a simulation gameplay trying to mimic in a realistic way social relationships and also the way of generating and managing life. There are game modes in which they look for a bit different gameplay, more arcade, more casual. As examples in this genre, we have The Sims, Spore, Godus or Nintendogs. Another genre linked to simulation but in a quite different field is the vehicles simulation in which main mechanics are driving ones. They also add elements on customizing the vehicle. The control is middle-complex. The experience gets to a physical and cognitive dimension, which requires being very aware of the tension and the perception which are constantly active. They also work on other aspects of the experience in which the social component is highlighted gradually with the time through the online competitions. At a target level, it is targeted to a young-adult audience, From 15 to 25 years old, especially males, and often they are expert users of the genre and hardcore gamers. Their setting can be variated but they are usually set in realistic environments using real vehicles and tracks. The story has a low importance again and when there's one it is always to support, secondary. It's meant for one player but also for multiplayer. The gameplay style is clearly simulation although it can be discussed in some cases, as they are more arcade-like. As examples, we find sages such as Gran Turismo, Project Cars, or games such as Train Simulator. Sports games genre is also a very important genre. In some cases we could also divide them depending on the sport, but here we will talk on them in a generic way. Main mechanics are the ones that are specific in the sports, although often there are managing mechanics such as managing the trainer, or signings, or managing the different teams' economy. The control is usually complex. This makes the experience more physical and cognitive. To this we must add motivational aspects deriving from competition, and emotional and social also based on online competitions. The target is wide, it depends on the kind of sport, but it's usually linked to teen and adult males, depending on the sport, also both genders, and mostly, there's a specific target of hardcore games specialized in this kind of sports, especially in football games or other sports that are more popular in other countries. In the setting, they are obviously sports settings, but it is true that, although they tend to realism, there are also sports games that have more cartoonish or figurative environments. Usually there's no story or it has no importance, as it plays a secondary role. Traditionally they were meant for an individual player but multiplayer has almost become the main mode. Regarding the gameplay style, although it might look like all them should be simulation, the most preponderant is an arcade-like simulation, specially in the beginning, to help the new players' learning process. After that, gameplay becomes a bit more hardcore, and in some cases there is a bit more variation offering a bit more casual experience and, sometimes, a bit more realistic and simulation. As examples, we have games and sages such as FIFA, Virtual Tennis, NBA2K or Wii Sports. Puzzle. Puzzle is another genre with a lot of tradition in the history of video games. Here the main mechanics are analyzing and planning and using certain objects. The control is usually simple and the experience is mostly focused on a cognitive work, of attention, perception, problems solving. The target is variated, with a wide range: from very young players to very traditional players, to casual players, to old players, etc. Their setting is diverse. There can be very realistic environments, sci-fi ones, fantasy ones and also figurative ones, with basic and simple figures. The story has a relative importance. Sometimes it doesn't even exist, sometimes it's a simple support to gameplay. It is made for both single player and multi player modes. Their gameplay style is very arcade. Sometimes it's quite casual to make it more affordable. As examples, we have games such as Tetris, Candy Crush, Limbo, Monument Valley, Portal, etc. Puzzle as a genre is a clear example on how it has been used to complete other genres, and currently, a lot of games implement puzzle mechanics, in a more direct or indirect way, to complete their experiences. To finish with the genres, we will talk on the casual one. Here there's a little problem as actually the casual games aren't a genre but a kind of gameplay. And inside the so-called casual genre there are a lot of different game types. This is why mechanics are very different. So, common elements are: reduced and simple control, less physical experience, more social, emotional and motivational, and it usually targets a non-experienced player. It is more linked to mobile platforms and devices. And their gameplay is casual, and if in some games it becomes a bit more demanding, it's an arcade-like gameplay. As examples we have games such as Fruit Ninja, Angry Birds, or other games such as SingStar, Mario Party or Buzz. These 3 games, although they are for console, have had a great success on players which aren't traditional console gamers, but casual players. As we said before, it is very hard to put many games inside the casual genre. It is more recommendable to talk on casual gameplays and make different genres for music games, party games, etc. These genres classifications are simply illustrative, as the industry and the market are very unpredictable and change fast. New genres come out and evolve as time goes by. A lot of them begin as sub-genres and end up getting their own category, such as music games, which seemed video games that could be included in the casual genre. Other genres lose importance as times change, as happened during a time with some 2D platform games. The most relevant trend during the last years is the genres mix. Many games take other genres' mechanics to use them in a complementary way to their main gameplay. So, there are games which have shooting, jumping, infiltration, puzzles, and even driving in the same title, such as the GTA saga or some Uncharted. Another trend of high bucket titles during the last years has been inserting customization, stealth and infiltration mechanics, apocalyptic and terror aesthetics and very cinematographic cameras. This genres mix favors the apparition of new terms such as adventure and action, and makes it difficult to fit some games in only one genre. To finish, we must say that, independently of the genre, all the recent games are trying to adapt gameplay in aim to get more profit on the online multiplayer game and on the players social networks.
