What are you favorite RPG genres?

[Reynard]

I might define genres more broadly than some of you.

1. Fantasy - This includes everything from D&D to Conan, Legend of the Five Rings, and Earthdawn.
2. Science Fiction - This would include Blue Planet, Traveller, Star Trek, Star Wars, Cyerpunk, Blade Runner, etc., etc.
3. Horror - Call of Cthulhu, Delta Green, KULT, Vampire, and Deadlands.
4. Post Apocalyptic - Deadlands: Hell on Earth, Fallout, Gamma World, and Mutant Chronicles.

Are you?

1. Some games might be more difficult to classify. Is Alien a science fiction or horror game? Yes. Is The Walking Dead a horror or post apocalyptic game? Yes. Genre seems most useful for marketers to sell product. It's why Stephen King/Richard Bachman's The Running Man, The Tommyknockers, and The Dark Tower are usually found in the horror section instead of science fiction or fantasy.

That's not wrong but it seems besides the point with regards to this discussion. Sure, genre is artificial. That doesn't mean it isn't useful when talking about categories of things.

 

[MGibster]

That's not wrong but it seems besides the point with regards to this discussion. Sure, genre is artificial. That doesn't mean it isn't useful when talking about categories of things.

It's useful. But it starts getting less useful when we run into, "Star Wars is science fantasy not science fiction" type arguments. Is The Handmaid's Tale science fiction? Margaret Atwoods says it isn't.

 

[Scottius]

My personal favorite genres are:

Fantasy - Sword & Sorcery, Appendix N oriented, & Dungeon Crawl stuff. Not into High Fantasy. Examples: DCC RPG, OSE, Black Sword Hack

Super Heroes - Everything from Golden/Silver Age to Modern, Pulp Hero type stuff included as well. Examples: Mutants & Masterminds, Champions, Marvel Heroes/FASERIP, Mayfair's DC Heroes

Espionage/Action Movie - Spies, Ninjas, Mercs, preferably all mashed up together into one. Examples: Ninjas & Superspies, Mercenaries, Spies, & Private Eyes, Top Secret/SI

Horror - Lovecraftian/Cosmic Horror - Call of Cthulhu, Sci Fi Horror - Mothership

Science Fiction - Space Opera & Cyberpunk. Examples: WEG Star Wars, Stars Without Number, Traveler, Cyberpunk 2020, Shadowrun, Cities Without Number

Post Apoctalyptic - Gamma World, Mutant Crawl Classics

Comedy - Ghostbusters/Spooktacular, Paranoia

 

[Thourne]

Lankhmar like dark low magic fantasy

Space Opera

Victorian -> Pulp horror or mystery

 

[Tonguez]

I might define genres more broadly than some of you.

1. Fantasy - This includes everything from D&D to Conan, Legend of the Five Rings, and Earthdawn.
2. Science Fiction - This would include Blue Planet, Traveller, Star Trek, Star Wars, Cyerpunk, Blade Runner, etc., etc.
3. Horror - Call of Cthulhu, Delta Green, KULT, Vampire, and Deadlands.
4. Post Apocalyptic - Deadlands: Hell on Earth, Fallout, Gamma World, and Mutant Chronicles.

Some games might be more difficult to classify. Is Alien a science fiction or horror game? Yes. Is The Walking Dead a horror or post apocalyptic game? Yes. Genre seems most useful for marketers to sell product. It's why Stephen King/Richard Bachman's The Running Man, The Tommyknockers, and The Dark Tower are usually found in the horror section instead of science fiction or fantasy.

I’ve never seen Dark Tower put in the Horror section, just seen it in fantasy/sci-fi. Tommyknockers is sci-fi Horror

 

[Reynard]

It's useful. But it starts getting less useful when we run into, "Star Wars is science fantasy not science fiction" type arguments.

Jave we had that argument in this thread? I don't think so. It's mostly been people defining their prefered genres with examples. I haven't seen anyone scold someone on their definitions.

Is The Handmaid's Tale science fiction? Margaret Atwoods says it isn't.

Dystopia is a genre too.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Fantasy/Horror - grim, darkish, cults, old gods, monsters in the dark, Cthulhu stuff. Systems would be Zweihander, Warhammer, Witcher and such.

 

[aramis erak]

Let's see... Genres and the specific subgenres, and some games

• Space Opera
  • Star Trek (and close knockoffs) - including Starships and Spacemen 1e.
  • "Six-guns and starships" - Firefly, Traveller
  • Space Marines on the bounce... doable gritty in Traveller, semi-silly in Battle Born, and either in the 40K Deathwatch, and Wrath and Glory
  • rocket jockey type - Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, Cosmic Patrol, etc....
• Supers
  • Marvel (general 4 color level)
  • Sentinel Comics (low end of four color)
• Dungeon Fantasy
  • Low hit-point totals, high risk.
    • The Fantasy Trip
    • Tunnels and Trolls 5th
• Fantasy Japan
  • Rokugan via L5R 3e or 5e
  • More classical with good players and the RPG Blood and Honor
• Fantasy space
  • Star Wars - it's just too much handwavium for me to call it Space Opera... but I still love it
  • Dark fantasy space - the most obvious is the raft of 40k titles, but there are others... Fading Suns,
  • Planetary Romance -- Space 1889, John Carter of Mars, Buck Rogers XXV C,...
  • Dune
• Grimdark Space
  • 40k (it's its own subgenre, really)
  • Space Monsters vs party. Usually the end of a campaign in certain Space Opera games. ALIEN, Coriolis.
• Mythic Fantasy
  • Arthurian
  • Greek Mythology
  • Middle Earth
• Silly
  • Aliens among us - Teenagers from Outer Space, Hunter Planet.
  • Ninja Burger
  • Caveman - Og Unearthed.

Genres I can't handle include Romance, jump-scare horror, Cthulhoid existential Horror.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Also, a spot in my heart for Paranoia! Guess it Genre could be sci-fi/comedy or cyberpunk/comedy or just mix/comedy

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Is The Handmaid's Tale science fiction? Margaret Atwoods says it isn't.

With the appropriate safety tools, I'd play in a Handmaid's Tale RPG